Water Temps and Great Lakes Walleye

Today's walleye anglers have a huge arsenal of lures and fishing techniques at their disposal, however sifting through it all can sometimes boggle the mind. On the vast waters of the Great Lakes, trolling has proved to be the most consistent walleye producer going. A quick look at
the techniques used by the winners of every major walleye tournament held on the Great Lakes will bear that out. By paying close attention to the water temperature and adjusting your trolling program accordingly, consistent success will rule.

Early Spring

My first walleye forays of the open water season usually start out on Lake Erie when I hit the waters off Monroe, Michigan during March. At that time, just after ice-out, the water temp hovers at just above freezing. Some years we have to break skim ice and dodge ice flows, but that early action is often well worth the hassles. 15-degree morning temperatures greeted my first charter that I ran
during 2002. We had to push through skim ice to get out of the harbor. Our first trolling pass though resulted in four walleyes, all of them over
11-pounds with the largest being a beer-bellied, 12-pounder. It was so cold that the reels were freezing up and water was freezing in my livewell.

By the end of the day though, we had hauled in 30 walleyes, with 20 of them being double-digit monsters.
During those frigid outings, I like to troll very slowly using minnow imitating body baits. By Slow I mean extremely SSSLLLOOOWWW with speeds of .5 to .8 being the norm. Cold water walleyes are lethargic creatures that
won't chase a lure zipping by them. My Lund Baron is Equipped with a Mercury 9.9 hp, four-stroke trolling motor that allows me to achieve the necessary snails pace. At times, when the wind blows, I actually take the motor out of gear and drift/troll. If the wind still pushes my boat along too fast, two small drift socks are deployed from cleats installed amidship along the gunwales.

Great Lakes' walleyes typically feed on minnows, shad, perch, gobbies and smelt during the early spring: That's when minnow imitating body baits really shine. These lures are also known as stick-baits and feature a long
slim profile with a short bill that produces a side-to-side rolling action that really drives walleyes nuts. I like stick-baits with rattles and my favorites are old style Thundersticks, Rattlin' Rogues, Husky Jerk Baits,
Reef Runners and Bombers. The size of the baits should match what the walleyes are eating. Natural colors seem to work best early in the season.

My favorite patterns feature gold or silver sides with a black back, but it often pays to experiment.

Mid-Spring

As warmer weather causes water temps to rise, the season's first thermoclines will set-up. At that time, I pay close attention to the surface water temperature on my Lawrance graph. The warming surface waters will attract baitfish and also hungry walleyes. Presentations right at the
bottom of the thermocline seem to produce consistent results. Most of my trolled offerings are run about 10' down.

When the water temp starts getting near 44-adegrees, I bump the trolling speed up to about 1.0-mph and still troll with stick-baits. When the surface temperature hits 47-degrees though, I switch over to faster action crankbaits and troll at about 1.5 mph. These baits feature a longer bill and a faster, side-to-side action. My favorites are Shad Raps, Down Deep Husky Jerks, Rattling Shad Raps, Reef Runners, Deep Jr. Thundersticks,
Kaboom Nitro Shiners and CC-Shads. As the water temp rises to the low-50s, my trolling speed is increased to 1.8 to 2.0 mph. When the water temperatures warm to the mid-to-high 50s, Hot N' Tots and Wiggle Warts should be added to the trolling spread and spinner/crawler presentations also come into play.

Late Spring

Late spring typically brings on water temps that rise into the 60s. Due to increased water clarity in the Great Lakes, Mayfly larva (wigglers) have become major walleye forage. At that time, walleyes typically relate closer to the bottom. Crawler harnesses presented behind bottom bouncers, Pa's and Snap Weights will get the meat down into the strike zone. Small Dipsy Divers and Big Jon Mini Discs with trailing small spoons and spinner/crawler rigs are also great on deep holding walleyes. Spoons that
are in the two to three inch range seem to work best. Scorpions and Mini-Streaks are popular walleye spoons. I use my fish finder to zero in on where the fish are holding and then put the presentations right in their
faces.

Summer

Summer water temps in the 70s often bring on some of the best walleye action of the year. This is when walleyes feed heavily on forage fish like alewives. Faster trolling speeds running crankbaits and spinner crawler
rigs are the choice of most walleye gurus at that time. As the temperature steams into the 80s though, walleye tend to go on the move to seek out cooler water temps.

I fish for walleyes mostly on Saginaw Bay during the summer and when the water temperature starts getting hot, we typically have our best luck fishing the deeper water areas. When the walleyes are suspended high in the water column, we pull crankbaits. When they're down deep, spinner/crawler rigs fished with bottom bouncers and Pa's are hard to beat.

Fall

As the water temperatures start to cool down during the fall, the fishing tactics reverse. Cooling waters require slower trolling speeds. When the water rolls over during late fall and snow storms start to rear their ugly head in the Great Lakes region, the same early spring, turtle
slow trolling tactics with stick-baits work well. If you have any questions, email the author at: mikeveine@trophyspecialists.com.

Editors Note: The Author, Mike Veine is a noted charter captain on the Great Lakes and spends countless hours on the water working out of several harbors and marinas following the hottest walleye and salmon bite throughout the year.