I live in Kentucky, and my favorite fish species is the walleye. Now, you might think Kentucky isn’t the best place for a walleye angler, but there are walleyes here (12 fisheries in the state are home to walleyes, and several more are home to saugers). The only problem is I haven’t gone to fish for them once. They’re just far enough away that I’ve never made the trip. And with fertile Kentucky Lake just 10 minutes away and churning out waves of bass and panfish, it’s hard for me to hop in the truck and make a trip of several hours in favor of walleyes. I guess you could say walleyes are my favorite, but I still fish for what’s convenient.
In any case, I’ve learned a lot about walleye fishing by bass fishing. Seriously. Here are some examples:
1. You can’t outrun a predator – I firmly believe that I have dragged jigs and cranked spinnerbaits right by bass that didn’t bite. But of all the bass I’ve caught that were in a feeding mood, I firmly believe they would have bit my lure if I’d been winding it as fast as possible or dead-sticking it. Because of that, the faster presentation is the better one, because it’s more efficient. I think the same can be said for walleyes. Sure, a blistering pace isn’t always the best speed for targeting all walleyes, but for targeting active walleyes speed definitely helps. Keep this in mind when you’re in “search mode” on walleye waters this season.
2. The drop-shot rules – I really don’t see myself doing much Texas rigging for walleyes, but the drop-shot I will most certainly use. In fact, I’ll use the drop-shot for any freshwater species. It really is one of the most effective rigs for fishing live bait and soft plastics. Picture this: You’re hopping a jig and minnow slowly down a rocky shoal or reef slope. When the jig hits bottom, it hangs in the rocks or even falls down out of view to any walleyes nearby. Now picture it this way: You’re hopping a drop-shot and minnow slowly down a rocky shoal or reef slope. When the weight hits bottom, it hangs in the rocks or falls down out of view, BUT THE BAIT REMAINS IN THE STRIKE ZONE. It’s fish on in no time. See the difference?
3. Fish shallower – When I bass fish, I prefer to be in open water fishing bottom lures on drop-offs. But I’m constantly reminded at bass tournaments of why the best bass anglers spend a lot of time on the banks. There’s plenty of cover, plenty of bait and plenty of oxygen, and it’s all in a band that is easy to see and fish. Now, I realize walleyes have some different habitat needs, but I’ve witnessed more and more walleye anglers fishing shallow shoreline patterns throughout the year every season and having great success. They look like they’re bass fishing. I’ll put it to you this way: There’s just too much going on shallow for walleyes to disregard that area of a lake entirely.
4. Fish faster – This goes along with Lesson 3. Walleye pros are starting to fish faster and faster every year. They have to. They only have a few days to pick apart massive lakes in hopes of finding winning keepers. The only way to do that is to search faster. This isn’t the same point as Lesson 1. Lesson 1 is about lure speed. Now I’m talking about angler speed. How long do you spend on one spot before moving? How many lures do you try? Can you dedicate yourself to using moving lures when searching, rather than soaking a live-bait rig? This year, try speeding up your search and I think you’ll see good results.
5. Soft plastics work – I’m a minnow drowner like a lot of other people. I have no problem stopping at the bait shop to stock up on some shiners on the way to the lake. Same goes for crickets, crawlers and leeches. But I have learned that live bait only gets you so far in walleye fishing. Like bass pros have known for so long, there are some situations where soft plastics are better (in snaggy situations, for instance), and there are no situations where soft plastics can’t replace live bait. That’s right. I said it. Soft plastics will work any time and any place. Sometimes you just have to change your tackle or presentation slightly, but you can catch walleyes with soft plastics.