An astute individual once said, "if it isn't broken don't fix it". It could be argued that the ordinary nightcrawler harness is a nearly perfect fish catching machine. To calculate how many walleye have fallen victim to this simple and effective lure/live bait combination would require too much hard drive space to imagine.
Without question the garden variety nightcrawler harness is a fish catching machine. With respect it's safe to say that even the mighty crawler harness can be improved and taken to a whole new level of fish catching skills. Details are what make fishing presentations productive. The typical crawler harness is on the short side in length, tied using rather small bait holder style hooks, the blade features a metallic or painted surface, the clevice dates back to the stone ages and the line used to tie the harness is ordinary monofilament.
For sure there is room for improvement when making crawler harnesses for walleye fishing. How about we start at the business end, the hooks.
HARNESSING HOOKS
Hook technology in recent years has leaped light years ahead of the typical bait holder hooks most often used on a crawler harness. Not only are the hook designs better, the sharpness, durability and even colors are improved.
Most crawler harnesses feature a No. 6 sized hook. For serious walleye fishing a larger No. 4 should be standard equipment and when fishing for larger reservoir or Great Lakes walleye a size No. 2 is an even better choice.
Bigger hooks do a better job of hooking and holding walleye. Hook style is also important. Beak (they look like a salmon egg hook) hooks with a turned up eye for snelling are the ideal hooks for walleye harnesses.
For open water fishing applications substituting a No. 6 treble hook for the back hook is an excellent option. When crawler harnesses are trolled in open water, there is little fear of snagging since the lure is fished suspended in the water column. Also, treble hooks do a better job of not only sticking, but holding onto open water fish. Thirdly, the fish found in open water tend to be larger and more powerful, further suggesting that a treble hook is the answer.
Hook color is another hot topic these days. Brightly colored hooks are widely available and many anglers feel the extra touch of color improves fishing success. The sky is the limit on hook color options. Knock yourself out.
HOOK SPACING
Picking the right hook is a huge step towards refining the effectiveness of crawler harnesses. A second step revolves around hook spacing. Most crawler harnesses feature two or three hooks, with each spaced about 1.5 inches apart. This spacing may be standard, but it's far from efficient. Once the crawler gets wet and absorbs water, a typical nightcrawler can stretch out to six, eight or even 10 inches long. Unless the hook spacing is increased, there is going to be a lot of nightcrawler dangling free without a hook in it.
Increasing hook spacing to a span of five or six inches converts the ordinary crawler harness into a super efficient harness. The back hooks functions like a stinger, catching many fish that would have otherwise simply bit off the tail of the crawler and escaped.
LEADER MATERIAL
Ever hear of designed obsolescence? Sure, that's when something is designed to fail over time so it must be replaced. Most commercial crawler harnesses are a good example of designed obsolescence. They are tied using 10 pound test monofilament and after catching a few walleye, the line begins to get nicked and weakened. Soon the harness will break and normally this occurs right between the hooks where the walleye's teeth does the most damage to the line.
The worst case scenario is the line breaks and the fish gets away. The best case is the hook breaks off in the net and the harness is now useless.
Simply using heavier line is one option to making crawler harnesses more durable and functional. Bumping up to 12, 14 or even 17 pound test is a good option.
An even better option is to substitute fluorocarbon instead of monofilament line. Fluorocarbon is harder surfaced and resists nicks better than monofilament. Also, fluorocarbon is more invisible in water than monofilament. Because fluorocarbon is hard to see in the water, line diameter isn't an issue. Tying harnesses on 14 or 17 pound test fluorocarbon line produces rigs that last and last without sacrificing function.
While we're on the subject of leader material, it's important to discuss the overall length of harness. Historically crawler harnesses have been short, with few stretching to 36 inches. For most crawler harness fishing applications a leader of 48-60 inches is ideal.
CLEVICE TECHNOLOGY
The clevice is the device that holds the blade and allows it to rotate around the line. Shaped a little like a horseshoe, the blade fits in bend while the line passes through holes in either shaft. A variety of clevice types are available including metal models with the holes punched in them, metal models made by folding the material and plastic clevices.
Not all clevice types function equally and some offer the advantage of being able to quickly change blades. The clevice style with holes punched in it are precision pieces of equipment. This design allows even small blades to spin with the minimum amount of forward motion. For fishing very slow or with small blades, the hole punch style clevice is the best choice.
Unfortunately, this style of clevice is designed to be tied into a permanent harness. The only way to change blades is to cut and retie the harness, a process that takes time away from fishing.
Folded style metal clevices function similar to hole punch style clevices. Again, the line must be cut to change blade size or color.
For the money, the best clevices are the plastic versions designed to make it easy to change blades. The Quick Change brand clevice is undoubtedly the most popular and widely available in this category. This clevice slides on the line and has a clip that allows blades to be exchanged in seconds. There is never a need to cut the leader to change blades. Two sizes of Quick Change clevices are available to enable anglers the opportunity to fish small, medium or large blades. Slick.
BLADES A PLENTY
Blades designed for fishing on crawler harnesses come in just about every size, shape and finish imaginable. In past years the most popular models among walleye anglers were chrome finishes. A fancy blade was a hammered nickel model. Today, fancy doesn't begin to describe the wonderful finishes available on spinner blades.
The plating finishes include nickel, copper, brass, gold and silver, but this is just the start. In addition to these plating finishes, the color options and patterns available on blades is staggering. The same intricate color schemes used on Great Lakes trolling spoons are now available on blades and that's not all.
In addition to painted finishes, holographic prints are also turning heads. Holographic finishes have the unique ability to mix iridescent colors and shades that mimic the actual flash given off by live bait fish. To say that blade finishes have come light years is a serious understatement.
Besides finish, another important concern regarding blades is the size and shape. Produced in sizes ranging from O to 8, the most common blade sizes for walleye fishing include 3, 4 and 5. In some waters where walleye average larger in size, a 6 or 7 blade can be productive. On average, anglers are using larger blades for walleye fishing than was common a few years ago.
The shapes of blades is another issue to wrestle with. Blades designed for walleye fishing come in Colorado, Indiana, Willow, Chopper and Thumper shapes. Each of these blades produces a somewhat different vibration and flash pattern.
Without question the most popular shape is the Colorado blade. These blades have dominated the walleye scene for years because they spin at a slow rate of speed and produce lots of flash and vibration.
Indiana blades work well on walleye, but they must be pulled a little faster to get the desired rotation. Willow blades must be pulled even faster and are most often used for open water trolling situations found on the Great Lakes.
Chopper and Thumper blades are special purpose fishing tools. Both give off very unique vibrations that at times can be highly productive. Compared to Colorado blades, neither of these newer styles is used as widely. Still, experimenting with blade shape is one of the variables associated with fishing harnesses that can and does make a difference in fishing success.
A WORD ON BAIT
Obviously the crawler harness was designed to be used in combination with live nightcrawlers. The more healthy a crawler is, the better fish catching tool it becomes. Heat is the enemy of nightcrawlers. The key to keeping crawlers healthy is keeping them cool. Never let the temperature of the worm bedding exceed 50 degrees or drop below 40. Make sure not to over crowd crawlers in the storage container and keep the bedding moist, never wet. Take these simple steps and your worms will work overtime to catch walleye.
WEIGHT SYSTEMS
Pulling a crawler harness at a slow troll or drifting is how these lures come to life. To achieve the depth levels where walleye commonly live, some type of weight or diver system must be used in combination with the harness.
For fishing on or near the bottom, the popular bottom bouncer sinker is without question the top choice. Available in various weights, a one ounce model is ideal for fishing 10-15 feet of water. The two ounce size weights are perfect for fishing from 15-25 feet and a three ounce bottom bouncer works well in 25-40 feet of water. These three sizes of bottom bouncer weights will cover all the practical fishing applications a walleye guy is likely to encounter.
For targeting suspended or open water walleye, a different approach to weight systems is required. Two options work well for targeting suspended fish. The first is a sinker known as a Snap Weight. The Snap Weight is a weight attached to a pinch pad style line release. This weight system can be placed anywhere on the line and removed when the fish is reeled in and the Snap Weight nears the rod tip. By changing the weight size, Snap Weights can be used to target all the popular fishing depths.
The second weight system in popular use for fishing open water is the keel sinker. A keel sinker works best when rigged in-line about five or six feet in front of the blade.
Determining how deep various weight systems dive is based on both boat speed and weight size. This bit of information is critical to targeting specific depths when fishing open water walleye. Fortunately this depth diving data for Snap Weight and keel weights is published in the popular trolling guide Precision Trolling.
Diving planers are another option for presenting crawler harnesses to specific depths. For walleye fishing applications small disks like the Big Jon Mini Disk or floating divers like the Luhr Jensen Jet Diver are useful tools. Both these divers are featured in the Precision Trolling Big Water Edition, making it easy for anglers to target specific depths with confidence.
ADDING BOARDS
All the harness fishing presentations outlined above can be incorporated to include in-line planer boards. Using in-line boards makes sense for several reasons. The use of these trolling aids helps to spread out lines, cover more water and contact more fish. Boards also work to present lures away from the boat where fish aren't as likely to be spooked.
Also, in-line boards function as a strike indicator, helping anglers detect when the subtle bite of a walleye has occured. For a modest investment, in-line boards pay back double in fish caught.
SUMMING IT UP
It's hard to imagine a live bait fishing presentation that is more versatile or one that has taken more walleye than the crawler harness. It's almost as if blades and walleye were ment to be inseparable.
Without question the concept of fishing blades has come of age. Better blade finishes, improved clevice systems, more efficient leader materials, sharper hooks and more ways than ever to deploy harnesses await walleye anglers. The classic crawler harness has taken on a new face life and while it isn't broken even a classic can stand a little refinement.
machine. To calculate how many walleye have fallen victim to this simple and effective lure/live bait combination would require too much hard drive space to imagine.
Blades designed for fishing on crawler harnesses come in just about every size, shape and finish imaginable. In past years the most popular models among walleye anglers were chrome finishes. A fancy blade was a hammered nickel model. Today, fancy doesn't begin to describe the wonderful finishes available on spinner blades.