Three Standard Walleye Presentations

The Spinner Rig – This presentation is all active. A spinner rig is a series of beads and blades that creates flash and calls fish in. Usually tipped with dew worms or frozen minnows – this rig is attached to a bottom walker and trolled along bottom. With this presentation the bottom walker rides along bottom while the spinner tags along behind it spinning away few inches above bottom. After the rig is out and trolling, cover water until you start catching fish.

The Jig and Minnow – This is the standard for most every walleye fisherman or fisherwoman. Tip a minnow to the end of the jig and either drop it overboard or cast it out. On those classic days where walleye are biting at every turn, I’ll drop the jig overboard. Where they need to be coaxed a little, I like to cast the rig out and slowly drag it along bottom. Don’t worry about the walleye having any troubles picking the jig out of the sand. That’s what they do all their lives to catch food, they’re good at it and they’ll have no troubles tipping down and inhaling the jig and minnow.

The Slip Bobber Set Up – This is similar to the jig and minnow, but it allows us the ability to suspend the bait above bottom. Set the depth so that the bait suspends just above the bottom and look for the strike. Sometimes the bobber will plunge straight down. Other times the bobber will be pulled to one side, indicating a fish has picked up the bait. I often fish a small sinker and snell hook, to which I attach a minnow, worm or leech. Lately, however, I’ve experimented by fishing a small jig under a slip bobber. Tipped with bait this set up has worked extremely well. And I found that a fish caught by a jig rarely takes that hook deep, facilitating an easier release.

There are a bunch more presentations to catch walleye, and we’ll certainly look at more in future tips columns. But if you become proficient at just these three, you’ll catch all the walleye you could want.