Thanks to the help of a stinger hook, Andy Vetula was able to land this walleye.

During the past 35 years, I've been fortunate enough to spend my fair share of time on the water. Maybe more than I should have, if there is such a thing.

Despite that experience, I know there's so much more to learn, especially from veteran anglers who have been doing it even longer that I have.

Take by buddy, Andy Vetula as an example. Andy's a skilled jigger, and when he jigs for walleyes, he tips them with good-sized wild minnows he traps from a creek and he uses stinger hooks.

So it was no big surprise when the 23-inch river walleye I recently scooped for him was hooked on the stinger.

Stinger hooks, when used in concert with a leadhead jig, provide an efficient vehicle for short-biting walleyes, something known not only by seasoned walleye veterans like Andy, but by pro anglers and guides as well.

"I use a stinger hook when the fish tell me to," said Jon Thelen, a tested walleye pro and guide. "This means when I miss a couple of fish that leave me with half of minnow."

Matching the right stinger hook with a certain-sized minnow is a key to using them properly, Thelen said. He likes the stinger to stick the minnow around the dorsal fin.

"That way it is not impairing the action given off by the minnow's tail when I imply the jigging stroke," He said. "And most often a walleye's initial bite is at least as far up the minnow as the dorsal fin, putting the stinger hook in optimum position."

Thelen likes using a grub-bodied jig, feeling that the bulkier body jig provides a target that persuades the fish to hit farther up on the offering. He uses a 2-inch Lindy Stinger Snell for smaller minnows, such as fatheads, and the 3-inch Stinger Snell for larger minnows, such as rainbow chubs.

Legendary northwoods guide Tom Neustrom also knows the benefits of using stinger-hooked leadhead jigs.

"The only time that I will choose to use a stinger is usually with larger minnows, and especially when I get short stroked by walleyes and notice that the minnow has those tell-tale rake marks on it," Neustrom said.

Sometimes Tom makes his own stinger hooks, which he can tailor to the length of the minnow being fished. He also clips one tine of the treble hook, leaving only one exposed tine when the remaining one is embedded in the minnow. This, he says, minimizes picking up weeds and other debris. He also sets the hook faster when using a stinger hook.

Commercially produced stinger hooks come in a several versions, depending upon how they are affixed to the jighead.

Lindy's Stinger Snells, referred to earlier by Thelen, as well as Northland's Sting'r Hook Rig, have a rubber membrane over the loop. You rig it by piercing the film with the jig's point, then slide it down to the turn of the jig hook. The rubber helps keep the loop from sliding around.

When Neustrom opts for store-bought stingers, he uses one of Northland's products. The company's series of Fireball jigs are well suited for presenting livebait with a stinger hook.

While the short shank of the jig doesn't allow room for a plastic body, it is a perfect setup for running the jig hook down the minnow's mouth and out behind its head, a placement more likely to catch short-striking fish.

If walleyes are missing the main hook, Fireballs come prepackaged with stinger hooks that clip to a secondary eyelet found behind the main line tie.

Getting back to my friend Andy, I kid him that if you can buy it for $5, he'll make it for $10. He's really into tackle craft, which includes some nice bucktail jigs and stinger hooks that work well in conjunction with them.

Vetula ties his stingers on subtle 8-pound monofilament, using an improved clinch knot to attach the snell to a number 8 treble hook. He uses a figure-eight knot to form a fairly long loop on the end of the snell.

He engineers the snell to be the correct length, typically 3 to 4 inches, for the size of minnow being fished. He then uses a tapestry needle to slide a small piece of rubber (cut from a rubber band) over the end of the loop. The rubber acts as a snubber to keep the loop in place.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.