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Walleye Tips From A Pro
by John Kruse, June 01, 2004
WALLEYE TIPS FROM A PRO
June 17, 2004
Walleye fishing has really taken off in popularity over the last few years. In Washington State, these great tasting fish, reaching up to 19 pounds in size, are found throughout the Columbia River and in several Eastern Washington waters. Some of the walleye lakes you may want to visit include Evergreen Reservoir near Quincy, Sprague Lake east of Ritzville, Banks Lake near Coulee City, and Moses Lake in the Columbia Basin. Soda, Long, Crescent and the two Goose Lakes are seeps lakes in the in the same basin that also hold Walleye. Finally, Potholes Reservoir has been earning a reputation as the premiere lake body to fish for “Marble Eyes”.
While at the Sportsman’s Show in Monroe this year, I had the opportunity to listen to an impressive seminar on walleye fishing by longtime guide Ed Iman, who fishes the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Iman is the co-author of a book titled, “Walleye Fishing Simplified”. He gave anglers a real “Walleye 101” fishing crash course in the space of an hour. The lessons he shared apply equally to both experienced and novice walleye anglers in both Washington and Oregon.
Here are 15 tips that Ed passed on to me – which I’d like to share with you.
Walleye are a nomadic, schooling fish (they are not in a tightly packed school, and they move around – so where you found them yesterday may not be where they are today).
Walleye lay close to the bottom.
If using plugs (like a Timber Tiger deep diving crankbait) – the lip should be constantly be banging off the bottom or you are not going to catch walleye.
Only 1/3 of crankbaits will run true out of the box (straight). Another 1/3 can be tuned with pliers at the eye. Per Ed, the final 1/3 should be given as gifts to your brother-in-law.
Walleye are inhalers – when they strike they flare their gill plates, sucking the lure inside. You must immediately set the hook with a long sweeping motion – not a short fast jerk or with any delay.
Fish or troll downstream – walleye will position themselves to eat food traveling downstream.
Use electronics for success in locating fish and structure where fish will be found. Pixel count and power are two important factors in selecting a fish finder.
When hooking up nightcrawlers to a double whammy type spinner – hook the worm through the very top tip – this will allow the worm to lie straight and not roll as it works through the water – rolling nightcrawlers are not as effective.
Keep nightcrawlers fresh by taking them out of their bedding and putting them in a container full of ice cubes. They will stay alive longer (they begin dying at 48 degrees), plump up with the water available, and be easier to hook.
Blade baits are extremely effective for walleye – jig them vertically near the bottom – tie your knot on the bladebait on the hole closest to the nose of the lure.
Jigs with plastic grubs also work well for walleye.
When jigging, keep the rod close the water and work the lure a total of 12 to 18 inches – don’t use two to three foot jigging motions.
Troll in an S pattern to cover different depths while trying to locate schools of walleye – once you have found the depth they are at – stick with that depth.
When trolling – keep your rod out of the rod holder – you must continually adjust your line to keep it in contact with the bottom.
Keep a detailed journal about your fishing trips – what worked what didn’t, where you caught fish, what the weather conditions were, what depth the fish were at, and more. Over time, you will begin to see patterns that will help you catch fish.
That should be enough advice to get you into some walleye the next time you go fishing for them. If you would like to buy Ed Iman’s book, “Walleye Fishing Simplified” simply log on to Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. If you would like to go fishing with Ed on the Columbia, give him a call at 503-685-3753.
WALLEYE TIPS FROM A PRO
June 17, 2004
Walleye fishing has really taken off in popularity over the last few years. In Washington State, these great tasting fish, reaching up to 19 pounds in size, are found throughout the Columbia River and in several Eastern Washington waters. Some of the walleye lakes you may want to visit include Evergreen Reservoir near Quincy, Sprague Lake east of Ritzville, Banks Lake near Coulee City, and Moses Lake in the Columbia Basin. Soda, Long, Crescent and the two Goose Lakes are seeps lakes in the in the same basin that also hold Walleye. Finally, Potholes Reservoir has been earning a reputation as the premiere lake body to fish for “Marble Eyes”.
While at the Sportsman’s Show in Monroe this year, I had the opportunity to listen to an impressive seminar on walleye fishing by longtime guide Ed Iman, who fishes the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Iman is the co-author of a book titled, “Walleye Fishing Simplified”. He gave anglers a real “Walleye 101” fishing crash course in the space of an hour. The lessons he shared apply equally to both experienced and novice walleye anglers in both Washington and Oregon.
Here are 15 tips that Ed passed on to me – which I’d like to share with you.
Walleye are a nomadic, schooling fish (they are not in a tightly packed school, and they move around – so where you found them yesterday may not be where they are today).
Walleye lay close to the bottom.
If using plugs (like a Timber Tiger deep diving crankbait) – the lip should be constantly be banging off the bottom or you are not going to catch walleye.
Only 1/3 of crankbaits will run true out of the box (straight). Another 1/3 can be tuned with pliers at the eye. Per Ed, the final 1/3 should be given as gifts to your brother-in-law.
Walleye are inhalers – when they strike they flare their gill plates, sucking the lure inside. You must immediately set the hook with a long sweeping motion – not a short fast jerk or with any delay.
Fish or troll downstream – walleye will position themselves to eat food traveling downstream.
Use electronics for success in locating fish and structure where fish will be found. Pixel count and power are two important factors in selecting a fish finder.
When hooking up nightcrawlers to a double whammy type spinner – hook the worm through the very top tip – this will allow the worm to lie straight and not roll as it works through the water – rolling nightcrawlers are not as effective.
Keep nightcrawlers fresh by taking them out of their bedding and putting them in a container full of ice cubes. They will stay alive longer (they begin dying at 48 degrees), plump up with the water available, and be easier to hook.
Blade baits are extremely effective for walleye – jig them vertically near the bottom – tie your knot on the bladebait on the hole closest to the nose of the lure.
Jigs with plastic grubs also work well for walleye.
When jigging, keep the rod close the water and work the lure a total of 12 to 18 inches – don’t use two to three foot jigging motions.
Troll in an S pattern to cover different depths while trying to locate schools of walleye – once you have found the depth they are at – stick with that depth.
When trolling – keep your rod out of the rod holder – you must continually adjust your line to keep it in contact with the bottom.
Keep a detailed journal about your fishing trips – what worked what didn’t, where you caught fish, what the weather conditions were, what depth the fish were at, and more. Over time, you will begin to see patterns that will help you catch fish.
That should be enough advice to get you into some walleye the next time you go fishing for them. If you would like to buy Ed Iman’s book, “Walleye Fishing Simplified” simply log on to Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. If you would like to go fishing with Ed on the Columbia, give him a call at 503-685-3753.
Thomas Kruse used a jig to land this nice walleye on a recent rainy afternoon.
