The suspended weight system comes in form of small, stick-on lead dots. Package instructions explain the method for applying the weight to make the lure sink while maintaining proper balance. Once the dots are in place, the idea, notes Markesbery, is to cast the lure a few feet past a likely looking spot and allow it to sink to the suspended depth before starting a slow, steady retrieve through the branches of standing timber. To add zest to the presentation, Markesbery often rips the lure several times during a retrieve to create an exciting additional effect. Kentucky anglers have long known that walleyes bite at night during summer months.
Fish emerge from timberline areas and forage along shoreline above and below the mouth of the cover.
To take advantage of this low-light movement, Markesbery uses his own Kentucky Spinner nightcrawler harness to finesse troll along the banks and just outside the edge of the standing timber very early and late in the day. Wilson has also learned that the peak spawning period for walleyes in Paintsville Lake is about April first. That's a month later than most believe the species spawns in Kentucky. He's also discovered that some fish move into headwater streams to spawn while others stay at home to lay their eggs. He believes, however, that more females move into upper portions of the lake during this period, and, along with some males, enter the Little Paint arm of the lake.