River shore fishing...

[devil-man]

I have a great spot for walleye and smallmouth that I have been fishing off and on this winter. So far I've only gotten one short 'eye.
Last year I did OK using bait on the bottom for them, but haven't had any luck with lures. I've tried jigs, jerkbaits, and spinners. Any other suggestions?
I have caught some nice smallies with the lures, so I'm not complaining.
Just wondering how to target the eyes specifically...

[Pikeguy]

Alot of guys around here use minnows on jigs all winter long. It's from the boat, but the concept is the same

[devil-man]

Thanks, guys. 
I was thinking more along the lines of this summer, after the season re-opens (of course). Walleye season closes for six weeks this coming Wednesday, but I'm going to try and make it one more time before then.
A guy I know suggested walleye assassins. They're a shad-type swimming plastic you put on a jig head. Anyone ever try them?

[Fat Boy]

Thanks, guys.
A guy I know suggested walleye assassins. They're a shad-type swimming plastic you put on a jig head. Anyone ever try them?

Yes, excellent bait.  I've caught many species on them including walleye.  Other species include:  largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, king salmon (1 off Wilson pier trying for smallies), lake trout, steelhead, stripers, sea trout, summer flounder, and fresh water drum.  I might even be missing a few.

I fish them 2 ways:

1) simply rigged on a jighead
2) Texas rigged using a wide gap worm hook - twitch them like you would a sluggo, deadly on summer smallies

[YR bender]

You might want to try a larger minnow, 3 or 4 inches long, on a bare jig hook. Hook the minnow throught the mouth and up through its head as far back as you can get it. Worked for me many times and you never know what big fish will end up with it. Good luck.

[walleyechaser]

Fuzz E grub jigs tipped with a minnow work for me along the banks during this ice/open water
transistion period.  I've caught almost every species on the fuzz e grubs.

[Fat Boy]

I have not tried it but from articles I have read in Walleye Insider and other places they strongly suggest using "ringworms" for winter river eyes. It's essentially a plastic worm about 4" long with a curly tail and they just rig them on lightweight ballhead jigs and drift them down current. Supposedly the eyes love them even more than live bait rigs in the cold water. I don't river fish eyes much anymore but I think it would work in the right circumstances.

Absolutely, I've caught numerous walleyes on ringworms from the spring run through the summer on them.  Here's a pic of one that I used to catch a largemouth last year.  In real shallow rocky rivers try Texas rigging them with as light a weight as possible to get it down.  For this pattern, with low to normal flow I may go as light as a 1/32 oz. bullet sinker during summer.  Of course, with higher than normal flow more weight is needed.



Try the Zoom Dead Ringer 4".  I'm a huge fan of the green pumpkin color or green pumpkin/chartreuse tail.  But there are a slew of colors.  Motoroil, watermelon, pumpkin/chartreuse also work well.  Most of these colors work well in clear water, but don't ignore other colors either.  White, black, and chartreuse are deadly even in clear water, but they work well in stained or muddy water too.  You can get them at Bass Pro Shops.

Here's a pic of the some of the colors:


Now, I've also found a cool version of this worm made my Lindy Little Joe in their "Munchies" series of soft plastics.  It's a triple tail version of the ring worm called a "Thumpin' Ringworm.  Some of them come in glow (Techniglow) colors.

Here's a green pumpkin one:


And a Techniglow version:


Now I don't fish for walleyes in lakes that much around my home, but when I travel West to Deep Creek Lake I'll catch them there.  And, I've caught them on these worms rigged on a 1/8 oz. jighead. 

They also make good trailers (Erie Dearies for walleyes and spinnerbaits for bass and pike)

Other good brands are Lucky Strike and also Bass Pro Shops has their own version too.

What kind of fish will hit a ringworm?  Almost all.  I've caught lakers, walleye, lot's of largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, rock bass, red breast sunnies, channel catfish, carp, muskie, northern pike, chain pickerel, white perch, yellow perch, white bass, bluegill, and sheepshead.  Also, I've caught saltwater species too (bluefish, stripers, summer flounder, and sea trout). 

I always have one rigged... uh oh, my secret is out!

[devil-man]

Thanks for the tips, guys! I actually started putting together my annual plastics order last night and have a few more things to add now. 
I tried my spot on Tuesday, but didn't fish for long. It was muddy and raging...

[Polar]

You know the river I fish for eyes.When I fish off the bank I pefer a twister(grn/glo) with a jighead heavy enough to make contact with the bottom. (heavier the current bigger the jighead) Spring I fish ahead of the riffles where the tail of the hole is.

[Fat Boy]

I fish ahead of the riffles where the tail of the hole is.

That's an often overlooked location for sure!

[August West]

I fish ahead of the riffles where the tail of the hole is.

That's an often overlooked location for sure!

Great spot early morning and at night.......I prefer stick baits in those situations.

[ol crawdad]

d-man, in the Spring in the Susq., I have had a lot of success with blue floating Rapalas, and blue/silver husky jerks, especially after dark.  They have outfished Rapalas of other colors on most trips.  OC  PS I also like to paint the underside of the Jerks with more orange than they come with...

[Capt.Shay]

I am forced by necessity to ONLY fish rivers for Eye's as
two rivers are the only places in my state that have them.
Luckily, one of them does a horse shoe around my home
town.  Since I only have a canoe I do a lot of shore fishing.

My best luck has always been with live shiners retained
18 inches from a fairly heavy egg sinker (size depending on current).

As for artificials, the classic floating Rap. is always a good
bet especially in shallow/still waters or in slack current
behind structures like bridge abutments or shallow riff to
deep still areas.

Went out last evening and caught a nice 20" three Lb'er.
Missed a few more

Tight lines,

[MikeThePike]

I've been getting a ton right up until the season closed and I stopped targeting them. I have been doing well on a small jighead with just a plain mr twister tail or a small rubber shad. Also did well with the jigheads and medium shiners but often the plastics outfished them, plus there were so many small fish pestering us that it would take longer to go get a shiner out of the bucket than to hook up with the jighead/ rubber combo.

[devil-man]

Thanks again, everyone. 
This is turning into a very informative thread...

Any other words of wisdom out there?