In the early spring the walleye will naturally seek out some of the
calm and moderately deep parts of the water where you will find the
gravel or rocky shoals. Hard bottom bays, underwater weeds, rocky
points and sandbars are also good places to find the walleye during
spawning season.
Best Walleye Fishing Tactics for Spring Fishing
Once you have the right equipment, bait and a good idea of where the
walleye are located, you are ready for some great tactics to help you
reel in more fish. Right after the spawning has taken place the walleye
will go through a few weeks where they are not quite as active. If you
use a slow presentation during this time with a slow retrieval you will
get the best results.
This is the time of year when they will be drawn to minnows the most
and it's recommended that you use small bait during the early spring
and as the weather warms up, you can increase the size of the bait and
even speed up your retrieval time. Jigging is a great technique that
will work very well during the early spring. You can do vertical
jigging or you can cast your jig out close to structures and near the
shoreline to capture the attention of the walleye.
Trolling is also a great tactic that will work very well during the
early spring. When trolling for walleye look for shallow flats where
there are few structures and avoid the deepest parts of the water.
Moderately deep water is the best place for this technique. Using
electronic devices such as sonar and GPS systems can help you locate
the walleye faster and help you keep track of where they are for future
fishing trips.
To get the full "Early Spring Walleye Fishing Tactics" article you'll need to download it here.