Alexandria Area Summer Walleye Report

It’s no secret the walleye fishing in the Alexandria area is spectacular, but as it does across most of the state the bite usually slows considerably by July. Lucky for us not this year. I’ve been fortunate enough to be enjoying a walleye bite like I haven’t seen for some time. Sure unstable weather and cold fronts will slow the bite for a short period, but overall the bite has remained outstanding since opener.

The walleye are holding in a number of locations from shallow rock and weeds in 10-14 FOW to deep weed lines in 19-23 FOW. Keeping up with these transitioning walleye is no easy task. One day there shallow and the next they’re deep. That’s why I spend most of my free time on the water running an underwater camera. The lakes in our area are very healthy and have a very diverse population of species. That’s why using a camera in conjunction with a locator is a necessity. Using only a locator will have you fishing “marks” that are not walleye. This year I’ve been using a Marcum 820, it’s amazing how clear these cameras are these days. Once you locate a pod of walleye now you can use your graph to stay on those fish until you find out what presentation will trigger them.

The techniques I’ve been using also change day to day depending on the situation. If I’m fishing shallow rocks and weeds I’ll fish bobbers, if I’m fishing deep weed lines with a steep break I’ll use Lindy rigs tipped with leeches and crawlers, or if I find the fish are scattered out over a larger area I’ll pull Perch or Shiner colored Lindy spinners. Any one of these presentations will work on any given day, but I’m not out there to just catch some fish. I want to catch the most fish as possible, so picking the technique that best fits the conditions will most certainly put more fish in your boat.

If you’re not familiar with Alexandria I’d like to take this time to brag about our area a bit. Alexandria has a variety of lakes that is second to none in the state. In fact, from an aerial view it looks likes there’s almost more water than land! No matter what your after there’s a lake in the area for you. If it’s fishing, boating or swimming we’ve got you covered. Summer wil be gone before you know it, so get the family up for the day or for the weekend and find your favorite spot in Alexandria. After all we’re only a couple hours from the Twin Cities.