Worms or Leeches ?
Ask any fisherman that targets walleye and he will mention that "you can't catch them if you can't find them." Despite the body of water where you usually target walleyes go where their menu is being served. The walleye are near the top of the food chain, so find their favorite meal and you will find them. How many different ways can you think of to put a walleye on your hook?
LEECHES AND NIGHTCRAWLERS
Leeches and nightcrawlers are favourite foods of the walleye because they are natural offerings in most waters and walleye are accustomed to feeding on them.
When presented properly they are irresistible. A stretched out, wiggling leech bouncing along just over the bottom of a gravel bar or weed bed, will make even the most reluctant walleye take a second look, turn around and zero in on target, mouth open and taste buds tingling.
Hook the sucker end of the leech to the first hook of a spinner rig and place the tail section on the last hook. Place it in the water and pull it at the same speed you are going to troll or retrieve at and look for the size, movement and or roll of the leech. It should run straight ( not roll up into a nondescript little ball; this does not attract walleye). When you have the leech trailing the way you want it is time to add a few light splitshot to get it down to the desired depth. By placing the splitshot about eighteen inches to two feet in front of the hook you should be within six inches of bottom with the leech as you troll or retrieve, and you wont have to run a whole lot of line out behind the boat.
Nightcrawlers are attached to your spinner rigs in the same way. Again, make sure they are stretched out along the rig so they trail out on the retrieve. Choose the largest and fattest worms available.
COLOUR
The spinner rig can be purchased at a local tackle shop and comes in many variations of size and colours.
A simple rule to remember when faced with colour choices is: bright days + clear water=silver spinner.
Darker water or cloudy days try a fluorescent or gold spinner.
The beads most often used are red with white, or yellow; try mixing the colours until you come up with the pattern that works best for you.
SPEED.
Try trolling or retrieving the leech at a fairly fast pace at first to take advantage of more aggressive fish. A rate of about half again the normal trolling speed usually works well. Keep track of where the fish are hitting and come back over these same spots again but a little slower this time to take advantage of the less aggressive fish. Remember that it is not always the larger fish that are most aggressive and by fishing back you can add considerably to your creel.
CASTING
Having reached the place you are going to fish, maybe a shoal or weed bed that you have had some luck on before, try fan casting. Start at a right angle to where you are standing facing the water. Throw the first cast to the right and keep working to the left until you have gone in a complete arch to the other end. This will allow you to cover every bit of the water facing you. Now move down until you are at the edge of the spot you covered last and start the same procedure over again. When you have worked your way to the end of the area that you wanted to fish, you will have covered the area correctly.
River mouths are a good place to practice this pattern of casting, especially early season as the walleye are quite often in this area looking for small, early baitfish or crustaceans. By fan casting you can cover this entire area of water.
The above methods have consistently proven to be successful for opening season walleye. So head for your nearest live bait shop and have fun.
A jig and a minnow...what about minnows?
When jigging, use whatever size jig it takes to get straight down to the bottom. Use as little a jig as possible because these soft mouthed walleye will usually hit the offering on the drop.
The best jigging presentation in deep water is to drop the jig about two to three feet at a time until you hit bottom. Once your jig hits the bottom raise the tip of your pole using a popping movement. While the jig is moving upward raise the tip of the pole so you take up the slack in the line. Let the jig settle back on the bottom for about ten seconds. Now hop and pop the jig each time letting it set on the bottom for about ten seconds. Repeat this presentation until you get a strike and then continue this presentation. With your spinning outfit you can add or subtract weight as you wish. Also you can make the distance between your split shot and hook be at a different distance apart. This is your choice. A jig tipped with bait and no split shot or a jig with a split shot added.
Let's talk live minnows for ol' Walleyes. Many of you have probably fished for these beauties using live minnows and found that they didn't stay on the hook for long or died fairly quickly. Let's see if we can fix these problems.
SHARP HOOKS
You want first of all to make sure the hooks that you are using are not too large for the minnow, and secondly, that they are sharp. A small hone or sometimes a good nail file will touch up the points on hooks enough to penetrate a minnow or a walleyes mouth without a problem. Placing the hook against the top of a fingernail will tell you if it is sharp. If it seems to stick to the nail under its own weight, then the hook is sharp. Hook sizes 2/0 3/0 and 4/0 are my choices.
SPINNER RIG, single hook.
Spinner rigs can be used for live minnow presentation if you hook the minnow through the top of the mouth ahead of the eyes. This allows the minnow to look natural in the water and still get oxygen through the gills. When trolled or retrieved it will not be as apt to pull off the hook. Being in a natural position in the water the walleye have a better chance of taking it as part of its feed. I make my own rigs for this type of fishing, use only one hook on the rig and experiment with different coloured beads. A #5 blade is my choice to start with and if it works well, I leave it, otherwise go to a bit larger blade. I will often use a white and red bead arrangement for this presentation but I will put a different colour bead at the hook, usually yellow or green.
This seems to entice the walleye a little more and usually results in a good hook set. If the area you are fishing supports a good concentration of walleye, then try using a simple rig consisting of a small bell sinker on bottom ¼ or 3/8 oz; and two hooks set about eight inches apart on the line. Place the first hook within two inches of bottom and the second about eight inches above the first. Tip both with a medium size live minnow hooked either through the tail or top of the mouth. Keep a snug line or use a float, but keep in mind that walleye will usually bite softly. A small amount of movement on the float or rod tip is your cue to set the hook. Do this by dropping the rod tip slightly and waiting for one more little tug on the line, then set the hook. This method will allow you to fish productively from shore, and also works well from a boat while sitting over a hole inhabited by walleye. Also, you can practice a slow retrieve to cover just a bit more water.
Another productive method is to use only one hook and a live minnow, with a small sinker about one foot above the hook, allowing the minnow to float up, just off bottom. This is my favorite for just plain lazy cast and retrieve. Dont try to get too much distance on the cast as you will tear the minnow off the hook with the fast flicking motion of the rod. A slow retrieve works best and I think that the minnow brings a lot of curious walleye to the bait.
Slow down and enjoy.
Not everybody enjoys the hectic pace of covering an entire lake or river at fast speed looking for constant action and throwing hooks at the rate of lightning flashes. I prefer on occasion, to slow down, relax and thoroughly enjoy the time I have to fish. If I land one fish every half-hour, that's great! No longer is it a contest, but a good time, and a most enjoyable one at that.
The best jigging presentation in deep water is to drop the jig about two to three feet at a time until you hit bottom. Once your jig hits the bottom raise the tip of your pole using a popping movement. While the jig is moving upward raise the tip of the pole so you take up the slack in the line. Let the jig settle back on the bottom for about ten seconds. Now hop and pop the jig each time letting it set on the bottom for about ten seconds. Repeat this presentation until you get a strike and then continue this presentation. With your spinning outfit you can add or subtract weight as you wish. Also you can make the distance between your split shot and hook be at a different distance apart. This is your choice. A jig tipped with bait and no split shot or a jig with a split shot added.
Let's talk live minnows for ol' Walleyes. Many of you have probably fished for these beauties using live minnows and found that they didn't stay on the hook for long or died fairly quickly. Let's see if we can fix these problems.
SHARP HOOKS
You want first of all to make sure the hooks that you are using are not too large for the minnow, and secondly, that they are sharp. A small hone or sometimes a good nail file will touch up the points on hooks enough to penetrate a minnow or a walleyes mouth without a problem. Placing the hook against the top of a fingernail will tell you if it is sharp. If it seems to stick to the nail under its own weight, then the hook is sharp. Hook sizes 2/0 3/0 and 4/0 are my choices.
SPINNER RIG, single hook.
Spinner rigs can be used for live minnow presentation if you hook the minnow through the top of the mouth ahead of the eyes. This allows the minnow to look natural in the water and still get oxygen through the gills. When trolled or retrieved it will not be as apt to pull off the hook. Being in a natural position in the water the walleye have a better chance of taking it as part of its feed. I make my own rigs for this type of fishing, use only one hook on the rig and experiment with different coloured beads. A #5 blade is my choice to start with and if it works well, I leave it, otherwise go to a bit larger blade. I will often use a white and red bead arrangement for this presentation but I will put a different colour bead at the hook, usually yellow or green.
This seems to entice the walleye a little more and usually results in a good hook set. If the area you are fishing supports a good concentration of walleye, then try using a simple rig consisting of a small bell sinker on bottom ¼ or 3/8 oz; and two hooks set about eight inches apart on the line. Place the first hook within two inches of bottom and the second about eight inches above the first. Tip both with a medium size live minnow hooked either through the tail or top of the mouth. Keep a snug line or use a float, but keep in mind that walleye will usually bite softly. A small amount of movement on the float or rod tip is your cue to set the hook. Do this by dropping the rod tip slightly and waiting for one more little tug on the line, then set the hook. This method will allow you to fish productively from shore, and also works well from a boat while sitting over a hole inhabited by walleye. Also, you can practice a slow retrieve to cover just a bit more water.
Another productive method is to use only one hook and a live minnow, with a small sinker about one foot above the hook, allowing the minnow to float up, just off bottom. This is my favorite for just plain lazy cast and retrieve. Dont try to get too much distance on the cast as you will tear the minnow off the hook with the fast flicking motion of the rod. A slow retrieve works best and I think that the minnow brings a lot of curious walleye to the bait.
Slow down and enjoy.
Not everybody enjoys the hectic pace of covering an entire lake or river at fast speed looking for constant action and throwing hooks at the rate of lightning flashes. I prefer on occasion, to slow down, relax and thoroughly enjoy the time I have to fish. If I land one fish every half-hour, that's great! No longer is it a contest, but a good time, and a most enjoyable one at that.
