Article: Spring Walleyes at Night

Fishing in the spring of the year means dealing with a variety of water and weather conditions. After a seemingly endless winter, warm sunny days in the boat are just what the doctor order to help alleviate that bad case of cabin fever you’ve been struggling with. As numbers of fishermen head out on the water in search of walleyes or other game fish, often for the first time this open-water season, waterways may get a bit crowded in areas and for good reasons, the walleye bite is often excellent such has been the case as of late here in our area. Fishing during the daylight hours in the spring of the year often yields excellent action, and is of course convenient and most-often comfortable.

Anglers in pursuit of spring walleyes often rely heavily on jig and live bait conditions, and key their attention to areas such as the holes and bends of rivers and reservoirs. While these areas account for many walleyes, many more go virtually unnoticed and untapped – walleyes in shallow water. Often thought of as a time to fish deeper, fishermen choosing to not explore shallower water are quite often missing the boat. By shallow water, I’m referring to depths as “skinny” as only 1 or 2 feet and containing a hard bottom comprised of materials such as rock and gravel.

Regardless of the time of year, walleye fishing in shallow water is an affair best attended to during low-light conditions. Not only can the fishing be hot but also you’ll often have the bite to yourself! Proper equipment as with any angling aspect is crucial. Reliable light sources, proper clothing, and fishing equipment that has been well maintained are all pieces of the puzzle. My personal two favorite night-time fishing presentations in the spring of the year crankbaits and jigs, and both will work for anglers looking to score from shore, while wading, or in a boat.

I prefer to cast jigs with a St. Croix medium actionspinning rod in the 7’ to 7 ½’ range coupled with a medium sized Abu Garcia spinning reel spooled with 6-10 test Sufix line, depending on water conditions and the availability of cover that may potentially damage my line. Whereas I quite often prefer Mister Twister grub-tail style trailers during much of the season, spring walleye fishing at night is an excellent time to utilize Sassy Shad style trailers or paddletail-style swim baits such as the new Mister Shad, also from Mister Twister. Although they are terrific predators at night, I do like the added silhouette and vibration of the paddletail-type baits for fishing in low light conditions.

When fishing crankbaits, I most often opt for a straight model presentation, and again use the same spinning tackle. I like to select a Rapala or Storm model whose running depth will allow me to occasionally tip the bottom during the retrieve, a key component to eliciting more strikes. When it comes to selecting color presentations, much as been said about using dark colored lures at night; personally I have caught as many walleyes on firetiger or orange patterns at night during the springtime as I have on darker colors. The key is location, location, location – find the walleyes, keep a bait in their face, and you’ll get bit.

The beauty of this pattern is not only the limited fishing pressure, but that it works on just about any type of water from dark water rivers to clear lakes, from reservoirs to flowages. Do yourself a favor this spring and explore the nightlife; some things that go bump in the night are worth running into – I’ve never met a big walleye I didn’t like!

Tight lines,