Variety of fishing lines help in certain situations
The deep diving crankbait ticked bottom occasionally as I slowly trolled upriver against the mild current. After a few minutes the eight-foot, medium action trolling rod bent into a deep bow, one accented with frequent throbs that telegraphed the headshakes coming from the other end of the line, 60 feet behind the boat.
Pulling the rod from the rod holder, being careful not to allow any slack to develop as I did so, I began gathering up line, using the level wind reel to slowly winch in the fish. Within a minute or two a fat Allegheny River walleye was near the surface. I skated it the final few feet and coaxed it over the rim of the net.
The lower Allegheny River, that is the 70 miles under the influence of eight lock and dams that impound the river for navigational purposes, supports a good walleye population. Often the most consistent angling for these fish takes place from late fall through early spring, when the fish are concentrated in select areas. During the warmer months (such as now) walleyes are more scattered. And while they can still be caught, often it often takes covering the water to do so. Which is where trolling comes in.
The scenario just described happened a few days ago. The short outing produced several walleyes along with a two channel cats and smallmouth bass. A couple fish were lost, as well as momentary hook ups where the fish didn’t stay pinned. This took place over a mile stretch of river, one where I worked both sides of the river as well as the deeper channel to cover all the bases. This would not have been possible using traditional jigging methods common in fishing for river walleyes.
While lake-dwelling walleyes will at times suspend in the water column, making them vulnerable to lures fished at various levels, river walleyes tend to be bottom-huggers. This means it’s important to keep lures within a foot or so of the bottom if you expect positive results. Leadcore line excels in this situation.
Leadcore line consists of a thin filament of lead covered with a nylon outer sheath. This weighed line acts like a continuous sinker allowing the angler to place a bait at a specific depth. The amount of line let out dictates this.
