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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | This was going to be the whole long drawn out story, about how I recently (through necessity) discovered using this old Salmon/Steelhead River technique with some pretty good success on the open waters for walleyes. But after reading the two long drawn out paragraphs setting this whole thing up, I realized who cares how I came about using it? What's the technique and how did I use it is the question? I hope it also shows my devotion to sharing all new fish catching info, even info that I myself discover.
Firstly, what is Hot Shot'N? It originally started with the technique called Drop Back fishing. This whole technique first started on the West Coast Rivers and Streams for Salmon and Steelhead, by guys fishing out of Dory Style Drift Boats. A small salmon or steelhead egg sac was simply walked back into fish holding holes below a split shot or slinky dropper, as the boat itself was allowed (via oar power) to slowly slip downstream in the current. The next step came when Buzz Ramsey, a famous West Coast River fisherman and Lur Jenson Lures Rep, started replacing the lead weights with the popular Lur Jenson Hot Shot lure to get the egg offering down into the hole. This technique involved simply removing the belly hook on the Hot Shot, and then attaching the leaderline from the egg sac to the belly hooks O-ring. Having something that both dove on a tight line and floated when allowed to go slack, gave the user the ultimate control and fewer snags in these often logged choked rivers.
By the early 80's (when I bought what was only the third Drift Boat known to be in our State) the method/technique of simply using just the Crankbait started out being know as Hot Shot'N. It soon became Pulling Plugs or simply Drift Boating, as everybody soon knew what technique was involved and how it was appiled. There are of course other similar means and equipment by which we get fish catching offerings down in the water column by the same principals. Dipsey Divers and Jet Divers accomplish virtually the same thing with spoons or any non-diving offering you wish to get down. But the Hot Shot'N technique, rather done with the original Hot Shot or any (billed) diving Crankbait used in place of it, has a charm and attraction all it's own. You do loose the side to side kick of many Crankbaits tied off at the belly hook. But most still retain some kind of pulsing motion even when stifled in this fashion. In fact, I've caught a few fish hitting the Crankbait versus the offering behind it, while getting caught on/with the remaining rear hook.
Well, I may have seriously taken the long route to tell you that I recently caught some nice walleyes using this technique out of Oscoda, on Lake Huron. I went by myself after a friend told me he caught 9 kings and 5 walleyes into the 9 pound range, all on spoons in the short 5 1/2 hours he fished. I had planned on using my small portable downriggers off my smaller 18' boat to fish in the 22 to 30 FOW he caught these fish in. But when I got out on the lake, I realized I had left both downrigger balls at home on the work bench. "This (Brain Fart) happens a lot more after you turn 50". Not having any of my keel sinkers or any other weight-forward tackle with me in my small boat, I had to jury-rig something to get the spoons down. I thought of rigging the spoons as sliders (above some of the cranks I actually did bring) as I do for walleyes on the Saginaw Bay. But if I hooked into a big king salmon, the stresses and cutting dynamics on 12# test where the barrel swivel was tied in, wasn't worth the risk. So the Hot Shot'N idea popped into my head.
On the first rig I used a very unlikely Crankbait choice I had brought along. The Fried Chicken colored (full size) Reef Runner I/we had caught virtually all of the big walleyes on last November at Huron Ohio. With the spoons leader attached to the lures front O-ring, I let it down into the water. It still wiggled and swam pretty good, and seemed to run almost like nothing was attached to it at all, as I let it drop back out of view. The spoon was a Stinger Jr., (silver/blue/pink stripe) and I figured about 35 to 40 back (figuring in the spoons tow factor) would get it down in that 17 foot range where my bud had caught all his fish. The second rig would be almost as new to me, as my bud had told me that the spoon with red hooks had taken almost all the walleyes he caught the few days before. So I attached one of the new Ruby Red Nitro Shiner by Dave's Lures as the second Hot Shot'N diver.
At first I was afraid of using the Inline boards to get the offerings away from the boat. Again, I thought any good size salmon might stress out the whole deal and break me off quick. But I decided to run at least one for tangle-free sake. As I was letting it out, my free line rods drag started to scream. I locked in the spool on the inline rod in my hand, slammed it into the rod holder and grabbed the other rod. I turned off the outboard and kicked on my Minkota Auto pilot that I had already had down and ready, as the fish took some line on my loose drag setting. A spunky 4 pound walleye had taken the spoon behind the Reef Runner. I soon netted the fish and was deep into concentration trying to get the lures back hooks out of the boats carpet, when the inline board suddenly shot back and almost submerged. Number two was a bigger fish and I thought it just might be a salmon, nope a nice 8 pound walleye, and he had hit the Ruby in front of the spoon. By the time I got all this mess straightened out, I was in less than 20 FOW and around the few other boats doing the same thing. Fishing by yourself (especially in this fashion) is not all it's cranked up to be. Make a long story short, I boated 2 more fish. One small King (about 6 pounds) and another walleye before I called it quits around 9:45pm. This was the first test by me (quit by accident) of the Hot Shot'N rig on open water. But it won't be the last.
P.S. Seems this post got long winded after all huh? Also sorry for not having any pictures like I usually do. But I swore after ruining a previous digital camera when I took it on another solo trip, I'd never take my next (even more expensive one) under the same circumstances.
Edited by walleye express 9/24/2004 3:43 PM
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Member
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Location: Northern Illinois | Walleye Express don't be hard on yourself. When you get to be 51, the brain farts really set in. Heck, by the time I got to the end of your neat story, I forgot the beginning of it! And I enjoyed reading it. WM | |
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Actually, Mike.
I'm 52. But got a kick out of your response.  | |
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Location: Midland, MI 48642 | Thats funny because I honestly did the samething Walleye Mike did! But hey, I am 55 so I am covered right. Guess I will go back and start over. lol Skeeter | |
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Member
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| Great story Dan! Reading it reminded me of another fish story I read.......
MOBY DICK!!.....all 300+ pages of it. 
Seriously my friend, its always good to read about your experiences. | |
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Member
Posts: 2680
Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Hey, you guys.
It's been two weeks since I last got out to fish and I have to squeeze every precious moment out of every trip now, until I either hit Huron for some monsters or the river bite gets started again.
Edited by walleye express 9/24/2004 10:18 PM
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Member
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Location: Milw, WI | Good job on the scamble thinking.
You pulled one out of the trick bag again. | |
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Member
Posts: 2680
Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Richfish - 9/27/2004 10:11 AM
Good job on the scamble thinking.
Oh, ya.
You must be refering to my Auto Pilot being at the ready. That's one solo trick you'll learn fast when you have a center counsol and a Jet Drive outboard. I guess even when using a regular outboard it's not a bad idea. But in a Jet, the motor always wants to trun hard to the left when you let go of the wheel. I knew I wasn't going to troll faster than 2.5, so I dropped down the Auto Pilot and kept it at the ready. Edited by walleye express 9/27/2004 5:55 PM
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Hot Shot'N for Walleyes?