Deep Late Summer Walleye
It began as an “accident”. Salmon fishermen were catching numbers of large walleye in all of the Great Lakes, especially during summer. Finally, walleye fishermen caught on and since then deep water fishing has been a staple of the Great Lakes walleye anglers’ summer fishing adventures. If you are missing out on this pattern, here are some tips to help you cash in before this summer is over.
Why Deep?
Walleye, just like salmon and trout, are deep for a few reasons, but the most important one is food. As walleye drift into deeper and deeper waters, they begin encountering and feeding on deep water forage such as smelt, Cisco, whitefish and Spottail shiners. Cooler water temperatures and lower light penetration also make deep water a favorite for summer walleye, especially larger trophy sized fish.
This time of year I have caught walleye up to 60’ deep and always hear of salmon anglers catching them deeper, but be careful! If the area you are fishing has a thermocline, you are much better off targeting walleye above the temperature break than below it. Since you are fishing in deep water, use your sonar to first search an area looking for walleye and baitfish. Once spotted, set your lures 4-10’ above the fish and get ready for some great fishing.
Deep Spinners
An all-time favorite way to target deep walleye is by running crawler harnesses or simply “spinners”. A nice juicy crawler on a spinner is by far one of the best ways to take walleye day in and day out. As fish get deeper, a few modifications to the everyday spinner rig can make it even more effective.
When fishing deep walleye, darker beads seem to out produce lighter ones. Beads that are purple, blood red, dark green and even black are favorites in my boat. Use a single light colored bead for contrast, but darker beads will catch more fish most days. Use 6mm beads, and be sure to use enough beads to keep the blade from covering the hook point. I hand tie all of my spinner rigs using a #8 treble as the back hook and a #2 red single hook for the front hook.
There is little doubt that willow leaf blades are a top choice when fishing in deep water. Size 3-6 willow leaf blades with copper or gold backs get most of the action when spinner fishing the abyss. One of the best rigs for probing the depths is a double willow leaf spinner. The extra flash from the 2 blades makes it easier for fish to spot in the darker, deep water.
To get spinners deep two methods excel. Snap weights are a simple way to get spinners deep in a hurry. Simply a 2-5 ounce weight attached to an Off-Shore Tackle OR-16 red release, a snap weight is quickly clipped onto your line 30-70’ ahead of your spinner. By varying the amount of line you put the weight into the water almost any depth up to about 60’ can easily be obtained. When a fish hits, simply reel the line to the weight, reach up and unclip the weight and fight the fish to the boat. Placing snap weight rigs behind Off-Shore inline boards will make them more effective and allow you to cover more water.
Another effective method for getting spinner rigs deep is to use a diving device. Two favorites are the Off-Shore Tackle Tadpole and Dipsey Divers. Tadpoles can be used with normal walleye tackle and will run great behind inline planer boards. Sunline FC Crank fluorocarbon line in 16lb test is used as a mainline and a 6’ leader behind the Tadpole is used for attaching your spinner. A Dive Curve for all four sizes of the Tadpole is available on the Precision Trolling Data app. My favorite Tadpole is the size 4, or Magnum, since it gets down the deepest, uses little line out to get deep and dives at a steep angle.
Traditional Dipsey Divers are becoming more and more popular with walleye anglers every year. Using a Dipsey or two on flat lines off the corners of the boat makes it easy to quickly adjust depths to match fish spotted on your sonar. Using the weighted “fin” on the bottom of the Dipsey will adjust how far to the side the diver will run, allowing two divers to be ran as flatlines off each side of the boat.
Deep Cranks
Deep diving crankbaits are a great option for deep summer walleye. Baits such as the Reef Runner, PowerDive Minnow, Mann’s Stretch series, and large Bombers all work at times. Notice that all of the lures listed are long, thin “minnow” baits to match the shape and profile of the forage being eaten by the walleye in deeper water.
Crankbait depth is crucial to catching fish in deeper water so check your Precision Trolling Data app to see how much line is needed to get a lure to the desired depth. If you need more depth than the baits can achieve on their own, there are a few options to get them deeper.
Adding a snap weight ahead of deep diving lures is an easy way to get them deeper. The new Precision Trolling Data App has a chart for snap weight depths which can be added to the diving depth of the lure you are using to attain a deep running depth.
On the Easter Basin of Lake Erie one of the best presentations for deep walleye has been large shallow or deep diving minnow baits ran behind 6-10 colors of lead core. For walleye fishing 18 or 27 pound leadcore works great for getting extra depth from crankbaits and some days it is the best presentation in the boat, so be sure to experiment with it this season.
Spoon Feeding Deep Walleye
Another great presentation for deep walleye is to troll spoons. Spoons ran behind Magnum Tadpoles or Dipsey Divers can be ran up to 4 mph, and in certain conditions the fast snapping action of a spoon will drive fish crazy! Spoon trolling is the fastest way to target deep fish, and is a great way to cover water quickly looking for active fish on your sonar.
Spoons that are long and thin in shape from 3-5” long continually excel during the summer months. Don’t be afraid to fish a large spoon for walleye in deep water-remember they are feeding on long, thin bait fish. One of our best producers is the Little Warrior from Michigan based Warrior Lures. Spoons with silver or gold backs are favorites, but in overcast conditions copper can become a favorite to the fish.
Deep water is not just for trout and salmon. Spend some time searching with your electronics, set your baits above the fish you mark and you may be surprised at the number and size of walleye you can catch-even during the “dog days” of summer.