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Walleye
Fishing: Planning Your Trip
Most folks that visit the Itasca Area of Northern Minnesota on a
fishing trip are interested in catching Walleye and so over time,
Walleye fishing has become my specialty. Even though it’s hard to
predict in advance exact weather patterns, fish movements and other
factors that will influence Walleye locations and feeding behavior
during your stay, it is possible to generalize some of the major
patterns that occur throughout the seasons. You can use this guide
to help zero in on the time of year that you’re most likely to
experience the type of fishing you enjoy most.
At times these patterns overlap and there are times throughout the
season when we may find groups of fish vulnerable to more than one
fishing approach during the same trip. If you like variety, try to
key in on these transitional periods.
Early
Season Period - Governor’s
Walleye Opener until early June:
The Minnesota Walleye opener generally coincides with the Mother’s
Day weekend, most often the second weekend in May. The exact dates
are regulated by Minnesota law that requires two weekends between
the Walleye opener and Memorial Day weekend so you can always
predict the season opener by working backwards from memorial Day.
Early season is the best time for all around action, shallow water
flats contain most of the bait fish and post spawn Walleyes remain
in these shallow locations until water warms and bait supplies
become more available in deeper water. The majority of the fishing
action, especially at opener is likely to be the smaller, male fish
that recover more easily from the spawning process than the larger
females do. Drift fishing, trolling or anchoring are all good
methods of fishing. Jig and minnow combinations account for the
majority of Walleyes caught during this period. Live bait rigs
tipped with leeches, minnows and night crawlers can be used as well.
Equipment selection at this time of the season is simple. Light or
even ultra light spinning rods (I like the G. Loomis SJR-720 IMX as
an all around light rod), 4 to 6 pound test line and a small
assortment of 1/16, 1/8 and a few ¼ ounce jig heads. Live minnows
like Spot Tail Shiners, Fatheads and medium Rainbow Chubs will all
work.
*Positives = Lots of fish in shallow water, more action likely,
easy equipment and bait selection.
*Negatives = Colder weather and water, more small fish, heavy
traffic on certain lakes.
Summer
Peak Walleye Fishing – Memorial Day until about Independence Day
Summer peak occurs when water warms into about the mid sixty degree
range. Young of the year baitfish, Mayfly, Caddis Fly and other
insects all provide a virtual smorgasbord of feeding opportunities
in deeper water. Main lake structures come alive with activity and
Walleyes of all sizes show up in good numbers. This period can occur
as early as Memorial Day, as late as mid-June and will last into
early July, even later the further North you fish.
Fishing style and presentations shift heavily in favor of live bait
rigging but this is a transitional time and there are periods,
especially early summer when jig and minnow fishing on these deeper
main lake strictures will consistently put Walleyes in your boat.
Controlling your boat speed is the key to success at this time, so
back trolling; controlled drifting and anchoring are usually better
than fast wind drifting. Live bait rigs in 18 to 28 feet of water
require heavier sinkers in the 3/8 to ¾ ounce weight range, leader
lengths of 4 to 6 feet are most common, sometimes longer leaders are
needed when Walleyes suspend higher above the bottom.
A seven-foot medium or medium light rod (check out Loomis WRR 8400)
will help you control the heavier sinkers and help keep your lines
out and away from the boat. For jigging you’ll need to move up to ¼
to ½ ounce jig weights. A six-foot spinning rod with 6-pound test
will work fine, but you could also go to a 6-1/2 to 7 foot jigging
rod if you like the way that feels.
Lively leeches are the best choice for rigging and shiners will
perform best for jigging. At times, rigging with larger minnows like
Red Tails, Creek Chubs or big Rainbow Chubs will work well on your
live bait rigs.
*Positives =
Larger fish, warmer weather, less crowded than early season.
*Negatives = Risk of
storms, more difficult to catch smaller fish (eaters) especially on
"slot limit lakes".
Mid to
Late Summer Warm Water Period – Mid July until Late August
Once the heavy insect hatches have run their course, Walleye
will begin to key in on the abundance of minnows and small forage
fish. Warming waters, long hours of daylight, heavy weed growth and
abundance of food on sprawling flats cause fish to "scatter" or
spread to a wide variety of areas. Although my personal preference
would be to take advantage of this time period to pursue other fish
like Bass, Panfish and Muskies, it is quite possible to experience
some great Walleye fishing during this warm water period. Every year
there are a handful of lakes that emerge with above average of even
great Walleye opportunities during this warm water period. Walleye
location tends to vary, but a couple of key trends to watch for are
Deep-water suspended fish, mid depth flats suspended fish and deep
weedline or deep rocks.
There are almost too many presentations and fishing styles to
consider listing them all here, so lets talk only about a couple of
key patterns that "usually work best" during this time. You
could however, find opportunities to fish Walleyes using any of the
approaches we’ve already outlined and this should be considered a
time to experiment with a wide variety of presentations until you
find the one that seems to be key on your lake.
Warm water raises fish metabolism and when they feed, they feed
aggressively. This period is the time to take advantage of trolling
systems that allow you to cover lots of ground. Trolling crankbaits,
live bait spinners and rip jigging are all good ways to cover water
in search of active fish. Fishing suspended fish over deep water
requires deep diving crankbaits, trolling on mid depth flats require
smaller shallow running baits. Salmo’s line of baits has worked very
well for us. So have Shad Raps, Rattlin Raps and Reef Runners.
Spinners can purchased or made up to your own taste and can be
trolled with conventional rigging sinkers or by using bottom
bouncers. Boat speed and depth control is the key no matter which
presentation you choose.
Longer rods of 7 to 8 feet with fast action tips and relatively
stiff butt sections will allow you a lot of flexibility. Line
counting reels spooled up with Berkley Fireline are really helpful
when you want to be precise in placing your crankbaits at the
correct depth. Rods for live bait spinners or rip jigging can be
more conventional, but a bit heavier than the light rods we’d use in
the early season. 6 to 7 foot, medium light with 8 pound test line
works out well for a variety of presentations including the spinners
and the heavier ¼ to ½ ounce jigs you’d use for the aggressive fish.
*Positives =
Aggressive feeding fish, trolling approaches work well,
experimentation pays off.
*Negatives =
More
complex, fish more likely to move, hot weather (more bugs).
Early
fall, cool water – Late August until late September
Walleye anglers who like the early season, shallow water Walleye
patterns will enjoy a trip during this early fall period, although
it can be a bit tricky to predict when it actually begins. This is a
great time to fish and the positives clearly outweigh the negatives.
Generally we’ll get a "false start" that coincides with the full
moon of August. Fish seem to make a quick run into the shallows and
feeding seems to be getting heavier during the full moon. Soon
after, the fishing slows back down a bit until water temperatures
cool into the mid to low 60 degree range. Generally, the cooler the
water, the better the action gets as the fish get their wake up call
to chow down before the cold weather arrives. For a time, live bait
rigging with night crawlers and leeches will continue to produce,
but we’re clearly waiting for the return of the jig and minnow bite.
We’re coming full circle again and the equipment selection at this
time of the season is much like that of the early season. Light or
even ultra light spinning rods (I like the G. Loomis SJR-720 IMX as
an all around light rod), 4 to 6 pound test line and a small
assortment of 1/16, 1/8 and a few ¼ ounce jig heads. Live minnows
like Spot Tail Shiners, larger size Fatheads and Rainbow Chubs are
better now as the Walleyes key in on bigger baits.
*Positives = Great
weather, improving action, return of simple jigging presentations
*Negatives =
Tricky to predict start up.
Late Fall
Cold Water – Late September until freeze up
Whenever the water temperatures fall below 60 degrees, Walleye
fishing will become very consistent until the fall turnover, which
occurs as temperatures dip below 55 degrees or so. Even then, you
can have great Walleye fishing by adjusting your approach to match
the conditions.
There will continue to be good shallow water activity for most of
this cold water period, but there are also isolated deep water
fishing opportunities for large fish if you choose to pursue them.
Wind drifting, back trolling and anchoring is once again your best
game plan. For most anglers, fishing the same patterns and baits as
they used during the early spring will produce consistently.
For anglers who want to pursue deeper water, larger fish try rigging
with live bait. Larger minnows like Creek Chubs, Redtails and giant
Rainbow Chubs will produce fish in the 6 to 10 pound class making
this a great time for trophy Walleye fishing. Use the same equipment
that I described in the early summer peak section and you’ll be in
good shape.
*Positives =
Consistent action, chance for trophies, no bugs, less crowded.
*Negatives =
Potentially cold weather.
Without a doubt there are other factors that enter in to your
decision about when to plan a Walleye trip in Northern Minnesota,
but as a guide, these are good trends to keep in mind.
For
additional suggestions and links to other articles and archived
fishing reports that will help,
click here. |
Early season Walleye fishing
often provides the best all around action, usually the percentage of
smaller males is high. Typically, jig and minnow fishing is the
number one choice.
This is the quintessential
picture of Walleye fishing during the summer peak period. Mid lake
structure, warm weather, few if any boats around and above average
size Walleyes. In lots of ways, it doesn't get any better.
Mid summer fishing for Walleye
offers an opportunity to combine your efforts. On this trip we
caught Walleye, Bass, Pike and Bluegills. On a lot of these warm
water trips, we'll catch lower numbers of Walleye, but overall the
action is better thanks to the variety of fish present.
The picture says it all, late
summer, early fall signals the Walleyes to return toward shallow
water. In this late August photo we have all of the common late
summer conditions. Heavy sky, light wind and big fish back on the
weedline. Trolling shallow running crankbaits, live bait spinners
and rip jigging will all produce fish during this time. It also a
great time to combine Pike and Musky fishing.
Early fall marks the return of cool
weather and with it we've come back full circle to spring fishing
methods. Drifting with the wind, jig and minnow fishing, pulling up
the hood and reeling in Walleyes all go hand in hand in fall.
Late fall, deep water rigging is a great
way to catch some real trophy class Walleye. There are some cold
days, but you'd be surprised how often we have those great "Indian
Summer" experiences.
Pre-Season
Walleye opportunities.
Occasionally, weather and water conditions combine to provide an
opportunity for a couple of trips up to the Rainy River. The Rainy
River Walleye season ends on the second weekend of April. The only
way to really prepare for one of these trips is to follow the
weather and river conditions and be available to strike when the
opportunity presents itself.
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