How To Fish For Walleye – Weather Conditions, Rods, Reels, Lures, Bait

Also known as yellow pike, yellow pickerel or pikeperch, the walleye (Sander vitreus) is one of the highly prized freshwater fish in North America. It’s one of the fish that any angler should want to add to their fishing record simply because of the challenge in catching it and due to the fact that it makes an excellent table fare.

In this post, we’re going to address the most important aspects of walleye fishing. We’re going to point out here what are the best places, weather conditions, water temperatures to fish for walleye, as well as the best tackle for it.

Optimal Weather And Water Conditions For Walleye Fishing

First of all, walleye have large eyes and superior visual acuity to other fish; they see well in low-light conditions and their vision affects their behavior. Most of the time, they avoid bright light and feed in low light conditions. This being said, they mainly feed at night, at dusk, and at dawn.

In terms of water temperature, walleye are the most active at 55 – 70°F (12 – 21°C). At lower or higher temperatures than this particular interval, they tend to be less active and feed less.

In clear water conditions and during bright sunny days, walleye typically withdraw to deeper waters, and will typically remain close to the bottom throughout the day. At dawn, dusk, and at night, they will move in shallower waters to feed.

During overcast days, or in turbid water conditions, walleye will feed throughout the day as well. That’s because their superior eyesight gives them a great advantage during these conditions. They also prefer windy days, with winds in a range of 6 to 16 mph (10 – 25 km/h); that’s because wind oxygenates the water and also reduces visibility in the shallows, thus, on windy days, walleye can often be found in shallower spots.

The Best Places To Find Walleye

Walleye inhabit various bodies of water, from medium to large debit rivers, to large lakes. But depending on the time of the year, they can be found in different places in the same body of water.

In spring, walleye usually move to shallow waters and actively feed in areas with gravel bottoms, sand bottoms, rock piles, shoals, or near river mouths. On lakes, unless the water is really clear and the day is really bright, you should be able to find them in places shallower than 10 ft. (3 m). Also on lakes, if a certain spot has a slightly higher water temperature than the rest of the lake, the walleye should be present there.

In summer, walleye typically leave the shoreline waters for deeper places, at least during the day. They prefer spots with gravel or sandy bottoms, but you’ll also find them in weedbeds and rocky reefs. As we’ve already mentioned above, during summer they only move closer to the shores at dusk and at night, and as the dawn breaks and the heat of the day sets in, they move back to deeper spots.

During fall, as water temperature drops, walleye become more active, during the day, but during bright warm days, they’ll still be lower. As a general rule, the best days for walleye fishing during fall are the coldest, the windiest, or the rainiest, not exactly the most pleasant days for fishing.

In winter, the best spots to look for walleye are shallow bays or alongside shorelines. Also, even though the ice reduces the light that enters the lake, especially if there’s snow on top of it, walleye are still more active during overcast days.

Tackle For Walleye

Rods

The average walleye size is between 15 – 20 inches (38 – 51 cm) with a weight between 1 and 3-4 lbs (0.4 – 1.8 kg). Therefore, the ideal rod for walleye is between 6′ and 7′, medium-light to medium power, and fast action.

A few good examples would be:

As a general idea, go with a slightly longer rod for casting lures and soft plastics, and with a shorter rod for live bait and jigging.

Reels

Since the rods that we’ve pointed out above are all spinning rods, the spinning reels size range for them would be 3000 – 3500, reels for line between 6 – 14 lb test. A few good examples would be:

As a side note here, it’s best to go with spinning gear for walleye as spinning reels offer better casting possibilities for small lures, with longer casts.

Fishing Line

When it comes to fishing line strength, the average range for walleye should be 6 – 12 lbs. Of course, if you want to break a record, or you’re targeting big ones, you should use a stronger line (15 lbs+).

Since walleye have very keen eyesight, fluorocarbon line is hands down the best for them. That’s because it matches the refractive index of water and becomes invisible in the water, so it’s less likely to spook the fish.

But nonetheless, since the fluoro line is rather expensive, you can spool your reel with 6-12 lbs monofilament. If you prefer braided line, it’s best to go with slightly higher strength, between 10-14 lbs. Monofilament is stretchy and more forgiving during a powerful strike, while braided offers more precision for casting and a better feel of the fish bite or movement.

Although walleye have teeth, you don’t need a metallic leader for your terminal tackle as it’s not that likely for them to cut through the line. Also, they will definitely see it. However, whether you use braided or mono line, it’s best to finish it with 30-40 inches of 12 – 14 lbs fluorocarbon leader for a better bait/lure presentation.

Lures, baits, and rigs

Jigging is one of the most popular walleye fishing methods as it produces the best results and offers high flexibility in terms of bait presentation. The most common jig heads used for walleye are barbed jigs and fireball jigs.

Barbed jigs are made for use with soft plastics, that’s why they have a small barb on the head portion and a longer hook shank. The best soft plastics to tip your barbed jigs with are curly tail grubs, ring worms, finesse worms, swimbaits, or other soft plastics that imitate minnows. Color depends on the day for the soft plastics, that’s why it’s best to have a box full of them and change them until you find one that works for the day. For the jig heads, chartreuse would seem to bring the best results, but also, depending on the day, walleye may prefer other colors.

Fireball jigs have smaller hooks, so they’re best paired with live bait. In terms of live bait, the best choices are minnows, leeches, and nightcrawlers.

Spinners and spoons can produce excellent results when fishing for walleye, but their efficiency typically improves if they’re tipped with a nightcrawler, leech, or small minnow.

Deep-diving crankbaits are great for trolling or for casting during hot, sunny summer days. In this case, Troll Hunters, Firetigers, or other lures that resemble a yellow perch and can go as deep as 15-ft are great. Also, poppers can be used successfully at dusk or dawn when walleye move closer to the shores to hunt.

Finally, drifting slip bobber rigs is another excellent method to catch walleye, but in this case, it’s best to have a light jighead at the end of the rig. Especially if you’re using a fish finder and see a few fish, you’ll want that bait to reach them quickly. Leeches and minnows make great baits for this type of rig; hook them close to the head, giving them plenty of dangling room. Also, when using a slip bobber rig for walleye, it’s best to be more active with your rod than just let the drift do the work; recover and recast in different spots more frequently.