Fantastic Tactics Produce Fantasy Walleyes

My guess is that only a few eccentric walleye fanatics have fallen asleep dreaming about their boat drifting over thousands of walleyes weighing between 6 and 14 pounds. Oh, I suppose a few have conjured up such fascinating dreams, but a much more realistic guess would be the number of Great Lakes walleye anglers who have actually passed over thousands of heavyweight walleyes.

It’s the place to be if catching huge walleyes strikes your fancy, whether you fish them when they pass through rivers or track them down when they move back toward the lake basins. Armed with the right tackle and gear, along with the appropriate tactics, these big-water monsters are accessible throughout the seasons.

River Presentations

The potential for tremendous walleye action exists anytime anglers intercept walleyes migrating to and from their spawning sites. Again, millions of Great Lakes walleyes, including big females weighing from 9 to over 14 pounds, use rivers to reach their spawning sites, perhaps the most impressive river walleye runs around. Traditional river tactics used in walleye waters everywhere work on the Great Lakes, although over the years, regional anglers have modified, concocted, and developed presentations to catch more and bigger river walleyes.

Vertical Jigging—Vertical jigging is one of the most popular presentations used to catch river walleyes. The tactic minimizes water resistance and line length to your lure, which maximizes control and allows you to position your lure in precise spots. It’s an ideal way to present jigs, spoons, or bladebaits naturally and slowly along potential walleye-holding areas in current.

Boat control is critical for vertically jigging in rivers. Most conditions call for slowly moving along, using motor thrust against the current to obtain a near neutral drift speed.

Concentrate on visible current edges, generally just inside the calmer water, or slowly drift downstream in areas of modest current along river breaks walleyes use to migrate upstream. Hover in prime spots with your outboard or electric motor; anchor if necessary to properly work the area. In heavy current or in key spots where walleyes are concentrated, anchoring may be one of the best ways to keep your presentation vertical.

In essence, jigs anchor and deliver livebait. Typical jig sizes range from 1/4 ounce in shallower water up to over 1 ounce in deeper water or where current is swift. Heavier jigs ensure that you stay vertical, and big fish don’t have a problem engulfing the larger jig. Jigs with a narrow profile, like Jack’s River Jig, which is flat on the sides and deep top to bottom, cut through current and stay vertical, which allows you to use lighter jigs.

Use a 6-foot medium-light to medium-power fast-action spinning rod and a medium-capacity spinning reel spooled with 6- to 8-pound-test mono or 6/4-pound-test Berkley FireLine. FireLine not only cuts through current better than mono, but also enables you to detect bites better in snag-infested rivers; and when you snag, the strong no-stretch line allows you to straighten wire jig hooks to get your jig back.

Let out just enough line for the jig to touch bottom, and use a slow lift-drop motion to work the jig 6 to 8 inches on and off bottom. Touch bottom with the jig, but don’t let it drag or you’ll snag. Fish generally strike the jig as it falls. Pay close attention to detect light strikes or fish that may have hit your jig on the fall.

Blades and spoons produce lots of flash and vibration for triggering walleyes staging along river channel ledges. Bladebaits like a Heddon Sonar or Reef Runner Cicada provide vibration and action on the rise. Spoons like Northland’s Buckshot Rattle Spoon, or Lindy-Little Joe’s Rattl’r have enclosed rattles that further enhance their attracting power as they wobble on the fall.