![]() ![]() Thread the head of a crawler onto the Slow Death Hook just short of the snell, then stretch the rest of the worm and hook the trailing hook into the tail. Non-Threaded Rig: The second method involves a hook reversal, using the Slow Death hook as lead hook and the octopus bait hook as trailer. Contrast is good and I've had consistent success with white beads and dark Smile Blades. Use color combinations that work on the waters you fish. This combination of components offers a tasteful attraction, not a gaudy distraction. 8-inch Smile Blade most of the time, going to the 1.1-incher at times. ![]() Moreover, they add an unpredictable flip-flop wobble to the slowly spinning presentation that seems to indicate vulnerability. They spin whether you're barely moving or running several miles per hour. Smile Blades works with many presentations but truly excel here. Metal spinners subdue the action of the worm and also limit speed options. This rig works as is, but is vastly improved by adding color in the form of a-5mm bead directly above the lead hook and a moving attractor such as a Smile Blade from Mack's Lure. Believe me, this results from lots of experimentation. This spacing is important to stretch the crawler to full length, to rotate properly. Make sure both hook shanks lie in identical position on the line. Threaded Rig: For the threaded version, I snell a #4 Mustad Slow Death hook (any color), then a #6 premium octopus hook about 4 inches up from it. It provides not only a bit of distance behind the weight, but also lets the rig achieve its full potential, action-wise. As for leader length, 6 feet is a good starting point. You also need a line strong enough to avoid breakoffs from the big walleyes this rig attracts. The line should not impede the unique rolling action we've built into this leader. I've had a large spool of 8-pound Ande Backcountry for many years that has served me well. The Slow Death Hook itself is simply two kinks to an Aberdeen hook with a needle-nose and Voila, a near magical fish catching system anyone with a bottom bouncer can excel with.Īn important element to both is light, limber line. That's how the best innovations come about, ingenious yet mind blowingly uncomplicated. I soon realized that the Slow Death combined with farmer-style leaders might become the most versatile and deadly crawler system yet. This rig served me well for years and was relegated to occasional tough bite duty as I worked with other rigging options. I soon learned that by impaling the crawler just in front of the collar, the free section would twirl on its own. I downsized it, using limp 8-pound line and a #6 hook on the lead end and #4 or #2 on the trailing end. Man, did that rig catch fish, in all sorts of conditions. The farmers would grab some egg sinkers, snap swivels, a half dozen leaders wrapped on a piece of cardboard, a pail of crawlers plucked from the yard, and they were set. Its attraction to walleyes was undeniable. ![]() The threaded crawler and larger trailing hook gave the rig a distinct rolling action. I'm a tinkerer, always asking myself why something works and whether improvements can be made, particularly in regards to targeting larger walleyes. It's as ingenious and as efficient as it is simple, born on the windswept Missouri River reservoirs, the same waters where the bottom bouncer was conceived and perfected. The Slow Death method involves a purposely kinked Aberdeen hook that makes a half crawler spin seductively. This rigging system involves a bit of re-engineering and polishing to make it even more efficient and size-selective. But like the wheel, we continue to improve the basic concept. Like the wheel, nightcrawlers are still performing their fundamental function - catching fish. How about a Slow Death Hook and half a crawler. Or maybe you prefer nose-hooking a fat crawler behind a slipsinker and letting it dance across complex structure. What you've been doing with crawlers may be timeless and proven, maybe a spinner harness on a bottom bouncer or as part of a trolling spread. Crawlers and walleyes go together like cookies and milk, but crawler rigging a worm right isn't as intuitive as you might guess.
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