Three dozen minnows, some hard boiled eggs, and a Thermos of coffee ought to
last us through this day, I thought as Steve Mattson and I stood in line waiting
to launch the boat. I pulled my collar up to ward off the stiff wind. Gordy had
his hands thrust deep in his coveralls and only smiled and shrugged his
shoulders when we asked how the fishing might be. He and his wife had a two
boat head start on us...but I knew that being ahead of us would not likely
matter.
Steve and I stood around the boat launch and gazed at the river, which was still
spitting up ice chunks from upstream - ice out had taken place but a few weeks
earlier. Since we had a small aluminum boat in the back of Steve’s pickup, we
elected to carry the boat down to river and launch it off of a ten foot ice
shelf. Soon after lugging the motor down to the boat we were on our way. I
poured a cup of steaming coffee as Steve slowly navigated his way between
drifting chunks of ice. He studied the water, watched the depthfinder, and
shortly afterwards announced it was time to fish.
“Take a ½ ounce jig, Antanies,” he said, “and hook the minnow behind the head.”
I followed his lead, opened the bail of my spinning reel, then let the jig drop.
Seconds later I felt the jig hit bottom. I closed the bail and hooked my index
finger on the line just ahead of the reel. I didn’t have to wait too long to
hear “Fish on!”
These days I expect my better half Catherine to outride me on a bike and young
Mr. Mattson to out-fish me, and this day was no exception. Steve’s rod bowed
deeply as he went into his trademark theatrical animation and urged me to get
the net. I learned long ago that he often cries wolf, so I ignored the plea. A
few minutes later he pulled an 18 inch walleye into the boat, proof positive
that the whopper we sought had eluded him. He twisted the jig off and released
the fish. He soon caught another.
In due time I also landed a walleye. For a while each of landed fish in the 18
to 22 inch range. About an hour after we began fishing Steve once again grunted
as he set the hook into yet another walleye and yelled, “Antanies, get the net,
this is a big fish!”
“Yeah, yeah,” I replied as I kept on fishing but kept an eye on the action. His
rod was deeply bent, but I made no effort to grab the net. I stared into the
dark colored water when before my very eyes a huge walleye rolled and kicked his
tail, propelling the fish back down deep. The fish seemed more like a salmon
than a walleye. “Holy cow!” I exclaimed, “that walleye is huge!”
I dropped my rod and picked up the net. Steve was grunting and groaning like a
woman giving birth. Soon enough, he had the walleye boatside. I reached in and
scooped him into the net – no small chore given his size.
Before that day ended last spring the weather turned balmy, the ice practically
disappeared before our eyes, and Steve and I had a day of fishing that would be
etched in our minds forever. All told, we caught four walleyes that measured
28.5 inches, several over 24 inches, dozens over 20 inches, and uncounted
amounts of smaller fish. By the time we pulled the boat out of the river at 3
P.M., we had caught over 50 walleyes and had our fill of fishing. We did not
use some hot new lure - just the old tried and true jig and minnow. What we had
going for us was timing and location as well as technique. You see, these
walleyes were swimming toward their spawning grounds. It is the walleye version
of the wildebeest migration in East Africa, and if you want to catch a big
walleye, this is the time to go. Autumn is another one of those times. But
what really made the difference for us was the type of water we fished: rivers.
While most would consider the walleye a lake fish, there is little doubt rivers
often cough up the largest specimens.
The techniques Steve and I used are time tested, simple, and proven. There are
few lures and baits as simple as the jig and minnow. Early season walleyes,
however, are often lethargic and tentative, so we rig accordingly. We use short
shanked hooks and prefer shinner minnows to fatheads, but either will work;
fatheads are normally more hardy than shiners, but that is not really a
consideration. To help avoid short-strikes, in which the walleye nips the
minnow off the hook without touching the hook, we pass the hook through the
mouth of the minnow and then push it out the back of the head. This of course
kills the minnow, but it matters not to river walleyes.
Early season jig fishing on a river is theoretically possible without a boat,
but the few times I have tried have been dismal failures – at least if you
measure success by fish on the stringer. But a walleye river fishing trip does
not demand anything but a simple aluminum boat and a 10 hp motor. A depth
finder is extremely helpful, but probably not critical. What is more important
is knowing the direction the fish are swimming; spawning fish swim upstream, so
it makes sense to troll against the river current with a speed just fast enough
to slowly creep upstream. This is often done by backtrolling, or trolling stern
first. The whole idea behind jig fishing for river walleyes is simple: put the
bait in front of the fish’s face for as long as possible.
Backtrolling solves one dimension of the problem, namely, keeping the bait going
at the right speed. But backtrolling does not solve the problem of depth – that
is where jig weight comes into play. Walleyes found in rivers come from lakes,
so it should come as no surprise that river walleyes love to stay close to the
bottom. Using the right jig keeps the bait near the bottom. A jig that is too
light requires too much line to contact the bottom, if it even does at all.
Make the jig too heavy, and you will snag the bottom more often, get fewer
strikes, and fail to detect lots of strikes that you do get. The secret is to
use a jig that allows an angler to “kiss the bottom.”
The technique itself is easy. Release the spool and let the jig drop until you
feel it touch bottom. If you cannot tell when the jig hits bottom, you need to
add weight. Once the bait hits bottom, engage the reel to take it out of
free-spool, then raise the rod tip up 6 inches to 2 feet. Lower the rod tip
slowly, and when you feel the jig hitting bottom again, repeat the sequence.
Fish strikes vary in intensity; sometimes they will “hammer” the bait, but more
often than not you feel the familar “tap-tap” of a fish. Beginners often have a
hard time determining strikes from bottom contact; the trick here is to pause
slightly if you think the “tap” might be a fish – if it is, you feel another tap
telling you to set the hook.
The most difficult strike to detect is when walleyes gently suck in the bait.
There is no familar sensation of a fish tapping the line. Sometimes it even
feels like an impending snag – you know the feeling...the line becomes taut and
a few seconds later you’re snagged. In the case of walleyes, however, those
snags often turn into a pair of fine white flaky fillets.
Like the boat, equipment does not need to be overly complicated. Most important
is a good selection of jigs and ample supply of minnows. While you can buy lots
of different shaped jigs, the ordinary round ones work best. Most anglers I
know prefer jigs colored red, pink, green, yellow, or combinations of those
colors. Carry some lighter jigs, but ensure you have plenty of ¼, 3/8, ½, 5/8,
and ¾ ounce jigs. As mentioned earlier, I prefer short-shanked jigs and see
little reason to use longer ones.
Spinning and baitcasting rods obviously vie for contention as the most popular
walleye rig. Both are effective in rivers, but in my mind a baitcasting rod
with a long butt section (a good casting rod) is the easiest to jig; other
anglers prefer spinning rods. I also prefer a baitcasting reel, since dropping
the jig to the bottom is easy as punching the spool release. Steve and I both
prefer 6 or 8 lbs test line; there is really no reason to go heavier.
River fishing is most often the most productive in the spring and fall, so it is
important to dress warmly, especially in the spring. While the air temperature
may feel toasty, a day on the water always proves to be cooler than one might
imagine. I often wear pac boots and a heavy winter jacket. With all these
clothes, wearing a PFD (personal flotation device) is mandatory.
Big walleyes are big fun, so catching one has to rate as a priority.
Unfortunately, life seems to have so many priorities getting out on the water
seems, at times, challenging. Making each minute count when in pursuit of
monster walleyes is best done on the rivers they sometimes call home. Summer
evening may be pleasant, but if you want to catch big walleyes, head for rivers,
especially in the spring and fall.
