Timely Tips From The Walleye Guy

Paging through my calendar, looking at the month of May, I stumble across the unwritten holiday known only to Minnesotans, and perhaps the travel-minded cheddar head to our east. This year, 2004, this very special holiday comes to us on May 15th, 12:00am CST. It goes by many names, but we know and respond to them all. This day, is the Minnesota Fishing Opener.

Ah, but my beloved bass season is still closed for two weeks following opening day for walleye and northern, so for two weeks I have no choice but to practice. This year, I've decided walleye will be my practice fish. I've never really set out to catch a walleye, so this will be something new for me. Sure, I have some idea as to what equipment to throw out, and some idea how to use a Lindy Rig, but I never know when to tie on a float or a spinner, or whatever other contraption I can place atop my worm-baited hook. This leaves an unanswered walleye question, and when I have an unanswered walleye question, I turn to no other then Fishwrench's own Walleye Guy.

The Walleye Guy - ever wise, but still chasing after sissy fish. None the less, he does have all the answers.

"When searching for fish, you will want to cover a lot of area in a short amount of time. To do this, tie on a spinner - it's fast moving and provides a lot of flash and action. Once you have located fish then you can try a slower, more precise presentation like casting jigs or Lindy Rigging. Lindy Rigging is a more methodical presentation, and puts your bait in from a walleye longer, giving you more opportunities to make a catch.

This is where a speedometer on your trolling motor pays off - you'll want to pay close attention to your speed. Pulling spinners or cranks, you can go upwards of 1.5 - 2.0 or more mph. Jigging or Lindy Rigging, though, requires a much slower speed in the neighborhood of 0.5 - 0.9 mph. As you can see by the speeds, you can cover more water with spinners and cranks, allowing you to "locate" walleyes. Once the goggle eyes have been located, stick with spinners/cranks for a pass or two over a smaller area to catch the most active fish. When that action slows down, move to a jig or Lindy Rig and concentrate on the exact spot where the most fish came on a spinner. If that doesn't work after a short but honest try, expand your area slightly. If you're still not finding fish, they have either shut-off totally or moved on to new waters. This is a prime opportunity to pull your spinners, read "fish locators" out again and go hunting.

In short, spinners and crankbaits are your fish finders. Once you've located active fish, switch to jigs and Lindy Rigs to keep your bait in the strike zone longer, allowing for more fish. When the bite flows or shut-off, resume fish "locating" with spinner and cranks until you find the next live spot."

Opening day...it brings out the walleye fisherman in all of us.

Bob Wood

Special thanks to John Blanchard, the Walleye Guy, for providing the walleye tips above.