Rigging rods generally fall into the medium-action spinning category, ranging somewhere between 6 and 7 feet. Spool reels with 6- to 8-pound monofilament line. Casting gear with 10-pound test can handle the strain of heavy sinker weights required in deep water or swift current. Superlines, like 14-pound Berkley FireLine, are options for deep water and current situations, too.

Boat Control

Boat control is one of the most important aspects of rigging. It enables you to position your livebait rig in key spots, giving any walleye in the area a chance to find your bait. The best boat control method for the situation is determined by wind (light, strong, variable, upstream, downstream, or cross-wind) waves, or current. Boat type—big, small, console or tiller steering; main engine horsepower; whether your rigged with electric bowmount, tiller motors, or both; and your ability to use them are factors.

Using a bowmount electric trolling motor has become the norm for many walleye anglers. Controlling the boat from the transom, however, remains one of the best ways to stay positioned over key spots—especially when strong wind, waves, and current conditions are factors.

Forward Rigging—Powerful bowmounts enable you to hover, control drift, or troll with or against the wind. Most electric bowmounts are foot-controlled—leaving both hands free—making it easier to keep the boat on course while playing a fish (or while a fish plays you). On waters where two rods are legal, foot-control motors enable you to simultaneously hold two rods while working along structure.

Under most conditions, bowmounts make it easy to follow the edges of drop-offs, work back and forth, even hover over key spots. In big waves and strong winds, however, the main problem is having enough power to work into the waves and keep the boat on course without constantly having to change motor directions. (If you shut the motor off, the wind quickly pushes the boat left or right.) Many 24-volt bowmounts offer 50-plus pounds of thrust. MinnKota’s bowmount 101hp electric motor runs on 36 volts and has plenty of power to maintain proper boat speed. When winds are howling, however, big waves and wind gusts make it hard to stay on course and to keep speed constant while using a bowmount motor.

Tiller Rigging—Pushing the outboard motor steering arm left or right on a tiller-powered boat quickly changes the boat’s path. Tillers have a faster response time than a steering wheel, offering better boat control.

Tiller-powered boats excel for backtrolling, especially in strong wind and waves. Backtrolling allows for tracing and hovering along contours, making precision presentations, and working small structural areas without being thrown off course by wind and waves.

While holding your rod with one hand, shift the engine into reverse with your other hand and then grab the tiller handle. Move slowly backwards into the wind, using just enough thrust to compensate for the prevailing force of wind, waves, or current. Watch the depthfinder and turn the engine left or right to correct the direction of boat movement to follow the contour. Simply increase throttle speed to overcome a strong gust of wind or a large wave.

A Mercury motor Smart Gauge system allows for adjusting the motor’s rpm to help achieve the desired speed, which makes it possible to forward and backtroll with big motors (150 to 225) even in a light to moderate wind. Pete Harsh, a top In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) livebait rigger, uses a tiller boat rigged with the Smart Gauge system. “The reason I’m successful in rough, tough conditions is the boat control I get by using a tiller-powered boat,” Harsh claims. “This past season, I ran a 20-foot Warrior tiller boat and 150 Digital Mercury OPTIMAX outboard rigged with the Mercury Smart Gauge system, which allowed me to troll down to 450 rpm. In most situations, no matter the wind or presentation, I can achieve my exact desired speed while using my big motor.”