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The in-between season as winter approaches might mean open water or ice. Be ready to go either way when the weather can, too.

With the way the weather works in the northern climes, you never know what the tail end of fall and the onset of winter will bring. Sometimesit’s warm enough for open water. Other times it’s cold enough for ice. Then again, you might get a boat out one day and find ramps sealed the next.

All of which is why, when it comes to walleye fishing, I’m ready to do whatever it takes to get on fish. Troll a line or drill a hole—either end of the spectrum is possible. For last-chance walleyes in open water, trolling day or night with long, thin stickbaits is one of the most productive methods for big walleyes on the feed before winter. In the event of ice, however, I don’t stray far from the spots that last produced before hard water, and I jig them with a subtle motion that 
matches the walleye’s mood.

Right about now, the weather can go either way. You can, too.

Going for a Troll
Cold water has long had a reputation for necessitating live bait for walleye. But with the emergence of tournament fishing in the frigid waters of April and with all the time I’ve spent stalking walleyes year-round near my home, outside of Muskegon, Michigan, the efficacy of minnow baits is undeniable. Cold water in spring or fall makes little difference—it’s still cold water.
With the thin minnows, I’ve caught walleyes with water temperatures in the low 40s, even in the high 30s in December. The reason I like thin minnows in such conditions is due to their light side-to-side action accented by a roll around a center axis. No other lure supplies the key cold-water ingredients of Normark’s Rapalas. When the water is in the 40s, Rapala Husky Jerks are excellent trolling baits, particularly for Great Lakes walleye. When the temperatures, though, hover in the low 40s or even dip into the 30s, I like the even more delicate action of Rapala’s Original Minnows, floaters that dive slightly when trolled and wiggle just right — which is hardly at all at speeds of 1.0 mph or less.

One of the best bites occurs anywhere is in November and beyond on the 
Great Lakes. Trolling inshore areas around pierheads and river mouths with Husky Jerks behind planer boards puts more and bigger fish in my Lund than any other pattern on earth. This time of year, the fish move shallow in a trend similar to spring movements, when baitfish are in close and walleyes start running rivers. 

Click here for more information and to order Church Tackles Walleye Board and Flag system

To run two lines per person and get lures away from the boat in increasingly clear, zebra-mussel-filtered waters, I turn to Church Tackle planer boards—the Walleye Board, in particular, because of its size to plane away from the boat and provide resistance necessary to put hooks in fish. For nighttime trolling, Church Tackle offers a handy glow stick than can be attached to the boards for seeing strikes

Lowrance’s new X-15

My trolling speeds are about the same on and off the Great Lakes. I like to troll slowly, keeping my speeds around 1.0 mph on my Lowrance GPS. I’ll troll with my Mercury kicker motor most of the time for Great Lakes fish, but when a number of boats are working an area or at night,  I’ll switch to the quiet power of my electric motor.

Going to the Hole

Aqua Vu Ice Pro System

Following walleyes are by no means relegated to open water. When I start ice fishing, I watch the walleyes under the ice—and coming to my bait—on an Aqua-Vu underwater camera in the DT Series, an indispensable  device that gives depth and water temperature. More than anything,  though, I’m able to watch walleyes come in for a look at my bait and adjust my jigging motion accordingly.

Jigging Rapala

With a Jigging Rapala, to which I add a minnow to the middle treble, I’ve found by watching the camera that a light jiggle is all the action  necessary. Twitch the lure too hard or drop it to bottom, and off the walleyes go.

StrikeMaster  Lazer Mag  Ultra

But since mobility is somewhat limited in ice fishing, I wind up drilling a lot of holes with my StrikeMaster auger, which has the gasoline power to drill plenty of holes along a contour line or hump from shallow to deep. Also, before a lot of snow gets on the ice (and even when it does), I tame the slick conditions with Get-a-Grip treads by StrikeMaster, which make it easy to keep your footing and drill plenty of holes. Meanwhile, for electronics and lights inside a my Clam Corp. Fish Trap, a highly portable shanty that accommodates all your gear in its sled design on your way out to your fishing hole, is another Trojan Battery, the VRLA Super-Gel Cycling Series. Which way you go now—to open water or ice—is largely out of your hands.  It’s in Mother Nature’s, and it only makes sense to play with the cards she deals you. Troll if you can or jig if you must. Either way, you’ll be well on your way to walleyes.

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