How to fish for walleye pike

Remember the action you were taking when you get your first walleye hit.

Things You'll Need

• walleye jigs,live bait worms

Instructions

1. When jigging, it is so important to match the action of your jig to the current mood of the walleye. Most people will lift it, and drop it. This is an acceptable method, but if it doesn't happen to be working it is important to rotate with different jig presentations.
   There is a tendency of many walleye anglers to overcompensate on their jigging. When jigging it is best to use subtle actions at all times.
   Think effortless.
   So one motion flows naturally into the next.
   Next time you're out on the lake, try dragging the jig along the bottom, popping it up and then letting it fall until it almost reaches bottom.
   If you're casting into a shallow reef, let the jig fall just until it hits bottom. Then lift the tip of the rod a few inches up. Pause and leave it there for a few moments. Drop the rod tip and let the jig touch the bottom.
   Keep repeating this process.
   Remember the action you were taking when you get your first hit.

2. To improve chances of snagging a walleye, one key lies in making it easier for bait to be inhaled. There's not much that can increase the chances of getting a hook in on a slash attack from the fish, but when sucking-it-in mode is in action,....

   Take care in choosing the line. Walleye tend to be rather small in weight, so a 6-pound-test line will generally do the trick. The use of lighter line also makes it easier for the line to get "sucked" in when the walleye makes an attempt to inhale bait.
   Bob the bait. Bobbing or bouncing can help produce a bit of slack in the line, which can remove some of the resistance involved as the fish tries to inhale the bait.
   Keep slack in the line. Keeping slack allows the bait to be inhaled. If slack is lost, so too will be the bite in most cases.
   Use shorter strokes. When jigs are used, many anglers tend to stroke a little too heartily with their rods. A cleaner, short stroke can actually help land the fish.
   Hooking a walleye in the summer months when most seasons are open is often best done using jigs, crankbaits or live minnows. The evening hours are recommended, but early mornings work well, too. In the late evenings and early mornings, the shallows are the best places to go. As the sun heats things up, the walleye tends to move out to deeper waters. Try these hooking tips for buckets full of walleye next time you're out on the water.

3. 

   Bottom bouncers have been proven that they work extremely well when it comes to fishing for Walleye. Some anglers will even go so far as to call this tackle the magic bait. Bottom bouncers work so well there have even been cases of painted bottom bouncers being reeled in only to have the angler find actual teeth marks in the paint because of a Walleye attack. Anglers like you and me may not understand why a bottom bouncer is so effective, but we do not need an explanation as long as the bait works this well. A bottom bouncer can be one of the most important pieces of tackle you can own as a Walleye angler.

Tips & Warnings

• Tip your walleye rigs with live bait, worms or minnows