by Dale Hainer
TFN Reporter

Number one "No matter how stupid you think you are, you are still smarter than a fish," and "Whatever methods I tell you about here, you will likely have to modify them to suit yourself,". 

Our number one sought after gamefish does truly receive honours on the dinner table but fails miserably when it comes to rational thinking and decision making. All fish including our beloved Walleye are creatures of habit, instinct and reactions. Not many brains here and very little memory. 

If you can find "Mr Walleye", you can make him strike! Sometimes easier said than done, but our creature of instinct and habit is very predictable. 

EARLY SPRING: After natures drive to reproduce sets him free, our fish will seek calmer, deeper parts of a river. If its a lake setting look for the first and closest deeper water adjacent to the spawning site. Spawning sites are those gravely rock shoals or protected hard bottom bays usually in 3 - 10 feet of water. 

Just after the spawn, the fish go through a recuperation period, a slow process sometimes taking weeks before fully regaining their highly excitable states. It is at this time that only a slow, subtle presentation will fill your creel. A jig coupled with a 3 inch soft curly body that is just large enough to get you to the bottom usually pulls the tricks for me here. Tipping the jig with a live minnow is a must as I try to cover all the bases of the fishes senses. 

Very little speed when retrieving this offering is needed. Spinners and spoons with a small minnow or night-crawler attached have worked very well for me here as well. The entire key to success in the early spring is to keep your offering small and work it slow. The fish are there! 

LATE SPRING: As the season progresses towards summer and the fishes activity increases, so may the size and speed of your lure or bait. The fish constantly move towards deeper water and begin to relate to structure such as sandbars, deep rocky points and underwater weedlines. I prefer to troll from a boat as summer approaches thus giving me the opportunity to cover a lot of water. If I pick up a Walleye, I will work the area thoroughly. These are a schooling fish and where there is one there is usually more. A small weighted marker will keep you on your new found hotspot. 

During the early parts of summer, I find that lure colour, speed and depth are crucial. There are no set rules that cover the entire province here. Experimentation is the only way to go. If you have three or four people in the boat, everyone should begin fishing with something different and in various sizes and colours. Once you find a school of fish it will be quite easy to determine what they want.