How to Catch Walleye In Rivers and Lakes
If you want to learn how to catch walleye in rivers pay attention to how fast the water is flowing and if you are walleye fishing in lakes look for structure, weed beds or drop offs. One thing we have learned very quickly is that walleye like to migrate from feeding zones to new feeding areas. This is most evident after spawn. Anyone looking for trophy walleye, better be thinking about fishing in early spring. The big females will be easier to catch during the early spring especially as they prepare for the upcoming spawn.
Walleye Structure To Look For Above Dams or Slow Moving Waters
Most walleye fisherman on the Columbia river will fish from a boat. The majority of these guys will be using a bow mount electric motor and some of the smaller boats will be using the electric motor from the back end. The main reason why they are using electric motors is because they don’t want to troll to fast as they work their bottom bouncer and rigs downriver. Summer months most walleyes can be found in much deeper water but in the spring do not be afraid to troll or cast along the shore. Early mornings or just after dark do not be afraid to fish close to shore because walleye will be up in the shallows feasting on bait fish. We especially hunt for areas above the dams that contain a large enough flat area to hold baitfish. We look for a minimum area of 100 yds of shallow (5-10 ft) waters that will hold the minnows but it must have a nice dropoff that will jump into at least 20 ft depths. These bug eyes will hunker down in the summer in the deep waters and then will move up into the shallows at night. Sometimes walleye will wait till early morning to start eating and once the sun hits the water they have moved back into deep waters.
If you look to the right you will see the walleye fishing secrets book and if you click on it, it will take you to the book and videos that really helped us find and hook walleye as well as helping us land more more fish. Pay attention to how they are using jig fishing for walleyes and listen to the audio from the walleye pro as he details his approach to using various presentations to help him catch his daily limit.
Walleye Fishing Tips
Fishing below dams like the ones found on the Columbia river requires a knowledge of fish migration that can be learned if you take good notes. One particular area that we fish each year is a stretch of about 5 miles. Walleyes are taken in this area with vertical jigging or casting blade baits downriver a little ahead of the boat, bottom bouncers with a walleye rig that has a big night crawler and using crankbaits like a rapala or thunderstick pulled upriver. Looking for a big trophy walleye in this area, especially during the summers months is useless because it’s usually the pan sized walleye that are caught. Later in the fall the bigger walleyes will start moving into this area and you can catch them with all the tips listed above.
However, during the course of 5 months these walleye will move from the top of this 5 mile stretch to the bottom and back again. When we are on the walleye it is a lot of fun but when they start moving my buddies and I will split up and go looking for them. Normally we can locate them within a day but there are times when it is more difficult depending on the moon phase. If you can ever find a sand flat just off rocky structure make sure and fish that site each time you go out. When they are in that area, you will catch a limit within an hour.
Depending on where you are fishing many local lakes will allow you to use live bait. Live minnows are normally jigged vertically but there are times I have seen a live minnow presentation on a drop shot rig. During the day you will need to jig in deeper waters but if you have a wall that will get the earliest shade in the afternoon then don’t be afraid to fish in the shallows. We will fish in 10 ft of water or less during the hottest times of the year because walleye want shade badly. That means your river needs to be flowing north to south because the west side of the river will have the earliest shade. Don’t forget to have a sensitive rod tip when jigging to help you feel the soft bite of the walleye.
One Last How To Catch Walleye
Oftentimes we find ourselves wanting to fish crankbaits in deep water. We are talking fishing in 30 feet of water and it’s almost impossible to find a crank bait that will go that deep. Some makers claim their cranks can reach 20 ft but we highly doubt that. 15 feet has been about the best we can get, so we will add split shot weights to help us reach deeper depths. What I am more inclined to do is attach a 6 ft. leader to my bottom walkers and just use them to help me reach the bottom. We have had good success reaching the 30 foot depths and we use this technique a lot when the wind makes it impossible to use the electric trolling motor.
One last thing that I would like to mention. If you have some friends who are having a tough time catching walleye don’t be afraid to take them out with you. Teach them how you are fishing and enjoy your time with some friends. I know that a lot of my success has been from fishing with friends who are walleye fanatics. They have fished enough to have learned the migration of these fish and can normally catch a few on tough days and limits on good days. Chances are you can learn this quick if you take good notes of each experience. I am thankful for the walleye fishing secrets books and videos because they have helped me land more fish when our normal presentations are not working. Don’t be afraid to teach others how to catch walleye.
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