Fishing Walleyes in the Summer

When it does get hot, walleyes move to the deeper, darker, cooler waters. Always. If there is a walleye stupid enough to fry itself in the shallow waters, don't bother trying for it because the fish will be inactive. The early morning and evening would be the ONLY exceptions here. The fish will be found in waters ranging from 14 feet and up to 30 feet.

Some become inactive in the deeper, cooler areas but you can still catch most. I would recommend brighter colours because of the low light factor. Jig or present the bait SLOWLY with the odd twitch. Don't let the jig lie on the bottom because crawfish will jump all over it and that doesn't look too great after the 40th time reeling in a crawfish and you have called for the net every time.

Minnows and leeches work excellent. You can get away with crawlers too, but be careful because walleyes seem to be a lot more touchy when it comes to them. One day they are all over them, the next you are reeling in perch and rock bass all day. Minnows and leeches seem to be the safe bet.

These fish are lazy and you will have to work for them on a day with temperatures in the 80's. Patience is truly a virtue on those days.

Fishing Walleyes in the Spring

Spring is the time of year where, most of the time, you can catch walleyes all day. Some of the largest walleyes I have caught have been in cover in shallow water. Those are the females, and they'll hit anything that comes close to their nesting area.

Male walleye don't quickly leave the spawn after completion. For it is the male who does the hard work of guarding the eggs while the female goes off and rests or dies. Where's the justice there? Well the good news is that those females are on a suicide mission. They'll eat almost anything and they put up a heavy fight.

On cloudy days chartreuse is my first choice of lure colour and orange or white is usually second. In other words, bright colours work best. On sunny days, I would go with black but not until 11 a.m. or so. Walleyes have light sensitive eyes and therefore hunt at night for their food. So in the mornings, I would stick with a brighter colour; those walleyes have only a couple of active hours left until they relax for the hot day to come.

In spring, walleyes like to stick around waters with current. I'm not talking ocean current here, just something light; you'll be able to feel the strength of the current. Try working both with and against the current; drift when fishing with the current and back-troll when fishing against it.

Depth is another key factor. Fishing shallow can pay off with the BIG females, I'm talking anywhere from 4 to 7 feet. From 8 to 17 feet, you'll find the males and the odd female. Fish caught in this depth will usuaully be around the 3 – 4 pound range.