By Captain Jake Romanack
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| One of the youngest professional fishermen in the Great Lakes region, follow Captain Jake’s fishing adventures on Facebook atfacebook.com/jake.romanack |
In my book there
are two “T’s” that sum up the important aspects of spinner fishing for walleye.
The
first “T” stands for Tadpole because the OR36 Tadpole Resettable Diving
Weight is the ultimate diving device for fishing walleye spinner rigs.
What sets the
Tadpole apart from in-line weights and other diving devices is the simplicity
in which these divers function. There are no trip arms or adjustable screws to
mess with. The only moving part on a Tadpole is the coast lock snap that
attaches to the terminal end of your fishing line and slides up and down on the
tow arm of the diver. When the Tadpole is dropped into the water the snap
slides to the elbow of the tow arm and the Tadpole dives much like a crankbait.
The depth of the
Tadpole is controlled by controlling the lead length. The exact diving depths
of the Tadpole Divers can be purchased for a nominal price by visiting www.precisiontrollingdata.com. When a fish strikes and is
hooked, the snap slides to the forward position and the Tadpole no longer dives
and rises to the surface making it easier to fight hooked fish.
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| Captain Jake Romanack is Michigan’s youngest member of the Off Shore Tackle pro team. Trolling spinner rigs for walleye using Tadpole Divers and OR12 Side-Planer Boards with Tattle Flags is his favorite way to fish. |
Tadpole Divers
come in four different sizes, but for walleye spinner fishing my favorite is
the No. 1.
This one ounce weight dives nearly twice as deep as a one ounce keel
sinker on the same lead lengths. The extra diving depth of the Tadpole allows
me to reach target fish using shorter lead lengths, which in turn works to generate
better hook up ratios. Even better, the Tadpole has diving resistance in the
water so when a walleye strikes the trailing spinner rig, the hook is firmly
set even before the rod comes out of the holder.
The second “T”
stands for Tattle Flags because any time I’m fishing Tadpole Divers I’m also
fishing OR12 Side-Planer boards equipped with a OR12TF Tattle Flag kit. These
spring loaded flag kits are designed to allow the flag to tip down when a fish
is hooked making it much easier to detect bites.
The spring
tension on the Tattle Flag is adjustable making them sensitive enough to
telegraph not only walleye bites, but also when non-target species like white
perch, sheepshead and white bass are inadvertently hooked.
Tattle Flags are
critical to spinner fishing success because this presentation is practiced at
slow trolling speeds, the Tattle Flag virtually guarantees every fish that
bites will be detected immediately.
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| Captain Jake caught this typical walleye on a Tadpole Diver fished suspended in the water column. In the spring spinner rigs are the “go to” method of catching walleye on Saginaw Bay, Lake Erie, Green Bay and other places where these fish suspend in the water column. |
Combining the
Tadpole Diver with the the OR12 Side-Planer and a Tattle Flag kit allows me to
target walleye at any depth and spread my lines out to cover the maximum amount
of water. This simple set up has become my “go to” walleye fishing system when
fishing Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay or anyplace that walleye tend to suspend in the
water column.
For more
information on spinner fishing with Tadpoles check out the Kindle E-BookSpinner Fishing Secrets by Mark Romanack available at Amazon for just $6.99.
Editor’s Note: Captain Jake Romanack is the youngest member of
the Off Shore Tackle pro staff and one of the rising stars in professional
fishing.
