Walleyes are susceptible and can be tempted to eat—even when they are full—when the right bait suspends in front of them.

Whether it’s a neutrally buoyant crankbait, livebait below a float, or a bait worked slightly off bottom on a drop-shot rig, walleyes seem to have a hard time not striking baits suspended in front of their noses.

Neutral Cranks—Neutral cranks, slashbaits, have lots of lure ability with only a few intentions—attract and trigger fish strikes. Slashbaits are ideal for working shallow shorelines, rocks, weededges, even shallow windswept flats. They’re great for pitching along steep shoreline breaks where longlining isn’t efficient. And whenever walleyes gather in the shallows or in corners too tight to troll, casting neutrally buoyant baits is an option, possibly even the best option.

There are all kinds of neutrally buoyant cranks designed to dive either shallow or deep. In spring, walleyes are shallow, which makes it easy to make a long enough cast and reel the bait deep enough to reach the walleyes. Rapala Husky Jerks and Smithwick Super Rogues are two of the most popular baits for contacting shallow walleyes, although a variety of other suspenders work, too.

As walleyes move deeper, deep-diving suspending baits are capable of contacting them in 12 to 14 feet. Deep divers, like Rapala’s Down Deep Husky Jerk, Rapala’s RS ShadRap or Smithwick’s Spoonbill Super Rogue, feature a longer bill suitable for working deeper rocks, deep weeds, or for cranking down along steep shoreline breaks. Active walleyes will rise up to feed, but you still need a bait that dives deeper to consistently trigger strikes. Using superline like Berkley FireLine, which has less water resistance than mono, allows baits to dive deeper.

Long casts allow you to keep the crankbait in the strike zone longer, giving you more time to work the bait and walleyes more time to find it. A longer rod, like a 7- or 71⁄2-foot fast-action medium-power style, combined with a slightly oversized spinning reel allows for even longer casting and for adding action to the crankbait. Many anglers use superline, not only for added casting distance, hook-setting power, and diving depth, but also for better lure response. The lack of stretch provides a much sharper snap at longer distances, which enables you to better control the action of the bait throughout the entire retrieve—even subtle twitches and jerks.

Working suspenders includes a series of pulls and pauses. In most cases, the wobble attracts and the pause triggers. Tuned correctly, the lure should dance from side to side, like a dazed or injured baitfish. The sweep is just fast enough to make the bait wobble. The pause, suspending the bait in their faces, often is the trigger. Walleyes tend to commit when the bait stops and hangs in front of their faces without rising or sinking. Sometimes a pause of only a few seconds is best. Other times, it takes longer—possibly up to 20 seconds—before reluctant walleyes decide to take the bait.

Develop specific jerk-and-pause rhythms that seem to trigger more strikes, rather than just randomly jerking and pausing the bait. For instance, pause a suspending minnowbait, drop your rod tip slightly back toward the lure, then snap the rod tip back, making the lure roll and turn sideways. Play with the speed of the sweep and the length of the pause. Vary the length of the jerk from 6 inches to 2 feet. Some days, walleyes won’t commit to the lure until it sits still for 20 seconds or longer; other days, short pauses are the trigger. When you contact fish, note the precise motion that triggered them and stick with it.

Below Floats—Float fishing is one of the best ways to suspend livebait at precise depths and spots. It’s a deadly tactic for catching walleyes along riprap, rocky shorelines, points, reefs, weededges, flooded timber, or over deep flats. In fact, it’s so effective that many In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) anglers use float tactics to catch walleyes in natural lakes, rivers, and reservoirs throughout the country.

According to walleye pro Bruce Samson, “Floats are just a great tool to suspend livebait in key spots. For instance, I often use floats to position livebait over structure. Sometimes I anchor and cast to the exact spot where I marked fish with my sonar. Other times, like on a flat, I just drift the float over the area trying to drift the bait past any active fish. Either way, floats allow you to position the bait dangling right where walleyes can find it.”

Anchoring is probably the best boat control method for float fishing because you’re often targeting a specific spot walleyes seem to be keying on. Simply anchor close enough to make an easy cast, sit back, and wait for the float to disappear. Anchor upwind of the spot you’re fishing and let the float move the bait up and down over the area you’re fishing. During light winds, however, drifting over the tops of weedbeds with floats also is productive. Simply let out enough line to get your floats away from the boat as you drift key locations.

Slipfloats, compared to fixed floats, are preferred because they’re easy to cast and the desired depth can be adjusted simply by sliding the bobber stop on the line. Ideally, bring a selection of both tall-thin and short-chunky floats for calm or windy conditions. In heavy wind or waves, a larger, more-buoyant float may be needed. As wind subsides, use smaller floats that fish can’t easily detect.

Ultrasharp hooks that appropriately match the size of the livebait you’re using increase your hooking percentage. Aberdeen or Octopus-style hooks work well under floats. Kahle-style hooks or wide-bend hooks have unique bends that are great for float fishing, too.

Rod length and line diameter also are important float-fishing factors. Using a longer rod allows for casting floats a long distance and also ensures that you get a good hookset. A 61⁄2- to 81⁄2-foot medium-power medium-fast-action spinning rod combined with a spinning reel spooled with 6- to 8-pound mono will suffice for most situations. Thin-diameter mono, such as Berkley SensiThin, easily slides through a slipfloat. Using hi-vis Trilene Solar line allows you to see the bow in the line on the surface. So when the float goes down, you know exactly where the line is, which allows you to remove all the slack to ensure a good hookset.

Minnows work particularly well when the water temperature is below 50°F. Depending on minnow size, hook sizes should range anywhere from a #6 for smaller minnows to a 1/0 for big chubs. Match hook gap to the bulk of the bait so plenty of hook gap is available to penetrate a walleye’s mouth on the hookset. Hook minnows lightly through the back near the dorsal fin, but avoid penetrating the spine.

Leeches and crawlers are preferred when water temperatures reach 50°F. Crawlers wiggle and squirm for a while, but more likely dangle from the hook after a time. A lively leech continuously swims, attracting walleyes that may move into the area. For leeches, use #6 or #8 lightwire Aberdeen or Octopus-style hooks. Rigged through the sucker, the leech attempts to swim away from the hook. Leeches hooked through the middle create a swimming profile from below. Hook nightcrawlers through the collar or at midpoint on #6 or #4 hooks, letting both ends of the crawler dangle and wiggle. Depending on depth, suspend livebait anywhere between 3 and 12 inches from bottom.

Small roundhead jigs in the 1/64- to 1/16-ounce range are ideal for working a leech or a half-crawler over rocks. Set the bobber stop so the light jig drags right on bottom, working the bait lightly across the rocks. You’ll snag once in a while, but most times, especially in big waves, the float lifts and moves the jig up and over the rocks without snagging.

Float fishing is a fairly stationary presentation, which makes locating walleyes critical. Keep moving until you contact fish. On any given day or body of water, walleyes typically become active periodically throughout the day. So it’s a good idea to keep revisiting key spots to determine whether or not active fish have moved in to feed. When walleyes stop biting, consider moving to the next spot. Once you find the fish, a disappearing float excites even expert walleye anglers.

Drop-Shotting—A fairly new tactic to the walleye word is drop-shotting. It’s a simple rigging refinement that allows you to stay in contact with bottom yet keep your bait out of snags and suspended up where walleyes can see it. Drop-shotting involves placing a weight at the end of the line, with a hook and bait positioned a set distance above the weight. By placing the weight on bottom, you have full control of the lure’s working depth while keeping your bait a set distance from bottom—basically suspending your bait near bottom and walleyes.

Drop-shot rigs are as simple to tie as they are to fish. The unique feature is the placement of the bait above the weight. To make the bait rest horizontally, a Palomar knot is the favorite. When tying the Palomar, insert the tag end of the line through the eye from the hook point side, and form the loop on the bend side. When you tighten the knot, the hook sticks straight out, positioning the bait correctly. The length of the tag end of line determines the distance from bait to weight.

Hooks generally are tied about 12 to 16 inches above the dropper. Make sure the hook point is positioned up, in the normal position, to get the best hooksets. Most hook styles work, though walleye anglers prefer octopus-style livebait hooks (#2 to #6) for working livebait. For fishing close to weededges or around flooded wood, a small (#4 to #6) offset-shank light-wire hook is preferred. For minnow-style soft plastic baits, wide-gap models work well.

Weighting the system is simple and almost any weight design will suffice. Some anglers favor the simplest method—pinching on a heavy lead shot. If the weight pulls off in a snag, it quickly can be replaced while saving the lure and hook. A surgeon’s knot sometimes is tied at the tag end, creating a loop that holds the shot more securely. Along weededges or timber, heavier split shot, worm weights, or weights specifically designed for drop-shot rigs are a better option.

A medium-action 6- to 7-foot spinning rod will suffice for walleyes. Most anglers use light low-visibility monofilament lines (4- to 6-pound test) for finesse fishing in clear water and for triggering finicky fish. Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon, for instance, works well for finesse rigging deep in clear water. Heavier lines like Trilene XL or Iron Silk are more suitable for drop-shotting around weeds, wood, or other snaggy conditions.

Minnows and leeches seem to produce best on drop-shot rigs, but nightcrawlers also work. Plastics tails with a minnow profile, like Berkley’s Drop-Shot Power Minnow, which features a light, thin tail that moves and wiggles easily, seem to be the top plastics for walleyes, but Power Nightcrawlers or soft plastic leeches work, too.

To learn what types of action you’re giving the bait, lower your drop-shot rig in clear shallow water or in an aquarium, and note what the bait does by twitching and shaking the line with your rod tip. Underwater cameras also are great tools for watching and learning how combinations of twitches, shakes, and pauses impart different actions to your bait.

Drop-spot rigs can either be worked vertically or pitched a short distance. The key remains keeping the rig fairly vertical to keep the bait off bottom. Pitch them along shoreline rocks and weedlines or work them vertically over deep rocks or steep breaks.

Suspending tactics are particularly effective when you’ve pinpointed walleye locations. Whatever method you choose to use, getting a walleye to rise up off bottom triggers it to make a decision—eat or don’t eat. More often than not, if you can get them to rise up, they’re going to eat.