We might earn income from the merchandise accessible on this web page and take part in affiliate applications. Study extra ›
Ask any walleye nut they usually’ll inform you there’s heaps to like about these common recreation fish—and a great deal of causes to learn to catch walleye. First, walleyes are broadly distributed throughout the nation, and the place they’re discovered, they’re typically present in superb numbers. After they’re biting, you may catch them on nearly something, but they’ll additionally check the perfect anglers. And, after all, walleyes are wonderful desk fare.
Okay, so there are a handful of haters who will level out that walleyes don’t combat like a 5-pound smallmouth or a 25-pound chinook salmon, however if you happen to hook into an 8-pound walleye, your blood strain goes to rise. And with the smaller ones, your abdomen would possibly very properly growl. Both method, it’s value studying not simply find out how to catch walleye, however find out how to catch a number of them and find out how to goal the largest fish. Right here’s find out how to get began.
Methods to Catch Walleyes: Desk of Contents
- The place to Discover Walleyes in Rivers and Lakes
- The Sort out You Have to Catch Walleye
- Prime Rods for Walleye Fishing
- Greatest Reels for Walleye Fishing
- Prime Line Choices for Walleye Fishing
- The Greatest Ways for Catching Walleye
- Greatest Baits, Lures, and Rigs for Catching Walleyes
The place to Discover Walleyes in Rivers and Lakes
The northern half of the U.S. is residence to the vast majority of the nation’s walleye inhabitants, from the St. Lawrence River west to the Columbia. However they’re discovered farther south, too. The most effective walleye lakes within the nation is Greers Ferry in north-central Arkansas. Among the easiest fisheries for constant walleye motion embody Lake Erie, Mille Lacs Lake, Sharpe and Oahe lakes on the Missouri, Fort Peck Reservoir, and the aforementioned Columbia River between Washington and Oregon.
Walleyes are discovered not solely in lakes, however in rivers and smaller tributaries, significantly within the Midwest and Higher Midwest. In terms of discovering walleyes on the lakes and river techniques you fish, you need to keep in mind these key concerns.
Walleyes Are Nomadic
Walleyes are wanderers, by no means staying in a single place very lengthy, at all times shifting to cooler water because the temperatures rise, and—most significantly—following their most well-liked meals, whether or not that’s alewives, shad, or pike minnows. Discover the meals; discover the fish.
Walleyes Want Construction
As a result of walleyes are ambush predators, they want some cowl round which to cover as they wait to assault their prey. In shifting water, walleyes use construction as a break from heavy present and as a funnel that sweeps prey into their strike zone. Which may be a wing dam, rock pile, curler dam apron, or a logjam. In lakes, walleyes gravitate to any change within the backside construction, resembling underwater humps, outdated creek channels, flooded roadbeds, and abrupt drop-offs.
Water Depth is Key
Typically talking, walleyes are going to be present in depths starting from 10 to 40 ft, although this relies tremendously on the general depth of the water physique. Spring spawning and cooler water focus walleyes in shallower water. With summer season warmth comes heat water temperatures, and the fish go deeper. Fall sees the return of cooler water and infrequently, however not at all times, a return to the shallows.
Electronics are Very important for Catching Walleyes
Trying to find walleye is as a lot part of walleye fishing as is the precise catching. So, having high quality depth-finders is essential. An excellent depth-finder won’t solely show water temperature and depth, however might help you pinpoint construction, bait, and even walleyes themselves.
The Sort out You Have to Catch Walleye
Walleye fishing deal with may be sophisticated, nevertheless it doesn’t should be. The frequent denominator no matter what rod, reel, and line mixture you set collectively, is really feel—or sensitivity. Walleyes will, at instances, hammer a bait or lure, however they’re well-known for delicate takes. You’ll really feel one thing, however it may be powerful to know whether or not that one thing is a fish, a chunk of coontail, or a rock. At that time, it’s all about really feel. And that, in flip, ought to information your deal with decisions.
Prime Rods for Walleye Fishing
Many walleye anglers are a fan of spinning deal with; nonetheless, baitcasting gear will definitely fill the position, so long as that sensitivity element is there. As 6 1/2- to 7-foot medium motion rod will deal with most purposes. For trolling an extended, barely heavier-action rod can be utilized for any variety of strategies, together with flat-lining crankbaits, drifting stay baits, or working smaller side-planers. Some wonderful choices embody:
Greatest Reels for Walleye Fishing
Like rods, walleye reels don’t must be high-tech or ridiculously costly, however yours needs to be able to holding 125 yards of braid or fluorocarbon and possess drag system. Three stable choices embody:
Prime Line Choices for Walleye Fishing
Although many walleye anglers have made the swap to fashionable braided strains, monofilament or fluorocarbon are nonetheless highly regarded on most waters. For casting spinners or spoons, jigging, or fishing stay baits underneath a slip bobber, 8- or 10-pound monofilament or near-invisible 12-pound fluorocarbon are nice decisions. That stated, both may be changed with 10-pound braid and used together with a high quality fluorocarbon chief. For trolling, most reels will probably be spooled with a 10- or 12-pound low-vis braid, with, once more, a fluorocarbon chief.
The Greatest Ways for Catching Walleye
There is no such thing as a singular finest technique for catching walleyes. What works in a single place on a given day might not elsewhere. There are, in truth, a number of “finest” strategies, for find out how to catch walleyes, and you need to know all of them. Right here’s rundown.
Methods to Catch Walleyes with Jigs
Jigging doubtless accounts for extra walleyes yearly than all the opposite strategies mixed. Why? As a result of it’s extremely versatile. Jigs may be fished vertically over construction from a stationary boat, solid from boat or financial institution, or labored simply above the underside whereas permitting the boat to float with the wind and waves. Jigging works in nonetheless water or present and and may be efficient year-round.
Jigs are available all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colours, however most walleye waters lend themselves to jigs within the 1/8- to ¼-ounce vary, with some bigger rivers or deep lakes calling for jigs within the ½- to ¾-ounce class. As productive as it’s, jigging takes some follow to essentially get good at. A delicate rod, sustaining a decent line whereas the jig is falling, and studying to really feel delicate takes are all key.
Methods to Catch Walleyes by Trolling
Second solely to jigging when it comes to general walleye catches, trolling entails pulling a lure—often a spinner, baited spinner, spoon, plug, or stickbait—at a selected depth and velocity by way of a motorized skiff or boat. Trolling for walleyes can show difficult for novices. Understanding the place to start is the primary query, however this may be answered through the use of high quality electronics to disclose water depth and construction. How deep to troll, too, is one other variable, one once more answered by finding fish within the water column along with your depth finder. When you dial it in, although, trolling may be very efficient.
Methods to Drift for Walleyes
Drifting, or letting wind, waves, or present drag a lure or bait alongside promising construction or cowl is an effective way to work giant areas of water. Usually the purpose of drifting, or drift-fishing, is to find actively feeding fish. Then, as soon as a college is discovered, anglers will typically anchor upwind and solid jigs or slip-bobber rigs to the fish. Holding the boat regular with a GPS-guided lock system is one other, often-less-disruptive approach.
Methods to Forged for Walleyes
There are occasions when casting spinners, spoons, crankbaits, and jigs from a ship is the easiest way to place ‘eyes within the cooler, versus trolling or vertical jigging. That stated, a good bit of casting is finished from shore, particularly in river techniques. The water under a curler dam may be a superb place to focus on spring walleyes, as they make their method upstream however are stopped by this impediment throughout their annual spawning run. In summer season, any roiling highly-oxygenated water in rivers will maintain fish searching for prey and cooler temperatures.
Methods to Catch Walleyes with a Slip-Bobber Rig
Slip-bobbering is one other technique employed both from shore or from a ship. Slip bobbers are small, light-weight floats, typically product of balsa wooden, that slide or ‘slip’ to a depth decided by the angler’s placement of a system of beads and a nylon bobber cease on the mainline. The whole rig is shortened to an simply solid size because the bobber slides to the swivel-and-leader; nonetheless, as soon as solid, the bait, often a big energetic minnow, shadling, or leech, falls within the water column to the predetermined depth.
Slip-bobbering, like trolling and drifting, is a wonderful strategy to current a bait over a large expanse of probably productive method. Normally, slip-bobber rigs are held in reserve till fish are situated, with the boat then being stored in place and the bait labored downwind or downstream.
Greatest Baits, Lures, and Rigs for Catching Walleyes
The very best baits and lures for walleyes is determined by the situation and situations. What’s extra, there are extra choices an enormous walleye would possibly clobber than we are able to checklist right here. However listed below are the highest producers day in and time out—seven choice each severe walleye angler has to has to find out about.
Nightcrawlers: Lot’s of fish love a crawler, however few greater than walleyes do. A fats ‘crawler may be fished by itself underneath a slip bobber, used to tip a ¼-ounce leadhead jig, or as a dressing to a weight-forward spinner, like a Erie Dearie, June Bug spinner, or ‘crawler harness. The easiest factor about nightcrawlers? They’re simple to catch and maintain.
Minnows: Massive minnows, resembling fatheads, shiners, or shadlings, run neck-and-neck with nightcrawlers as a top-notch ‘eye bait. They’re typically fished on a naked leadhead or feathery marabou jig. Frivolously hooked by means of the lips or beneath the dorsal fin, minnows work exceptionally properly underneath a bobber, too. Aerators and a relentless stream of oxygen will assist maintain these baits alive on board.
Leeches: Leeches, whereas efficient, appear to be a regional favourite, with anglers within the Higher Midwest fishing the ribbon-like bloodsuckers underneath a slip bobber, or as an add-on to a plain leadhead jig or Lindy Rig (a strolling or backside bouncing type of presentation that mixes an angled sinker with a fluorocarbon chief and a small colourful float or single spinner blade).
Spinners: Spinners in a big selection of sizes and configurations make wonderful walleye lures. Some, just like the tried-and-true Mepps Aglia or Comet Minnow, or the equally as lethal C.P. Swing, are finest fished with out bait, and both solid or trolled. Others, together with the various completely different variations of ‘crawler harnesses (resembling Mack’s Smile Blade rig or Yakima Baits’ Hildebrandt Hammer Time), permit anglers to slow-troll or drift a flashy stay bait over and round construction.
Jigs and Gentle Plastics: A Google seek for “walleye jigs” yielded 1.56 million quick outcomes, which isn’t shocking when one seems to be on the jigs and soft-plastics racks on the native sporting items retailer. Walleye jigs are as many as there are stars within the sky; there are soccer heads; bullet heads; barbed heads meant for plastics; and stay bait jigs, full with secondary stinger hooks designed to nail these short-striking finicky fish. Plastics, too, are many and various, with the preferred being 3- to 4-inch twistertail grubs, ringworms, and paddle-tail swimbaits, all in minnow-imitating shade patterns.
Crankbaits: Normally trolled through a flatline or lead-core, or run off to at least one aspect of the boat with a side-planer, crankbaits mimic the small baitfish that walleyes prey on. Crankbaits may be fished under the 20-foot mark with the assistance of a downrigger system; nonetheless, some deep-diving crankbaits can themselves dive to 25 ft or extra when tuned correctly.
Blade Baits: These skinny fish-shaped metallic baits, resembling the favored Heddon Sonar and Reefrunner Cicada, are labored in an up-and-down style, often simply above the underside. You rip them up shortly, allow them to fall on a decent line, then really feel for a strike on the autumn because the lure wobbles erratically.
