Walleye tactics you want to try this season

[tacklejunkie]

dynamite and other blast fishing methods.

actually, i would love to do more downrigger and cranks

[bigbucks]

 Originally Posted By: tacklejunkie

dynamite and other blast fishing methods.

That cracked me up, not so much the dynamite itself, but the "blast fishing methods" made it sound like it was a bona fide technique.

I'm going to work on cranks myself, more specifically lead core.

[backlash 1]

I really want to try weed fishing for walleyes. I just had a high ranking tournament pro tell me it is like a virgin fishery. But unfortunately I did not ask for details. Anyone care to coment on how to jig fish in the weeds without pulling your hair out with seemingly constant snags?

[eyepatrol]

Fish the edges and the pockets of weeds.

Find the weed edge and cast parallel or at most a 45deg angle to it. Also work just outside the weed edge 10', 20', up to 50' outside it.

Find pockets...gaps, holes or open areas in the weeds. Pitch your jig into these spots and bounce the jig up & down. If it's a tight area, you may need to be closer with your boat so that you can jig more vertically. If the weed pocket is large enough, then you could get some horizontal movement going with a retrieve.

There are LOTS of walleyes in the weeds.

[tunrevir]

Here in the metro it is also an untapped fishery. Here are some basic rules to follow. Early season before the panfish are a nuisence the live bait rigs will help put fish in the boat both deeper and shallow. Once the water temps come up and fishing a minnow or leech isn't an option look to the same areas that you caught fish early on the live bait rigs. Know the lake you will be fishing, some weedlines will produce and others will not. Why? Think, gravel spawning areas, staging areas with deeper water nearby. 4' is not too shallow early and in some instances throughout the early summer months. Secondly, look for forage lots of small perch chasing your lure or even schools of minnows. Third, be there at the right times of day! It can and does happen that you can catch metro eyes in and around weedbeds during the middle of the day in calm water but this tends to be the exception rather then the rule IMO. If you can fish during the week when the traffic is down or fish the evening and early morning hours when the traffic is down to maximize your success. A real easy tactic is to cast lipless rattle baits like a rapala along weed edges and sand flats adjacent to weedlines. They sink fast, cover water quickly and will draw reaction strikes from weed line fish. If you see a cloud of small perch or minnows follow your bait back to the boat during the early afternoon or daylight hours hit that spot again and work it thouroughly as the sun is setting and just after. The nice thing about fishing for the weedline fish during the day is you can see a pattern to the weedline. Not picking up fish on the shallow side then head to the deeper edge and work that during the midday hours. There is often a small window each day when the fish put on the feedbags and once you tie into them on a lake you will be able to repeat this pattern again in other areas. Sometimes, slow start and stop techniques will work, sometimes fast is good and sometimes downsizing will work. There are also some bass techniques that work very well for weedy eyes. Talk to anyone that fishes bass regularly and you can get some clues to what may or may not work. I love casting cranks for weedline fish. Don't overlook plastics and jigs pitched and twitched along the edges and into the weeds either as they can be very effective at extracting those weed oriented fish. Just my.02.

Tunrevir~

[PerchJerker]

Thanks tunrevir, lot's of good info about metro walleyes. I don't really fish walleyes in the metro, but I might have to give that a shot this year. Plus I've got a youngster who's excited about crankbaits and casting and this would be perfect to do with him.

[canman]

I want to get better at planer board and spinners or cranks. I've spent the last few years getting better at rigs and jigs. Don't get me wrong they are fun, but I want to explore more options.

[backlash 1]

Thanks guys.

Another question, when you're going thru the thick stuff, to get to the pockets, the trolling motor will be wacking weeds and creating a racket, I take it this is not a big turn off for close fish???

[tunrevir]

I tend to keep the boat positioned right on the edge of the weedline or slightly out onto the flat or into the deeper water and cast parallel to the weedlines. When working the pockets I'll close in enough to cast into them when in shallower and will hover over them in the deeper water and work it vertically with plastics on a jig. Fish in the weeds seem to be less spooked by the presence of the boat IMO.

Tunrevir~

[Scott M]

Fall crankin and weed fish are on my short list.

I'm also thinking of trying circle hooks on opening day with live bait rigs. I'm just worried the water will be so cold and the timing will get screwed up that we will have a lousy opener. Now if it was like the last two years I think I would have plenty of bites to try my circle hooks on.

[Boogaard]

wish i knew more about plainer boards. I am hooked that the concept works to get the line away from the boat and after trying to pull cranks in the dark and failing misserably. Plainers have to make it easier atleast I wouldnt think you would get as many tangles! boy oh boy did i get tangles!

[Cicada]

I guess the new thing I'd like to try is snap weights with crankbaits. I have some spots picked out where I have cranked. I would like to try other baits that normally don't get down there. I really know nothing about doing this. One spot has walleyes 30-32 feet on the bottom. Another lake has suspended fish 30-35 feet down over 75-80 feet of water. Would you use the same techniques for both situations, or would you do something different? I have a linecounter reel and good rod for cranking.

[RiverBassGuy]

I would like to try Gulp! ALIVE! floating 5" leeches, try the shake-E-blade, continue experimenting with different crankbaits on the mud of Mille Lacs, and cast the new DT Flat lures for smallies on the shallow rocks! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

[Newcastle]

Trolling cranks for walleye-If I'm fishing cranks I'll usually cast them to work specific breaks, have left the trolling to pike fishing up to this point.

[PerchJerker]

 Originally Posted By: Boogaard

wish i knew more about plainer boards. I am hooked that the concept works to get the line away from the boat and after trying to pull cranks in the dark and failing misserably. Plainers have to make it easier atleast I wouldnt think you would get as many tangles! boy oh boy did i get tangles!

I don't think you want to try planer boards at night, you're adding a whole new twist to the normal difficulties that come up at night. Especially if you're trolling contours by other fisherman. There's a few guys that use planer boards at night but I think the concensus is it's not needed and it's not a very good idea.

[PerchJerker]

 Originally Posted By: Cicada

I guess the new thing I'd like to try is snap weights with crankbaits. I have some spots picked out where I have cranked. I would like to try other baits that normally don't get down there. I really know nothing about doing this. One spot has walleyes 30-32 feet on the bottom. Another lake has suspended fish 30-35 feet down over 75-80 feet of water. Would you use the same techniques for both situations, or would you do something different? I have a linecounter reel and good rod for cranking.

Snap weights would work but they are kind of touchy to use, I almost never use them any more. Leadcore would be a good way to go, although that involves buying the line, maybe a seperate reel, and learning new knots and techniques.

There are a few cranks that will go that deep, especially on a thin superline. Down Deep Tail Dancers and Reef Runners are the first two that come to mind.

[tunrevir]

I agree with perchjerker, lead core will take your baits to the depths you are talking about and is much easier to work with then snap weights. The rise and fall is better and it tends to contour to the structure better then snap weights as it is a lazier rise and drop versus a quick fall with the snap weights. I prefer the snap weights when trolling in a more open water area with less weeds, rocks ect to deal with. That being said, snap weights are great in open basin areas and for suspended fish when you are less apt to contact weeds or structure.

Tunrevir~

[markkstanley]

I prefer leadcore myself but if faster speeds than 1mph are required snap weights become the choice. With snaps you can use thinner line (less water resistance) and pump up the weight and therefor the speed. Another solution is to 3-way it. I use a 3ft dropper and 4ft to 6ft leads for lakes. Helps to have a long rod for this approach. Keep the rig at a 45 degree angle.

[b1gf1sh1]

never used a downrigger, but going to this year. done pretty much everything else except mabe handlining. on purpose anyway . i think it'll be great this year.

[Badger_55]

The last couple of seasons I have been getting spoiled with great success using the classic slip bobber set up and pitching jigs. I need to get back to throwin some cranks as well. Opener I might be out awful early throwing those cranks over some sunken islands on my lake. Also get back to riggin a little bit. I bought a few yozuri's and x-raps that have been wonderful for me in the past.

[TroutYammer]

I tried Snap Weights laste year and they worked great for summer and fall fising! This year I'm gonna try planer boards for cruising the shallows in very clear lakes, in the early spring at night.

[basslkjohn]

Anyone else having trouble with reef runners? About 50% of those I have purchased in the last couple of years have had to be adjusted...they just don't run true. A couple of them actually lost the diving blade after the first hit. I think there is a quality control problem...just wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem.

[Team Otter]

Most Reef Runners I have purchased need to be tuned.

[PerchJerker]

Reef Runners are one of my favorite baits. I'm constantly tuning all my baits anyway and can't say I've noticed any problems with Reef Runners --- their Ripshads are another story though, some of them I've tossed in the garbage.

[LMITOUT]

No doubt. I love RR's too, but those Ripshads can be a bugger to tune. The other models such as the deep lil ripper and deep diver can be tuned fairly easily and I've rarely had one that has run true right out of the package. It just becomes habit to check how they run whether they're new or an old one out of the tackle box as they may need readjustment.