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Mid Summer Walleyes
By Mark Martin
For midsummer walleyes, there¹s nothing but possibilities‹for both
you and
the fish. At a time of year when they might be located anywhere from
four to
40 feet of water, you had best explore every option. That means shallow,
deep and even the space between. But I always have a starting point
to get
the day underway and go from there.
Down Deep
Come summertime, I know to expect fish in deep water, and the fastest
way to
find them is with the combination of maps and electronics. Wherever
I¹m
fishing, I look to a Department of Resources, Coast Guard or, better
yet,
Fishing Hot Spots map to narrow the search. On them, I check for the
most
prominent structures, including humps and points, adjacent to deep
water.
Those are almost always the best places to begin.
When you¹re on the water, motor around the structure and the nearby
deep
water, watching on electronics for baitfish and accompanying predators.
Remember, you¹ve spent good money on a fish locator, so it pays
sense to
have it locate fish before you start fishing.
Lowrance’s
new X-15 |
On the new units from Lowrance, including the black-and-white X-15
and the color X-16, it¹s
possible to see the finest of detail‹bugs, bait and even fish glued
to the bottom. Use them to narrow your search. If you¹re wondering
exactly what you¹re marking, drop down an underwater camera such as
an Aqua-Vu to have a look. |
At times I've found that the fish I'm seeing on a locator are walleyes;
other times, I've found less desirable species on which I'd rather not
waste my time.
MotorGuide
Tour Edition |
After you¹ve found a level where the walleyes are holding, I know
of no more
effective way to trigger them than with a bottom bouncer and spinner.
When I'm up in the front of my Lund, running my bowmount Motor Guide trolling
motor, I drop down two bouncer rigs. I hand-hold one and put the other
in a Ram rod holder. For terminal tackle, my top choices are Northland
Rock-Runner bottom bouncers and Rainbow spinners, particularly those
in the
new holographic shades. A good guideline for bouncer weight is one
ounce for
every 10 feet of water‹one ounce in 10 feet, two ounces in 20 and so
forth. |
On the spinners, nothing beats a night crawler, except possibly when panfish
are on the attack, which is when I switch to a Berkley Power Crawler
to beat
back the little rascals. Simply ease around with the trolling motor
at
speeds between 0.5 mph to 1.2 mph, and it shouldn¹t be long until
you get
the fish to go. But in case you don'ts
Shallow
Well, when I don¹t find them deep, the next place I go is the
shallows, where I look for cover in the form of weeds and brush. There
I pitch jigs with a leech or half a night crawler in pockets and holes
between the obstructions. One of the most important tips is to look for
hard bottom within the weeds, which concentrates walleyes. I still use
a Lowrance flasher, a seemingly old-fashioned locator, to find it. Then
I stick with the patches of hard bottom until I find fish.
Mark Martin brings another Hawg
Walleye into the boat.
|
To fish through the weedy, brushy difficulties, I like a Northland
Weed
Weasel
jig, with its sleek shape and plastic weed guards to help slide through
without snagging. You¹ll get more hookups if you soften the plastic
by bending it back and forth. Usually, when you¹re pitching pockets,
you don't have to fish a jig in there for long‹toss it in, twitch it a
few times, reel it in and do it again. The reason is that weed fish are
normally aggressive and will hit within moments of spotting the bait‹often
on the initial fall. So watch your line closely for a twitch or for it
moving off to the side.To fish through the weedy, brushy difficulties,
I like a Northland
Weed Weasel jig, with its sleek shape and plastic weed guards to help
slide through without snagging. You'll get more hookups if you soften the
plastic by bending it back and forth. |
The reason is that weed fish are normally aggressive and will hit within
moments of spotting the bait often on the initial fall. So watch your line
closely for a twitch or for it moving off to the side. You can't beat highly
visible flame Berkley
Fireline for just such reasons, to say nothing of its strength in pulling
free from weeds or
wrestling out a walleye. But when the weed fish aren't going
In Between
That¹s when I go to the midrange‹the space between the shallows
and the deep. There, again, I look with my Lowrance X-16 for baitfish or
suspended fish. The fastest way to search is with crankbaits behind planer
boards. Here, the reason is that you can pull crankbaits from 2.0 mph to
3.0 mph‹far faster than the low 1-mph range with spinners and night crawlers.
The best summertime lures are ones with action‹ones that have a more distinct
wobble than you¹d use in spring. Now I turn to Rapala
Shad Raps and Tail Dancers behind Church
Planer Boards. Match the Raps to the water color‹natural patterns in
clear water, brighter shades and firetigers in darker. (To organize cranks,
check out the new Cinch Bags from Plano, which are similar to mesh suitcases
that hold four 3600 or 3700 style tackle trays.) Meanwhile, the most versatile
board is the TX-12, a midsize board that will handle most water conditions,
including fairly rough stuff. I¹ll
stagger the crankbaits to reach high in the water column and at moderate
depths, depending on where I¹m seeing fish. But even when fish are
in short supply on the electronics, I¹ll work the area, since walleyes
often scoot out to the sides of the boat when it passes over. This is the
perfect scenario for trolling with boards‹the boat pushes fish out into
the path of your lures.
Deep, shallow and everywhere in between Yep, you¹ve got to do what
you¹ve
got to do in summertime. Between all the options, you¹re bound
to get bit.
Fish
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