How do I find bait that finicky walleye will bite?

I seem to be on a lake with the most finicky Walleye on the planet. I never know what bait is going to work best. Is there a way to get past this?

I’ve been on a few of those lakes myself.  If you find yourself in this situation, the best way to narrow it down is to fish more than one bait at a time.  I’d suggest using a 3-way rig.  This rig will actually allow you to present the buffet and then sit back and wait to see what they like.  A 3-way rig is a great rig to use when the bottom is uneven, you’re fishing over a sharp break, you’ve got a strong current or high winds, and even during the post-spawn when the fish are scattered over the shorelines, flats or reefs.  The 3-way rig easily follows the outline of the bottom and will always put you in the strike zone.  With this rig, you have the ability to slow things down and actually tease the fish when you need to.  Quite often, nothing works until you simply put the bait right in front of the fish’s face.  Each state has it’s own regulations regarding the 3-way rig so you’ll want to make sure you know and follow the rules.  If you’re fishing in a state that only allows one hook per line, you can use a sinker on an 8-10 in. dropper line along with a stick bait, plain hook, small jig, floating jig head, spinner or small spoon rig tied to a 36-40 in leader line.  Every 12 inches of dropper length should have at least 3-4 feet of trailer.

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Dan
Dan Eggertsen is a fellow walleye fishing enthusiast to the point of obsession. :) He's been providing solid advice on walleye fishing since 2004.

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