Try jigging to catch walleye in early fall
Trolling and drift fishing for walleye are the favored techniques in Western Pennsylvania waters. At this time of year, however, consider vertical jigging.
Walleye are still largely following established summer patterns in early September, which generally means deeper water. Anglers targeting ’eyes should start their searches in all the likely areas, namely offshore humps, deep weed lines, mid-depth flats and manmade cribs in lakes, and at the bottom of the deeper pools in rivers and streams. But they should also be prepared to search shallower whenever the conditions dictate.
“September is a transition time for walleye,” said Joel Nelson, a professional angler from Minnesota. “Most lake walleye will adhere to summer patterns during warm weather, but any early cold snap can trigger pods of baitfish to move to the shallows. The walleye won’t be far behind.”
Nelson is a proponent of vertical jigging and pitching in these scenarios. His key offerings include simple
⅛- ounce to ½-ounce jig heads rigged with smaller plastics, paddle tails and shad imitations fished under the boat in the mornings and evenings, and away from the boat during midday. He uses two distinct spinning rods for these presentations.
“For me, a 6-foot 3-inch, mediumlight power, extra-fast spinning rod is the perfect vertical jigging tool when using up to ⅜- ounce jigs,” Nelson said. “The shorter length is ideal for fishing vertically, and the extra-fast tip is extremely useful in detecting bites from fish still in a lazy summer pattern.”
Nelson uses a Legend Elite rod with its extremely sensitive carbon blank.
“When fish push shallower – often after a cold snap – and you’re pitching farther away from the boat, move up in length and power to a 6-foot 8-inch medium power, extra-fast rod, [which] gives you a bit of extra leverage. It’ll also handle heavier Fireball jigs up to ⅝ of an ounce,” said Nelson.
Shallower walleye, he said, are often more concentrated.
“Big schools of walleye are typically present in these conditions, so look for ‘can’t-miss’ signatures on your electronics’ side-imaging before wetting any baits.”
Wisconsin angler Blake Tollefson relies on a shorter rod for vertical jigging situations.
“On several of the flowages and lakes I fish, walleye and crappies alike tend to congregate on deeper wood where it’s available, and manmade cribs wherever they exist.”
Tollefson says typical depths are from 15 to 25 feet of water.
“The best way to fish stumps, wood and cribs is usually vertically, because you have better control of your presentation and can reduce the frustration of getting your jig hung up.”
He says precision is a factor. “You usually need to be right on the cribs to get bit. Cast and retrieval methods aren’t great for this type of fishing because you tend to get snagged,” he said. “Fishing vertically, you can dial in your presentation and your electronics will guide you.”
That’s a primary reason Tollefson likes a shorter rod.
“It lets you control your
presentation right in the cone of the sonar,” he said. “That’s key because using your sonar is extremely helpful for determining what it takes to coax fish out of the wood, as well as keeping yourself from getting hung up.”
Tollefson says a mediumlight power rod is ideal for presenting a wide range of smaller baits that appeal to both walleye and crappies.
“A simple jig rigged with a small plastic seems to be best,” Tollefson said. “My alltime favorite plastic for vertical jigging in these scenarios is the Eurotackle Fat Assassin, which I’m usually fishing on a ⅛- ounce jig head.... Crappies and walleye both love it, but if I’m strictly targeting walleye, there’s a decent chance I’ll be using a fathead minnow instead.”
He also uses hard baits like smaller jigging rap-style baits sizes No. 3 and 5, and smaller lipless crankbaits like an ⅛- ounce Eurotackle Z-Viber.
Tollefson said a 1,000-size spinning reel pairs up nicely with a St. Croix 63MLXF spinning rod, which he most often rigs with 8- to 10-pound braid mainline and a 4- to 6pound fluorocarbon leader.
To anglers pursuing river walleyes in early fall, Nelson says water levels play a huge role in finding and catching fish.
“Come September, many walleye streams and rivers are at their lowest stages of the year, which usually causes fish to stack up in relatively small areas,” he said. “A canoe or kayak floating down likely stretches may yield only a handful of fishable spots, but that’s not a bad thing. Once you find them, you can catch a bunch.”
Nelson said river walleye frequently hold in the deepest water available at this time of year.
“You’ve got to go down and get them, either vertically jigging as you slowly drift through the holding water, or by pitching jig and grub combinations into current seams and other slackwater edges,” he said.
Nelson employs the same spinning rods on the river that he uses when lake fishing.
“These exact same rods and presentations are equally effective at taking river walleye at this time of year, in addition to smallmouth bass,” he said.
Nelson said bonus bronzebacks will inhabit more areas, not just the deeper pools where walleye congregate. “They definitely roam more than the walleye do right now and aren’t afraid to hit a variety of aggressive offerings.”