Open water walleye

Late winter walleye fishing is the best time for a real pig. This is an open water fishery for a real trophy. Please consider catch and release because this can be a fragile fishery.

Two locations draw the most fish. The rivers that connect to the Great Lakes already hold fish and the piers along the coast. Pier fishing is actually open all year on walleye if out beyond the shoreline. The rivers will close on March 15 and re-open on the last Saturday of March.

With rain in the forecast and warmer temperatures we should experience a nice increase in the action. Often a school of small males will move into a general location and many will be undersize. Be patient, larger fish will show up.

A great walleye rig for both the piers and the rivers is a simple two hook rig with a sinker on the bottom. Run one hook just above the sinker and a second hook 6-10 inches above the lower hook.  Minnows often work the best in this cold weather. I’ve witnessed anglers landing 20 plus walleye on the river with not a single legal fish. At times the action is fast and furious but the fish are all small males. This is a great technique for the angler without a boat.

Some days a red or blood colored hook works well and other times a chartreuse hook does the job. I would suggest a number six wide gap short hook. A new hook gathering up steam is the circle hook. Most fish will be hooked in the corner of the mouth with a steady pull of the rod. Adding a single bead where the line attaches to the hook brings a bit of color and works nice on the dark colored rivers.

Anglers fishing a river should concentrate on dams, wing dams, the mouths of feeder streams and deep slow moving holes. A wood train trestle crossing the river is excellent and a concrete bridge second best.

Once the walleye finish spawning anglers do well casting or trolling the channels of the connecting river mouths. The best action is after dark and often a shad color or a combination shad and glow in the dark turns the trick. This is a time for large spawned out females and a great time to practice catch and release. These are big females that contribute a lot to our year around success.

Walleye anglers do real well with Husky Jerks and Smithwick Rogues or a jig and minnow combination. Tossing out a live minnow on a rig discussed earlier is a real killer for the walleye when the water turns cold. Large minnows produce the largest fish.

Anglers like trolling crankbaits behind boards and normally fish the top 10 feet of depth unless fishing rocky points. A good location is the rocky rip rap shorelines and piers that have concrete rubble. My Minn Kota trolling motor is a must for these shy shallow water walleyes.

River anglers’ using a boat fish jigs with minnows the most. However there is another technique that is a real killer. Anchor above a hole and drop back a Heddon Tadpolly or a floating Rapala with a rubber core sinker placed two feet above the lure. Let the lure work the front of the hole for 5-10 minutes and then let out more line. Continue this until the hole is fished and then pull up anchor and head to the next hole.

The piers produce fish from late February into early May. The rivers will peak right after the season closes to protect the spawning fish. Get there before the close or hit the piers to catch the returning fish.

Story by:
Jack Payne

Photo captions:
Jack Payne with a jig walleye

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K&E TACKLE, INC.
2530 BARBER ROAD
HASTINGS, MI 49058
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