Tackle Box

Below is a list of recommended items to have in your tackle box.
Click here for a printable version (pdf 48kb)

 

Walleye

• Light to Medium spinning rod and reel
• 6 - 10 lb. test line
• Jigs 1/4, 3/8 or 1/2 oz. (adjust your weight according to depth and speed, if it's shallow, or you are sitting still, go light, if it's deep, or the wind is blowing hard, go heavier, as long as you're on the bottom!)
• Colors - Chartreuse, orange, yellow, white, black or gold. (Remember - Dark colors on dark days, bright colors on bright days)
• Tip jigs with a minnow, leech or nightcrawler. Also - rubber twister tails work great in place of live bait. Scented rubber tails such as "Gulp" are really good.
• Weight forward spinners (Little Joes, Lac Seul Spinners) for trolling only, work great. Always tip them with live bait. Blade colors of chartreuse, silver, gold, blue or red are most common. I sell these and the weights here at the camp store.

The tackle listed above accounts for about 90% of what most walleye fisherman use, or will ever need to catch fish. Expensive crank baits are fun to cast, and good for TV, but not necessary. If you want to cast or troll deep for a change of pace, then a perch colored crank with a really big lip works best.

 

Northern Pike

• Medium/medium heavy rod and reel
• 14 - 20 Lb test line
• Steel leaders (9 or 12 inches long)
• Spoons/Daredevils Red & White, Silver, Gold, Yellow, Black & White
• Weedless spoons eg. Johnson silver minnow
• Repalas Perch colored is best
• Bucktails Silver Blade with white, yellow, black or red fur (Bucktails work best in Mid/Late summer)

 

Other items you will need

• Long needle nose pliers for getting hooks out. Very important, and a must have for any fisherman. They will save you time (and your fingers)
• Jaw spreaders
• Raingear
• Towels to wipe off hands.

 

Advice from the pro's

• Putting on new line before a big fishing trip is the cheapest insurance you can get. Nothing ruins a trip more than getting the biggest fish on of your life, and hearing "snap", as your old line breaks. If you can't remember how old your line is, or your reel has been exposed to the sun for long periods of time - change it.
• Sharpen those hooks - once again - nothing worse than getting a huge fish on and have it spit the lure back at you. Dull hooks are hard to set in a boney mouth full of teeth!
• Keep your hands clean. Fish have a keen sense of smell, especially walleye. If you touch the gas can or put on bug spray wash those hands before handling your baits.
• Never use a steel leader while fishing for walleyes. Walleyes can't bite your line off, but they can see a steel leader from a mile away, and they don't like it. You will have much better walleye success with the line tied right to the jig or spinner rig you are using. You may lose a few jigs to pike, but that is the sacrifice for better fishing.
• Marker bouys - Great for marking hard to find reefs or hot spots. 

Click here for full lists of what to bring