Walleye fishing How to fish for walleye pike

Walleye fishing can be tricky for any angler, even professionals. A fish finder can be a great help when it comes to seeing exactly where the fish are, so that you know whether there is anything to try for or not.

Many anglers do not have or use a fish finder for a variety of reasons, and knowing when it is time to move on can make the difference between a good day Walleye fishing and a day with no Walleye to show for your efforts.

Walleye are known to be hard to predict, and they may go against predictable routines. The problem with unproductive water could be that there are no Walleye in the area, and only a fish finder can answer this question, or it may just be the wrong time of day for these particular fish to feed. Moving to a different area may give you a better result, and you should wait no more than an hour or so trying different presentations before you should move on if you have not caught any Walleye.

When you get ready to move to a different location, troll slowly while moving. This can be an effective way to catch Walleye, and is also a good indicator of where the Walleye activity is if you get a hit.

Look for reefs, rock and rubble piles, weed beds, and other structures underwater that will provide cover for bait fish and have cooler waters. These locations are a great place to move to if you want to increase your odds of catching Walleye. The larger the structure is, the better the odds are that there are Walleye hanging out around it, but it also means the higher the level of difficulty in fishing that area.

When fishing large structures you may want to try a few more presentations to ensure that there is not a trophy Walleye down there just waiting for the right bait to come along.

Sometimes, the walleyes in a particular spot will be attracted to a chartreuse presentation on Wednesday, and those very same fish ignore the chartreuse presentation, instead favoring a yellow presentation on Thursday. Therefore it is vital, absolutely vital, to always remain adaptable and give the fish what they want at that specific time on that particular day.

During the course of a twenty four hour period, Walleye will move from shallower water to deeper water, and follow certain paths around areas of the lake. When the water is warmer, usually during the day and the in summer months, these fish generally head for deeper waters in the lake, because these waters are cooler and allow less light in. At night the fish may come into shallow water to feed, heading back out to lower depths after done. Walleye generally stay at the same depth when swimming around the lake, and over time they develop a specific route that is traveled. These fish usually will not swim across wide open lake areas that are not part of their specific traveling path. Walleye will generally prefer to stay in waters that are choppy, not calm. If the lake is clear the fish will stay in areas that are murky with algae or suspended silt, or areas with windy conditions which create small surface waves.

Walleye are very sensitive to water temperature, and they prefer water that is below seventy five degrees. This is why they stay in deep water most of the time.

When casting jigs, use one of the jigs with an eye tie that comes out about a quarter-inch in front of the lure.

Take half a nightcrawler and thread it onto the hook.

You'll have the most success with this method by using five pound test line.

The next element is critically important.

Neglect this part and you may end up without the quantity of fish you desire:

When jigging, swim the jig right along the bottom, with the current. To improve chances of snagging a walleye, one key lies in making it easier for bait to be inhaled. There's not much that can increase the chances of getting a hook in on a slash attack from the fish, but when sucking-it-in mode is in action,

Take care in choosing the line. Walleye tend to be rather small in weight, so a 6-pound-test line will generally do the trick. The use of lighter line also makes it easier for the line to get "sucked" in when the walleye makes an attempt to inhale bait.

Bob the bait. Bobbing or bouncing can help produce a bit of slack in the line, which can remove some of the resistance involved as the fish tries to inhale the bait.

Keep slack in the line. Keeping slack allows the bait to be inhaled. If slack is lost, so too will be the bite in most cases.

Use shorter strokes. When jigs are used, many anglers tend to stroke a little too heartily with their rods. A cleaner, short stroke can actually help land the fish.

The evening hours are recommended, but early mornings work well, too. In the late evenings and early mornings, the shallows are the best places to go. As the sun heats things up, the walleye tends to move out to deeper waters.

Catch More Walleye Using Bottom Bouncer Tactics

If you are using spinners as part of your tackle, it is critical to have the right speed. If you troll too slow then the spinners will not spin, and will end up snagging on the bottom instead. If you plan on going to slow to use a spinner, you can always use a simple hook or tie a crankbait on the bottom bouncer roughly four foot behind the bouncer. This is great if you are fishing a structure which is vertical.

If it is windy or the waves are decent sized, a spinner may be a good choice along with a bottom bouncer. Bigger fish may get aggressive when the wind is whipping and the waves are crashing, and a spinner may be just the thing to get these Walleye to bite.

The biggest fish will usually be found in underwater structures that are the deepest, and a bottom bouncer is a great way to get to these fish.

Another great way to use the bottom bouncer is done with a single light weight hook and live bait.

Attach a single hook to a lead with about four or five feet, and then attach the minnow, crawler, or leech to the hook. Leeches are a popular favorite with anglers to be used with bottom bouncers, for a variety of reasons. One of these is that leeches live longer than other worms, and they continually swim. This works really well for deep water, like lakes and areas that are over thirty feet deep, as well as at slower speeds where a spinner will not function correctly. In this depth, you may experience problems using a spinner along with the bottom bouncer, because the bottom bouncer may not want to stay down near the bottom if you are moving fast enough in the boat to keep the spinner spinning.

Bottom bouncers have been proven that they work extremely well when it comes to fishing for Walleye. Some anglers will even go so far as to call this tackle the magic bait. Bottom bouncers work so well there have even been cases of painted bottom bouncers being reeled in only to have the angler find actual teeth marks in the paint because of a Walleye attack. Anglers like you and me may not understand why a bottom bouncer is so effective, but we do not need an explanation as long as the bait works this well. A bottom bouncer can be one of the most important pieces of tackle you can own as a Walleye angler.

Trolling Crankbaits for Walleye

Finding the right bait: It is critical to mimic the bait that walleye are presently feeding on. This can take a bit of a trial and error process. It is possible that a lure that works well in one area will not in another. Most anglers swear by a variety of different minnow lures. To gauge which works best, many choose to bring along a selection so they can see what works where they are.

Depth: This is critical for snagging a walleye. These fish have eyes on the top of their heads, so anglers have to play around with how much line is let out for the tactic to work. The goal is to suspend the bait directly above the fish or into the middle of them. If the bait lands below, the cast is simply not going to work - at least for a walleye bite.

Boat control: To really make trolling with crankbaits pay off, control is essential. What is required as far as control is concerned will depend a lot on the type of fishing area presented. In weedy areas, the trick is to keep the trolling right on the edge of the weeds. If the bait goes out too far, bites are not likely. In more open fishing situations, the idea is to keep the trolling pattern tight on the depth of where the fish area.

Boards: These specialized boards enable fishing off the sides of a boat while trolling is taking place. Essentially the tactic spreads several lines out rather than just one that goes behind the boat. The idea here is that the multiple lines can enable the crankbaits to snag a walleye that has been scared off by the boat.

Trolling for walleye with crankbaits is working very well as a tactic for many and speed trolling using crank baits is often a primary method utilized to in Summer months when the fish don't seem to be biting on other more traditional presentations. This method increases chances for bagging a walleye, but it still does not remove the need to find out exactly where these fish are located. In the summer months, the tactic tends to work best in mid to deeper level waters. On cooler spring days, more shallow weed line fishing might be best. Give it a go next time out and let me know how it worked out for you!

When jigging, it is so important to match the action of your jig to the current mood of the walleye. Most people will lift it, and drop it. This is an acceptable method, but if it doesn't happen to be working it is important to rotate with different jig presentations.

There is a tendency of many walleye anglers to overcompensate on their jigging. When jigging it is best to use subtle actions at all times.

Think effortless.

Walleye are known to be hard to predict, and they may go against predictable routines. The problem with unproductive water could be that there are no Walleye in the area, and only a fish finder can answer this question, or it may just be the wrong time of day for these particular fish to feed. Moving to a different area may give you a better result, and you should wait no more than an hour or so trying different presentations before you should move on if you have not caught any Walleye.

When you get ready to move to a different location, troll slowly while moving. This can be an effective way to catch Walleye, and is also a good indicator of where the Walleye activity is if you get a hit.

Look for reefs, rock and rubble piles, weed beds, and other structures underwater that will provide cover for bait fish and have cooler waters. These locations are a great place to move to if you want to increase your odds of catching Walleye. The larger the structure is, the better the odds are that there are Walleye hanging out around it, but it also means the higher the level of difficulty in fishing that area.

The walleye run traditionally hits its peak and attracts the largest numbers of anglers to the Maumee and Sandusky rivers during late March through mid-April. Boat anglers and wading anglers also begin to increase their fishing activities elsewhere across the state as warmer temperatures gradually emerge.

During the days surrounding new and full moons, it has been scientifically proven that walleye really *love* to eat. They love to eat all the time, of course, but at those times they eat even more. Record breaking walleye have been caught at those times. Also, during those times, the fishing tends to be equally good during the day or at night.

Like many other types of fish, walleye tend to spawn on the moon phases. So, an angler who fishes for walleye around the full or new moon is likely to find them more easily. They also tend to be more aggressive and willing to strike more readily during those times, playing right into your hands.

Also, the full or new moon phases can be even more useful to an angler, depending on what the weather patterns have been like. If the local weather has been bad, the walleye won't have been eating as often. Therefore, they will be even more likely to strike ferociously at anything that moves during the full or new moon.

The rise and set of both the sun and the moon each day cause walleye to be more active. This is especially true of the sun setting and moon rising at night.

The rise and set of both the sun and the moon each day cause walleye to be more active. This is especially true of the sun setting and moon rising at night. When fishing for walleye is by trolling with walleye lures. Make sure you keep a keen eye when you are following structure lines. Look for points and inside turns on the breakline, areas of hard bottom and schools of fish. If you get a strike or notice a likely spot, toss out a marker so you can return later.

Combining both the daily and monthly moon habits can be especially beneficial. Walleye are very active around the nightly moon rise during the full or new moon phases, in other words. So, anglers who fish for walleye in the early evening during the few days surrounding the full or new moon are more likely to bag some big walleye.Keeping charts of how the sun and moon rising and setting and the monthly full and new moon affect fishing in a specific body of water can be useful to angler, too. Not every body of water in ever region is exactly alike. The walleye and other fish will be affected in slightly different ways, depending on where a person is fishing.

 Walleye fish recipe: • 2 lb. walleye fillets • 1/3 c. chopped green onion • 1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced (1 cup) • 1 tsp. salt • 1/4 tsp. fresh ground white pepper • 1 tsp. leaf marjoram, crumbled • 2 Tbsp. dry white wine • 2 tsp. lemon juice • 1/4 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese or mild Cheddar • 1/4 c. fresh bread crumbs • 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley  Butter a baking dish, large enough so fish just slightly overlaps. Preheat oven to 400¡F. Spread green onions and mushrooms over the bottom of the dish and place fish over top. Season with salt, pepper and marjoram. Sprinkle with wine, lemon juice, cheese and bread crumbs. Drizzle melted butter over the crumbs. Bake for 4 minutes, then loosely place foil over fillets; do not seal the edges. Bake an additional 7 minutes or until fish is done.