Summer Walleye Fishing Tips And Tactics

It’s summer and trolling has become the most common method for catching walleyes. Crankbaits, spoons, and spinners fished in cooperation with planer boards, downriggers, and diving planers account for most of the fish.

During warm-weather periods it makes sense to move quickly and cover water. Trolling is the logical way to fish, and most anglers concentrate on presenting their lures as close as possible to the fish they mark on their sonar units.

No mystery or news story there, but what about a trolling method that most anglers overlook?

Whenever walleyes are suspended in the water column, there’s a chance that some fish will be located so close to the surface that a sonar unit is powerless to mark them.

Fish located within the top 10 feet of the water column rarely show up on a sonar screen because the fish naturally move away from the boat as it approaches. Also, the size of the transducer cone, or its zone of awareness, is so small that few fish would be marked even if the boat passed near them.

The only practical way to locate fish near the surface is to set lures in the top 10 feet and see what happens. You’ll be amazed how often walleyes choose the top 10 feet as their happy hunting ground.

Walleyes use the surface as a barrier that prevents baitfish from escaping–forcing them to the surface and trapping them between a jaw full of teeth and a dead end.

Because these walleyes are close to the surface, it is important to use planer boards. Both catamaran and in-line style boards can be effective. The key to catching walleyes suspended near the surface is to spread the lures and set them to run very close to the surface.

Boards should be spaced 50 to 100 feet off the side of the boat to maximize lure coverage. If you use in-line boards, use two of these mini-skis per side. With catamaran boards, you can use up to four or five lines per side, depending on how many anglers are aboard.

Cranking the Surface

Any crankbait can catch walleyes during the summer months, but some of the most productive models are high-action baits that feature an aggressive side-to-side wobbling action. Favorites include the Storm Hot’n Tot family, Luhr Jensen Baby Hot Lips, Bomber 7A, Bagley Killer B II, and Norman’s Walleye Magnet. These baits perform best when trolled at two to three miles per hour.

To target fish near the surface, these baits and others must be fished on short lead lengths. According to the lure depth guidebook "Precision Trolling," a Storm Rattle Tot has a maximum diving depth of 21 feet when trolled on 10-pound-test monofilament. To achieve this depth, a lead length of 190 feet is required. To make this bait run 8 feet below the surface a lead length of only 30 feet is needed! Using this depth guide, any crankbait can be dialed into the desired depth.

Most anglers are accustomed to fishing familiar lead lengths that have produced in the past. Old habits can be hard to break, especially when the graph clearly shows fish marks well below the surface. Unfortunately, these deep-water marks are often fish that are resting not feeding.

A good way to approach such a situation is to set a couple of the crankbaits to run slightly above the level where the majority of the fish marks appear. Then set another one or two lures to fish 5 to 10 feet higher in the water column. Finish the trolling pattern by setting at least one line to fish within 10 feet of the surface.

Running baits at a variety of depths covers all the bases and insures a hot surface bite won’t be overlooked. It won’t take long to find out if fish are using the upper water column. Walleyes visit the surface for one reason–to feed. Often these fish are so aggressive they will strike at nearly any lure.

When a fish is taken on a bait set to run near the surface, respond immediately by duplicating the productive lead length and lure with other lines. Walleyes often suspend or hold in deep water then move to the surface to feed for only a brief period. It’s important to quickly take advantage of this situation.

Surface Spinner Tricks

Just as crankbaits work on walleyes suspended near the surface, crawler harnesses or spinner rigs can also be productive. Spinner rigs are trolled slower than crankbaits, usually at speeds from 1 to 1.5 miles per hour.

Most spinners feature two single hooks. When trolling in open water, a spinner rig should be equipped with a treble hook. Walleye Stopper Lures produces an ideal harness for this style of trolling. Marketed as the Big Water Troller, this harness features a single hook on the front and a treble hook on the back. These rigs are tied using a special type of line known as hard monofilament. This line looks and feels like monofilament, but is several times tougher.

Open-water rigs should be equipped with No. 4, 5, 6, or 7 Colorado, Indiana, or willow blades. Large blades with maximum flash usually produce best on active walleyes found near the surface.

Spinner rigs require a keel sinker or Snap Weight to achieve the desired depth. Snap Weights are the most popular choice because these in-line sinkers are easy to put on when setting lines, and more important, they are easy to take off when fighting fish.

Select light Snap Weights–the 1/2- and 3/4-ounce models–when fishing near the surface. Let out a lead of 10 to 25 feet and attach the Snap Weight onto the line. Next, let out another 10 to 25 feet of line. At this point, use a planer board to gain outward lure coverage. In-line boards are the ideal choice when fishing at slow speeds.

Spinners fished near the surface are an excellent alternative to crankbaits. On those days when walleyes are reluctant to strike at fast-moving baits, spinners often prove to be irresistible.

Whether or not surface-feeding walleyes want a fast-moving crankbait or a slow-moving spinner, one thing is for certain: baits fished below the fish are going to miss the mark entirely.

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