Catching Walleye With Drop Shot Rig

The first time I ever tried catching walleye with a drop shot rig I was actually stunned it worked. But after thinking about it for a while, if bass love these things why can’t walleye?  Walleye are just as aggressive and they will not pass up a free meal.  One of the reasons a lot of people don’t use a drop shot rig is because other walleye rigs work better.  When the bite is off, then people will start experimenting but sometimes you need to give this a try during the bite to really determine if it will work better or not.

This Dropshot Walleye Hook you see to the right is totally different from the hooks we have been using.  But a lot of us who do drop shot for bass are wanting to purchase and give these hooks a try. We like the fact that the hook will stick straight out from the line instead of drooping down like our current hooks.  Early reports from the bass guys is they love these new hooks.

A couple of things to remember when you are trying to catch walleye with a drop shot rig is that the height off the bottom of the river or lake is really important.  During the summer months of catching walleye, it will not be as important but spring and fall seasons it can play a truly important part of your success.  We will experiment with anything from 6 inches to 2 feet above the weight at the end of the line.

Various Methods to Catching Walleye With A Drop Shot Rig

I would like to discuss the three most popular methods of catching walleye with a drop shot rig.

1. Casting
2. Trolling
3. Drifting

As you can see all of these methods require your presentation to be moving.  If you are trying to jig them it would probably be better to use a blade bait.  Blade baits for walleye are very popular choices on the Columbia river and many lakes/ponds in the Pacific Northwest.  That could probably be said for the lakes in the midwest up into Canada.

On the Columbia River casting a drop shot rig will usually require a boat because a lot of the walleye hot spots can only be reached with a boat.  Unless you own a very expensive fish finder trying to figure out where the walleye are hanging out can be very difficult.  What will normally happen is that you will be trolling for walleye and mark the spots you are picking up the walleye.  When it dies down, then you can give the drop shot rig a try.  All three methods above will work but remember there is a current in the river so you will be moving.

Casting a drop shot rig for walleye will be as simple as casting, counting or feeling for the bottom and then start reeling it in.  This will continue for the length of your drift.  Trolling for walleye with the drop shot rig will require an electric motor, about 3/4 ounce of weight (depending on the river or current) and some sort of plastic or live bait.

My favorite method of dropshot fishing for walleye is drifting.  I love the finesse style of fishing and allowing my presentation to just bump along the bottom.  A lot of times you can feel the walleye chomp down on your bait because it is a different feel from the clunking of your weight along the bottom.

Types of Plastics Used For Catching Walleye With A Drop Shot Rig

This will completely depend on what they are eating at the moment.  We’ve used sassy shads, curly tails, minnows, swimbaits and an assortment of other plastics that look like a shad.  One time we ran out of plastics and starting using cut up tube baits and caught both bass and walleye.  It was the craziest thing I have ever seen and it will only work on one certain place or area of Lake Roosevelt.  Don’t forget that worms, nightcrawler and plastic worms will work.  I would always try crawlers first before ever thinking about plastic worms.  However, if you live in a state that will allow live bait then by all means hook a minnow on your line.

We love fishing for walleye and catching walleye with a drop shot rig usually occurs when we are trying to catch bass.  Rarely do we use dropshot rigs unless the bite is off or we are almost finished fishing because we are close to our limit.  The simple reason is that catching walleye with a drop shot rig is our backup plan when a worm harness and bottom bouncer doesn’t work.

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