Let’s be honest. Who really understands what the heck triggers a fish to bite, or to nibble, or to pass by your perfect bait? Sure, I can make up a thousand reasons why one day should be good fishing or excuses as to why the fishing was slow. But what I do know is when the walleye are finicky, still fishing outperforms trolling, and the two things make the most difference between walleye success versus merely taking the worms out for a swim: sensitivity and patience. (Funny, the same two things Julie says I need work on.)
By sensitivity, I mean the ability to detect the presence of a fish, to notice if a walleye is nudging or tasting your bait. Anyone can tell if a fish hit when your pole is doubled over and heading for bottom; it’s when there is only slight touch or a momentary lift of the jig to indicate the bite that it gets tricky. When the fish are feeding lightly, like they were at times this past week, it is critical to know if a fish is there, and crucial the fish doesn’t feel the weight or resistance from your tackle.

This is where equipment and tackle choice come into play. Go as light as you can with everything for jigging or drop-shotting walleye: 6 or 8 lb test mono or 10 lb braided, 1/8 ounce (or smaller) jigs tipped with half a crawler or small leech, light or ultra-light rod. No steel leaders, snap swivels, broomstick poles. It’s so important that you feel every subtle movement or tap on your line. Or drop shot with a slip bobber. Not only does this subtly present a free swimming leech on nothing but a small hook, it also works as a strike indicator.
Now the patience part comes in. If the fish are reluctant to take a bait, they will be looking for any reason to skip a meal. Walleye will inhale the water around the leech or worm without even touching the bait. If the fish senses any resistance at all, or if you yank a hook set like you are teeing off at The Masters, all that happens is the bait is pulled away from the fish. If fishing a slip bobber, you need to wait until the bobber has been fully submerged for a long time: I count 5 full seconds, and should the bobber surface anytime during that count, I start counting over again. I am giving the walleye the time it needs to slowly test the bait and to close his big walleye mouth around my leech before I set the hook. It’s not easy to wait, but what is worse is the frustration of missing one of the only strikes you might get on a slow day.
The same goes for jigging. Cast a jig toward shore and slowly drag it along bottom, back towards the boat. If you feel any resistance at all, assume it’s a fish. Now, slowly back the rod tip toward the fish and look to see if the slack line tightens. Gently take the slack out of the line and gradually increase the pull to see if the resistance is still there. Nothing? Keep dragging. Tap Tap? Set the hook and get the net…yer gonna have a fish fry!
While this past week had a few slow days, it also saw its share of fish fries with everyone catching fish and some beauties released. We had outstanding, sunny weather and the lightness of the long days was pretty easy to bear.
