How to Fish for Walleye

If you want to consistently catch walleye's you need to understand the proper fishing techniques. Since walleye's are normally found in deeper water you need to get your presentation down to there level and then you need to be using the proper bait or lure. I know it sounds hard, but the best fishing techniques can be broken down to three techniques. You need to understand jigging, trolling and casting.

We'll start with casting because I am sure you know how to cast. However, you need to remember to get your presentation down to the bottom. There are a few things to remember when casting. If you choose to use a crankbait, use deep diving or sinking crankbaits. You need to get your lure to the bottom and when casting a crankbait that can be difficult, but deep divers can get to depths of 15-20 feet. The other technique with cast is to drift bait or a soft plastic. This is a river style of fishing where you cast upstream with you weighted bait or plastic and let the rig drift downstream with the current. You will constantly need to reel up your slack because walleye strikes using this technique are often very subtle.

The next technique is jigging. Jigging is a must learn for all walleye fishermen because it will produce fish in almost any situation. Jigging is simply dropping a lure, bait, or combination of the two to the bottom and then lifting and lowering the rig until you get a strike. Jigging is mainly done of boats since it is a straight up and down presentation. The most popular jigging rig is jig heads tipped with a minnow, crayfish or worm. However, there are jigging rapalas, spoons and other soft plastics that can be very effective.

The final technique is trolling. Trolling is great for locating walleye's and can be very effective once you've found some target areas. Trolling is simply driving a boat at low speeds and lowering lures off the back of the boat and the lure will get action from the movement of the boat. Crankbaits and bottom bouncers are the staples for walleye fishermen. Trolling with a crankbait is much like casting it, but the lure will stay at the proper depth the entire time you are trolling. Bottom bouncers are weighted rigs that are designed to be trolled right on the bottom. You can attach a leader and a crankbait, but the most popular attachment is a leader with a worm harness. Just attach a worm to the harness and it will be trolled near the bottom, this is a very deadly technique.

Understanding these basic ways to fish for walleye's will lead to catching more fish. Fine-tuning these techniques to your local bodies of water is the final step to consistently catching walleye's. Being able to use all the described techniques will prepare you for any situation you may encounter. Also remember the walleye's habitat, feeding patterns and seasonal movement, and if you aren't sure what they are be sure to read my article on walleye's habitat, feeding patterns and seasonal movements.