Walleye Magic, Poof, They're Gone !

Those who fish for walleyes regularly know what I mean by this statement. Walleyes are some of the most migratory fish in the Midwest. You can have these fish dialed in, by that I mean you have the pattern figured out and are catching fish constantly. But, something happens, the walleyes that you were catching are suddenly gone. You can't buy a bite. The fish that attacked your leeches or crawlers are no where to be found. This disappearing act is what I mean by "walleye magic". This past week, I ran into a classic example of walleye magic right on my home water, the Wisconsin River.

This time of the year, now through September, I troll the River with crankbaits that are capable of getting down in water column, and bounce the bottom. I use large-lipped shad-shaped crankbaits. Mann's, Rapala, Pradco, and Reef Runner all make this type of bait. Many people don't understand all the different kinds of crankbaits and how they run and track.

First, I'll tell you what I'm doing because it is readily adapted to most bodies of water, be it a lake or river. My rod is a G. Loomis MBR784C IM6 6'6" casting rod with a Daiwa Millionaire 300 S spooled with Stren Sensor in green and 14 pound test. This is kind of a heavy set up for walleye, much more like a bass fisherman would use. I use this rig because; 
1) I'm trolling and baitcasting reels are much better than spinning reels for this application.
2) The heavier line allows me to pull out most of the snags, which inhabit the stretch of the Wisconsin River I'm fishing. 
3) The Loomis rod gives me the power to control good size walleyes in a river's current and the strength to pull my lures out of wood and brush. 
4) The lures and crankbaits I'm using are deep diving lures and like I said big lipped. This allows the lure to bang the bottom and the wood and get down anywhere from 3 to 10 feet without having too much line out.

The area of the river I was fishing was between the boat landing on Highway Y in Mazomanie and the Nude Beach past Ferry Bluff. I fish regularly in this area this time of the year and into fall. Most of my fishing for walleyes is done by trolling. This past week, in a spot that I fish most days, I ran into some of the best river walleye fishing that I have in years. I was trolling upriver bouncing a crankbait ( Shad Rap, Wally Trac, or Hot N Tot ) constantly into the bottom. My rod tip is constantly vibrating from the lure hitting the bottom. This helps the fish find the lure ( the river normal visibility is only 2 to 3 feet ) in murky water. Rattles really do work and help in this situation. .The fish's lateral lines pick up the sound and vibration. I'm not sure of color, but certain colors seem to give off different profiles and work better. This year blue/chrome, black/chrome, and perch seem to work best. There is a good population of river shiners this year, so seining your own minnows works too year.

Friday, I was out fishing with friend, Dana Ray, when I ran into some great walleye's. As mentioned before, this was an area a fish all the time and I do catch fish, but they are usually smaller fish and the occasional legal sauger. Remember that this is the Wisconsin River where the walleye size was raised to 18 inches minimum. Saugers remain 15 inches and the daily bag is 3 fish of any combination. We were trolling up river and suddenly a got a good strike. I shifted the motor into neutral and raised my rod to play the fish. I knew it was a good size fish, but I thought it could be a northern or catfish. I played the fish for a few minutes and as soon as I saw it was a walleye I yelled to Dana to get the net and after good job netting the fish there was a 24" walleye in the boat. After a quick revival, I released the fish back into the river. One down ! This was a much bigger fish than most I catch and I hurried to get my crank back in the water. I trolled the same spot and bang, another 22" walleye. I continued trolling over this same 50 yard area both up river and downriver catching walleye after walleye all over 18" and up to almost 25". I released all the fish for future seed and went back to my river home to figure out what had brought these walleyes to my lures.

This is what I figured out. The river had dropped to the year's low. When water is falling, fish will move out to deeper water and the channel edge. These walleyes I was catching were in the deepest water around 8 to 10 feet, this water was off the back of a rock bar and dropped off to the deeper water. They were in a heavily wooded spot protected from the current and heavily feeding. I caught these fish a 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon with a blue bird sky and temperature near 85 degrees. I thought you had to get up at 5:00 A.M. to go fishing.

After catching 10 good 'eyes, I had no idea of what to expect the next day. They were still there the next day and I caught more walleyes in the 18" to 23" size range. The water stayed low and the walleyes stayed put. Then it happened, the water rose over night a couple of feet and ranged the river. The flow increased and poof the walleyes disappeared. This is what I mean by walleye magic. The fish you have today can be gone tomorrow especially if you fish the wandering walleye.

River current, water depth, and food all control and dictate where a walleye will go at any given time. An angler has to be versatile and adaptable to constantly catch these wanderers. The river system is a dynamic system where changes are constantly occurring and the walleyes adapts accordingly.

10106 Hwy. Y Mazomanie, WI. 53560 
Phone & Fax 608 795-4208 
E-mail gengberg@chorus.net 
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Copyright Gary Engberg Outdoors 2002