Seine Chain Walleye Techniques
The majority of people who fish walleye and do well with good numbers tend to favor live bait.
Vertical jigging, primarily with a leech or minnow, seems to offer the most action as far as numbers go. Jigs usually vary from 1/8 oz to 3/8 oz. Some use heavier - particularly in channels with current - but keep in mind that the bottom of our lakes is full of snags and you may spend a lot of time re-tying jigs when you use heavier weights.
Although all colors are used, the most popular colors for jigs are white and chartreuse. Bright green and black tend to be the runners up while many other colors are used, but not as popular.
Although you'll hear lots of proponents of drifting while jigging, plan to anchor and do a lot of stationery jigging. Drifting works to a point, but the guys who do really well on this system tend to drop the anchor once they find the fish.
Another pointer - many of the "walleye holes" we fish, have been great walleye holes for the last 40 years, and long before that. They may not always be there, or they may not always be biting, but just because you don't get action when checking them out once or twice, don't cross them off your list. Keep checking them out - it's worth your while.
Although we don't encourage drifting on a regular basis over vertical jigging, when fishing in the current - mainly the narrows, we are big advocates of anchoring in a good walleye area, casting your line upstream & letting the current carry it back downstream. It is one of the best ways to get depth when fishing in current without using too heavy a weight and has resulted in some great walleye action for many anglers over the years.
When doing this, again, jigs with minnows & leeches are the most popular as well as tackle like Little Joe Spinners & leech or minnow (and sometimes a sinker).
Nightcrawlers are often effective in any of the above scenarios as well, and worm harnesses work well, although crawlers seem to be more effective in the warmer months of the summer.
Depending on the time of year, weather and lake, depths vary. In the spring we often see a lot of shallow water action - sometimes as shallow as 7 - 8 feet and less.
In mid summer we often see walleyes in depths of 25', and if it's a hot year up to 35' - 40'.
We will advise you what depths have been the most active recently to help you narrow your focus. We will also point out good areas to start working. We don't just say - "There's the lake - good luck!".
