BY BOB AND GINNY RIEGE

If you’re fishing a big river such as the Mississippi, the rock or gravel bars are the likely points to seek out. The hole in the riverbed below a rock pile or snag are good prespawn starting points. In shallow rivers the same holds true, but the holes or pockets offer less protection, and the walleyes are likely to be easily spooked under these conditions.

River walleyes generally begin their spawning run before lake fish do. In Minnesota, my home state, the river walleyes may get as much as a two week jump on their lake cousins. This is because the flowing water of the streams warms faster than the relatively still lake water.

In situations where a major river runs into a lake, there may be two spawning runs, one for the river walleyes, and one for the lake walleyes. This does happen especially in the Lake Pepin area because it is basically a wider spot in the river system. The river walleyes may move upstream to their gravel bars or sandy backwater spots several days or a week ahead of the lake fish. Again, the reason for this “jump” in timing coincides with warmer water.

The split spawning runs only add to the early anglers enjoyment because they have twice the chance of finding the fish in receptive conditions.

My experience has been that the males are the prime targets during the spawning run. The reason is that the males are more aggressive then. They set up a territory, make a home for some lucky female fish, and set about to protect it. They may do battle with other males and they’re inclined to do rough things to bait fish that swim by. They’ll hit a bait hard, of often running it out to deeper water to crush it and spit it out or swallow it.

Walleyes are a structure oriented fish, most of the time. These walleyes will be tight to the bottom, lying in the holes between rock and cuts in the bottom. They may be feeding, or waiting in ambush to find an easy meal that comes their way. When fishing structure, you have to be able to stay tight to the structure or your lure presentation will not be in the strike zone of the fish. Move just a boat length away and you will be out of luck

The principles of analyzing water and approaching fish remain relatively constant regardless of the body of water you are fishing or the species of fish that you are after. It is important to understand that subtle changes in water temperature, oxygen, bottom structure, shadow lines, and similar factors make a significant difference in locating fish. Fish tend to locate along transitional zones. The bottom may change from sand to rock or from mud to weeds; a drop-off may occur or slope into deep water; or water in one sector may be a slightly different color. The most important transition zones are the weeds. The weeds or vegetation may be the key to successful angling.

Fish are wary. This helps them survive and can also make them difficult to catch. They utilize their excellent senses of vision and hearing, detect motion with unerring accuracy using their lateral line, and also use their sense of smell. Therefore, a cautious approach is required of an angler.

With either natural bait or artificial lures, the presentation must be realistic. It should appear that the offering is part of the normal food chain. Hunger is certainly a major motivating factor, but fish also respond as predators and strike something that moves. At times, they even exhibit antagonistic behavior when biting an intruder to drive it away.

Tip the jig with a small minnow such as you would commonly use for crappie fishing. The added flavor on the jig is just one more pitch in your favor. However, when the fish are in a frenzy, even a plain jig will work.

Another lure that you can use is a small crankbait, use the ultralight sizes with medium diving capability. The baby crankbaits that Rapala makes in fluorescent colors work especially well along wingdam facings. The baits work well over the riprap where a jig hangs up easily.

When I am looking for those active walleyes I will look at three types of structure to help me locate fish. First of all I look for the “typical walleye structure”, this is comprised of drop-offs, rock formations, points, or inside turns that could hold walleyes. The second type of structure is the shallow structure that is usually found out in the middle of the lake. These types of structures might be classified as mid-lake humps, rock piles, reefs, sunken islands, etc. These areas are dynamite during the spring and often times over looked by most weekend anglers. The third type of structure that I love to fish is weeds and wood. Again this type of structure might be classified as more bass or northern pike structure, but a lot of walleyes hang out in heavy weeds and wood throughout the year. If you understand the “predator prey relationship” weeds become an automatic structure to key in on. Simply put, if the walleye is put in the lake as a fry it becomes a prey and naturally will find a place to hide. When the walleye grows up it becomes a predator and instinctively knows that the weeds are a place to look for prey. I try weeds in the summer time, because I am almost assured of catching some really active fish.

On snag-free bottoms a Roach rig is effective. On mud, weeds, submerged timber and rocks or boulders, bobber rigs do just as well. During the midday, a slower presentation gets most of the action. Early, late and at night faster-moving lures such as a #5 or #7 Shad Rap really perk things up. That’s when I particularly like to cast a minnow and Little Joe Spinner combination in the shallows. Over one rock pile I regularly fish, the bait must be retrieved very rapidly near the surface to avoid snags. When a walleye hits during such a retrieve, my rod is nearly torn from my grasp. That will get your blood pumping.

What most walleye fisherman fail to realize is that walleyes can cruise in amazingly shallow waters after dark. I’ve taken them in no more than a foot of water many times at night. In fact, wading is sometimes easier than boat fishing then. Even during the cool nights or spring, walleyes can move into very shallow water during periods of poor light. However, spring walleyes are easily spooked and must be fished from a distance.

The people who stay home waiting for warmer weather or the right conditions to be out walleye fishing are missing out on patterning some spring walleyes on the Mississippi.