Last year we had a rather rare phenomenon in that the ice did not go out until May 18th which is 10-18 days late. What did occur was the opportunity to fish the full spectrum of the “spawn”. We had unreal May and June walleye fishing. I will talk about the techniques that really smoked the walleyes during May.
With a later ice out or an earlier one with a large melting snow pack water current is increased in the rivers and channels. Current is a walleye magnet in May and June. The key to catching lots of walleye at this time of year is to understand the walleyes relationship to the current. Every Night during the spawning cycle walleyes make a movement upstream in the current, females looking for a place to lay eggs and male walleyes looking to fertilize the eggs. As dawn approaches they start to move down stream finding slack areas (less current) to rest and feed.
Locating these spots is key and it is not as difficult as it is made out to be. Turns especially inside turns, where the water becomes shallow like on a shelf or flat, the upstream side of points are all good spots to find walleyes. GPS’s make it easier also. Every one has a boat speed indicator, most people use it as a speedometer, but you can see where current slackens. In the main current you will see for example 0.8 mph getting into the slack water, flats, up stream and down stream from points you will see the speed change. These areas are key for walleyes.
With the MinnKota IPilots that are available today you have the ability to anchor and hold like never before. The single most effective way to catch the walleyes is with a jig and minnow. For real shallow water 2-4 feet I like a 1/16 or 1/8 oz. jig using six pound test limp monofilament line. 4 to 8 feet I like a 3/16 oz. jig, and 8-12 feet a ¼ oz. jig, 12-18 feet a 3/8 oz. jig. In almost all instants I am casting either over the edge or up onto the flats and work the jigs slowly back to the boat.
Another key to remember the walleyes might bite good right where the walleyes are spawning early in the morning, then they often slow down. This normally is because they have moved to areas listed above and down stream from the current source. Walleyes can be picked off most of the day. May, and June provide unbelievable shallow water fishing with out going on a fly-in or long road trip to Canada. Visit us at www.rainylakehouseboats.com
