08/16/2000
- Article
River
Walleyes: overlooked and under fished
by Norb Wallock
Early
fall angling on just about any river throughout the Midwest, can be
a lonely proposition. It’s
feels a little eerie, to have that much water all to yourself. In this day and
age of fishing pressure and elbow to elbow angling,
you get the feeling that something must be wrong.
Chances are that nothing’s wrong, and everything is right.
With a little understanding of where and how to find late
season walleyes, anglers can cash in on some of the season’s best
fishing.
As
summer slides into fall, seasonal triggers occur that send walleyes
on an upstream migration that can lead them miles away from their
present location. As
water temps begin to cool down, walleyes start to get a little
restless, and eventually pick up stakes and move.
It’s this fall migration that creates a concentration, and
plays right into the hands of anglers
in the know.
Summer
walleyes tend to be spread out, and can be found throughout a
section of river. Fall
walleyes, on the other hand, tend
to bunch up. And
better yet, they become much more active, and feed aggressively all
day long. It’s a time
of the year when walleyes are putting on layers of fat, that will
help them through a long hard winter;
And the females are already developing eggs, which puts them in a serious snackin’ mood.
Active walleyes, located
in specific, easily identifiable areas, makes for peak
fishing conditions.
Finding
early fall walleyes, is the first piece of the fall walleye
puzzle to put together. The
place to begin your search, is as far upstream as you can go, or as
far as the fish can go, and work downstream.
If the river you’re working has a dam, or any other
obstruction that would impede their migration, you’ve found a good
place to start.
One
of the quickest methods, for finding walleyes on the move, is
trolling crankbaits downstream.
Working down, instead of up, allows you to do so at warp
speed, and you can cover lots and lots of water in a short period of
time. By running
with the current, you may be traveling at five or six miles per
hour. But don’t let
the speed scare you,
active walleyes will still chase down a bait;
And the key is finding active fish.
One
of the most effective methods for trolling crankbaits, in a current
situation, employs the use of leadcore line.
River rats have been successfully using leadcore and
crankbaits for years, and there’s a few things you should know
before getting the lead out on river ‘eyes.
Rivers
require some minor adjustments over standing leadcore trolling gear,
adjustments that can help you avoid the frustrations of dealing with
a snag filled environment
Rivers are loaded with rocks, sunken trees, stumps, and who
knows what, all of which are waiting to grab whatever runs too
close, never to be seen
again.
Successful
river trolling requires keeping a bait running close to the bottom.
Running close means you’ll end up banging into all of the
aforementioned traps, and it also means you’ll be occasionally
hanging up.
There’s
not much you can do about hanging up, but there is something you can
do about getting it back.
Heavier
leadcore, like thirty-six pound test, is the way to go.
Between the lead and the bait, you’ll need a monofilament
leader. In most
situations, you can get by with ten or twelve pound test line, but
not here. Instead, a six to nine foot leader, in the thirty to forty
pound range, is in order. To
attach the leader to the leadcore, you’ll want to use a good
quality ball bearing swivel.
Leadcore aficionados will often use a blood knot to attach
the leader, but a swivel will better stand up to the extra strain of
yanking a bait out of an
underwater jungle.
With
this setup, you can literally rip a snagged bait free, and get it
back again. You
may need to reshape some hooks, or the bait may need to be tuned,
but at least it’s back, and straightening
a few hooks can be done in a snap, and you can be back in
business quickly.
Top
picks for trolling, would include the Rattling Shad Raps, and the
Storm Thundersticks. Both
are deep divers, and both have built in rattles.
Deep divers require less line out, to achieve the appropriate
running depth. Rattles
have proven themselves time and again, and they often out produce
those without.
Once
you’ve run walleyes down, it might be more efficient to slow
things up, and work a fish holding area over thoroughly.
The entire purpose of trolling downriver is to locate a
biter, or two. Quite
often, when you have enough fish around, one of them will give it up
and take the bait. That’s
the Benedict Arnold, that
may indicate the presence of the mother load.
After
you’ve picked up a couple of fish, you may decide to work slowly
upstream, and give the fish more time to react to your bait.
Leadcore and crankbaits can still be effective when trolling
against the grain, but you must take the amount of current into
consideration. Heavy flow may keep you close to a standstill,
especially if your working the main channel.
Whether
you’re trolling up or down, speed will be a key. Realize that the current near the bottom will be less than
that at the surface. To
know if you’re running at a productive speed, watch your rod tip. Deep diving baits will telegraph how they’re running , back
to the tip, and you can actually see the rhythm of a properly
running bait.
Another
presentation for trolling current, up or down, includes the use of a
heavy dropper jig, attached below a
three way swivel. The
other line, would tie in a floating jig head and a short leader.
This method can be extremely effective, where anglers are
allowed more than one line, and fish will often hit the giant jig. This
rig can be worked up stream, if the current is slow enough, or you
may be better off slipping the current, and working down river.
The key in slipping, is to face the boat upstream, and let it
drop back slow enough, to let you keep the jig in contact with the
bottom.
One
of the triggers to initiating an intense fall bite, is a little
runoff. Rising
water levels can spur walleye activity, and make conditions that
were good, even better. Whatever the case,
early fall is one of those peak times, during the open water
season, and chances are, you could have it all to yourself.
Norb
Wallock
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