How to Catch Walleye

Walleye — Prespawn

Where to fish

Walleye are gathering near where they'll spawn — rocky shoals, gravel bars. The males arrive first and stay shallow longest, in just a few feet of water. The bigger females hold a little deeper, just off the spawning area, and slide shallow in the morning, in the evening and after dark.
Walleye are gathering near where they'll spawn — the mouths of tributary creeks and rivers. The males arrive first and stay shallow longest, in just a few feet of water. The bigger females hold a little deeper, just off the spawning area, and slide shallow in the morning, in the evening and after dark.
In rivers, work the holes, the current breaks, the eddies and below wing dams — anywhere a fish can rest out of the push and still watch food come past.

What to tie on

A jig and minnow is the spring standard — 1/16- or 1/8-oz in the shallows. Keep the jig on the bottom: when in doubt about the weight, go heavier rather than lighter, because a jig that isn't touching bottom isn't fishing.
A jig and minnow is the spring standard — 1/4- to 3/8-oz in river current. Keep the jig on the bottom: when in doubt about the weight, go heavier rather than lighter, because a jig that isn't touching bottom isn't fishing.
In rivers, lean to oranges, yellows and chartreuses — but in unusually clear river water, dull browns, blacks and whites do better.

How to fish it

Work the jig slowly along the bottom — lift it a few inches to a foot, let it fall back, and rest it. Cold water means cold fish: short lifts, long pauses.
Time your best shallow spots for morning, evening, dark or a windy day — that's when the females visit. The males are there all day.

If it's still tough

If the shallows are dead, drop to the first deeper water beside the spawning area and slow right down. A minnow on a plain hook under a slip bobber, set just off the bottom, gives a wary prespawn fish something it doesn't have to chase.

Walleye — Postspawn

Where to fish

The spawn is done or winding down. The fish rest first, then start feeding again as the water warms — look just off the spawning shoals, then toward nearby flats. On the big lakes, postspawn walleye work flats roughly 7–20 ft deep before they scatter to summer structure.
The spawn is done or winding down. The fish rest first, then start feeding again as the water warms — look just off the spawning shoals, then toward river mouths and nearby flats. Postspawn walleye work river mouth water roughly 7–20 ft deep before they scatter to summer structure.

What to tie on

Jigs and minnows still lead, but this is when rigging and crankbaits come back into play — the books call the warming stretch ahead great for jigging, rigging and cranking alike. A live-bait rig (walking sinker, a leader of a foot to a metre, a size 2–4 hook) with a minnow is the slow search tool.

How to fish it

Cover water slowly and don't expect violence — these are recovering fish. Work a spot thoroughly before you move; a resting fish often eats on the third or fourth good pass, not the first.
The bait rotation turns with the season: minnows in spring, leeches as late spring arrives, crawlers into summer.

If it's still tough

Anchor over the best-looking flat edge and slip-bobber a leech or minnow just off the bottom. Postspawn fish that won't chase will still rise a few inches for something hanging in front of them.

Walleye — Late spring

Where to fish

Fish are moving out to the main lake — points, humps and reefs are turning on, and the first deep weedlines are worth checking. Expect them to use the same structure all summer from here; what changes is which side and how deep.

What to tie on

The full menu works now: jigs, live-bait rigs and crankbaits. For rigging, match the walking sinker to the depth (1/16-oz in the shallows up to 1½ oz deep), a leader of about 30–90 cm — longer, up to several metres, on clear, pressured water, shorter in dark water — and a size 2–4 hook.
Bait follows the calendar: minnows give way to leeches, and crawlers come on as the water warms.

How to fish it

Jig the breaks, rig the flats, and troll cranks when you need to find them. When you mark fish, run a trolled crankbait 2–5 ft above them, never below — walleyes rise to a bait; they rarely dive for one.

If it's still tough

Slow down and go to live bait on the spot-on-the-spot — the inside turn, the tip of the point, the one patch of rock. A slip bobber with a leech, set a foot above the rocks, soaks the exact spot a trolled bait just passes over.
Slow down and go to live bait on the spot-on-the-spot — the inside turn, the one patch of rock. A slip bobber with a leech, set a foot above the rocks, soaks the exact spot a trolled bait just passes over.

Walleye — Summer

Where to fish

Main-lake points, humps, reefs and deep weedlines are the summer addresses — plus a pattern many anglers miss: walleye suspended over the basins, following baitfish. On the Great Lakes the bait stacks 30–50 ft down and the walleye hang halfway down to it. If you're marking bait over deep water with nothing under it, look halfway up.

What to tie on

Trolling is the summer search engine. Use dive curves to put crankbaits exactly where you want them — the prime trolling band is 15–25 ft — or add a snap weight: an ounce clipped on 20 ft ahead of the bait, with 100 ft of line out, runs the bait about 30% deeper than it would on its own (that method was tested at 2.0 mph).
Colours follow the water: chrome, purple and naturals in clear water; clown, firetiger, chartreuse and wonderbread in stained water; UV and glow when it's overcast or the light is low; gold is the staple in tea-stained water. A black bait run high in the column silhouettes against the sky and gets noticed.
Bottom bouncers with spinners or crawlers cover the breaks: an ounce of bouncer for every 10 ft of water, the line at about 45°, at 1.0–1.5 mph.

How to fish it

Summer trolling speeds run 1.8–2.2 mph. Run baits 2–5 ft above the fish you mark, never below. With leadcore, one to two colours back with a stickbait reaches 15–22 ft at a slow 1.2–1.6 mph — a good way to comb a basin edge.
Summer trolling speeds run 1.8–2.2 mph. Run baits 2–5 ft above the fish you mark, never below. With leadcore, one to two colours back with a stickbait reaches 15–22 ft at a slow 1.2–1.6 mph.

If it's still tough

In the dog days the feed happens in short, intense windows, mostly in low light — be on deep structure at dawn and dusk instead of grinding at noon. At midday, the shaded side of the thickest cover and the deepest edge you can fish are the percentage plays.

Walleye — Early fall

Where to fish

Cooling water pulls walleye back onto the points, humps and reefs and bunches them up on baitfish. It's becoming an edges season again — the same structure that worked in summer, fished a little shallower and slower as the water drops.

What to tie on

Crankbaits still cover water — this is snap-weight season (an ounce 20 ft ahead of the bait, 100 ft out, for roughly 30% more depth) — but the jig and minnow starts taking its share back as the water cools.

How to fish it

Ease the trolling speed down toward the cold-water range, 1.2–1.6 mph, and keep baits 2–5 ft above marked fish. Toward evening, check the tops of the points — fall fish slide up to feed as the light goes.
Ease the trolling speed down toward the cold-water range, 1.2–1.6 mph, and keep baits 2–5 ft above marked fish. Toward evening, fall fish slide up to feed as the light goes.

If it's still tough

If they won't chase, go vertical: a jig and minnow worked in place over the deep edge, lifted a few inches to a foot, dropped on a free fall and rested. Cold-shoulder fish eat a bait that isn't going anywhere.

Walleye — Fall

Where to fish

Main-lake points, humps and reefs are the fall pattern — walleye bunch up on them, following the surviving baitfish and feeding up for winter. The biggest females use the deep edges: humps and points topping out around 25–35 ft are the classic spots.
Fish the windward side, where the wind is pushing in and the chop is. Save the tops of the points and the shallower breaks for the last hour of the day — big fall females slide up for short evening feeding sprees, then drop back down.
Fish the windward side, where the wind is pushing in and the chop is. Save the shallower breaks for the last hour of the day — big fall females slide up for short evening feeding sprees, then drop back down.

What to tie on

A jig and a small fathead or shiner is the fall staple — 1/8-oz is the working size — and to cover water, troll a crankbait slowly, 1.2–1.6 mph in cold water, running it 2–5 ft above the fish you mark, never below.
Jighead colour follows the water: blue in clear water, gold if it's tea-stained.

How to fish it

Drag the jig, let it sit, drag it again, with a slight hop now and then. Keep it on the bottom and keep the pauses long — fall fish in cold water don't chase.

If it's still tough

A small leech under a slip bobber, or on a dropshot shaken in place, is the old reliable — no matter the conditions, a walleye will eventually eat a small leech. And be on the shallow side of your best spot at dusk: the short feeding spree as the light goes is the best window of a fall day.

Walleye — Late fall

Where to fish

The coldest open water of the year. Fish are on the deep edges of the points and humps, bunched tight and moving as little as they can get away with.
The coldest open water of the year. Fish are in the river holes and deep breaks, bunched tight and moving as little as they can get away with.

What to tie on

Jig and minnow, heavier as the depth demands. A stinger hook earns its keep now: cold fish nip tails.
Jig and minnow, heavier as the depth and current demand — in rivers, 1/4- to 3/8-oz in the holes, breaks and eddies is the classic cold-water rig. A stinger hook earns its keep now: cold fish nip tails.

How to fish it

Vertical and slow. Lift the jig a few inches to a foot, let it fall freely, rest it on the bottom. Long pauses aren't a mistake in near-freezing water — they're the presentation.

If it's still tough

Put a minnow under a slip bobber just off the bottom on the best spot you have and give it time. Late-fall walleye feed in brief windows; being set up and still when a window opens beats running around looking for a better one.

Walleye on the ice — Early ice

Where to fish

First ice is the fall pattern slowed down: start where the fish were in late fall, around any green weeds still standing — 10–16 ft is a good starting band, deeper by day, shallower at night. Dawn, dusk, and grey or snowy days are the feeding times, and overcast or snow stretches the midday bite.

What to tie on

Five presentations cover first ice: a jigging spoon (Buck-Shot or Swedish Pimple class) with the treble tipped with a minnow head, a jig and minnow, a hardbait, a plain hook and minnow, and a glide bait.

How to fish it

Pound the bottom so the lure puffs up a little cloud of sediment — that draws walleye in. And fish two rods with two jobs: an aggressive jigging rod to call them, and a deadstick or tip-up sitting still with a minnow. The loud rod brings them in; the quiet rod often catches them.
Read their mood from how they come in: if they rush in and stall, downsize and lengthen the pauses. If they follow but won't commit, raise the lure slowly. If they slide away, go quiet or deadstick. They usually eat on the pause.

If it's still tough

When a fish appears under you, don't reduce the show — keep the same energy that called it in. Half-hearted jigging loses more first-ice walleye than aggressive jigging ever scared.

Walleye on the ice — Mid ice

Where to fish

Mid-winter, the fish have slid deeper — work the deeper breaks and basin edges off the same structure they used in fall, and lean harder on the dawn and dusk windows. Bright midday is the slowest ice fishing of the year; grey days and snowfall fish better through the middle hours.
Mid-winter, the fish have slid deeper — work the deeper breaks off the same structure they used in fall, and lean harder on the dawn and dusk windows. Bright midday is the slowest ice fishing of the year; grey days and snowfall fish better through the middle hours.

What to tie on

The same three presentations, a size smaller and a mood slower: jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head, jig and minnow, or a plain minnow on a deadstick beside the active rod.

How to fish it

Use the cadence loop: rush-and-stall from the fish means downsize and lengthen pauses; a follow without a commit means raise slowly; a slide-away means go quiet or deadstick. They eat on the pause.

If it's still tough

Set the deadstick and trust it. Mid-winter walleye that refuse everything moving will still take a minnow that isn't doing anything at all.

Walleye on the ice — Late ice

Where to fish

Late ice pulls walleye back toward the shallows and toward the shoals they'll spawn on — the reverse of the fall move. Fish the staging water near spawning areas, shallower than mid-winter, and expect the low-light windows to get stronger as the season runs out.
Late ice pulls walleye back toward the shallows and toward the creeks and rivers they'll spawn on — the reverse of the fall move. Fish the staging water near spawning areas, shallower than mid-winter, and expect the low-light windows to get stronger as the season runs out.

What to tie on

Jigging spoons and jig-and-minnow combos lead again, with a deadstick minnow alongside — late-ice fish moving toward the spawn feed more willingly than mid-winter fish did.

How to fish it

You can fish a little more aggressively than mid-winter, but keep the deadstick soaking — staging fish cruise, and the still rod intercepts the ones passing between your holes.

If it's still tough

Move toward the spawning water, not away from it — if the staging spots are quiet, the fish are closer to the shoals than you think, especially at last light.
Move toward the spawning water, not away from it — if the staging spots are quiet, the fish are closer to the creeks than you think, especially at last light.

Manitoba Master Angler

A Walleye of 71 cm (28 in) or better qualifies for Manitoba's Master Angler Program.

Walleye — Prespawn

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye — Postspawn

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye — Late spring

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye — Summer

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye — Early fall

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye — Fall

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye — Late fall

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye on the ice — Early ice

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye on the ice — Mid ice

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Walleye on the ice — Late ice

Where to fish

What to tie on

How to fish it

If it's still tough

Manitoba Master Angler

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