Walleyes can be coaxed into striking baits that closely resemble their prey, especially in clear water conditions.
Murky waters provide plenty of exciting trolling opportunities. While peak walleye feeding times of early morning, late evening, and night remain unchanged in murky conditions, walleyes may see shallower than they would in clear water environments.
Water Clarity
As walleyes traverse bodies of water, their primary goal is finding food and shelter. Baitfish serve as food sources, while shelter can include any structure submerged beneath the water’s surface such as river channels, washout holes or culverts, sunken islands, humps or saddles and flats or sandbars that transition between depth levels.
Each lake walleye population may differ, yet in general there are similarities when it comes to feeding and location. Post-spawn females who slide onto shallow sand flats to warm up in spring can often be found near old river channels or near incoming tributaries; and reservoir walleyes often migrate toward these same locations during the fall by following feeder creeks or river channels into their lakes.
Many walleyes have lived their entire lives in one area, leading them to develop darker and richer hues than their traveling counterparts, which may appear pale and washed-out.
In clear to semi-clear waters, various lures will work well for walleye fishing. Bright pink, white and chartreuse lures are popular choices but you must experiment to determine which color produces best in any given system. For muddy conditions, larger baits that displace more water may provide greater vibration when moved through the water; adding an audible rattle may help walleyes zero in on your bait by adding extra sound or vibration that they can sense will also be effective.
A six and a half foot, medium-power rod equipped with either a bait caster or spinning reel is generally the most efficient tool for fishing walleyes in most systems. Fluorocarbon line can help minimize visibility while using high-quality sharp hooks tied securely will also help. Keep in mind that walleyes are selective eaters so using inferior hooks could prevent them from striking your offering!
Light Conditions
Have you spent any time on the water? Conditions can differ dramatically day-to-day; even subtle shifts in clarity of water or availability of sunlight may have an immediate impact on how walleyes feed and respond to your presentation. Understanding these elusive fish is the key to being successful at walleye fishing.
Step one in targeting walleye in your lake should be to recognize what types of forage they’re targeting, in order to select appropriate lure colors to imitate them. For instance, if they’re feeding on perch minnows or shad, natural-looking lures that closely resemble these baitfish would likely work best; when targeting other forms of prey such as crayfish or bluegills more vibrant hues will stand out against their background better and give your lures more success.
Temperature and time of day also play a significant role in choosing bait colors to use. Walleyes tend to stay deeper waters during the day before moving closer to shallower areas at night to feed, while warmer conditions might see them move into shallower waters earlier and require lighter jigs than during cooler weather months.
Contrast is another key consideration when selecting the color for a jig head. In clear waters, natural or subtle shades may work better, as they mimic baitfish better; in more stained or murky waters however, brighter hues may stand out more against their darker backdrop.
When selecting lure colors, it can also be helpful to consult other anglers and bait shop staff as they will possess extensive local knowledge. They will be able to inform you which hues have worked well in your region as well as suggest effective solutions to current fishing conditions. Furthermore, asking around can give an excellent way to assess what works and doesn’t in the local fishing scene.
Contrast
Color can play an integral part in selecting a walleye jig head. Contrasting it with the surrounding environment can make it easier for walleye to spot in low-light conditions like dawn or dusk; walleye possess an exceptional sense of color vision in murky or dark water, and bright jig heads help boost visibility when fishing in such environments.
Natural and subdued colors tend to work best in clear water conditions as they mimic the look of real baitfish; however, in murky or stained waters brighter hues may prove more successful due to being more likely to draw walleye‘s attention, who are usually active under these circumstances.
Time of day plays an integral part in selecting walleye bait colors, since different light conditions can either encourage or discourage feeding activity. For instance, during spawning season walleye may prefer shallow waters during daytime hours but move deeper as temperatures heat up and food becomes scarcer. Furthermore, changes in barometric pressure may stimulate walleye feeding during certain hours of the day such as before sunset or just after.
As with water clarity, light conditions have an impactful influence on your fishing success with certain lures and jig heads. Glow-in-the-dark or fluorescent colors may help illuminate lures more readily visible to walleye. Glow-in-the-dark options may provide additional visibility in low light situations like those found during dawn and dusk fishing sessions.
If you’re uncertain of which walleye bait colors will be most successful in your local fishing waters, consult fellow anglers and staff from a bait shop for their insights. Their expertise may prove essential when choosing lures for an outing.
Attractiveness
As water temperatures drop, walleyes gradually return to their winter habitat and activity levels. Savvy late fall anglers can capitalize on this transitional period with mobile presentations targeted specifically at walleyes in their transitional zone.
Trolling is an extremely effective fishing technique. This involves dragging baited hooks behind a boat at various speeds and depths in order to cover more water, find active fish species, and locate active prey species. Trolling is particularly useful when the bite slows, as you can continue catching them by simply switching lure colors or speeds.
If the water is clear, brightly-colored jigs may attract walleyes best; however, in stained or murky waters baits that resemble their surroundings may be more successful in drawing fish in. Natural colors like silver, gold and black tend to work best here – with rubber tail jigs or twister tail jigs in these hues being particularly effective. Live minnows are the preferred bait; if this option is unavailable then salted frozen shiners offer an effective alternative.
Walleyes tend to respond well to lure colors that also appeal to predatory bass species, trout and panfish; this is likely because these species feed on smaller baitfish and invertebrates like smaller baitfish or invertebrates. Therefore, finding out what works for walleyes might require some trial and error; once you do though, the joy that comes from hooking and landing one of these trophy walleyes can make fishing all that more satisfying!
As well as playing around with bait colors, experiment with various lure actions. For instance, if walleyes seem uninterested in your crankbait, try changing its action by casting and twitching it more than normal or using a faster retrieve. When fishing steep breaks or steep breaklines try moving your lure up or down its depth range for best results.
Make sure that your equipment is in great working order before fishing for trout – ideally, an 8-foot or longer medium-power rod equipped with either a baitcaster or spinning reel will do. A 10-pound fluorocarbon line should also be used, since its less visible properties render it less visible to fish than mono.
