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Editor's note: John Kolinski is the Professional Walleye Trail's 2002 Angler 
of the Year and a 12-time championship qualifier during eight years as a pro 
angler on the PWT, RCL and Masters Walleye Circuits. His articles can be read in many Midwestern outdoor publications and at several web sites. Kolinski is sponsored by Triton Boats, Mercury Motors, Lowrance Electronics, Normark/Storm Lures, MinnKota, Lindy Legendary Tackle, Flambeau, Tempress Rod Holders, Off-Shore Planer Boards, Berkley Trilene, Optima Batteries, and Panther.

It's late summer, and with few exceptions, the easy walleye bites are gone.
The spring run to spawning areas is ancient history. The postspawn window 
when walleyes spent much of their day gorging themselves in shallow water has 
closed. Early summer concentrations of fish on sand flats and along shoreline 
breaks have dissipated. Other biological factors are at work, too. 
Light penetration and water clarity drive fish deep for most of the day. So 
do water temperature and the availability of desireable forage.
As the temperature increases in a body of water, so does a walleye's need for 
sustenance. But roaming the shallows and chasing three-inch minnows, leeches 
or crawdads expends energy which, in turn, requires more food. It's a 
never-ending circle.
It's far more efficient for predators to follow larger baitfish like chubs, 
smelt and alewifes into the deeper, cooler water they prefer. And that's where 
a well-placed live-bait rig can do some serious damage when other anglers are 
beating the shorelines to a froth or trolling aimlessly in search of fish that 
never seem to stay in one area for very long.
In many late-summer situations on reservoirs, natural lakes and major river 
systems, the largest walleyes probably spend no more than a few minutes of an 
average day on a major feeding reconnaissance mission. And it probably occurs at times when the majority of anglers are dreaming about trophy fish rather 
than pursuing them. Instead, these fat, lazy walleyes spend most of their time lounging around  near areas where they might feed during those brief periods each day or night. They're hanging around in the deep water near main-lake points, weed lines, rockpiles, humps and creek channel edges. 
Typically, we're talking about water that's 20 to 40 feet deep, although I've 
experienced situations where walleyes could be caught as deep as 70 feet. 
That's why rigs are an ideal way to go. You can take them to any depth you 
want and by late summer we're dealing with negative or neutral fish that aren't 
eager to chase crankbaits or hammer a jig. They're likely to completely ignore 
a crankbait and while they might grab hold of a well-placed jig for a few 
seconds, they won't hesitate to drop it if they feel the slightest weight or 
resistence. 
 

Lindy Little Joe  No Snagg Rig

I like to present my bait on a simple slip-sinker rig. I run a Lindy No-Snagg sinker up the line along with a glass bead to protect my knot, which is tied to a barrel swivel large enough to stop the sinker. Behind the barrel swivel  is a 3- to 6-foot leader made of 10-pound Berkley Vanish. If the leader gets much longer than that, your bait may be able to swim out of the relatively small strike zone that comes with neutral or negative fish. Basically, it pays to  put the bait right in the fish's face.Opinions vary regarding the value of color at depth. I know that when I'm on  bodies of extremely clear water, I can easily see my lures 15 feet deep. It seems to me that a walleye can see some shades of color much deeper than that.In fact, I think color matters all the time. It's something different that can catch a fish's attention in a murky, dark world where everything else looks much the same

E-mail John Kolinski

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