Advice on Techniques/Locations for a Novice Walleye Angler

Well, I got one trip to the river under my belt as a new Midwesterner. We fished at Guttenberg last Friday and got skunked, meanwhile all the boats around us seemed to be catching at least few fish. We vertically jigged with just about everything in the tackle box, I don’t have every jig known to man in my box mind you; but I do have a bunch, and we still barely managed to even get a bite. We tried watching the others and seemed to see most using a small jig with chartreuse tail, but still no luck. Part of the problem may be my lack of a trolling motor. For the time being we are stuck drifting or fishing at anchor.

We’re not looking for big fish, just a few eaters for starters. What are the preferred techniques of catching saugers and walleyes at this time of the year? What sizes and colors of jigs are best suited to fishing cold, high water? Or should we be using live bait?

Since I am usually stuck in the office during the week, weekends and holidays are about the only times I can get out, whether the bite is on or not. We were thinking of heading to the river this Friday, right on the heels of this coming cold front. With such a drastic weather change, is fishing an excercise in futility? We will probably head some place between Dubuque and Lynxville, are any of the dams in that area easier to fish than the others?

I know I have asked a lot of questions, but its tough being new to the neighborhood and having to learn a completely new style of fishing and the habits of a new fish species (back home in Maryland I fished for yellow perch primarily-talk about some good eatin!). I appreciate and thank you for your advice and suggestions.

Regards,

Joe Jiacinto

I have only been fishing the river for about four years but one of the simplest set-ups I have used for the spring is a lindy/river rig, especially for drifting. I usually use a minnow then later in the spring a leech or crawler. You may pick a few rough fish along the way but we always catch walleyes too. Good luck.

Boat Control is the key to success on the river. without a trolling motor it is VERY difficult to actually stay “vertical” when vertical jigging.

I second jake, without a trolling motor, especially with the higher flows, it can be tough to control the boat. Drifting can even be tough, I always like to keep the boat parallel, and its a lot easier with a trolling motor. If you are stuck without a trolling motor, I would try drifting live bait rigs like BB said. Try and fish the seam where the current is a bit slower. Anchoring near wing dams and tossing cranks and jigs will be a good bet in the weeks to come to. Maybe I can get together with ya sometime, i live in C.R. Good luck.
Dave

Click on the link below and it will take you to some post on fishing 3-ways.
Thanks, Bill

3-Ways

Hey Joe,
Keep at it the walleye and suager will eventually come. i was up there the same day you were, the fishing wasn’t to hot but we managed to land a 24″ eye and 4 keeper sauger for a meal. I’ve had the best luck with green or orange twisters in the spring with a minnow sometimes. last friday we caught more fish without live bait. I agree with the others a trolling motor is a must while vertical jigging. It can be done anchoring but if there are to many boats in the area it can become a problem. Take car maybe I’ll see you up on the water this coming week.
Dan

“The right lure, fished at the right time but presented incorrectly, catches nothing.”

I took liberties with the wording of that quote… I believe the original comes from Zane Grey (too late in the day to be certain.) But the point rings true. Without the means to present even the most carefully chosen offering, success is guaranteed to be limited. If you do nothing else over the next few weeks, demand of youself flawless boat control regardless of conditions… and I PROMISE fishing success will follow.

Do yourself a favor if at all possible and get yourself that electric trolling motor. A transom mount trolling motor can be had quite reasonably and will do wonders for your ability to match drift speed to current speed.

Keep us updated on how you’re doing down there!

Hombres,
Thanks for all the advice and ideas, I hope someday we can all get together for a few so I can put some names to the faces. I’ll try to get a pic of me scanned and uploaded so you can all see how pretty I look!

I’m working on the trolling motor issue. Hopefully within the next week or so I’ll have it, but in the mean time, I have to do my research. Since I skimped when I got the boat, I have some spare coin, so cost is not a big problem, but obviously I don’t want to waste money either. I am torn between whether a 55# thrust 12 V system is enough to do the job or if I need to move up to a 82# thrust motor with a 24V system. Its almost a $500 difference in cost.

No, I know the problem was us that other week on the river. Other folks were catching their limits right next to us. Probably a combination of boat control and jigging technique. We’ll fix it. And have a lot of fun in the process…

Regards,

Joe Jiacinto

Joe,

As for the trolling motor, I have the 55lb 12v motor. It works well most days, however I would suggest looking at the 24v systems if you can. I suggest the 65lb power drive with a 54 or 60 inch shaft depending on your boat. You can never have too much thrust or shaft length.

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You can never have too much thrust or shaft length.

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That’s what my wife always says.

Gator Hunter

Did he REALLY just say that out loud?

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That’s what my wife always says.

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Trolling Motor Options