by: Jason Freed
Leisure Outdoor Adventures
(Jason Freed is a Lund Professional and tournament fisherman, Leisure Outdoor Adventures guide company president, organizes annual Lund Pro Ultimate Fish Camp, high school teacher, football coach, and Lake Vermilion guide.)
It never fails; we are in the midst of summer, and walleye fishermen across the Midwest begin to think about main lake structure, rock piles and bars, reefs, or mud flats. What these fishermen don’t always realize is they are driving past some of the best summertime fishing, walleyes that lurk in the weeds. Famous Rainy Lake fishing guide Woody Woods said it like this when I first met him: “Lakes will always have a population of walleyes that relate to rocks, current, and weeds throughout the summer months.” Those words stuck like glue and forced me to change my ways to attack fisheries during the spring and summer months.
Location is key.
Time of year is the first consideration to examine when hunting down weed walleyes. In the late spring or early summer, pay close attention to bays and cuts that are out of the wind. Note, look to the north side of the lake during the earlier season because the water temps will be higher and it takes longer for the southern part of the lake to heat up. Typically, these northern haunts will have warmer water temps and thicker weed growth. As the spring and summer move along, begin to focus on adjacent points with shallow tops. Now all of this is a good rule of thumb, but walleyes can be caught in those same places you caught them in May and early June, in late July and August. As walleyes migrate, a larger number may move to those main lake structures, and that is what all of those boats will be chasing, but a certain population will hang out all summer in shallow weeds. These fish oftentimes are the stocked walleyes that grew up in rendering ponds. So as you may follow the step-by-step process, if you are having troubles locating these fish as the summer goes on, go back to some of those first spots you fished, and you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find hanging out. If you find yourself spending time on more main lake structures, look for humps that top out with tall, standing weeds or deeper humps that are carpeted with weeds such as sand grass; it is these humps that often produce some of the biggest walleyes in the system.
PRO TIP: Bright sunny days can sometimes be the best days to fish these weedbeds because they provide cover for bait and predators.
Why weed walleyes?
The answer is simple: weeds serve as a habitat for the things walleyes love to eat. These weeds serve as a place for baitfish to hide out and away from the predators that lurk throughout. Instead, this is really a game of cat and mouse between the walleye and its meal of the day. Walleyes will use these weed patches and weedlines to ambush the perch and minnows as they swim and dance by. When looking for weeds, broadleaf cabbage is the prime producer for finding these weed walleyes, but also don’t overlook Canadian waterweed, coontail, or sand grass. One thing to consider doing is simply going into an area where you know there are pockets of weeds or a distinct weedline with a pair of polarized sunglasses and slowly idle with your big motor or put down your trolling motor and start marking spots where you find these prime patches of cabbage. One helpful piece of advice is to utilize different icons for your waypoints to decipher what different way points mean on your electronics. I always utilize the weed icon when marking weed pockets or clumps. Once found, mark these spots and come back later to fish them because there is a good chance the first time you are looking you will run right over the tops of those weeds and spook the fish. Also, with the use of down and side imaging, you can locate these weeds easier and yet still stay away from the fish. A lot of scouting can be done early in the season, but also pay close attention as you are motoring to other spots while fishing because you may stumble across some weeds you never knew about.
The Presentation
Now all walleye fishermen have a presentation they pride themselves on, and that is one of the great things about fishing weed walleyes. There are so many ways you can catch them; oftentimes one of those ways matches your style. Early in the season jigs often outperform other presentations, but don’t store them away after early season, because they are a great way to catch mid-summer walleyes as well. Casting out a 1/8 oz or even a 1/16 oz jig with a minnow, leech, crawler or your favorite plastic can be a great way to search for active walleyes and drop into those weed pockets that serve as walleyes’ ambush locations. Jigs such as the Northland Vegas Jig or Fireball Stand Up Jig are great places to start. If you are working a large flat or weedline, snap jigging can also be an effective means to cover ground and find active fish.
As the season rolls along, trolling spinners could quite possibly be one of the most lethal, yet underutilized, methods in catching weed walleyes. It is as simple as rigging up a 1/4 oz - 3/8 oz bullet weight; go lighter if you need the spinner to run higher in the water column. Get the spinner out about 80-90 ft away from the boat and start trolling the weedlines, flats, points, and main lake weeds. Trolling a gold or silver Colorado blade with an Aberdeen hook with a rainbow or fathead is a great way to cover water and catch them. Pay close attention to where you get your bites, as that is often a piece of the puzzle as to where the fish are located. This is a presentation that can work year-round if you simply adjust it to the conditions and weed growth.
The Role of Your Electronics and YOUR EYES
Electronics will help you a lot when chasing down weed walleyes. As mentioned earlier, side imaging is a big component, but using forward-facing sonar when working these areas over is a big advantage. Not only will it show the fish and how it is acting, but I will also often use it a lot to find the pockets, and you will learn a lot about how the fish relate to the areas of the weedbed. Lastly, use your EYES. When looking at these weed beds, you will see the key areas, especially once the weeds grow up, and being able to strategically place your bait in these pockets, points, or edges can be done with just you and a good pair of sunglasses.
This summer as boats are running around checking classic walleye structure, be the fisherman who goes and chases that “other” population of fish and tries the weeds. You may find yourself fishing all by yourself and setting the hook an awful lot.
Jason Freed
Lake Vermilion Fishing Guide
Leisure Outdoor Adventures Guide Service. 507-450-7986
