Wiggle Warts

I was cleaning the boat and going through my gear when I found an old box of baits. Back in the 70's my father and his friends frequently limited out (then the limit was 10 per person I believe) trolling long lines with wiggle warts. I haven't used one for years always trying the "latest and greatest" and doing well trolling.
Does anyone still use wiggle warts? I have many "new in the box" baits my father left me but never thought to try them.
I thought I would give them a try this year in memory of the fun times I was able to share with my father on Lake Erie long lining walleyes.

Yes they work good. Thats all 1 of buddys uses to troll

Any colors that produce better than the others? These are mostly silver and gold colored and a couple of different sizes

many years on the western basin we only used storm lures. hot n tots wiggle warts flat warts rattle warts wee warts and we caught a ton of fish on all of them. there was some days we wouldnt be doing so good and stick some of the wee warts on and bam we were catching fish. they work good when the fish are up high. but the wiggle warts work best at mid ranges. then the hot n tots seemed to work better for deeper fish.
sherman

Thats Great news, how far back should they be running?? It was so long ago that we used them I don't remember what my father did.
I appreciate the help and I will keep you posted on my success in late April and May

If you have the Precision Trolling book it gives you all the dive curves for Hot-N-Tots and Wiggle Warts. I've used them for years and still do. They can be a real producer when nothing else seems to work. Golds,silvers and most colors seem to work plus the perch and crayfish colors. Wiggle warts are my favorite as they seem to track better. Good luck fishing with them.

The depth you run them will depend on the depth of the fish.

If the fish are suspended you will want to run them just above them as Walleye feed upward. (You will see them on your sonar attacking bait fish from below) If you cannot see the fish, but can see the balls of bait they are feeding on, run the baits around the same depth as the bait.


I think this should be pretty close with 10lb mono.

They are listed in my old Precision trolling book.

You will need a line counter to be precise.

3/4 Magnum Wiggle Wart

Depth Feet Back
6’ 19
8’ 22
10’ 30
14’ 48
18’ 92
20’ 114
22’ 136
24’ 168
26’ 220

My best day-in day-out hot-n-tot from 80's is AH545 light solid gold with red eyes.Have one left, seen one on E-Bay small size $20 cannot find this rare color anywhere!Sunlight reflects(light gold color) off top metal bill long distance almost like sword effect.8lb fireline 300ft straight back.

Gosh. Haven't seen a Wiggle Wart in a long time. I have a scad of Wiggle O's but they only get down 12-15 ft. They do catch fish. Especially the Chrome & Blue. Need to start stopping at estate sales for old time fishing supplies. Maybe even find a Gold or Siver Nugget. ;-)

Thank you so much for all of the replys. I have probably a dozen WW's that my Dad left me I think I saw a Blue n Chromr big one. I know he caught pike on it never considered Walleye.

I'l post my sucess stories come May when i can hit the lake

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Originally Posted by Just One More

Thats Great news, how far back should they be running?? It was so long ago that we used them I don't remember what my father did.
I appreciate the help and I will keep you posted on my success in late April and May

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when we used the wiggle warts so much on the western basin we didnt have line counter reels. we just let them out somewhere between 100 and 200 ft and trolled them. if we wasnt catching anything we would just try moving them in or out another 50 ft. i have caught fish with them out probably 200 to 250 ft behind the boat.

using line counters would really be a big plus. that way if you start catching fish you can repeat the same amount of line out. but i have always fished erie on a tight budjet. when i moved to the central basin i had to upgrade to line counter reels. and i started using downriggers on lake michigan back in 77. and i started with home made, then moved up to the factory made ones. i used manual riggers untill about 3 yrs ago. then i bought my first electrics. it was just getting to hard to crank the 13 lb weights i use with the manual riggers.

and yes i used downriggers on the western basin and caught tons of fish trolling harnesses on them. and i still use 2 riggers on the central basin. its a great way to get 2 more lines in the water. and i,ve fished the harnesses in tight at times. as close as 7' or 8' from the ball.
sherman

I have used wiggle warts probably since they were first introduced, not trolled but cast in water 20 ft and under. I have caught countless eyes on a slow retrieve in shallow water around the islands. Don't forget to try them on the reefs They are magic in the evening and slow and shallow. I still have 5 or 6 of each color made. Never used the magnum much just the standard. One of my favorites is a little silver scale pattern Flat Wart. One word of caution if you get these out and use them make sure to protect them from prolonged direct sunlight especially if they are laying in a clear box and closed up. They will heat up and split down the back.