The Major Alternative To Jigging For Walleyes

Tying in a mono leader is a wise choice, but differences in diameter and the slick exterior of braids can make knots slip. Tie a spider hitch or Bimini twist in the end of the braided main line, creating a two- or three-foot loop of line. Use the doubled line to add a 4-foot, 10- or 12-pound mono leader with back-to-back uni-knots. Trim the tag ends close for easy passage through the tip of the rod.

The basic retrieve to begin with most days is the sweep-pause. After a long cast, start with the rod extended out in front, with the tip pointing down, and sweep the lure down to its running depth by drawing the rod tip back just above the surface of the water. When retrieving slack line, reel up after bringing the rod tip forward. Don’t move the bait. Let it sit for five seconds or longer before sweeping it again. Most strikes occur during the pause, and they aren't felt, so the ensuing sweep sets the hook. Play with the strength of the sweep and the length of the pause. Some days walleyes won’t commit to the lure until it sits still for 20 seconds or longer. In most cases, the wobble attracts and the pause triggers.

Really active walleyes respond better to a snap-snap-pause-snap retrieve. Starting from the same position, rod tip pointing down, snap the rod tip back six inches to a foot, push the rod tip back to the starting point while retrieving, and snap it again. The lure, if tuned correctly, should dance from side-to-side, almost like walkin’ the dog with a Zara Spook, only underwater. Braids are critical for this technique, the lack of stretch providing a much sharper snap at longer distances. Here again, the flash attracts; the pause triggers.

But my favorite retrieve for walleyes most days is a twitch-twitch-pause-sweep-pause-twitch. The twitch, if done properly, causes the bait to move side to side, but at a slower pace. The pauses can be anywhere from five to twenty seconds, depending on what the walleyes want. The sweep is just fast enough to make the bait wobble, the slight vibration easily felt with braided line.

The longer 7-foot rod makes longer casts, longer sweeps, and more powerful sweep sets. Long casts are critical because walleyes tend to follow these baits. The farther the lure travels on the cast the better, creating more room for triggering fish before they follow into the shadow of the boat.

Larger suspending baits dig deeper than floating models, sometimes two feet deeper than corresponding sizes of floating minnows, making them poor choices for casting to 2- to 3-foot depths, where walleyes can stack up even during the day in spring when the wind is blowing in on a spot. Smaller suspending baits (C’ultiva-Owner Rip’N’Minnow or smaller Excalibur Ghost Minnows) and sinking minnows (Countdown Rapala) tend to work better in really thin water.

Don’t be afraid to work minnow-style suspending baits in 12- to 15-foot depths. Walleyes come up for them, especially in spring and fall. In darker waters, deep divers that suspend can get right in their face at those depths. Lures like the Rebel Excalibur Suspending Shad R, the Smithwick Suspending Deep Rogue, and the Rogers Slim Jim take deeper fish with the same tactics, and they serve as excellent stop-and-go trolling tools as well.