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By Stan Fagerstrom
Part 2
Anybody serious about putting walleye in the boat needs to do everything they can to bend the odds in their direction before they plunk their rear end onto a seat in their boat.
That applies anywhere you find these elusive and sharp toothed critters. It’s especially true on the Columbia River where walleyes have so much room to roam. So just how do you go about odds bending for catching walleyes? That’s one of the questions I’ve asked the guides I’ve had opportunity to fish with on the Columbia.
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| The Columbia is a big river that produces big walleyes. Here an angler fights a beauty. |
Picking the right time of day is a good place to begin. I asked several guides what they regarded as the best time to be on the Columbia to catch walleyes. I found their preferences were much the same as experienced anglers after largemouth bass. They felt the most productive periods are early morning and late evening. They thought these two time frames produce the best chance to catch the most keeper-sized fish.
If you’re a serious bass fisherman, it probably doesn’t surprise you to hear that morning and evening are especially productive periods for walleyes. If you’ve followed my writing about bass fishing over the past half century, you’ve seen me say countless times I regard daylight as the single most dependable time to put bass in the boat.
That evening period just as daylight gives way to darkness can also be productive, but it’s not as consistently so as is early morning. The guides I’ve spent time with on the Columbia shared the same sentiment with regard to the big river’s walleye.
Another question I asked is what is the most common mistake guides see their clients make in their walleye fishing. Several had similar answers. "The hardest thing for our customers to learn,” they said, “is to not set the hook too quickly. You simply have to let walleye take the bait to get a good hook set."
Saying that you have to wait a heartbeat or two is one thing. Developing the discipline to do it is something else. I find there’s a similarity in getting a good hook set for walleyes and the technique anglers use in the Pacific Northwest while drift fishing for steelhead with bait.
Gary Loomis, the man who founded G.Loomis Rods, is one of the best steelhead anglers I’ve had the good fortune to know. Gary will tell you when a steelhead picks up his bait that he drops his rod tip for a heartbeat before he sets the hook That puts sufficient slack in his line to more easily let the fish get a solid grip on his bait.
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| The late Herb Williams, of Tacoma, displays one of the Columbia's walleyes. |
I’ve fished with Columbia River guides who’ll tell you to do exactly the same thing with walleyes. Like I said, it ain’t easy, but you can learn to do it with practice. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll wind up putting more fish in the boat.
Are you just getting into walleye fishing? If you’re in that category you’ll be wise to consider carefully what the guides I’ve quoted have had to say. It’s a cinch to ease some of the frustrating headaches that are certain to surface when walleyes are what you’re after.
I have a second thought in that regard. Take time to look over the many Mack’s Lure products at this web site. A number of them are designed especially for walleye fishing. Mack’s Lure, a Wenatchee, Washington based company, sought and used input from walleye anglers in developing their products. Some of that input came from guides and pros who spend a lot time fishing the Columbia River.
If you follow walleye tournament action, you’re aware the products you’ll find right here have also helped professional walleye anglers in both the USA and Canada walk away winners in a variety of tournaments.
I’ll cover other points Columbia River walleye experts have shared with me in the third and final column in this series. Watch for it starting April 1.
-To Be Continued-
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