Walleyes are susceptible and can be tempted to eat—even when they are full—when the right bait suspends in front of them.
Whether it’s a neutrally buoyant crankbait, livebait below a float, or a bait worked slightly off bottom on a drop-shot rig, walleyes seem to have a hard time not striking baits suspended in front of their noses.
Neutral Cranks—Neutral cranks, slashbaits, have lots of lure ability with only a few intentions—attract and trigger fish strikes. Slashbaits are ideal for working shallow shorelines, rocks, weededges, even shallow windswept flats. They’re great for pitching along steep shoreline breaks where longlining isn’t efficient. And whenever walleyes gather in the shallows or in corners too tight to troll, casting neutrally buoyant baits is an option, possibly even the best option.
There are all kinds of neutrally buoyant cranks designed to dive either shallow or deep. In spring, walleyes are shallow, which makes it easy to make a long enough cast and reel the bait deep enough to reach the walleyes. Rapala Husky Jerks and Smithwick Super Rogues are two of the most popular baits for contacting shallow walleyes, although a variety of other suspenders work, too.
As walleyes move deeper, deep-diving suspending baits are capable of contacting them in 12 to 14 feet. Deep divers, like Rapala’s Down Deep Husky Jerk, Rapala’s RS ShadRap or Smithwick’s Spoonbill Super Rogue, feature a longer bill suitable for working deeper rocks, deep weeds, or for cranking down along steep shoreline breaks. Active walleyes will rise up to feed, but you still need a bait that dives deeper to consistently trigger strikes. Using superline like Berkley FireLine, which has less water resistance than mono, allows baits to dive deeper.
Long casts allow you to keep the crankbait in the strike zone longer, giving you more time to work the bait and walleyes more time to find it. A longer rod, like a 7- or 71⁄2-foot fast-action medium-power style, combined with a slightly oversized spinning reel allows for even longer casting and for adding action to the crankbait. Many anglers use superline, not only for added casting distance, hook-setting power, and diving depth, but also for better lure response. The lack of stretch provides a much sharper snap at longer distances, which enables you to better control the action of the bait throughout the entire retrieve—even subtle twitches and jerks.
Working suspenders includes a series of pulls and pauses. In most cases, the wobble attracts and the pause triggers. Tuned correctly, the lure should dance from side to side, like a dazed or injured baitfish. The sweep is just fast enough to make the bait wobble. The pause, suspending the bait in their faces, often is the trigger. Walleyes tend to commit when the bait stops and hangs in front of their faces without rising or sinking. Sometimes a pause of only a few seconds is best. Other times, it takes longer—possibly up to 20 seconds—before reluctant walleyes decide to take the bait.
