We had a long drawn out warm spell that lasted all the way into early October. People were still swimming and tubing in northern Michigan - activities that most years are only for people who love polar plunges. Because water temps stayed warm so long, fish activity waned a bit this fall and that’s where the leech and slip bobber shine.

Now it was almost impossible to find leeches, but I managed to buy and use two pounds of leeches (you read that correctly - 2 pounds). Everything loves a leech and the leech shines when fish are a bit on the fussy side. Leeches and bobbers are also awesome tools when you are taking kids out or clients who are newer to fishing. I had a chance to show case the Douglas XMatrix 9’6”ML and the LRS 9’6” ML spinning rod and they were fantastic.

The rod length helps with both the cast and the hook set. When you are using Livescope, you often have to bomb your float out away from the boat to where the fish are at. The long rod aids in a long cast. You also have to be able to set the hook, which for most of my clients I encourage them to just reel fast or do a sweep of the rod. These rods are amazing tools…

What bobberscoping is all about:

1. Locate fish with your Livescope.

2. Cast to those fish.

3. Watch fish come up and eat your leech and watch your bobber go down.

4. Sweep or reel fast and hook and land the fish.

5. Release the vast majority of fish (keep only enough for a meal).

i bought three of these rods and was so impressed that I plan to buy more.

3 keys to catching transition walleyes:

1. Leeches under a cork can be a serious option when summer transition wanes into fall.

2. Livescope is a serious part of the equation.

3. Douglas XMatrix and LRS 9’6” ML slip bobber rods are amazing tools for fishing slip bobbers.

Try these things and let me know how they work for you!