Fish-Hawk.Net

hey all. ive been skunked again.... only 1 bite.... no fish... i fish the detroit rever frequently and we go along the canadian side of fighting island.... we vertical jig with a 3/4 ounce jighead and a twistertail grub (usually 3 inch) we used flavoured grubs (YUM is my latest batch) and have tried black whit combos.... yellow brown... yellow brown white... green .... all white.... pumpkin seed... watermellon.... various natural coulurs... minnows... ext ext... red pinke wutever u name it... we used to do alright but now seem to do nothing.... we fish between 15-30 feet of water usually ocasionally goin into the weeds to hunt bass or out a lil deeper..... any tips.... thinkin gunna have to find a new method... mayB deep diving cranks or bottom bouncers... plz save me

Live bait?

tried minnows on a jig .... next up worms

I always like leaches.

Or dead sticking it with a small/medium minnow.

Yeah. That's it Leeches. That's what I'd drop on their little heads.

I have to say, I hate those friggen slimy, sucking, disgusting things but, my fishing partner Dave H outfished me all season for walleye using live leaches hanging them on a drop shot about a foot off bottom on a slip bobber (mind you it is probably too deep in the Detroit to use a slip). I tried the artificial leaches and any other type of twister tail plastic on all sorts of jig heads and had no success this year.

We did well using leeches for eyes up at the cottage. They also troll a lot of worm harnesses on the St Clair so might work there.

You might enjoy reading about the show that Pete Bowman did about walleye fishing the Detroit River 20 feet from the shore along Windsor's Riverside Drive East - see http://www.fishncanada.com/fnc_ss/fnc_ss04_02.htm

I have found a lot of the walleye I have boated this year came shallower than usual casting Bagley cranks and husky jerks along weedlines and drop-offs...I have not landed a single fish in live bait this year If I were to drop a leech or minnow down for them I would first use my depth finder to pick out locations that are likely to hold bigger fish...Look for mid lake humps, shoals and transition breaks.....

-Andrew

Here is the most informative article I've ever come across for fishing river current.

http://www.walleye-club.com/ThreeWayRiverRigs.pdf

Any serious walleye angler should print it out and refer to it often.

Hats off to Dave Csanda for his attention to detail.

If you need further info then just drop me a PM.

Jebby, here is another option that works on the Detroit river...
Hand-lining is a great technique that really excels on the Detroit River because it gets bait in front of deep fish in a very strong river current. My Grand-Father taught me this technique when I was 9 years old, while visiting him in Amherstburg during the summer months. You may want to look into this option if you live in the Windsor area as most of the equipment and information is available at local fishing stores.
Hand Lining for Detroit River Walleye
Hand-lining For Walleyes Is Fun

Good luck...

-Sheldon

Jebby, limits are being caught 3 miles east of Peache Island....just south of the dumping grounds....make sure to stay on the Canadian side unless you have an American fishing license....use bottom bouncers with worm harnesses.....you should catch everything from walleye, perch, sheephead and bass....the bite is an early one so get out there first thing in the morning and you should do very well!!!


Chrispy!

Summer time can be a little tough on the Detroit but Chrispy has the key.

Using Bottom bouncers try trolling WITH the current only slightly faster. Traditional methods for the Detroit like handling and three way rigs all go against the current and product big catches in the spring put don't produce as heavily in the summer as the key to these presentations is putting lure within inches of the bottom in fast current. By summer the areas that hold walleyes often also have "Grass" covering the bottom the hides the up-river presentations.
Try using Spinner harnesses that incorporate a float to keep the offer up and turning and don't be afriad to try plastic worms. There is a local 4 inch brown worm that seems to out produce everything else.

Try the Salt mine and the Matchstick on the otherside of fighting island. Tell us how you do.

Shawn,

That must have been why my arm felt like it was going to fall off when we would go hours with out a fish or bite. I remember my grand father would yell out a up-and-down command like a coxen in a row boat It was a long time ago that him and I did hand-lining and I know that was the only way he would fish...also the bait we used was the Helen's Flatfish - yellow with black and red dots seemed to get lots of water time. During the summer I seem to remember having our leads hooked to the top two loops on the shank.

-sheldon

sadly my boat is only a small 14 foot tinny with a 10 horse so im limited to calm areas.... i am not very fimilar with the river as i have just got a boat.... i usually launch the public launch in lasalle and fish along fighting island..... will have to ventur to the other side next time its calm.... any tips on where to go not far fromt here would be great.... thnks for all the help

jebby