Viable options out there for good walleye fishing
In my last column, I discussed the classic way of fishing for late-fall river walleyes, that is drifting with the flow of the current while presenting jigs in a vertical manner.
This week, we'll look at two other options, the latter being appropriate for both boat and shore anglers.
Conventional wisdom suggests presenting baits with the current. As was just outlined, this is the standard approach. However, going against the grain (current) can produce walleyes, in many cases the biggest walleyes of the day.Whereas jig-and-minnow combos, or blade baits, rule when drifting/jigging with the current, I find suspending jerkbaits to be the deal when fishing against it — ones like Rapala's Deep X-Rap and Bomber's Suspending Pro Long A.The places that tend to be most productive for the against-the-current presentation are often shallower flats close to the deeper jigging holes.In this situation, picture a shallow, rocky flat located below the deeper hole previously described. The back edge of the hole is defined by both depth and current. The depth quickly decreases from 10 to 12 feet up to the four to six-foot range with the current increasing slightly.Foraging walleyes will exit the protection of the deeper pool to feed in the shallows. And they seem to respond better to a lure pulled against the current, one that dangles in front of them as it's slowly worked forward.The lure can be presented two ways. You can anchor (or use the spot-lock feature on the trolling motor) to hold the boat on the upriver end of the flat and make casts directly downriver. Then work the suspending jerkbait slowly back. The mild current will help activate the swimming motion of the lure. You can creep it back to the boat painstakingly slow.A second tactic, and one that works well on larger flats, is to slow troll upriver, trailing the suspending jerkbait behind. You're just moving the boat fast enough to make forward progress. Trolling also allows you to fine tune things by varying the amount of line let-out, so the lure runs a foot or so off bottom.Expect the bite on shallow flats to be better on dark, dismal days.
While you're often dealing with neutral to negative-attitude walleyes during the day, as evening approaches they often pick up their pace, actively seeking forage. It's a perfect time to camp out on a prime spot and let the feeding walleyes come to you.What's a prime spot? Most commonly, the area near a feeder stream/river, one that feeding walleyes invade during low-light conditions to target the forage fish found there.I classify these spots in one of two ways: Places where smaller streams have washed out a gravel/rock bar; and larger streams where a sizable creek mouth exists, one where walleyes actually run up into the creek itself.In the first case, a current line will exist where the main flow of the river hits the rock bar. Anchor the boat right on this current line. Walleyes will move along this as they work their way shallow to feed.In the second scenario, there is often a distinct depth change where the feeder creek meets the main river, a ledge scoured away by the river's flow. Walleyes often follow this edge when moving toward evening, so anchor your boat on the deep (main river) side of the ledge.Since the water is shallower in these spots, it's often wise to lighten up the jig size, making short pitch casts up into the calm water near the incoming stream. Whereas jig bites during the day might have been soft and subtle, during the evening there's often a sharp pop to strikes.It's common for the bites to shut down once twilight transitions into total darkness.<i>Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle</i>
