Adam Johnson Outdoors • Reading Outdoors

Try Casting for Walleyes

By Adam Johnson

During the first few weeks of May it pays to be casting for walleyes. Now I know that's tough for many walleye anglers to comprehend because many consider a walleye presentation to consist of dragging live-bait rigs, pulling bottom-bouncers, trolling crankbaits, and vertical jigging. But in May, when the fish are shallow, casting can be the best way to target walleyes.

If you're fishing a sand/rubble point consider a stand-up jighead in the one-eighth ounce to quarter-ounce range. Tip the jig with a minnow by running the hook's point into the minnow's mouth and bringing that hook point out behind the minnow's head. You want to keep the minnow alive, so don't bring the point of the hook out too soon or you kill the bait.

Cast the jig out as far as you can. Let the jig sink to bottom and then slowly drag the minnow back occasionally stopping the retrieve for a few seconds. Once in awhile you can hop and twitch the jig to add a bit more attraction.

Often when you get a bite on the jig you're casting it just feels like some light pressure. It's not a tap-tap or a jerk, it's just some resistance on the retrieve. The walleye has picked up the jig and is holding it in its mouth, so when you feel that resistance, set the hook.

Casting crankbaits works well, too. Use a small-bodied shallow diver and retrieve the lure slowly. You just want it to wobble slightly and occasionally give the rod tip a snap and let the lure sit for a couple of seconds. Shallow walleyes can be cautious and will follow a lure for a little bit. When they see some erratic behavior on the part of the lure, they will smack it.

Crankbaits are exceptional lures for walleyes in May over the newly emerging vegetation. I like to pick a lure that will run right over the tops of those weeds because I know those walleyes will be holding right under that strike zone.

The one mistake walleye anglers make when they're casting for walleyes is they don't get the lure out far enough. Spool that spinning reel up until the line is just an eighth-inch from the end of the spool. Use lighter line, something in the six-pound diameter range. If you're using monofilament make sure it's limp in nature. All of these things allow you to make long casts and that's what you want when you're chasing walleyes in the shallows in May.