Locating River Walleyes & Tactics That Produce

Contour trolling along breaks positions the bait right in front of the fish. “In the main river channel or in deeper holes, walleyes may stage in deeper-water during the day, moving up into adjacent shallow water in low light and at night. Trolling crankbaits through deeper holes and along breaks definitely is productive, especially where walleyes stage deep during the day.

“In backwater areas, try trolling necked-down areas under bridges or along flooded treelines near the channel. Secondary river channels or breaks are great spots, too. I look for fairly clean bottoms, which are easier to troll; too much debris results in too much snagging,” Grothe says.

Some of the most popular river crankbaits for springtime trolling are slender with a deep-diving bill, which are considered to have a rapid, tight action. Some have a shad shape, such as the Rapala Shad Rap, while others have a long, thin, minnow body, like the Reef Runner Deep Lil’ Ripper. Long, slender lures that work best for river walleyes include Rapala Shad Raps, Tail Dancers, and Down Deep Husky Jerks; and Storm Deep ThunderStick Juniors.

Trolling speed is easily mastered. Troll downriver just faster than the current—barely fast enough to keep the lure working. Going upriver, move fast enough to make progress upstream, but don’t retain a steady pace. The most important aspect of speed is variance. Keep the lure moving at a variety of speeds by turning the boat and playing with the throttle. Pauses are crucial some days. Pay close attention to what the boat is doing when fish strike and continue to duplicate that maneuver whenever possible.

“Slowly trolling upstream puts water pressure on a crankbait, so you can troll slowly and still get baits to wobble. Once you find a spot that seems to concentrate fish, hover the baits by maintaining boat speed at the same speed as the current. Slowly s-turn the motor of the boat to work the baits up and down the break in order to contact fish holding at different depths,” Grothe says.

Good trolling rods in the 8- to 81⁄2-foot range feature a fairly soft tip and a solid backbone. The soft tip absorbs the shock of hard-striking fish and line that doesn’t stretch. It’s helpful to know how far the lure is behind the boat—but being exact isn’t necessary. Again, river walleyes generally are bottom-orientated. Just hitting bottom occasionally assures you’re putting your bait in front of the majority of the fish. In general, larger deep-diving lures begin hitting bottom in 17 to 20 feet of water with about 70 to 80 feet of line out. Smaller versions of those lures reach those depths with about 110 to 150 feet of line out.

Tracking walleyes as they make seasonal movements from deeper holes to the shallows, and possibly back deep again, is heavily influenced by the spawn and river flow. Study flow conditions and look for walleyes along current breaks and seams, knowing that walleyes often move shallow as the river flow increases and as they prepare to spawn. Whether you decide to troll or jig, or a little bit of both, river walleyes in spring generally are active and ready to take your bait if you can figure out a way to put it in front of them.