WEEDS AND WALLEYES

###

Weeds are an important area of food source for the fish in a lake. Weeds contain insect larvae, plankton, and minnows, which all play an important role in the food chain in our lakes. On our northern lakes, emerging weed growths will start in early May. Not all weed growths are the same, so you need to be selective as to the types of weeds to fish in. However in early spring, the . rst emerging weed is the cabbage weed. Emerging cabbage weed growths will attract a good percentage of the active walleyes.

Cabbage weed will be normally found in two to four feet of water along the shoreline in early spring. Cabbage weed can also be found in deeper water, but I'm looking for shallow weed growth, especially in the spring. The shallow weedbeds will produce the best in spring with water temperatures ranging from 55' to 65' degrees. The deeper weeds will produce better later in the year. Other types of weeds such as coontail and milfoil, will also hold walleyes, but are most dif. cult to fish, Coontail and milfoil starts appearing when the water temperatures rise in July and August.

Once walleyes are found in weed, choosing the proper presentation is very important. My favorite bait of choice is the jig and minnow presentation. This presentation can be very frustrating for an inexperienced fisherman. When fishing weeds such as coontail or cabbage, use a light 1/16 once jig tipped with a . athead minnow. This combination will allow you to work the bait over and through the weeds. The retrieve that you will have to use is a lift and glide approach. When the jig gets hung up on the weeds, lower your rod tip and pop the jig free with an upward movement. This will get the attention of those walleyes that are lying in the weeds, and you will . nd aggressive walleyes to bite. Sometimes a jig doesn't always . nd it's way through heavy weed growth with out help. Rip it through by taking up slack line and give the rod a hard upward motion.

Fishing weeds such as milfoil becomes a little more challenging. You will need to keep your presentation on the outer edge of the milfoil. Ripping through method will not work! Finding the milfoil edge is most important, then cast short of the weeds. The use of a slip-bobber presentation will also help stay out of the heavy weeds. Once you hook-up with a walleye, getting the fish up and out of the weeds is a challenge. I usually try to keep the momentum of the fish coming to the boat. If the fish is a large one, I try to keep the rod tip high and allow the fish to play itself out above the top of the weeds. When fishing deeper weeds later in the season, I like to use my electric trolling motor to position my boat right on top of where I want to fish. I can drop the bait straight down, which makes for more effective presentation. This also gives me a better hook-setting position, and more leverage to fight the fish. After the bait hits bottom, I jig it a few times, let it rest, then jig it again. The trick is to keep the lure falling as much as possible, because that's when walleyes most often strike.

IS IT A FISH OR A WEED??
Now that I have explained how to fish in and around weeds, you will need to determine IS IT A FISH or A WEED that has stopped your lure. When you feel your lure stop, hold your rod up a second or two, holding your line tight, wait to see if you get a couple of tugs. If you feel the tugs, set the hook it's a fish. If the rod tip just bends with no tug, it's probably a weed. It's all about "Feel" when it comes to catching walleyes.

EQUIPMENT
Because I am talking about feeling the difference between a weed or a fish, I like to use a medium- action light graphite rod, 6ft to 6.5ft in length. My line preference is 6-pound test. The combination of the graphite light rod, and 6- pound test line, will help you determine the difference between a fish or a weed. The jig size is mainly determined on how deep your fishing and how windy it is. Try to keep the jig as light as possible, but still get the bait down where the fish are. Weed fishing can be very rewarding not only in the spring, but all year long. I have also found that the larger aggressive walleyes are in the woods.

###

Back