General Tactics for July

Hi Folks: Long time no post. Got me a new boat (Starcraft 170 w/90HP). It's not too big, so I know my range and conditions will be limited. I'm real familiar with the Wildwings/Bessie area and reef complex from past years. However, I've only fished the jig bite. How would you go about getting at the walleye in early/mid July. Would you still be long lining cranks and/or pulling harnesses? Or, will I need dipsy's or something different? Amassing new tackle is not so much of a problem, as I work for Bass Pro. Home base will be a western suburb of Cleveland (Westlake). I can go east or west. Suggestions? Thanks,
Stlouisloui

if u fish davis besse area..trolling inlines weights with ..worm harnesses ...spoons ...with jets or dipsies ...crake creek area and north and west of west sister..speeds 1.5 or so for worms ...2.0 for spoons....willow blade spinners can handle faster speeds ...if u want to go faster with worms....july the best place to be is ashtabula tho

if you go west you can flat line cranks or use weights to get harnesses down to the fish. fish the island areas. a good place to start is west and north of west sister. but in early to mid july the fish might be right in your back door. if not try Geneva. if you run inline boards you can use 3 oz inline weights, I like the ones from rednekoutfitters.com and they have a dive chart to get you started. or you can use divers to get your lures down. dipsy, walker, or lite bite slide divers will get your lures down to the fish. I started with dipsy's then switched to walker because they don't need rings, then I switched to the lite bite diver and never looked back.

There's lots of fish to be had up shallow that time of year. There's a very good bite off of crane creek that typically starts in late June. You'll find fish in anywhere from 12 to 19' of water. Ripsticks, hot n tots, shad raps and spoons behind small dypsys or jets are typically my most productive baits. Actually crane creek isn't the only place that has a shallow water summertime bite. You can actually find them anywhere from the Marblehead lighthouse on eastward clear over to Cleveland. July is my favorite time of year for walleye fishing. The weather is generally stable, and I don't have to make any long runs to find the fish.