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During the heart of summer, mid July-mid August, by reading past posts from last year, it seems that most anglers on this forum use plain lindys with a crawler or leech..if someone could explain why this technique is more productive(usually) than jigging, slip bobbering, casting or trolling cranks during this time of year I would be appreciative..since I'm a novice walleye fisherman!!

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Haven't fished Vermillion for awhile, but on Elephant Lake I find trolling crawlers with plain Lindy rigs most productive, not to say you can't catch eyes fishing other ways. Some prefer fishing with slip bobbers (both crawlers and leeches. We have caught some nice eyes at dusk and after nightfall casting crank baits.

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First, it seems you gotta pick an end. Techniques seem to vary in effectiveness from end to end. And personally I have never been able to catch a walleye on a crawler in the west since perch and gills seem to get there first. But that is probably just me not fishing in right place.

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By that time of the year the mayflies are gone and the only easy and abundant food source is small minnows. Leeches and crawlers are much larger and therefore more attractive to walleyes. Trolling with lindys covers more ground than any other method, so it is most productive.Once located the method that somtimes outfishes lindys is a slip bobber,but personally I never quit the lindy rig until fall,when jigging resumes. That's my theory,hope it helps you. If Cliff responds,then you will really know! Mike

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Fishmarket,

Mike has part of the reason right! Another part is that in July and August The walleyes have a huge abundance of food available, on the East End that food supply is mainly mayfly nymphs and young-of-the-year perch fry. Both are easy prey and the walleyes really key on them.

A plain hook Lindy Rig baited with 1/2 crawler and slow trolled or drifted resembles both of these food sources.

At times a whole crawler or leech will out produce the 1/2 crawler, but day in and day out the 1/2 crawler will fill your limit best.

Cliff

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ok, so when I drift or slowly troll my rig, like most people I hate getting hung up on the rocks, so I have been holding my sinker about 6 inches to a foot off the bottom, lowering occasionally to make contact with the bottom, is this the right technique?? Thanks to everyone for passing on their expertise.

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Fishmarket,

That is the way that I do it also!

If you want to catch walleyes you just have to live with snagging the bottom at times!

Cliff

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thanks for everything Cliff, cant wait to get out there on that beautiful summer night!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

ah, another question, what would you do if you were in a tournament on Vermilion, its the last day and you needed a big walleye to win, what would you do?? Same July/Aug time frame.

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If I had the knowledge and equipment,which I don't, I would be in Big Bay using downriggers and crankbaits for suspended large walleyes. I have watched and talked to several who do this with good success. Second choice would be planer boards and cranks in the same area. Third choice would be weed edges, if you can find any weeds in the part of the lake you fish. All of these ideas assume you are fishing in the middle of the day in a tourney scenario. If you were fishing in the dark, there would be several other effective methods.

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If I were in that situation, and needed a big walleye to win, I would just give up and try for something else. Every giant walleye that I've got on Vermilion was after I'd given up trying. grin.gif

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Well, maybe at that moment your best bet would be to sit back, open a cold beer and enjoy the scenery. I have fished this lake aggressively for the last 20 years (cabin owner for 15 years) and can count on 1 hand how many "big" walleye I have boated. So, consider having a cold one and be happy that you are on the water on a terrific lake.

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I've caught 3 Walleyes that I would consider "Big" in the short time I've fished the Big V on 3 different methods: Drifting a plain hook Lindy tipped with a Leech, Trolling a Little Joe Spinner with a crawler and Speed Trolling a crank.

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I agree with Mike. Trolling cranks that time of the year is the way to go for bigger fish.

I would also target any bays that have an average depth over 15 feet deep.

Cliff

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Can you please let me know what is considered a "big" walleye on Vermillion. I'm starting to get a complex reading some of these posts.I had last summer off and from opening weekend until the 3rd weekend in October I fished several times a week. All [PoorWordUsage] aside I boated over 1000 walleye and the "big" one was less than 5 lbs. I use many of the same methods as described in the various posts. Apprently I am just not lucky!!

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I consider any Vermilion walleye over 25 inches a big fish!

Cliff

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Imo,a 25 incher is a darn nice fish anywhere..maybe trolling bigger shad raps or husky [PoorWordUsage]/rogue type baits will be worth trying. Why not!! Cant wait for open water!

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