Lake Erie Walleyes

As of 3/9 most of the western basin of Lake Erie still has ice coverage.  Within the next few weeks the lake should start opening up to allow the beginning of early season jigging and trolling for walleye
How to catch them.


Spring:
In the spring, Walleyes are either in a river current or right close to shore. When I say close to shore, I mean 3 to 10 feet from shore. In Northern Ontario Canadian Shield Lakes, the Walleyes that don't spawn in the river will find sandy areas along the shore to spawn. By the time fishing season opens, most Walleyes are finished spawning but they will hang around to protect their spawning beds.
You can put on a light jig (1/8th or 1/16th oz) and cast along the shore and retrieve it quit aggressively as the Walleyes are very aggressive this time of year. Use bright colors like red, chartreuse, yellow or white. Walleyes that are feeding will hit the jig. Walleyes that are not feeding will still hit bright colors because they are defending the spawning grounds and bright colors aggravate them. Generally, white is always the best color.
In the daytime and in early spring, your will most likely catch smaller males, which stay at the spawning beds. The bigger females usually take off into deeper water during the day. If you are going after size instead of numbers, fish off the areas where Walleyes were spawning and fish deeper in the 10 to 15-foot depth. That's where the big females are.
How do you find that special spot along the shore where the Walleyes are congregating? In the spring, put on a small Original Floating Rapala or Thunderstick and troll really slow right along the shoreline. The Walleyes will be in 2 to 4 feet of water. Red, Blue, Chartreuse and Fire Tiger are the best colors in the spring. If you keep trolling past a spot and hit Walleyes, then that's where they are. In this case, stop the motor and start casing. Trolling back and forth too many times will spook the area and they will stop feeding.