The walleye is a member of the perch family. It gets its name from its large, glassy, light-sensitive eyes. While walleye average 1-3 pounds, in some waters they grow to more than 20 pounds. Many walleye experts consider fish over 10 pounds to be trophies. The world-record walleye, weighing an even 25 pounds, was caught in Tennessee in 1960.
Many anglers highly prize walleye for its table quality. Its meat is white, firm and mild-tasting. Because of this eating quality and its abundance in many waters, the walleye is a favorite among anglers wherever it’s found.
Walleye are native to cool, clean lakes, reservoirs and major rivers of the central U.S. and much of Canada. They have also been stocked in both eastern and western waters outside their home range.
Walleye spend most of their time in deep main-lake/river areas where there is good water circulation, but they also frequently feed on shallow flats and close to shore. They normally move into these areas in low-light periods such as night, dawn, dusk, cloudy days or when vegetation or muddy water shields them from bright sunlight. A walleye’s main food is small baitfish, though it will also feed on insects and small crustaceans and amphibians.
Walleye are early spawners. Their spawning run starts when the water temperature climbs above 45° F. Walleye in lakes spawn on shallow flats with hard, clean bottoms. In rivers, walleye spawn below riffles in pools with rock or sand bottoms. In river-fed lakes and reservoirs, an upstream spawning run is the rule. When spawning, one large female walleye can lay several hundred thousand eggs.
One characteristic of these fish is especially pertinent to beginning anglers: they have sharp teeth! Fishermen who stick a finger into a walleye’s mouth will get a painful surprise. Instead, they should be gripped across the back.
Walleye
Sauger
Sauger are closely related to walleye, and many people confuse them because of their similar appearance and habits. But there are two easy ways to tell them apart. Sauger have dark, saddlelike blotches on their backs (as opposed to the walleye’s smooth golden scale pattern). Also, sauger have dark spots on the main dorsal fin. (A walleye’s dorsal fin is spot-free.)
Sauger don’t grow as large as walleye; they seldom reach 4 pound. (The world record sauger – 8 pounds 12 ounces – was caught in North Dakota in 1971.) The sauger is a river fish, though it also lives in river impoundments and some natural lakes. Its range includes the Mississippi Valley west of the Appalachian Mountains and north to James Bay in Canada. Some-times sauger are found co-existing with walleye, but they’re more tolerant of dingy water than walleye. This means sauger can thrive in slow-moving, silty streams where walleye can’t survive.
The sauger’s feeding and spawning habits are very similar to those of walleye. This fish is also prized by anglers for its fine table quality. And like walleye, sauger have sharp teeth which should be avoided by anglers.
Walleye are traditionally deep-water, bottom-hugging fish, but they will frequently feed in the shallows. The determining factor seems to be light penetration into the water. Walleye don’t like bright sunlight. But on overcast days, at night, when shallow areas are dingy or wave-swept, or when heavy weed growth provides shade, they may hold and feed in water no deeper than a couple of feet.
Walleye may be the ultimate structure fish. In deep areas, they hold along underwater humps, reefs and drop-offs on hard, clean bottoms, especially those with rock or sand. They prefer water with good circulation and rarely concentrate in dead-water areas like sheltered bays or coves. Walleye will move in and out of feeding areas.
Walleye spawn when water temperature climbs into the mid-40° F range, and this is a good time for beginning anglers to try for these fish. (Check local regulations, as some states maintain a closed season on walleye until after they spawn.)
Look for shallows or shoal areas with gravel or rock bottoms that are exposed to the wind. Sloping points, islands, reefs, and rock piles close to shore are high-percentage spots. Fish them during low-light periods: dawn, dusk and at night.
Large rivers are among the most diverse of North America’s waters. Big rivers have a broad range of fish and structure where fish concentrate. Look for bass, after spawning, off points that lead into submerged feeder creek channels.
Try a slip-bobber rig baited with a night crawler, leech or live minnow in these areas. Adjust the bobber so the bait is suspended just above bottom. Try casting shallow areas with jigs tipped with live minnows or shallow-running crankbaits.
In early summer, walleye can be caught along weedlines and mid-lake structure, both requiring a boat to properly fish them. When fishing weeds, cast a small jig (1/16 or ⅛ ounce) tipped with a min now right into the edge of the weeds, then swim it back out. Work slowly along the weedline. Pay special attention to sharp bends in the weedline or areas where the weeds thin out. (This technique will also produce bass, crappie and pike.)
Fishing deep structure can be a needle in a hay-stack situation, so it’s best to stay on the move until you locate fish. If you see other boats clustered on a small area, they’re probably fishing productive structure. Go there and try drifting a night crawler on a slip-sinker rig. Move upwind of the other boats, and let out enough line to hit bottom. Then engage your reel and drag the night crawler across bottom as you drift downwind.
A bite will feel like a light tap or bump. Release line immediately, and allow the fish to swim off with the bait. After about 20 seconds, reel up slack, feel for the fish, and set the hook.
This is the standard way to fish for lake or reservoir walleye, but there are other good methods. Bottom-bouncing rigs trailing night crawlers or minnows can be productive along deep structure or submerged points. This is the same principle as using the slip-sinker rig. Let your line down to bottom, engage the reel, then drag the rig behind you as you drift or troll. A slip-bobber rig drifted across this structure is also a good bet.
As you fish deep structure, it’s a good idea to have a floating marker handy. If you get a bite, throw out the marker, then come back to this spot after you’ve landed your fish. Walleye are school fish, so there are probably more in the same area.
Beginners should try two other simple approaches for walleye. First, find a rocky shore line that slopes off quickly into deep water. Fish this from dusk to around midnight, either with live bait (slip-bobber rig) or by casting floating min now lures. Second, cast into areas where strong winds are pushing waves into shore. This wave action muddies the water and walleye move right up to the banks to feed. Cast a jig and minnow into this roily water. Either walk the bank or wade the shallows, casting as you go. Pay special attention to the zone where muddy water borders clear.
River walleye and sauger collect in fairly predictable places. They spend most of their time out of current, so look for them around islands, rock jetties, eddies below dams, etc. They usually hold near the edge of an eddy where they can watch for food.
Trophy walleye like this one can be caught from many of North America’s big lakes and reservoirs. These fish usually stay in deeper water and hug bottom structure. Sometimes, though, when feeding and water conditions are just right, they will move up into shallow vegetation or close to shore.
The best river conditions for catching walleye are when the water is low, stable and relatively clear. Walleye continue feeding when a river is rising, but may change locations in response to high-water conditions. When the river gets too muddy, or when the water starts dropping again, walleye generally become inactive and hard to catch.
Tailwaters below dams are the best places for beginners to catch river walleye. Some fish stay in tailwaters all year long, but the biggest concentrations occur during winter and early spring. Walleye may hold close to dam faces or behind wingwalls. They like to hang along rock ledges, gravel bars or other structure. But again, the key is reduced flow.
Boat-fishing is best for catching river walleye. Use a jig tipped with a live minnow, matching your jig weight to the amount of current. In slack water, a ⅛-ounce jig is heavy enough to work most tailwater areas. Float or troll through likely walleye locations, vertically jigging off the bottom. Or anchor and cast into eddies, holes and current breaks. Let the jig sink to the bottom, and work it back with a lift/drop retrieve. At all times, work the bait slowly. Set the hook at the slightest bump.
A good technique for bank fishermen is casting crankbaits or jigs tipped with minnows along riprap banks in early spring. Walleye spawn along the rocks downstream from dams when the water temperature climbs into the mid-40° F range. Cast parallel to banks, bump crankbaits off the rocks, or swim jigs just above them.
In summer and fall, look for walleye farther downstream, along riprap banks, jetties, gravel or rock bars, mouths of tributaries or sloughs, or deep eddy pools at the edge of current. Cast jigs or troll live-bait rigs through deeper areas, or cast crankbaits along rocky shallows.
This river walleye was caught in the white water right below a dam.
In summer when walleyes go deep and may be tough to find in schools on the reefs, the current below the rapids on lake outlets can usually be counted on to give up some fish. They have everything they need here: plenty of oxygen, food coming their way, and cover to hide.
The jig-and-spinner combination lure has been catching walleyes—and other fish—a long time, but sometimes a new and successful wrinkle of tinkering with a jig-spinner comes along. Writing in the Spring 2009 issue of the Boundary Waters Journal, Darrel Brauer’s article, “Wall eyes for Dinner,” reports on finding a winning combination for trolling for finicky summer walleyes in about 8 feet of water: “The precise specifications are: begin with a Betts Spin Size 3 gold spinner, add a ¼-ounce Eagle Claw saltwater jig dressed with a pure-white 4-inch Berkeley PowerBait grub. Not only is this combination effective when trolled down to about 12 feet, it is absolutely deadly when fished in the current below rapids and falls.”
In what it called the “Ultimate Lure Survey,” published in March 2008, Field & Stream magazine asked 1,000 of its hard-core readers to name their favorite lures. The winners for the Walleye category were:
Spinners, 54%, Erie Dearie
Jigs, 19%, Jig With Mister Twister
Minnow-Type Lures, 12%, Original Rapala with Smithwick Rogue second
Crankbaits, 9%, Rapala Shad Rap
Soft-Plastics, 3%, Berkley Gulp! Minnow
Spoons, 3%, Dardevle
The legendary Lindy Rig put today’s Lindy Tackle Co. on the map. It’s especially good for fall walleyes, reports Brian McClintock in the September 2007 issue of Field & Stream. Hook a 6-inch minnow or chub behind the dorsal fin with a No. 2 Octopus hook. The leader is 36- to 42-inch 10-pound test connected to a barrel swivel. Now comes a ⅛- to ¼-ounce slip sinker that will slide and bounce along the bottom. For more fish-taking Lindy tips for walleyes and everything else, visit www.lindyfishingtackle.com.
Northland Fishing Tackle, www.northlandtackle.com, is loaded with great walleye baits and information—as well as all other freshwater gamefish—and features a free 96-page catalog and fishing guide.
You will not find many anglers who don’t rank the walleye as No. 1 in the frying pan. For my taste, the fillets should be fried, even deep-fried. Yes, the docs will call this a heart-stopping meal, and that might keep you away. But … what the heck. How often do you do it? Some of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life have been shoreline lunches with walleye and pike fillets fried in a pan that the guides had first used to fry great slices of bacon as soon as they got the fire going. The Cholesterol Police were shouting in my ear, but I dug in with great gusto. Life’s too short to miss this kind of culinary experience.
On Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay, Mark Gwizdala was having a slow afternoon with his usual trolling lures and tactics. He started thinking of the ways other anglers use flashers for salmon and trout. He tied on a flashy spoon and in-line weight about 5 feet ahead of a spinner with a night crawler. Bingo! Mark’s success that day has spread to anglers all over the Great Lakes trolling for suspended walleyes, and even into other techniques for bottom bouncing. The flasher spoon attracts the fish’s attention, the lure and bait close the deal.
—Reported by Dave Scroppo in the article “Master Class for Walleyes,” on the Outdoor Life Web site www.outdoorlife.com
Walleye expert Jeff Murray, writing in North American Fisherman, said that he favors fishing for cold-water walleyes with an inflated crawler hooked right in the nose so that it swims lazily through the water in a straight line.
A simple rig to catch more and bigger walleyes is to use a slip-sinker system, with a sliding egg or bullet sinker in front of a barrel swivel, with a leader that varies from 6 to 10 feet.
In an article on the Mustad Web site, www.mustad.no, Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame angler Gary Parsons explains how a group of walleye fishermen in the 1990s started bending their hooks to get a unique presentation of their bait. Today, says Parsons, Mustad’s Slow Death Hooks do the job for you in a deadly finesse presentation, a slow bottom-hugging enticing move that gets strikes. He uses a bottom-bouncer weight, 10-pound mono leader, and threads half a night crawler over the hook eye. There should be ¼ to ½ inch of worm hanging. See his article on the Mustad site.
“Walleyes will tolerate a slight current, but seldom will you find them in fast water, unless there is some type of cover to serve as a current break. When searching for walleyes in rivers, you can immediately eliminate a good share of the water because the current is too swift. Just how much current walleyes will tolerate depends on the season.”
—Gander Mountain article, www.gandermountain.com
“You can find river walleyes in slack pools, in eddies, or downstream from some type of current break like an island, a bridge pier, or a large boulder. But many anglers make the mistake of fishing only the downstream side of obstructions. For instance, Walleyes usually hold just upstream of a wingdam, a rocky structure intended to deflect current toward the middle of the river to keep the channel from silting in. Current deflecting off the face of a wingdam or other current break creates a slack pocket on the upstream side, providing an ideal spot for a walleye to grab drifting food.”
—Gander Mountain article, www.gandermountain.com
“Current edges are to a river what structure is to a lake. Walleyes will hold along the margin between slack and moving water. This way, they can rest in the still water and occasionally dart into the current to get a meal.”
—Gander Mountain article, www.gandermountain.com
