If you’re a walleye fisherman and you don’t have a jig on your line, chances are good that you have a crawler harness on the terminal end. Crawler harnesses are a go-to bait for anglers who are looking to cover water and present baits at a variety of depths, particularly when walleye are occupying open water basins.
Crawler harnesses are a simple rig, composed of a hook(s), leader, beads, clevis and blade. You can buy harnesses that are commercially made or you can make your own. Making your own crawler harnesses represents some real cost-savings and allows you to customize bead and blade colors, leader length and hook arrangement.
Components for making crawler harnesses are available at your neighborhood sporting goods stores or on-line. You’ll find hooks, line, blades and clevises at your local Bass Pro Shop or Gander Mountain store. Craft stores have a multitude of bead sizes and colors and they are very inexpensive. Special holographic and pearlescent beads are available from certain manufacturers. Look for beads that are 4 mm to 6 mm in both metallic and solid colors.
Components for making crawler harnesses are available at your neighborhood sporting goods stores or on line. You’ll find hooks, line, blades and clevises at your local Bass Pro Shop or Gander Mountain.
Crawler harnesses, also known as spinners, have multiple hooks. Spinners used to fish leeches, minnows or scent-enhanced plastics normally have only one hook. The length of a fat, juicy crawler lends itself to a two- or three-hook harness. When fishing crawler harnesses, you’ll often find that the end of your crawler is bitten off. A second or third hook will catch some of those bait stealers.
Begin making your harness by choosing the monofilament you want to use. Generally, line from 10- to 20-pound test is best. Color choice is a matter of personal preference. I prefer a clear line. Fluorocarbon lines are a good choice because the line is slightly stiffer than standard monofilament and the refractory qualities of fluorocarbon make it invisible under water, at least in theory.
The length of a crawler harness is a matter of personal preference. Generally, a length of 3 to 5 feet is about right. I like to use a slightly longer harness if I’m using the harness behind a bottom bouncer. Length is really not an issue if you’re using the harness behind an in-line planer board because you’re using a long lead. Keep in mind that you can always make the leader shorter, but not longer unless you want to retie the whole rig.
Walleye guide Bill St. Peter with a walleye caught in open water on a crawler harness.
To tie a crawler harness you need to know how to snell a hook. There are many videos on YouTube showing how to snell a hook. Watch one of these and with a little practice you’ll be snelling hooks in no time. You can also find diagrams of how to snell a hook in just about any book on freshwater fishing.
Hooks for crawler harnesses are usually size 2 to 1/0 single, short-shanked, turned-up-eye models. You can use standard bronze hooks or colored hooks if you prefer. If you’re making harnesses for fishing big expanses of open water, like the Great Lakes, where weeds and other debris are not a problem, you can replace the single hooks with a like-size, or slightly smaller, treble hook. Leave from 2 to 3 inches of monofilament between hooks. When hooking the crawler, wait for the crawler to recoil and then run the first hook right through the end of the nose. Insert the second hook right behind the worm’s collar. Allow a bit of slack in the mono. Once in the water, the worm will stretch out and the monofilament will stretch with the worm.
Clevises are available in standard, flat, folded metal versions or plastic quick-change models that allow you to change blades without changing harnesses. The quick-change versions are good if you only have a few harnesses and want to experiment with blade colors and sizes and not change harnesses.
Blades for crawler harnesses can be Colorado, Indiana or Willow Leaf styles. Blades range from No. 3 to 7 in size. Smaller sizes are generally used on inland waters and the bigger blades are preferred in open water situations, like the Great Lakes.
Blades for crawler harnesses are Colorado, Indiana or Willow Leaf styles. They range from No. 3 to 7 in size. Smaller sizes are generally used on inland waters and the bigger blades work best in open water situations, like the Great Lakes. The most common sizes are 4, 5 and 6 and the most common blade is a Colorado. Willow Leaf blades are used mainly for big water and are trolled a little faster because they produce less drag. Colorado blades are round, Indiana blades are more oval and Willow Leaf blades are longer and more slender.
Blades come in painted, taped, metallic and holographic colors and finishes. The combination of sizes and colors can be mind-boggling. Some of the new holographic blades have stunning finishes and can really soup-up your harnesses. But more consideration should probably be given to the back of the blade rather than the front.
When making in-line spinners for steelhead and salmon fishing I always put the colored tape on the back of the blade. Why? Because the fish are going to approach the lure from behind and I wanted the fish to see the color; same with a crawler harness. On a recent fishing trip, I deployed an assortment of blade colors. I would have sworn that a chartreuse and green metallic blade would have been a killer choice for that day. That particular blade though had a silver back. Every walleye we caught that day was on a blade with a copper back, regardless of what color the front of the blade was. That’s why making your own crawler harnesses is rewarding. You can customize them and come up with creations that you can’t buy.
Blades come in painted, metallic and holographic colors. The combination of sizes and colors can be mind-boggling.
Some walleye pros and anglers claim that you need to match blade color to the local forage. Even in your wildest dreams there is no way that a crawler harness can look like a minnow! And a crawler harness cannot possibly look like something a walleye eats on a regular basis. But the flash of spinner blade combined with a juicy crawler must look like something good to eat to a walleye. It’s probably more about visibility.
Bead choice is a lot like blade choice; it’s a matter of personal preference. I like to try to match the beads to the color of the blade I’m using and alternate two complimentary colors. Generally, I put six beads on before the blade and two after. You can use fewer if you’d like and it’s a good idea if you’re making single-hooked versions.
Finish the harness by making an overhand loop and cutting off the tag. You can incorporate a barrel swivel into the harness or use a snap swivel when you attach the harness.
Some walleye pros and anglers claim that you need to match blade color to the local forage. Even in your wildest dreams there is no way that a crawler harness can look like a minnow!
Check out the manufacturers below for finished product and components. We’ll talk about different delivery options for crawler harnesses in a future blog. Tight lines!
http://www.wolverinetackleinc.com
http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com
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