ON THE MOVE
To consistently catch walleye on the troll, you need to know when to change your speed and show the fish something different
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The slow-death rig is ideal in the heat of summerSLOW-DEATH RIGS
There comes a point each summer when there’s a lull in the spinner bite, with the walleye seeming to show a preference for eating crayfish instead of minnows. When that happens, a great way to capitalize is by trolling a bottom bouncer with a slow-death hook tipped with a piece of nightcrawler.
For this set-up, thread a nightcrawler onto the curved shank of a specialty slow-death hook, then pinch off enough of the worm so that just a short tip sticks out past the bend of the hook. When pulled through the water, the entire offering rotates slowly, triggering walleye to strike.
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The beauty of the slow-death presentation is that it can be rigged with just the hook and worm for a very subtle presentation, or with the hook, worm and a bead, or with a series of beads and a spinner blade if you want more flash and vibration.
Special slow-death hooks create an enticing actionThe two simpler rigs work best when trolled between 0.5 and 0.8 mph, while a rig with a spinner blade performs best a little faster, between 0.8 and 1.2 mph. I’ve had the most success with slow-death when running a plain or beaded rig after a cold front, as well as on heavily pressured fish, or when using spinner-blade rigs for more active fish.