Part 2

If you’re a serious walleye angler you’d better be learning all you can about the Cha Cha.

Nope, I’m not recommending that that you master South American dance rhythms.  What I am saying is that the Cha Cha walleye rig marketed by Mack’s Lure is flat out dynamite when it comes to putting walleyes in the boat.

In my last column I told you about a guy named Scott Lysford, of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.  If you read that column you’re aware Scott has been catching walleyes like most of us just dream about. 

Young Wilson Lysford wears a big smile as he displays this beautiful walleye he caught from his dad's favorite fishing spot.

As I pointed out, Scott won’t tell you exactly where’s he’s been fishing.  It’s someplace “Up North.”  But what he will tell you about is the technique he used last year to boat 14 walleyes of more than 9-pounds.  Seven of those fish topped 10-pounds and the largest of the bunch weighed 11-pounds, 4-ounces.

How does that compare with your own walleye fishing record for 2007?  And that’s why I said what I said in the beginning---that you’d darn well better be learning about the Cha Cha because that’s the lure he used to catch most of those fish.

“I started out using Mack’s Lure Wally Pops,” Scott says, “but I migrated to the Cha Cha in mid-summer.  Now I will not use another lure period.”

And here's the Mack's Lure Cha Cha walleye rig that has been catching all those dandy walleye for Minnesota's Scott Lysford and his friends.

Scott Lysford’s sentiments about the Cha Cha don’t come as a surprise to Bob Schmidt, the soft spoken gentleman who calls the shots at Mack’s Lure.  “The Cha Cha was one of the first products to utilize our now world famous Smile Blades,” Schmidt says.  “Be assured professional walleye anglers around the country know how effective Cha Chas can be.  Some of them have used these lures to put sizeable checks in the bank in tournament competition.”

The Cha Cha’s floating worm harness gets your bait down where it needs to be but keeps it doing a shimmy and shake that does credit to its name.  Schmidt will tell you he has heard from anglers all around the country who have used it with both fast and slow trolling speeds.

I made it a point to find out exactly how Scott Lysford fishes it. He slows way down.  “Most of the guys I take out with me who insist on using their own lures,” Lysford says, “usually complain that I’m not trolling fast enough.  It isn’t long before they are trading the remainder of their own lures for a hand full of Cha Cha rigs.”

Scott’s comments put another big smile on Bob Schmidt’s face.  Why?  Because that’s the way he usually fishes the lure himself.

“I always use our Cha Cha with a bottom walker,” Schmidt says, “and the classic wiggling action it provides for the bait is really something.  It’ll keep your nightcrawler just off the bottom and in a perfect position for a walleye to pick it up.”

The Mack’s Lure Cha Cha comes in eight different color combinations.  Here again Scott Lysford has a definite opinion on the one that works best.  “Color,” he says, “is very important.  I’m now always using the Cha Cha in the orange tiger color.  I fish it with a ½-ounce bottom bouncer in anywhere from 12 to 35-feet of water.  We catch most of our fish in the 10 to 14-foot range.”

Lysford does something else you might choose to try in your own search for walleyes.  “I rig a stinger treble hook,” he says, “to the back of the second hook of the Cha Cha.  I almost never lose a fish anymore.  Nightcrawlers are deadly when used with this lure and the bigger the 'crawler the better.”

You don’t have to talk to Scott Lysford long before you realize that here is a serious angler who puts a good bit of study and effort into his quest for walleyes.  He’s made it pay. 

Put Scott’s methods to work in your own angling.  You’ll probably wind up increasing your walleye catch without even having to find your own secret “Up North” walleye hot spot to get the job done.

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