Tip-ups and walleye bait

[Chute82]

Never had any luck catching walleye on tip ups.  Last year I trapped a bunch of creek chubs and tried using them as bait but no luck.  The creek chubs work wonders on the walleye in the spring but just can't get them to hit in the winter.  Last season i set up a bunch of tip ups and jigged in another hole.  Ended up catching eyes jigging but no takes on the tip ups all day.  Iam about to give up on the tip ups but my buddies always talk me into bringing them and setting them. 

So here is my questions:
How far off bottom should I be setting the bait?  I usually keep it a foot off bottom

I have seen videos of people who have spin blades on their tip up lines,any one tried that?  Thought maybe the blades would add some attraction to the bait and maybe help catch me a fish.

[osiris]

I normally set up 1 ft off bottom with fathead minnows and a tiny blade for flash but sometimes shiners some days they want a plain hook, some days a jig head or a spoon sometimes a hook with a few beads and a tiny blade just have to feel them out that particular day and other days as u already know they wont touch it don't be afraid to adjust your depth periodically and vary all your lines until u figure out whats working 

[Whopper Stopper]

I agree, you have you feel them out. A foot to 18" is where I concentrate my bait. I have caught them on plain hooks, red hooks, jigs, and quick Strikes rigs.

Fat heads, shiners, suckers minnows and minnow heads, all on tip ups. Many times I had to change things up along the way to figure out what they wanted.

With all that said, I have always done the best with a jigging rod and a small rattling spoon of some type.

                             WS

[bowcarp]

not sure of the reg's in your area but my favorite under the tip-ups is using a crappie rig with fat heads , I just slide a glow bead over the hook to the eyelet to give it a little extra

[Chute82]

We can have three hooks per line, treble hook would count as one hook.  Iam going to add some beads and spin blade to one or two lines and see if that makes a difference.  Just weird I can be jigging 10 feet from one of my tip ups and catch fish but nothing all day on the tip ups.  I will try to set my bait at different depths. 

[SD Fisherman]

Keep trying different things. I will set mine anywhere from 6" to 3' off of the bottom. Try different color combinations of 1 or more beads. Just keep trying different variations of things until you find what works. Good luck!

[striperman]

Try clipping all the fins off one side of the live bait and clip the tail right to the meat but not cutting it.This will have the baitfish struggling to maintain its balance and can really trigger a strike.

[Chute82]

Well went out today...  Set the tip ups at different depths and nothing caught 2 walleye jigging a spoon and minnow head...  Better luck tomorrow

[Ramp 23]

I expierianced the same thing, in addition they would hit arctic warriors just as much as the jigging rod. So on my tip ups I went to 6 ft 6 lb test leader off a swivel from the dacron, started hitting then. I think they were seeing or feeling the heavy dacron tip up line.

[Ramp 23]

I do use blades, beads, plain , never really one consistantly better. I set 12" - 6" off bottom

[Chute82]

Finally after years of trying I caught my first walleye on a tip up.  It was a small fish 14 1/2 inchs long but it's a start.  Funny part I did not even know this lake had walleye in it was set up for catching jumbo perch.  Did catch a 14 1/2 inch perch on one tip up which was awesome. 

[legend]

in 32 feet of water here walleyes were suspended at 17 ft down, higher or lower bait did nothing...don't lock yourself into the" 1 foot off bottom" guys if you have no fishfinder.....try moving it up and down, you will catch more....kind of a shotgun way of finding them.

[Chute82]

I have a flasher and set my lines two feet off the bottom over weeds.  Lost a bunch of fish on the tip ups Iam just no good at setting the hooks.  Fishing around 16 ft of water.