Successful Walleye Fishing with Soft Plastics

Walleye appeal to both recreational anglers and food lovers. With its spiny double dorsal fin and wide mouth lined with sharp canine teeth, this predator makes a magnificent trophy.

In the kitchen, its exquisite, delicate flesh is a welcome addition to any angler's table.

Wary walleye require mastery of several techniques, including soft plastics. Where, when and how?

We explain how to make your walleye fishing a success!

Walleye at a glance

Knowing your fish is essential to successful fishing.

 What should you know about walleye?

This predator is a percid: it belongs to the perch family. With excellent eyesight, it often prefers murky, dimly lit water, except when hunting on shoals. It mainly hunts at night but also feeds during the day in spring and fall. You are less likely to encounter it in bright sunshine. Larger specimens live alone or in small groups, while average-sized fish form larger groups. Walleye mostly feed on live prey, earning their reputation as formidable predators. They hunt with lightning-fast strikes.

Walleye spawn from April to May. Females lay their eggs in shallow to moderately deep water, with little or no current, over a clean bottom. The male guards the nest, attacking anything that approaches.

When can you fish for walleye?

Overcast days are perfect for catching this delicious member of the perch family. Larger fish are often caught in fall and spring, and during heavy rain.

April and May are the spawning months, so let us try to leave this beautiful fish alone during that period.

Where should you fish for walleye?

This predator likes murky water and low light, so it is often found in deep water or shaded areas. At dawn and dusk, however, it likes to approach the shore to catch small fish easily.

 The advantage of fishing for walleye with soft plastics:

Walleye are not easily fooled!

 Soft plastics offer versatile presentations. This is a useful advantage over hard baits, such as Rapala plugs.

To persuade a predator to strike, vary your presentation—the lure's depth in the water column and swimming speed—and your action, from lifting and lowering the rod to a steady retrieve. Soft plastics make this range of techniques possible!

Which soft plastic should you choose for walleye?

Lure quality is essential. Put the odds in your favour with a realistic lure whose swimming action and vibrations imitate the walleye's usual prey.

Bring different lure sizes and colours to match the predator's preferences that day. With such good taste, it can be picky about the menu!

If you know what local walleye eat during your fishing season—such as minnows (gobies, smelt and others), leeches, crayfish, mudpuppies or earthworms—you can choose a soft plastic that resembles that prey. If you do not yet know their favourite prey, observation and practice will help you learn their feeding habits. Try different lures to find out.

For lure size, very flexible models from 2 to 5 inches are perfect for vertical fishing or a steady retrieve.

For colour in winter, favour white: small silvery fish move away from the cold surface, much to the delight of walleye that are comfortable in deeper water. During the rest of the year, bring several colours to add variety and match their current preferences.

Pair your soft plastic with a suitable lead jig head.

 Realistic soft plastics on light lead jig heads from 1/8 to ¾ oz give good results in lakes and calm water. In the river, however, walleye may be caught as deep as 40 feet with 2–3 oz heads. Choose the style and weight of the jig head according to the depth and current of your body of water. Try different options each time you fish.

The hook on your jig head should match your lure.

How do you rig the lure on the jig head?

 For walleye fishing, use round, football, stand-up, wobble or hoof-shaped jig heads.

A tip for rigging the jig head straight: hold the hook alongside the lure to see where the point will emerge. Make a small mark on the lure's back at that exit point.

Then insert the point through the lure's mouth and aim for the mark as you bring it out. You are ready to fish for walleye!

 

 Putting your line in the water

Present your lure thoughtfully when it enters the water. Cast accurately and guide it down to the bottom, where most strikes will occur nearby. Quickly take control of the lure and vary the frequency and range of your rod-tip movements, combining fast, sharp actions with broader, slower movements. Think of an injured fish and reproduce its erratic movements with your lure. Eventually, you will find a rhythm and presentation height that work.

 

In turbulent water, current or drifting conditions, fast action with a vertical retrieve is one of the most suitable techniques. In calm water, jig vertically a few inches above the bottom, usually 1–6 inches. Walleye sometimes suspend, however.

What should you remember?

 To succeed at walleye fishing, bring the equipment needed to vary your techniques. That is what makes this fishing so interesting: every day brings a new challenge to understand how the fish are behaving.

 

 Average catches weigh between 3 and 8 pounds. With these tips, though, you could find yourself in the right place at the right time, with the right soft plastic and action. Will you aim for a walleye over 10 pounds? Show us a photo of your trophy!

HAPPY FISHING!