Location is the most important factor in catching fish. However, there are some days we simply just don’t know where the fish are when we hit the water. The fish we are targeting may have moved or the flats, sand bars or shorelines we were expecting to find fish are completely empty. In these situations, the best strategy is to cover water. Today, we’ll discuss some of the top tactics for searching for spring walleye.
Power Pitching
The first strategy for finding spring walleye is what I call “power pitching”. In One-Two Plastic Punch for Spring Walleye, we discussed utilizing compact baits. These baits are smaller sized plastics that can be fished on 1/8-1/4 oz jigs. My favorite types of plastics to fish on these rigs are a BFishN Authentix 3.25 inch Pulse-R, Berkley Powerbait 3 inch Ripple Shad or Berkley Powerbait 3 inch Power Minnow.
Pitching these types of baits allows you to cast longer distances, which covers more water. These baits also do well fishing faster and also fished more aggressively. Fish the bait with sharp hops and skips. Working the bait quickly also increases the amount of water you can cover. This allows you to contact active fish in an area.
You may only pick up one or two fish, but if you find one you will often find more. Many times, aggressive males are patrolling the spawning area throughout much of the pre-spawn and spawn stage. If you find these fish, you know there are more fish nearby.
Once you have found active fish, you can now focus your efforts on picking up more and larger fish. Once the bite on the smaller aggressive bait has slowed, switch to a 4 inch BFishN Authentix Moxi paddletail bait fished on a lighter, 1/16 oz jig. Slowly work this bait across the same area. Upsizing to a 4 inch Berkley GULP! Minnow or Berkley Powerbait Minnow is another option. Regardless the larger, slower bait can entice the larger fish in the area and also appeal to the more neutral fish as well.
If the larger, slower bait doesn’t produce or the bite slows on it as well it is time to downsize and go live. Bump your jig size up again and go back to the 1/8-1/4 oz jig and tip it with a minnow. Slowly drag and pop this presentation along the area. Once again, catch as many fish as possible on this bait. When the bite slows or fails to produce, it is time to start the routine over again.
Power pitching is most effective on smaller areas. These would be shoreline areas, road beds, smaller sandbars, islands and points. These are areas you can cover while drifting or slowly working your way with an electric motor. This is also an excellent strategy for shore anglers looking to contact fish.
Bounce Around
The next strategy for contacting fish is to literally bounce around. As we discussed in Jigs and Bouncers: The Perfect Marriage, bottom bouncers are not just for summer. In the spring, dragging or slowly bottom bouncing with a plain hook and minnow can often result in fish. In fact, this presentation couples nicely with power pitching. Try pulling a bottom bouncers below the boat and casting jigs and plastics away from the boat. This further enhances the amount of water you can cover.
Try bottom bouncing along larger flats, points or shoreline areas. This allows you to contact active pods along the flats and also allows you to quickly “spot-lock” with a trolling motor and switch to jigs. Many times, fish will be scattered among the flats and picking fish up in bunches can often result in a limit at the end of the day.
The best presentation on the end of a bouncer is a plain hook or sometimes tipped with a small, 5mm bead to add just a slight amount of color. A plain #4 Octopus hook is the top option. You will want a shorter snell to keep your bait bottom oriented.
Hammer Down
While the above presentations can cover a good deal of water, there is no better strategy for covering the maximum amount of water like trolling crankbaits. Trolling crankbaits on leadcore or even long-lining baits allows you to cover a significant amount of water and fish the largest pieces of structure.
The Missouri River reservoirs like Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case feature long, expansive flats that can hold fish throughout the entire spring. Some of these flats can be upwards of a mile or two miles long and trolling crankbaits is an excellent way to cover them quickly.
In the spring, top options for crankbaits are small shad-style baits. Size 4 or 5 Rapala Shad Raps or Berkley Flicker Shads are top options. Other good options are Size 7 Berkley Flicker Minnows. These small baits can be fished slowly and still reach the desired depth where fish will be sitting thanks to leadcore line.
As you make trolling passes, drop a waypoint whenever you catch a fish or get bites. Don’t be afraid to zero in on these areas when making your trolling passes or switch to jigs or bottom bouncers to thoroughly work an area where you believe active fish are. Once again, picking up a fish or two can often lead to picking up fish in bunches on a certain area.
Spring can be a difficult time to locate fish, but covering water allows you to pinpoint certain areas you expect them to find fish and then find the individual pods of fish on these areas. Once you find active fish, it is very possible to catch them in bunches and turn a slow day into a full livewell very quickly. Good fishing!
Related Articles
I discuss two different styles of casting jigs for early spring walleye. The first focuses on targeting trophy fish with bigger baits, while the second focuses on covering water and catching numbers of fish in One-Two Plastic Punch for Spring Walleye.
Jigs are a staple of spring walleye fishing, but bottom bouncers can be successful all season long. You don’t have to pick between one presentation or other, I outline how to pull the benefits of both in Jigs and Bouncers: The Perfect Marriage.
I detail my secret to catching trophy pre-spawn walleye in the early spring. I utilize over-sized plastics and under-sized jigs to target the biggest fish in the area in Upsizing Plastics for Goliath Spring Walleye.
Like Lip Ripper Fishing on Facebook
