Walleye Tips
One of the biggest things is speed. Some times fast works, but I
wouldn't bet the farm on it. Slow and easy is more than likely the way
to go. There are always exceptions to the rule. For most of my
applications of trolling, a trolling motor works just fine. The only time I
really use the outboard for trolling is backtrolling and I do that against
the wind. I did put my cousin on one of his best walleye in his life by
trolling upstream of a fast flowing river and I was using the outboard
for that. In current, especially hard current, the outboard may be the
only way to go. I do use an outboard when trolling lures. There are
also times when a smaller outboard can be used to push a bigger boat
at the right speed. Nice to have a kicker on the bigger lakes.
Trolling speeds are generally between .7 and 1.2 mph for crawler
harnesses, around .3 for dragging jigs. Speeds for crankbaits will
depend on the crankbait, so you will want to make sure if you are
using lures that they will perform as designed at these speeds. You
may have to go faster for the lure to work correctly. You may have to
go with a different lure type if the walleye are not aggressive and going
after a certain lure that has to be run a little faster. If you are trolling
with jigs, especially smaller jigs, your best bet is to slow your troll
down even more. I would slow it down where .5 mph is the fastest
speed I would go with jigs. Most of the time I am just drift fishing
with jigs unless I have a specific area I need to hold in. Even the wind
can push you too fast, then socks can be deployed.
You also want to make sure your lure is getting to the bottom. At the
correct speed for the lure to work correctly, how much line do you
have to put out to make sure the lure is at the correct depth? If you
are not at the correct depth, you're just dragging a lure behind the
boat. Test the speed that the lure works best at by hanging it over
the side of the boat and see how it performs at that speed. Not all
lures will be able to be trolled at the same time.
If you are long-lining behind the boat you will have to be careful on
your turns. Bait walkers work well to shorten the length of line you
are running behind your boat. Another good way is to run a three
way rig with a dipsy sinker. Another version of the dipsy sinker rig is
to have just a plain mono dropper line with nothing on the bottom of
the line. Then just pinch on some split shot at the bottom of the
dropper line. The reason for doing this is in case you get hung up
when you pull back on your rod to try to get free of the snag, the split
shot will pull off the line.
Spring and Fall you can target walleyes in the shallows. In the fall you
will use bigger baits. In Summer, generally deeper water off of
breaklines and humps.
In the Spring you can slow troll or drift jig and minnow combinations.
You can also try jigging spoons for the walleye. Vary your colors until
you hit on the color that they want at that depth and that time of the
year. Float fishing for walleyes works extremely well in the spring.
If you are fishing from shore during a spawning run, 1/16 ounce
bucktail jigs tipped with minnows do the job. Generally the gray
colored (Gray Ghost) jigs work wonders at this time in the generally
fast moving turbulent water. Another color that we have had success
with has been a chartreuse curly tail.
Summer troll crawler harness or jig a leech in deeper water.
Traditionally you will troll until you pick up a walleye, then you will jig
that pod of fish to pick up some more. Over cast days or when the
water has the walleye chop going on, you can catch walleye all day
long.
Don't be afraid to go bigger than you think you need to go if trolling
or casting minnow type lures. This is especially true when fishing late
in the year, early in the year, and at night.
Orange is always a go to color in late Spring and through Summer.
Whether it is a crawler harness with orange beads and blades, or just
an orange colored jighead. Orange lures work very well too. The
orange peel Wally Diver, or the Rapala shad rap in Fire Tiger are very
effective.
One thing not to forget is walleyes like the weeds just like bass do.
Weedlines or a mid lake hump covered with weeds is a perfect place to
locate walleyes. In low light hours, jig the break away from the hump,
or troll around it. In the day time, jig on top of the hump in the
weeds. The hump still has to be right for the walleyes to be there.
Temperature, oxygen, deeper water nearby, and bottom type all play
into it. All humps are not created equal!
wouldn't bet the farm on it. Slow and easy is more than likely the way
to go. There are always exceptions to the rule. For most of my
applications of trolling, a trolling motor works just fine. The only time I
really use the outboard for trolling is backtrolling and I do that against
the wind. I did put my cousin on one of his best walleye in his life by
trolling upstream of a fast flowing river and I was using the outboard
for that. In current, especially hard current, the outboard may be the
only way to go. I do use an outboard when trolling lures. There are
also times when a smaller outboard can be used to push a bigger boat
at the right speed. Nice to have a kicker on the bigger lakes.
Trolling speeds are generally between .7 and 1.2 mph for crawler
harnesses, around .3 for dragging jigs. Speeds for crankbaits will
depend on the crankbait, so you will want to make sure if you are
using lures that they will perform as designed at these speeds. You
may have to go faster for the lure to work correctly. You may have to
go with a different lure type if the walleye are not aggressive and going
after a certain lure that has to be run a little faster. If you are trolling
with jigs, especially smaller jigs, your best bet is to slow your troll
down even more. I would slow it down where .5 mph is the fastest
speed I would go with jigs. Most of the time I am just drift fishing
with jigs unless I have a specific area I need to hold in. Even the wind
can push you too fast, then socks can be deployed.
You also want to make sure your lure is getting to the bottom. At the
correct speed for the lure to work correctly, how much line do you
have to put out to make sure the lure is at the correct depth? If you
are not at the correct depth, you're just dragging a lure behind the
boat. Test the speed that the lure works best at by hanging it over
the side of the boat and see how it performs at that speed. Not all
lures will be able to be trolled at the same time.
If you are long-lining behind the boat you will have to be careful on
your turns. Bait walkers work well to shorten the length of line you
are running behind your boat. Another good way is to run a three
way rig with a dipsy sinker. Another version of the dipsy sinker rig is
to have just a plain mono dropper line with nothing on the bottom of
the line. Then just pinch on some split shot at the bottom of the
dropper line. The reason for doing this is in case you get hung up
when you pull back on your rod to try to get free of the snag, the split
shot will pull off the line.
Spring and Fall you can target walleyes in the shallows. In the fall you
will use bigger baits. In Summer, generally deeper water off of
breaklines and humps.
In the Spring you can slow troll or drift jig and minnow combinations.
You can also try jigging spoons for the walleye. Vary your colors until
you hit on the color that they want at that depth and that time of the
year. Float fishing for walleyes works extremely well in the spring.
If you are fishing from shore during a spawning run, 1/16 ounce
bucktail jigs tipped with minnows do the job. Generally the gray
colored (Gray Ghost) jigs work wonders at this time in the generally
fast moving turbulent water. Another color that we have had success
with has been a chartreuse curly tail.
Summer troll crawler harness or jig a leech in deeper water.
Traditionally you will troll until you pick up a walleye, then you will jig
that pod of fish to pick up some more. Over cast days or when the
water has the walleye chop going on, you can catch walleye all day
long.
Don't be afraid to go bigger than you think you need to go if trolling
or casting minnow type lures. This is especially true when fishing late
in the year, early in the year, and at night.
Orange is always a go to color in late Spring and through Summer.
Whether it is a crawler harness with orange beads and blades, or just
an orange colored jighead. Orange lures work very well too. The
orange peel Wally Diver, or the Rapala shad rap in Fire Tiger are very
effective.
One thing not to forget is walleyes like the weeds just like bass do.
Weedlines or a mid lake hump covered with weeds is a perfect place to
locate walleyes. In low light hours, jig the break away from the hump,
or troll around it. In the day time, jig on top of the hump in the
weeds. The hump still has to be right for the walleyes to be there.
Temperature, oxygen, deeper water nearby, and bottom type all play
into it. All humps are not created equal!
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