Whats your 'Go To' Lure For Wiper?
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I've only recently discovered that Wiper can be caught when they are not "boiling" on shad in the fall. I?ve had decent success on a light colored jig, sometime without any weight and sometimes jigged along the bottom. The key is to find the baitfish (sonar) and change until you start getting bit. Look at what they are eating and try to emulate as best you can. Diving seagulls will also clue you in to where the feed is happening.
Now for my favorite and I think one of the most exciting things you can do is to chase the boils of aggressively feeding fish. This happens when the shad reach a mature enough stage in the fall and begin to form up into large schools out in open water.
My technique is to try and cast at a boil with a Zara-spook or another top-water and get a great surface strike. These fish in the deeper water are STRONG and I have had 19 inch fish pull hooks from a Zara spook and busted the screws etc. They are strong and tough fighters during this time of year. At times it can just be sure bedlam, excitement, and craziness all rolled into package that will make you just smile on the drive home. I also use a rattle trap type lure when the boils slow down for those fish that are just cruising. This is what has worked for me in the past.
Now for my favorite and I think one of the most exciting things you can do is to chase the boils of aggressively feeding fish. This happens when the shad reach a mature enough stage in the fall and begin to form up into large schools out in open water.
My technique is to try and cast at a boil with a Zara-spook or another top-water and get a great surface strike. These fish in the deeper water are STRONG and I have had 19 inch fish pull hooks from a Zara spook and busted the screws etc. They are strong and tough fighters during this time of year. At times it can just be sure bedlam, excitement, and craziness all rolled into package that will make you just smile on the drive home. I also use a rattle trap type lure when the boils slow down for those fish that are just cruising. This is what has worked for me in the past.
Jay,
The reason you hear so much about broken lines is the majority of fishermen are underlined. It's the fashion of the day to ridicule anyone with line heavier than 10# test. The myth is enlarged because there is an assumption that all fish of equal weight, stress line equally. That's why you get stories of people landing large fish on lighter line, (notwithstanding they play fish WELL)... because the assumption is that the 15# fish of one species, stresses the line equally as hard as a 15# fish of a different species. That depends. Some large fish hardly fight at all. Wipers, by all contrasts, stress all equipment .
I would use all of the lures you mentioned and then some.
The reason you hear so much about broken lines is the majority of fishermen are underlined. It's the fashion of the day to ridicule anyone with line heavier than 10# test. The myth is enlarged because there is an assumption that all fish of equal weight, stress line equally. That's why you get stories of people landing large fish on lighter line, (notwithstanding they play fish WELL)... because the assumption is that the 15# fish of one species, stresses the line equally as hard as a 15# fish of a different species. That depends. Some large fish hardly fight at all. Wipers, by all contrasts, stress all equipment .
I would use all of the lures you mentioned and then some.
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Hey Jay, goto www.stevelytle.com/
He is a guide at Swanson and Red Willow resevoirs in SE Nebraska. He keeps a yearly fishing log of every day out with his clients and what the used, water temp, depth, and stucture. Great learning tool!!!!!
Good tip Mcfish! Do you ever use Spro's?
He is a guide at Swanson and Red Willow resevoirs in SE Nebraska. He keeps a yearly fishing log of every day out with his clients and what the used, water temp, depth, and stucture. Great learning tool!!!!!
Good tip Mcfish! Do you ever use Spro's?
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52 Posts
I've caught wiper on about everything imaginable. Of course shure fire is live Shad which I've been able to catch on Pueblo a number of times... If that is not possible my all time most dependable is a soft pearl shad imatation(sassy, assasin, fluke ). Important to know the size of the shad the wipers are hitting. I've heard people mention on these posts that size does matter. Couldn't be more true when it comes to matching what fish are hitting.
If you find a school of wiper feading check to see if you can see the size of the bait they are chasing out of the water... if they are deaper look for crippled shad on top. adjust your artificials to that size... if you cannot identify size throw every size you have at them to find out what they are hitting. Always look for floating cripples. That is a sign the fish are there and what they are eating.
Still, I have had them boiling all around me and have thrown everything in my tackle box including the right size, shape and color and still come up empty a time or two... but there more good times than bad when it comes to chasing wipers... they are too much fun for sure.
If you find a school of wiper feading check to see if you can see the size of the bait they are chasing out of the water... if they are deaper look for crippled shad on top. adjust your artificials to that size... if you cannot identify size throw every size you have at them to find out what they are hitting. Always look for floating cripples. That is a sign the fish are there and what they are eating.
Still, I have had them boiling all around me and have thrown everything in my tackle box including the right size, shape and color and still come up empty a time or two... but there more good times than bad when it comes to chasing wipers... they are too much fun for sure.
Lipless cranks are my favorites.. However, I'm more into the silver/blues with a black dot on the side. I like em to be the smallest size that Rat-L-Traps come in and the next size up. I'll be fine with the regular grey ones and golds are good too. Like T-Fin says, you've gotta experiment with em.T-Fin said:
G
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·Bluegill, live ones. Leadcore, about 2 colors, forward speed with the electric while casting for the ones out front. Set the clicker on the leadcore reel and put it in the rod holder. They will tell you when you get a hit.
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265 Posts
I like small jigs. Bagely Big O's and Bomber Flat "A"'s. L'il Georges work really well to and you can cast those a mile, but I have experienced something really wierd in Texas when we used to fish for Wipers there.
We would go to Lake Braunig just South of San Antonio and use CHICKEN LIVER!! It was the GO-TO method on that Lake and several others in Texas. We would tie a regular slip sinker rig with a small treble hook, glom some chicken liver on there, then wrap it with elastic from the inside of a golf ball!! The elastic kept the liver on the hook. We would anchor along the dam, throw out the liver and wait... WHAM!! WHAM!! WHAM!! We couldn't keep them off the hooks! The more you fished, the more it attracted them due to the Liver scent in the water.. We would have 100 fish days there.
Do you think that method might work at Union??? If nothing else you may pick up some Cats!
Tim
We would go to Lake Braunig just South of San Antonio and use CHICKEN LIVER!! It was the GO-TO method on that Lake and several others in Texas. We would tie a regular slip sinker rig with a small treble hook, glom some chicken liver on there, then wrap it with elastic from the inside of a golf ball!! The elastic kept the liver on the hook. We would anchor along the dam, throw out the liver and wait... WHAM!! WHAM!! WHAM!! We couldn't keep them off the hooks! The more you fished, the more it attracted them due to the Liver scent in the water.. We would have 100 fish days there.
Do you think that method might work at Union??? If nothing else you may pick up some Cats!
Tim
Im a ***** . The only spros I have ever seen was a topwater prop bait. Nice looking jig. i think you do not need to spend too much on these jigs. When I fish road runners it is moving so fast I think a fish would have a hard time noticing detail. The only reason I use these is becuase I like the extra flash of the blade and buy them bulk for about a 1.50.
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487 Posts
I have only caught two wipers in the four pound range, both at Aurora Reservoir. I caught both of them on a 1/4 ounce silver/blue RaT L Trap. These lures cast far, attract in all water conditions, and can hit any depth effectively.
Wiper are good fighters, probably almost twice as hard as largemouth of the same size but they don't jump. Still they are great fighters and pull and stress tackle much like a pike, yet they last longer than pike. The only fish that fights harder is a large rainbow in cold, swift current. I wish we had more over here.
Wiper are good fighters, probably almost twice as hard as largemouth of the same size but they don't jump. Still they are great fighters and pull and stress tackle much like a pike, yet they last longer than pike. The only fish that fights harder is a large rainbow in cold, swift current. I wish we had more over here.
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1,560 Posts
My go-to lure for wipers is a silver Kastmaster that matches the size of the baitfish the wipers are feeding on, especially when they are boiling on the surface. Other favorites include frog pattern Krocodile spoons, 3" white Yamamoto grubs, and rainbow trout pattern jerkbaits (especially right after the DOW has stocked fingerlings).
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Jointed Lures (all types)
or
Rattal n' Rapalas
or
Rattal n' Rapalas
Rat-L-Traps, Rattlin' Rapalas, and similar lipless cranks. I also love to fly fish for wipers, using either a deciever or Clouser minnow in Chartreuse, Gray, Black, or Brown, on white (smaller sizes seem to work better, even for huge wipers). This works especially well if you happen across wipers busting baitfish on the surface and you can manage to get in or over the boiling baitfish, and strip the streamers through the school in long, fast strokes, with a short pause between. When a good wiper hits a streamer stripped that fast, you KNOW it.
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