Learning to catch river walleyes from the bank

[dulouz]

I have spent most of my time fishing for bass, but I am interested in fishing for walleyes.  Usually I fish for bass in a farm pond, but the walleyes are in a local river.  I hear good reports from other locals that fishing is great, not just for walleye but northern and smallmouth as well. 

I have been trying for a few weeks to catch some walleyes but so far I have caught one smallmouth (which i don't mind).  I have used jigs/twister tails, and almost every crankbait I own. 

I would appreciate and walleye tips, as well as general river fishing from the bank. 

[Grey Wolf]

fish the eddies and breaks with curly tail jigs.

[SusqyMusky]

Are you fishing at the best time of day? From just after sunset to a few hrs after dark. Or just the opposite in the morning.

When using your jigs and twister tails (which is an excellent choice) they need to bounce along the bottom with the current. The bite will vary from a slight little tap to a hard hit like a smallmouth. You may not even feel the pick up of the lure on some strikes. you'll usually get one or two taps to set the hook. They will also take this offering after the end of the bottom bouncing drift when you start to retrieve the lure. Do this very slowly, almost letting it hang in the current with an occasional jigging action.

For me the fun of this type of walleye fishing is all about feeling the strike. Tap, tap, Wham. It's a blast. The bad news is they don't have much fight unless they are really big or the current is swift. It's like dragging in a small boot.

The good news is They Sure Taste Good>>>!!!

If your not occasionally feeling the bottom with your jig presentation, you need to make adjustments.

It's been my experience that if I'm not loosing a few jigs while walleye fishing I'm not catching many either. Of course that may just be the rocky conditions of my Eastern River.

[dulouz]

Thank you guys for the suggestions.  I have done a lot of reading and picked up a few popular walleye cranks.  I think time of day has been part of it; I went fishing early this am and caught my first walleye that measured at 20".  Nice fish, put up a good fight. 

I think I just need to be more patient and refine my technique.  The changing river conditions are something i am not used to, as well as the crazy weather we have had lately here in Iowa.   

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Are you fishing at the best time of day? From just after sunset to a few hrs after dark. Or just the opposite in the morning.

When using your jigs and twister tails (which is an excellent choice) they need to bounce along the bottom with the current. The bite will vary from a slight little tap to a hard hit like a smallmouth. You may not even feel the pick up of the lure on some strikes. you'll usually get one or two taps to set the hook. They will also take this offering after the end of the bottom bouncing drift when you start to retrieve the lure. Do this very slowly, almost letting it hang in the current with an occasional jigging action.

For me the fun of this type of walleye fishing is all about feeling the strike. Tap, tap, Wham. It's a blast. The bad news is they don't have much fight unless they are really big or the current is swift. It's like dragging in a small boot.

The good news is They Sure Taste Good>>>!!!

If your not occasionally feeling the bottom with your jig presentation, you need to make adjustments.

It's been my experience that if I'm not loosing a few jigs while walleye fishing I'm not catching many either. Of course that may just be the rocky conditions of my Eastern River.

If you're not getting snags, you're not fishing walleye!

[RyneB]

I fish a local river for smallmouth and white bass and ill pick up a few walleye and sauger here and there just throwing baits for those fish. A redeye in chrome sexy shad is always a producer, as well as rage craws and a drop shotted plastic leach. I have found that when the shad are up top early in the morning ill throw a redeye about 5 feet under the school and that seems to produce the biggest fish.

[Lund Explorer]

We have a river in this neck of woods that holds a fair population of walleye.  While I spend most of my time fishing from a boat, there is a time during the late fall that I do fish from shore.  We've caught a number of fish using a very simple technique of slowly working floating Rapalas across gravel bars at night.

The river has a stretch just below a Hydro-Dam that carries a modest current where the river bottom goes from semi-deep pools that tailout onto the rock/gravel bars before dropping into another pool. 

We fish over the rock/gravel bars using a #13 floating Rapala in gold color.  Positioned above one of these bars, you cast out and slightly down stream, and allow the bait to drift for varying amounts of time.  Then slowly, at a pace where you can just feeling the bait working, retrieve it back towards you.  Normally, you'll know when a fish hits.  However, if you feel the bait hit something, a light sweeping hookset will tell you if it's a fish. 

If you hang up, simply give the bait slack line.  The current, along with the "floating" nature of the bait will usually allow the bait to back off the snag.  But take a half-dozen baits with you!  It does take time to get the feel of this method.

We usually hit the water about a half-hour prior to dark, and will fish for a few hours.  This method has gotten us some very nice fish, many times bigger than the typical daylight boat fish run.

One last thing, keep all artifical light to the bare minimum as you can spook these fish fairly easy.

[Dwight Hottle]

Don't be afraid to throw some bigger jerk baits around current deflects & slower water. Here in PA a musky angler was throwing a musky jerk bait & landed a 16lb+ walleye two weeks ago. Walleye will hit very big baits just like bass & northern. Plastic swim baits with paddle tails are effective also.