Equipment: Combo 3, jigging for walleye

Before sunset, I spend more time on Leech Lake jigging for walleye than all other types of fishing combined. Of course, after sunset I spend my time trolling for walleye, but the equipment I use for that method of fishing was covered in an earlier post.

For this entry about the equipment I use while Fishing Leech Lake, I'll focus on my combo for jigging for walleye; and jumbo perch.

The heart and soul of my jigging set up is the Shimano Stella 3000 FB reel, quite simply the best spinning reel on the market today. My wife Kathleen gave me the Stella reel for our 25th anniversary a few years ago and it is by far the best reel I've ever used. The "FB" model has recently been updated to the "FD", but in essence this is the same outstanding reel.

The first thing I noticed when using the Stella is how smooth the gears are. It's as if the bail is floating in the air. Reeling in line is virtually effortless. Yet don't let the easy retrieve of this reel fool you, this is one tough reel -- tough enough to do battle with a 30" walleye or an 10 lb. northern.

The Stella is also balanced in such a way that when it's seated on the rod, it fits comfortably in my hand, and feels as if it becomes weightless. Of course, this type of quality and performance do come at a cost. The Shimano Stella is among the highest priced reels, if not the most expensive, on the market. But as the old adage goes, you get what you pay for. And with the Stella you get the best reel for jigging walleye bar none.

I pair the Stella with a 5-foot 9-inch St. Croix Avid AVS59MXF medium-power, extra-fast action spinning rod. The extra-fast tip enables me to feel the slightest tick from a finicky walleye, while the medium-power gives this rod more than enough backbone to load up on a huge Leech Lake sander vitreus.

I like the shorter 5-foot 9-inch rod as opposed to many of the 6-foot 6-inch or even 7-foot spinning rods I have in my arsenal. The sub-six foot rod gives this combo an almost ultra-light feel to it, while being sturdy enough for the job of landing big fish.

For the past two walleye seasons, I've spooled the Stella with 6 lb. test Berkley Fireline Crystal superline. This line is more than 50% thinner than 6 lb. monofilament, but it does not stretch as mono line does. The Fireline is so sensitive that it transmits the slightest tick or bump from walleye which enables me to catch more fish since I know that they're down there touching my jig.

The Fireline Crystal has another feature that I think is important in walleye fishing, it's transparent in the water. Berkley/Pure Fishing scientists developed the Fireline Crystal to appear white when out of the water, but in the water it completely vanishes. Walleye are skitish fish by nature, and having a line that they can't see gives me another advantage when jigging the flats and weed lines in Leech Lake.

I use a number of different jigs. From Northland I use the classic neon-tone Gum-Ball jig and the relatively new Slurp! jig, which is ideal for use with Gulp Alive minnow baits (more on attractants in a minute).

Other favorite jigs of mine are the Lindy Max Gap jig and the classic Fuzz-E-Grub.

With the Northland jigs and the Lindy Max Gap I usually add some type of attractant or bait. Early in the walleye season, say for the first month, and then again after Labor Day, I often add a live shiner to my jig. If shiners aren't available, or if the bait shop is asking too much money for them, I'll downsize slightly and go with a traditional live fathead minnow.

When the water heats up, usually above 70 degrees, I'll switch to a plastic attractant. A Lindy Fuzz-E-Grub is perfect for this task because it comes with a little plastic body and feather tail already attached. But if I'm using a Northland jig or a Lindy Max Gap jig, I need to add a plastic attractant to the jig.

My favorite plastics to add to jigs include the Northland Tackle 3-inch Slurpies Swim'N Grubs "Pro Series" in an Alabama craw color, or the original 3-inch Slurpies Swim'N Grub tails in firetiger cutworm color or Super-Glo ladybug. I also use a lot of 3-inch Berkley Power Grubs in a variety of colors from chartreuse to pumpkinseed to white.

A few years ago the folks at Berkley came up with a biodegradable bait called Gulp Alive that actually dissolves in the water over time. Not only are these baits good for the environment, but they really catch fish. I often pair the Gulp Alive minnow baits with the Slurp! jig when jigging for walleye on Leech Lake.

When I'm jig fishing for walleye with this combo I do so in a couple of different ways. If there's a good breeze blowing, which there often is on Leech Lake, I'll deploy my drift sock and set up controlled drift along a particular contour in the lake bottom or along a weed line.

When fishing in this manner I'll simply drop the jig over the side of the boat, let it drop to the bottom, then adjust the line length so that as the boat drifts the jig moves along at an inch or so above the bottom. This method works particularly well when I'm fishing with live shiners, fatheads or Gulp Alive minnows.

Another of my favorite ways to jig for walleye is to cast the jig out as far as I can, let it sink to the bottom, then reel the jig back to the boat at varying speeds. I rarely retrieve the jig at a single speed. Fish don't swim at a uniform speed or direction, so your bait shouldn't either.

Another way I retrieve a jig after a long cast is to lift up the rod tip pulling the jig toward the boat, then let it sink back to the bottom. I then reel in the slack line and repeat the process all the way back to the boat. This is a very effective way to fish for walleye.

I find that when fishing by lifting my rod tip and retrieving the slack line that I catch 75 percent of the fish when the jig is falling back to the bottom. That's why having a sensitive rod and sensitive line is so important. I want to "feel" as the walleye takes the jig into its mouth ever so gently.

There are numerous other ways to fish jigs successfully -- vertically jigging over the side of the boat, snap jigging, etc. -- but I catch most of my fish either drifting or casting a jig.

As for tying my jig to the line, I use a Palomar knot exclusively. As I've discussed on this blog before, the Palomar knot is not only easy to tie, but it is far and away the strongest knot you can use for tying on a jig or other lure for that matter.

Using this exact rod and reel combo, with Fireline Crystal line and a variety of jigs, live bait and plastics, I have caught hundreds of beautful walleye and jumbo perch while fishing on Leech Lake.