Cover Water and Catch Walleyes by Jig Trolling

When walleyes are scattered, like over a mid-depth flat for instance, but are not in an aggressive enough mood to be caught with trolling methods such as crankbaits or spinner rigs, Jig Trolling can be a deadly technique. This style of fishing can be accomplished by working from the bow of the boat and moving along slowly with the electric motor while bouncing a jig along the bottom. Fishing it at about a 45 degree angle behind the boat can trigger walleyes when nothing else can. In this scenario, go with a round head – long-shank hook like a Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Jig, because the long shank creates a ‰cam‰ action when pulled vertically, as in a vertical hook-set, increasing the percentages of getting ‰hooked up‰. A shorter shank hook would be more easily pulled out of the walleyes grasp during the same hook-set. Since the object is to keep the jig on the bottom as you slowly troll along, a heavier jig will be used than when fishing the other presentations. A typical range would be 1/4 ounce to 1/2 ounce, with 3/8 being the ‰bread-and-butter‰ jig.