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17 Walleye Fishing Tips

1. When fishing lakes during the summer for walleyes there are generally two bites going on, a shallow water bite, and a deep water bite. If the shallows don’t produce, trying fishing the deep water bite. Try primary and secondary points that head out into deep water, humps, underwater islands, rock bars and drop-offs. Use a good map of the lake and your sonar to locate these spots. Many new maps will also have the GPS coordinates of such locations. 

2. In lakes shallower water walleyes will most often relate to aquatic weeds such as coontail, sand grass and cabbage. These weeds both reduce the intensity of the sun light and offer the walleye cover to ambush minnows from. To fish edge of a weed-line simply position your boat parallel to the break and cast your lure so it runs right next to the weed-line. To fish weeds that lie several feet below the surface, simple cast or troll shallow-running crankbaits or spoons right over top.

3. Starting mid winter walleyes in lakes will often start seeking current sources such as river inlets to spawn. The peak movement will occur when the water temperature reaches the lower 40 degrees the following spring. Don’t expect every walleye in the lake to make this spawning run, but there should be enough to make it worth your time. Look for dams in medium or large sized rivers to concentrate walleyes moving upstream and calmer pockets of water below shallow rapids in smaller rivers to hold walleyes.

4. A very effective technique for fishing shallow water river walleyes is to cast a floating/diving thin minnow crankbait such as a Rapala downstream and then slowly retrieving the lure. To make the lure dive deeper add a split shot ahead of the lure, or tie the lure onto a 19 inch leader off of a three-way swivel with a few split shot trailing on a short 6-inch dropper line fastened to the third eyelet.

5. When fishing crankbaits for walleyes be sure to experiment with the type of action, size, and color of the lure. Crankbaits with a narrow lip will have a more subtle action versus crankbaits with a wider lip. In the early spring I will typically start with a size 7 Original Rapala, while a size 5 or 7 Shad Rap would be my choice for late spring. Natural colors are best in clear water with Fire Tiger being a good choice for stained water.

6. Trolling is an effective technique for fishing scattered walleyes or to locate active fish within a school of walleyes. When trolling a new area try trolling in a lazy S pattern to cover different depths. Once you catch a fish note the depth and try a few more pass at that same depth. Be sure to use a lure that is capable of reaching the depths that you will be trolling. Trolling is best suited for larger contours such as a rip-rapped shoreline or an expansive flat versus a small sunken island or point.

7. Allot of crankbaits have a hard time reaching the bottom in water over 10 feet of water. To help these lures reach the bottom try using lead core fishing line, or putting the lure on a three way with a heavy bell sinker. Because of the increased line diameter of lead core fishing line it is best suited for trolling speeds of less than 2 mph. Three ways are better choice for faster trolling or the faster currents of rivers.

8. When trolling areas with alot of snags such a rip-rap try using a bottom bouncer versus a walking sinker. Let just enough line out for the wire of the bottom bouncer to skip along the bottom. A bottom bouncer will also keep your bait or lure a little higher off the bottom versus a walking sinker.

9. Big walleyes can be found in shallow water, even less than 2 feet at times. These times include the cooler waters of spring and fall, dingy water color conditions in rivers, and especially during low light conditions such as sunrise and sunset. Use your trolling motor to position your boat within casting distance versus your outboard as not to spook fish.

10. Planer boards are an in-expensive tool that allows anglers to troll lures up to 60 feet away from their boat on either side. This approach keeps the noise and shadow from your boat away from spooky shallow water walleyes. Planer boards also allow fisherman to more effectively troll large flats as up to 5 baits can be trolled at one time. In doing so one line would be out the back of the boat, one line on each side, and another line on each side but with a planer board attached.

11. When fishing clear cold water during the winter and early spring try fishing a plain live minnow for walleyes. In this clear water a plain minnow will look very natural while also offering a slow presentation to sluggish walleyes. All that is needed is a size 2 to 4 hook with a 2 to 4 inch minnow hooked through the lips. Next add some split shot 15 inches or so up from the hook eyelet.

12. Trolling speed is very important when fishing walleyes. In colder waters a very slow speed is often the most effective, while faster speeds can trigger more active fish during the summer months. In either case be sure to note and repeat your trolling speed when catching a fish.

13. Typically, a slow steady retrieve is best for fishing walleyes with crankbaits. But it never hurts to experiment with other retrieves to catch a few more fish out of the same spot. A stop-and-go retrieve can often trigger a strike out of a few more fish.

14. Although shallow waters that have weed cover will most often produce walleyes during the day, other shallow waters without weed cover will not such as shallow sunken islands or mid-lake humps. These locations are best fished during low light conditions including sunrise, sunset, cloudy windy days, and even at night.

15. A good fishing rod for jigging and casting for walleyes should be a medium to medium-heavy 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 feet long that is medium to fast action. You want some flexibility in the tip, but to much flexibility will reduce the anglers amount of feel. A fine example of such a rod that is in an affordable price range is the Berkley Series One.

16. Match your choice of live bait to the season. Minnows are most effective during the winter, spring, and fall. In the summer time it’s hard to beat night crawlers and leeches. Leopard frogs can also be effective in the fall.

17. Since walleyes are generally found in schools keep a marker buoy handy to toss out where you caught your last fish. Odds are your going to catch a few more walleyes in the near vicinity of your buoy. If you have a GPS unit simply set a waypoint.2. In lakes shallower water walleyes will most often relate to aquatic weeds such as coontail, sand grass and cabbage. These weeds both reduce the intensity of the sun light and offer the walleye cover to ambush minnows from. To fish edge of a weed-line simply position your boat parallel to the break and cast your lure so it runs right next to the weed-line. To fish weeds that lie several feet below the surface, simple cast or troll shallow-running crankbaits or spoons right over top.

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