| | Having fished walleyes for over forty years, I thought that I’d seen most rigs and new innovations for catching old marble eyes. I remember fishing “little Joe” spinners for walleyes with my grandfather on Boulder Junction lakes in the 1960’s. Then, in the late 60’s or early 70’s, I can remember the introduction of Lindy rigs and slip sinkers for walleyes. Later in the early 70’s, I can remember the beginning of floating jig heads and colored lead jig heads. Bottom bouncers started in South Dakota in the late 70’s and in the 1980’s they came east as another innovative way to entice walleyes.
The late 1980’s and early 1990’s brought the beginning of open water trolling for suspended walleyes with crank baits and planer boards. Jigs have changed in colors and shapes and now you have special jigs for different kinds of fishing. Three-ways with jigs as the dropper weight was started by river rats looking for a new way to catch fish. Needless to say, walleye fishing has come a long way since I started fishing for these fish. Many of the innovations over the years have made catching fish easier with more methods to fit the changing conditions that a walleye fisherman encounters.
 Now, I’ve been turned on to another “ new “ way to fish for my favorite fish. The first place that I saw flies or streamers being used for walleyes was a year ago on Lake Winnebago. The flies that I saw being used for walleyes, were tied on a # 2 or #4 hook (one with a longer shank helps). Then, colored deer or squirrel hair is dyed and wrapped just below the hooks eyelet. Pieces of tinsel are added to give the fly a little more flash. The color hair that is used is trying to imitate the forage fish that are in the waters that you are fishing. It’s a pretty simple task to tie some flies with your favorite colors such as using green and yellow to match a lake with perch as a forage base or tying another fly with silver and black in it to match a shiner base. Gold hooks seem to work well and go to any fly fishing shop to get some colored hair and tinsel. Now, in no time at all, you can tie up enough flies to last the next fishing trip you take.
The best way to present the flies is by using some kind of weight to get it down to the bottom where most walleyes will be situated. Pencil weights and bell sinkers seem to work best. Start with a three-way swivel and tie your main line to one ring, then use a dropper line of 8 to 12” and tie on a pencil weight or bell sinker to get you near the bottom. Then, on the remaining ring tie the fly to a 2 to 3 foot piece of mono (10#). This relatively simple rig using the old stand-by three-way, is a good way to make your fly presentation.
I don’t dress the fly with any bait live or artificial. Next, I troll as slow as possible just touching the bottom with my weight. You don’t want to drag the rig, just touch the bottom lightly. If you’re not catching fish keep changing colors till you find one that works. I never tried this before last year, but flies for walleyes should be in anyone’s tackle box. Now, you have another way to catch your favorite fish. |
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