| | I saw a news release recently that indicated a major bass tournament was going to be held on the Bay of Green Bay in eastern Wisconsin. The BassMaster Elite Series anglers are traveling there in late June to chase bass. I’ve fished that area a number of times for bass, mostly smallmouth. Areas on the Bay of Green Bay are outstanding for lots of smallmouth and big ones. But as good as that area is for bass, it’s even better for walleyes. Again, lots of’em, and big ones. I just returned from a walleye trip to the Bay of Green Bay. Fishing was very good. The techniques we used to catch Green Bay walleyes will put walleyes in the boat wherever you fish.
 As in lots of fishing situations, Mother Nature is going to play a role in our fishing success. On Green Bay and just about anywhere else, wind is a big factor. The walleyes don’t bite so good when the water is flat, but too much wind from the wrong direction will make fishing unsafe. When we hit the water this past week, the water was flat. The bite was good, but as the wind increased as the day progressed, the bite got better, much better. We had six lines in the water. There were times we had walleyes on four of those lines.
Our group was fishing out of Oconto County (ocontocounty.org) with Steve Paulsen. Steve runs a guide service on the Bay and does an outstanding job of putting folks on fish. Check him out at walleyemadnessfishing.com
Wisconsin allows three lines per angler. That means you can experiment with lots of different variables. We started off pulling spinner/crawler rigs behind planer boards. The boards enabled us to spread our lines and effectively try different colors and running depths. On Green Bay, the active walleyes are usually off the bottom. We caught most of them about ten feet down over fourteen to eighteen feet of water. We found Mr. Walleye Crawler Hauler spinners in the firetiger color to be very productive.
Later in the day we switched to #7 Flicker Shad crankbaits. This was when the wind was blowing a bit harder and the bite was improving. We started out with six different bait colors. The first several walleyes came on black/gold Flicker Shads so we switched a couple more lines to that color. As the bite improved, the color factor became less of a factor.
The really big deal that helped us to fish more efficiently was the Tattle Flag on our Off Shore in-line planer boards. We’re seeing more small walleyes on Green Bay, which is a good thing. However, small walleyes can be difficult to detect on planer boards. The Tattle Flag revealed every small walleye that bit. Without them we might have pulled small fish around, which decreases the opportunity to catch bigger ones.
The Bay of Green Bay is one of the most diverse fisheries around. There are many, many trophy walleyes and smallmouth bass, and there’s probably a world record musky swimming around in there also. Perch and big catfish are other common catches. If you want to get in on some outstanding fishing, consider a visit to Oconto County on the shores of the Bay of Green Bay. But wherever you chase walleyes, give spinners and crankbaits behind planer boards a try. You will get bit.
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