Three Strikes On Your Route

Heavy-Hitter Tips For Fishing Prespawn Areas On Natural Lakes

Jiggin’—Walleye pro John Peterson, past PWT winner and co-founder of Northland Fishing Tackle, is a jigger extraordinaire.

“Anglers tend to equate jigs with vertical fishing,” Peterson says, “but when the water’s cold in spring, I do a lot of casting, particularly because the fish tend to be shallow. Slow, methodical casting is best—a lesson learned over many years of fishing. I tend to be energetic and want to work fast, but I can’t count the times when the other guy fishing with me has had his hand in the lunch bucket or put his rod down and caught more fish than the aggressive jigger (me). In fact, deadsticking has become one of my favorite ways for catching coldwater lethargic walleyes, providing you’re confident that you’re on fish and patient enough to wait for bites.

“I like to use light line and small 1/16-ounce jigs, which are effective in the 4- to 12-foot depth range. I also like a small-profile offering in early spring, and I tend to avoid using a plastic body on the jig, just a Fire-Ball Jig with a short-shank wide-gap hook that holds the minnow tight to the jighead. Nice and compact. In most cases, I prefer a fathead minnow, especially the smaller females that are lighter in texture; whiter bodies probably are easier for gamefish to see. If I tip the jig with shiners, I pick out medium to smaller shiners, especially in lakes that have a natural population of shiners. Sometimes a bigger minnow works, but most days, the fish are only in a mood to take things if they’re just right—subtle, shallow, slow, small.

I always look for the warmest water in the lake. In doing so, I pay attention not only to where wind is coming from today, but also where it’s been from the last few days. The surface water is always warmest, and warm water builds along the downwind shoreline, which can be the best choice for fishing today even if it’s not the best looking area in the lake, structurewise. Also, shallow rocks pick up heat from the sun and heat the surrounding water, attracting baitfish and walleyes alike.

“Northland has a new series of Rattlin’ Fire-Ball Jigs for 2003, featuring a brass rattle molded into the head to create sound and vibration, which is extremely effective in luring fish in turbid water at river mouths, and especially on hard bottom where sound resonates off the rocks.

Riggin’—Three-time PWT winner Perry Good is legendary for his livebait rigging skills. “Day in and day out, when it comes to triggering lethargic walleyes in cold water, it’s tough to beat a livebait rig with a lively minnow. Rigs let you move slowly along, hovering where your electronics tell you fish are present, to tease walleyes into biting. A lip-hooked minnow quivering in a walleye’s face is too tempting to ignore.

“The first drop-off outside shallow spawning areas is always a good starting point for walleyes before, during, and immediately after the spawn. With weedcover sparse, walleyes may simply relate to the depth change . . . or to a comfortable depth level based on water clarity . . . or to a change in bottom content . . . or yes, even to some patchy weeds like sparse sandgrass. Every lake is different, and you need to determine what’s holding the fish, where, and how deep.