Nobody likes getting his lure wedged in a snag, but getting snagged a time or two is part of the deal if you’re targeting walleyes around rocks. Submerged rocks—whether scattered or in a pile—attract all types of aquatic life. The more edges, steps, humps, and crevices, the more habitat for baitfish, panfish, bugs, larva, leeches, and crawfish. The culmination of habitat and feeding opportunities ultimately attracts walleyes to rocks.

Rules of the rocks—Most rocky locations at times attract walleyes. But the more key elements present often translates into attracting and holding more walleyes. Larger rockpiles or reefs, for instance, generally have more boulders, rocky outcroppings, points, troughs, and turns to key on to locate fish. Moderate wind blowing into a rocky shoreline attracts walleyes, especially if there’s a 1- to 3-foot-deep lip, creating a wall against which walleyes trap baitfish. Riprap along shorelines, causeways, and dams can be key spots, too. Even scattered rocks or boulders near current areas create resting and ambush places for walleyes.

The hours before and after sunrise generally are prime time on the rocks. In clear to moderately clear lakes, though, walleyes may not move into the shallows until after dark. Conversely, in darker stained water, walleyes may move in and out of these areas all day. In all cases, though, wind triggers action on rocks, particularly after several consecutive calm days.

When the wind first comes up, it’s often like someone hit a switch, and the bite can last all day and all night. Wind creates waves, which create current in shallower rocky locations, often activating baitfish and gamefish. Wind blowing into a rocky shoreline or over a reef topping out at 10 feet or less should produce. Areas that drop to deeper water can be key spots, too. Wind has less effect, though, on walleyes using reefs that top out at 20 feet or so. But don’t discount deep reefs, especially on calmer days.

Floating Around

Riprap, rocky shorelines, points, and reefs are prime candidates for float tactics. Float fishing is one of the best ways to make slow presentations at precise depths and spots—dangling a leech, nightcrawler, or minnow right in a walleye’s face.

Anchoring is the favored boat-control method for float fishing because you’re often targeting a specific spot. According to expert float angler Dr. Bruce Samson: “I actually use the float to slowly ‘troll’ livebait over rocks where I know fish are present. First I mark fish with my sonar, then I simply reposition and anchor the boat upwind and cast floats to the exact spot where I marked fish. I continue to feed out line, letting the float move the bait over the rocks.”

Bring a selection of both tall-thin and short-chunky floats for calm or windy conditions. Slip floats are easy to cast and the desired depth can be adjusted simply by sliding the bobber stop on the line. In heavy wind or waves, a larger, more-buoyant float may be needed. As wind subsides, use smaller floats fish can’t easily feel. Several lighted float designs are available for night duty. Most common are those with lithium battery inserts that cause a diode to glow red at the tip of the float.

Suspend livebait between eight inches and three feet from the bottom. Minnows work when the water temperature is below 50°F. Leeches and crawlers are preferred in water temperatures above 50°F.

Hook size is determined by bait size, but should range anywhere from a #2 to a #8. Kahle or wide-bend hooks have unique bends that excel for float fishing. Place enough split shot 12 inches to two feet from the jig to balance the float. Again, on windy days or when fish are biting light, add extra weight to cast father, slow the drift speed of the float, and prevent fussy fish from detecting the float. Slipfloats are most efficient with 7- to 81⁄2-foot rods (for better line and direction control) with a medium-power, fast-action tip, which allows for efficient casting and smooth, sweeping hooksets.

Small roundhead jigs in the 1/64- to 1/16-ounce range also are ideal for working a leech or a half-crawler over rocks. “I like using a 1/32-ounce Northland Gum-Ball jig,” Samson says. “I actually set the stop so the light jig drags right on bottom, working the bait right on the rocks. Oh, you’ll snag ever so often, but most times, especially in big waves, the float lifts and moves the jig up and over rocks without snagging.

“The key is to work active fish. Fish seem to move in and out of the area, or up and down the reef. Most anglers tend to throw the anchor, then sit and wait for fish to move in,” Samson explains. “But when it seems the fish quit biting, I don’t just sit there; I move. You never know when walleyes will move up and feed, so it’s important to stay positive and keep checking spots, even if that means checking the same spot three times throughout the day.”

Split-shot rigging—Split-shot rigging is a finesse presentation that’s fairly snag resistant, making it a top livebait presentation for casting or drifting livebait over rocks. On windy days, drifting a rock reef lengthwise, using split-shot rigs is a good option, especially if the wind direction allows you to drift key depths. Anchoring and casting the rig allows for slowly retrieving the bait over rock.

The key is to balance minimal tackle to conditions. Spinning gear, like a 6- to 61⁄2-foot medium to medium-light-action rod coupled with a spinning reel spooled with 4- to 6-pound mono is sufficient. Depending on bait type and size, use #4 to #8 ultrasharp hooks. If you’re using leeches, for instance, a #8 allows the bait to swim. With a larger minnow, a #4 is a better match.

Place split shot 8 to 18 inches ahead of the hook to give minnows, crawlers, and leeches room to wiggle and swim. Play with the weight, based on wind and depth, in order to swing the bait along close to bottom.

When drifting, position the boat sideways with a drift sock to cover a wider swath, using an electric trolling motor to keep the boat positioned over key depths. Let out just enough line to barely touch bottom as you slowly cruise along. Then wind up a turn or two to keep the bait skimming just above bottom.

From an anchored position on the upwind side, simply cast the rig over the rocks, keep your rod tip up, and slowly retrieve the bait. When you contact bottom, twitch the bait to work it up and over rocks, and reel in any slack line. Because spit-shotting is such a lightweight finesse presentation, fish often inhale the bait so all you feel most times is extra weight. When you do, reel toward the fish until your rod tip is pointing at the bait, and when you feel tension, sweep the rod tip back and begin reeling for high-percentage hooksets.

Crankbaiting Options

The right crankbait fished the right way may actually hang up less than jigs or rigs, and walleyes working rocks easily can home in on vibrations and sound. Crankbaits allow anglers to cover the entire reef much faster than with other tactics. Different crankbaits also dive to predictable running depths. So by selecting the right crankbait to match conditions, you’re able to simulate baitfish and avoid snags.

The key is to get deep-diving cranks down fast, near the structure, so the bait is in the strike zone during most of the retrieve. Retrieves that bounce and bang off rocks create noise and stir up bottom sediment, which seem to catch more walleyes than retrieves that make no contact.

Shallow-diving minnow-imitators that run 1 to 5 feet below the surface are ideal for working the shallows, particularly at night. During the day, select lures that dive sufficiently deeper to occasionally bang bottom. Fancast lures like a Rapala Countdown or Floating Minnow toward shorelines. Walleyes typically hold deeper and tighter to bottom or cover during the day, though faster retrieves can be used.

Neutrally buoyant, shallow-running minnowbaits, like a Storm Suspending ThunderStick or Rapala Husky Jerk, also produce in the shallows. The classic retrieve with a suspending minnowbait is a sweep-pause—making the lure roll and turn. Try starting with your rod tip pointed down toward the water straight in front of you, then sharply draw the lure deeper by reeling two or three cranks. Next, immediately sweep the rod tip down and off to one side, followed by a pause while reeling up slack as you return the rod tip to the starting position in front of you. Experiment with the length of the pause.

Bigger cranks work when bigger forage is active near structure. Some of the most effective cranks for working deeper structure are thin, shad-shaped baits. In fall, for instance, ciscoes migrate onto reefs to spawn. Rapala’s ShadRap, ShadRap RS, or new Jointed Shad Rap get deep fast and represent a cisco’s profile. The RS Shad and Jointed Shad Rap are heavier, which makes them easier to cast on a spinning or casting rod. When small 1- to 3-year-old perch are abundant, a #5 or #7 perch-pattern Shad Rap would be the right call. Other cranks like Rapala’s Deep Down Husky Jerk, Reef Runner’s Deep Diver, and Mann’s Stretch (5+ or 10+) also produce.

Use a long rod (6 1⁄2 to 7 feet), wide-spooled reel, and 8- to 10-pound line for long casts and precise depth control. Combine the longer rod with a slightly oversized spinning reel to add casting distance. Many anglers use superline, like Berkley FireLine, to increase casting distance, hooksetting power, and diving depth. Superline also allows direct contact with (better feel of) a lure.

Trolling—Longline trolling cranks along the edges of rocks can produce. At night or on windy days, windswept shorelines or reefs as shallow as 3 to 4 feet can be the ticket. Riprap and causeways also are potential trolling spots.

Longlining is the basis for covering lots of water fairly quickly (not rapidly), with some efficiency. Minnow-imitating lures, like a Storm ThunderStick or a Rapala Floating Minnow, are popular for trolling shorelines and reefs.

Use a medium-power, fast-taper baitcasting rod ranging between 61⁄2 and 9 feet, and reels spooled with either 8- to 12-pound mono or 14- to 20-pound superline. Let out the correct line length to place lures at the proper depth. Some situations require up to 150 feet of line, while other crankbaits and varied situations—like shallow boulders—call for less than 75 feet of line, depending on depth and cover.

Most anglers typically troll between one and two mph, which is still relatively slow, but significantly faster than casting jigs or crankbaits, or rigging with livebait. Make several passes while contour trolling reefs or shorelines, over different depths. In a few hours, it’s possible to longline troll large sections of water.

The key to effectively trolling dam or causeway areas is to stagger lines and lures at different depths to cover the sloping face. Select lures that run at a different range of diving depths. Troll the shallowest version closest to the dam, staggering deeper-running baits farther out.

On the line closest to the shoreline, for instance, longline troll a shallow-running minnow-imitator. Then use a slightly deeper-running lure on the opposite side of the boat; considering the slope of the rock face and the lure’s running depth to reach near or occasionally tick the bottom. Occasional lure contact with the bottom is fine, but avoid pounding lures—sooner or later you’ll snag in rocks.

Whether you cast or troll cranks, suspend leeches or minnows below floats, or toss a split-shot livebait rig, they’re all good producers on rocks. To make your rocky relationship with walleyes a good one, the key is to get out there and start poking around. Then let the fish tell you what they want and how they want it.