It’s another fishing trip for us, and we’re going to tackle and learn how to troll for walleye! Whether you’re a beginner going in for the first time and still learning how to fish, or a regular trying to up your fishing game, these tips are sure to help you out!
Usually, freshwater fish are somewhat elusive to anglers, and it can take quite some time before you can get them to bite. You’ll probably come home tired and hopeless when you haven’t got anything but sweat and tears down your face. Turn that frown upside down with our new fishing tip!
Walleyes are very popular to anglers all around the world. Plenty of areas already regulate catching them, as their population tends to dwindle due to overfishing across many freshwater regions around the globe. Now, you probably would want to get started with our tips about now.
Quick tips- how to troll for walleye
1. Pick The Right Kind Of Bait
2. Alternate The Bait From Time To Time
3. Change Trolling Speeds
4. Mind Your Depth
1. Pick The Right Kind Of Bait
Any angler would advise you that using the right kind of bait is the key to a good catch. Which is why this is our first tip – use the best bait for your walleye.
We usually don’t use live bait for trolling, but we included that if ever you decide to use it, it is recommended by many veteran anglers as it even does the work for you by moving around in the water. It can be tricky when you’re still learning how to fish.
With that being said, the right kind of lure also helps beginners. Spinner lures are great, you can even experiment a little so long as you stick to what looks natural for the Walleye, who are sometimes picky eaters.
- Live bait – live bait is recommended as it’s the most natural way to attract almost all kinds of fish when angling. Your best bets would be live minnows during spring, winter, and fall, while night crawlers or leeches are best for summer.
- Depending on the season, bait should vary; fish are smarter than you think!
- Lures – different lures are the next option when you don’t have any live bait readily available. Now, when you pick a lure, it’s best to match the natural look and feel of the area around you, but make sure your lure is vivid enough for the fish to see.
- Sinker rigs or lures that are weighted go deep and are better for catching walleyes as they prefer to hunt in deeper areas.
- Spinners are very colorful and dynamic lures that are also noisy to attract fish as a bonus.
- These kinds of lures were used traditionally before any other type as it was found to be an efficient and easy way to entice walleyes to bite. Recommended if you’re still learning how to fish.
For a quick buy, you should check out the best baits in the market this year for troll walleye! If you’re going to choose to use bait, then use the most effective ones according to the survey!
Here are the top 3 baits we’d recommend you to use for trolling walleyes! You’ll find most of these in fishing shops, and they’re also available online!
1. Strike King Redeye Special Spinnerbait:
A good way to attract walleye with its dynamic movement and bright color. Spinnerbaits are best to start things out right. Strike King Redeye Special Spinnerbait is ranked as one of the best spinners to use for such an occasion.
2. Rapala Shad Rap:
Hard bait is very effective for the natural qualities that make it look like a small fish. Its movement when trolling isn’t bad, too. The Rapala Shad Rap hard bait is well known for its wounded minnow swim that immediately catches the walleye’s attention.
3. Hanxing Joint Willow-Bladed Spin Jig Head:
Bladed Jig heads, like spinnerbaits, also utilize a mechanism to help attract fish, and this time it is with the use of vibrations. The Hanxing Joint Willow Bladed Spin Jig Head is optimal for walleyes if you want to give it a go.
2. Alternate The Bait From Time To Time
Like humans or any other animal that has instinct, having the same kind of stimuli over and over, even when attractive to the senses, can be tiresome to react to after a while. That is the reason why alternating baits from time to time should be another critical element in trolling for walleye.
It’s a given that your fishing gear and tackle have enough variety to keep the fish satisfied and hungry for something new! You can always go to the store and pick a nice pack of different colored lures, also taking note of the depth of what kind of rig you’re using, so make sure you’ve brushed up on your rigging techniques as well.
It’s still best to have more than you need than having less.
- Bring enough lures to change; transitioning from near-surface lures to deeper rigs also helps. You can adjust depth with the help of a downrigger, which we’ll mention in another tip.
- Don’t use only one kind or type of lure.
- When you find bait or lure effective, and if it catches a good number quickly, you can stick to that for a while, but when it stops working after some time, that’s the signal for you to change it.
3. Change Trolling Speeds
Knowing your enemy, which in this case is the walleye, is how you’re going to get the catch you want. Trolling speed, or the rate your boat is moving while your bait is out on the water is a significant factor.
Walleyes are versatile, and a good way to know what speed to use is to match it with spawning seasons, which typically is around the onset of, or during late spring.
- Springtime is spawning season, which means the walleyes are still going to be sluggish and aren’t that picky – slower speeds of 0.5 miles per hour to 1.5 miles per hour is a good way to get them going.
- Early summer will bring about more aggressive types of walleyes. You can pick up the pace here, going from 1.5 miles per hour up to 2 miles per hour.
- Remember, just like using bait, alternate your speed if it’s not working for you, if it is, then keep using it until it doesn’t work for you anymore. Versatility and variety help a lot.
- Faster speeds seem to attract bigger, more aggressive fish. So if you’re feeling competitive, speed up!
- If you’re looking for quantity versus quality, going slower can also help increase the chances of capturing the less aggressive walleyes, usually younger smaller ones.
4. Mind Your Depth
When trolling for walleye, minding your depth is another thing to consider. Most of the time, going deeper might sound like a good idea, as fish tend to stay in those depths. You’ll be able to catch more walleye that way!
Of course, it is still a must to use one of the best fishing rods to match your purpose – and when you’re on a boat out in the open, your gear and tackle should be something you can rely on not to let you down. Monofilament lines are excellent for low visibility, and we recommend using a good downrigger to match your rod!
- Choose your lure and attach it to your line
- Let out the line and make it long enough to have enough space in between the boat and the lure
- When you’re satisfied with the distance, attach your line to the downrigger
- Set the weight on the downrigger to let the line get pulled down deep, allowing your lure to go deeper in the water
- Start trolling, and get ready to reel in a bite soon!
Related Reads
FAQs- How To Troll For Walleye
You can start trolling for walleyes in the spring, and fall season when they are more active.
The most effective time to troll for walleye is when there is low light such as early morning, cloudy days or late evenings they are more active on that time. Additionally Trolling for the walleye at this time can increase the chances of success.
Trolling depth for walleyes depends on various aspects such as water temperature and time. However, start trolling in the range of 15- 20 feet.
