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River Walleyes: Overlooked and Underfished
by Norb Wallock

Early fall angling on just about any river throughout the Midwest, can be a lonely proposition. It's feels a little eerie, to have that much water all to yourself.

In this day and age of fishing pressure and elbow to elbow angling, you get the feeling that something must be wrong. Chances are that nothing's wrong, and everything is right. With a little understanding of where and how to find late season walleyes, anglers can cash in on some of the season's best fishing.

As summer slides into fall, seasonal triggers occur that send walleyes on an upstream migration that can lead them miles away from their present location. As water temps begin to cool down, walleyes start to get a little restless, and eventually pick up stakes and move.

It's this fall migration that creates a concentration, and plays right into the hands of anglers in the know.

Summer walleyes tend to be spread out, and can be found throughout a section of river.

Fall walleyes, on the other hand, tend to bunch up. And better yet, they become much more active, and feed aggressively all day long. It's a time of the year when walleyes are putting on layers of fat, that will help them through a long hard winter; And the females are already developing eggs, which puts them in a serious snackin' mood.

Active walleyes, located in specific, easily identifiable areas, makes for peak fishing conditions. Finding early fall walleyes, is the first piece of the fall walleye puzzle to put together.

The place to begin your search, is as far upstream as you can go, or as far as the fish can go, and work downstream. If the river you're working has a dam, or any other obstruction that would impede their migration, you've found a good place to start.

One of the quickest methods, for finding walleyes on the move, is trolling crankbaits downstream. Working down, instead of up, allows you to do so at warp speed, and you can cover lots and lots of water in a short period of time. By running with the current, you may be traveling at five or six miles per hour.

But don't let the speed scare you, active walleyes will still chase down a bait; And the key is finding active fish.

One of the most effective methods for trolling crankbaits, in a current situation, employs the use of leadcore line. River rats have been successfully using leadcore and crankbaits for years, and there's a few things you should know before getting the lead out on river 'eyes.

Rivers require some minor adjustments over standing leadcore trolling gear, adjustments that can help you avoid the frustrations of dealing with a snag filled environment

Rivers are loaded with rocks, sunken trees, stumps, and who knows what, all of which are waiting to grab whatever runs too close, never to be seen again.

Successful river trolling requires keeping a bait running close to the bottom. Running close means you'll end up banging into all of the aforementioned traps, and it also means you'll be occasionally hanging up.

There's not much you can do about hanging up, but there is something you can do about getting it back.

Heavier leadcore, like thirty-six pound test, is the way to go. Between the lead and the bait, you'll need a monofilament leader. In most situations, you can get by with ten or twelve pound test line, but not here.

Instead, a six to nine foot leader, in the thirty to forty pound range, is in order. To attach the leader to the leadcore, you'll want to use a good quality ball bearing swivel. Leadcore aficionados will often use a blood knot to attach the leader, but a swivel will better stand up to the extra strain of yanking a bait out of an underwater jungle.

With this setup, you can literally rip a snagged bait free, and get it back again. You may need to reshape some hooks, or the bait may need to be tuned, but at least it's back, and straightening a few hooks can be done in a snap, and you can be back in business quickly.

Top picks for trolling, would include the Rattling Shad Raps, and the Storm Thundersticks. Both are deep divers, and both have built in rattles. Deep divers require less line out, to achieve the appropriate running depth. Rattles have proven themselves time and again, and they often out produce those without.

Once you've run walleyes down, it might be more efficient to slow things up, and work a fish holding area over thoroughly. The entire purpose of trolling downriver is to locate a biter, or two. Quite often, when you have enough fish around, one of them will give it up and take the bait.

That's the Benedict Arnold, that may indicate the presence of the mother load.

After you've picked up a couple of fish, you may decide to work slowly upstream, and give the fish more time to react to your bait. Leadcore and crankbaits can still be effective when trolling against the grain, but

you must take the amount of current into consideration. Heavy flow may keep you close to a standstill, especially if your working the main channel.

Whether you're trolling up or down, speed will be a key. Realize that the current near the bottom will be less than that at the surface.

To know if you're running at a productive speed, watch your rod tip. Deep diving baits will telegraph how they're running , back to the tip, and you can actually see the rhythm of a properly running bait.

Another presentation for trolling current, up or down, includes the use of a heavy dropper jig, attached below a three way swivel. The other line, would tie in a floating jig head and a short leader.

This method can be extremely effective, where anglers are allowed more than one line, and fish will often hit the giant jig.

This rig can be worked up stream, if the current is slow enough, or you may be better off slipping the current, and working down river.

The key in slipping, is to face the boat upstream, and let it drop back slow enough, to let you keep the jig in contact with the bottom.

One of the triggers to initiating an intense fall bite, is a little runoff. Rising water levels can spur walleye activity, and make conditions that were good, even better.

Whatever the case, early fall is one of those peak times, during the open water season, and chances are, you could have it all to yourself.

Norb Wallock

Red Pine Resort
Ice Fishing on Kabetogama.