"These fish will hit a leech," said Courts as he grabbed a couple of rods set up with live-bait rigs. "We're just going to have to force-feed them."

Force-feeding for Courts was using a No. 8 hook on fluorocarbon line with 8 feet between the sinker and the hook.

"We're just gonna drift over the top of these walleyes and let that leech swim for all its worth," he commented. "This will trigger a bite." He was right.

Unlike typical live-bait rigging, Courts didn't want the 1/2-ounce weight on the bottom.

"This is what the fish condition to," said Courts. "They won't hit a bait that is following a sinker that's stirring up the bottom. With that long leader you can set the hook as soon as you feel the bite."

Courts explained that the wide gap between the weight and the bait is a trick that tournament anglers have been using for a while now to target pressured fish. The idea was pioneered by Terry McQuoid, a legendary Mille Lacs guide, and used by Ron Anlauf to win a PWT event on that same lake. Keeping the sinker off the bottom by fishing the rig vertically off the boat keeps the bottom from getting stirred up, so when you have the walleyes concentrated in a tight spot like we did, you can prolong the bite.

LAKE MARY
"Lake Mary has always been one of my favorite walleye lakes," said Courts, "but you are definitely talking about some pressured fish there."

Courts said this Douglas County lake has always been loaded with walleyes, but for some anglers who fished there often, they were questioning that statistic, because fishing for walleyes on the traditional spots during the daytime hours wasn't generating bites.

"The walleyes that are there have changed their habits and they bite at night," said Courts. "These fish also like those cabbage beds that rim the lake."

To cover both of these situations, Courts will set up a slow drift over the vegetation after the sun goes down and cast crankbaits.

"Lake Mary walleyes do show a preference for the shad-shaped crankbaits," said Courts. "I just keep them over the tops of the weeds, and if I slip off the edge of the vegetation I grab a rod that has a deeper diver on it and make a few casts parallel to that weedline. At night those walleyes are off the bottom and feeding, so you don't have to use a lure that brushes bottom. You need one that dives just deep enough to stay on top the weeds, or when you're on the edge, keep the lure a foot or two off the bottom."

LAKE WINNIBIGOSHISH
Big Winnibigoshish has become the darling of walleye anglers in the past few years because this lake has maintained a consistent walleye bite from opener through fall. The word spread fast, and those fish have taken on the personality of their cousins in Mille Lacs. They are getting a lot more finicky about what they will eat.

"On Winni, now I just change baits," said Courts. "Everyone else is using leeches and nightcrawlers, and I'm heading out with a livewell full of red-tailed chubs and rainbow shiners."

Courts said the best approach for Winni walleyes is the live-bait rig on the reefs and points that are spread all over the bottom of this big basin.

"I'm using fluorocarbon line and a No. 4 hook, and I make sure that minnow I'm sending down is lively and swimming hard. When that minnow gets tired, I'm replacing it with one that's fresh."

Courts stresses that when using a live-bait rig with a small hook you must use a rod with a softer tip and have the drag set perfectly on the reel.