I love to catch big walleye, and I'm sure most advid fishermen do as
well. There are many factors to look at when trying to locate these big
brutes. Spring fishing is a good place to start with. This is where we
find the walleye getting real close up to the shore where there are
sandy areas and sand bars, rocky points and weeded areas that have
sandy bottoms nearby. Walleye also love to be in rockie areas for
spawning and protection. These areas can be tough to fish. You could lose a lot of tackle.
Of course the spring spawn brings out all us die hard walleye
fishermen. The males tend to be smaller and are easier to locate
because they come in close to shore. The females being the big fish
stay out in deeper water. Spawning walleye are very aggressive and
ready to bite just about anything, and they do spawn in current, so
give these areas a good workout, they are usually key to walleye
fishing success in the early spring months.
Walleye Fishing Lures
My favorite lures to use are jigs, try using 1/4 or 1/8 ounce jigs with
black, green, yellow, or white twister tails. If you are looking for
one all purpose twister tail, choose white, because I find it does the
trick for you, through out the year. Stick a glow bead on the front of
the jig head. This seems to get the walleye's attention. It also works
great with live bait.
I also like to Troll with crank baits, as well as fishing jigs, and
slip bobbers. All these methods will catch you fish. Nothing seem's to
beat harnesses though. On natural lakes, try trolling the weed edges
and break lines. I like to use mainly leeches. Mr Twisters in White or
Black near the bottom. Erie Dearies using a large night crawler (worm)
If your fishing for trophy sized walleye it's best done at night, try
trolling slow, right next to shore, especially where there are weedy
areas with nice sandy bottoms. Trolling with spinners (night crawler
harnesses) is probably the most productive way to catch these walleye.
When fishing in the summer and fall I like to use bigger baits or
lures. Small ones in the spring. Using White Twister tails is one of
the best softbaits, but in the spring the Walleyes are more aggressive
and will hit crazy colors like chartreuse, pink, yellow or
orange.
These colors are all great because in the spring the Walleyes are
hitting them to defend their spawning grounds and not just feeding. You
can also add a leech, worm, minnow or Walleye gullet to the jig to get
more action but it's usually not needed. Another tip you can try, is
fishing on the bottom from one hour before dark until after dark. This
will help produce those results for big walleye.
