Every once in a while, when you catch a walleye, you get a little bling! This jaw-tagged walleye helps biologists follow the movements of these fish, monitor growth rates and population levels.
When the masses are thinking about targeting walleye on the Detroit, St. Clair and even Saginaw River, the focus is almost always aimed at a presentation known as vertical jigging. Without question, vertical jigging is a mainstay for those who enjoy catching river walleye. Mastering this technique is not a simple matter, but it’s a good start for anyone who wants to become proficient at catching river walleye.
In the same manner that not all jigs are created equal, jigging tactics for river walleye can take on a lot of different looks. Before an angler can call himself a “river rat”, there are a few other jigging tactics that must be explored.
VERTICAL JIGGING
Vertical jigging is the process of using boat control to position a jig directly below the boat while drifting downstream with the current. In perfect conditions, vertical jigging can be just that simple. Lower the jig to bottom, let the boat drift along slowly, meanwhile lifting and dropping the jig to maintain contact with bottom.
Unfortunately, wind and its impact on how a boat drifts in current play a huge role in vertical jigging. If the wind is blowing the same direction as the current, the boat will drift faster than the current, causing the jig to be dragged downstream. Meanwhile, if the wind is coming from the opposite direction of the current, the boat will drift slower than the current, letting the jig become washed downstream of the boat.
Fortunately, the boat can be controlled in a number of ways, effectively matching the boat’s drifting speed to the speed of the current. Back-trolling with an outboard motor or transom-mounted electric motor is one way to control the boat while vertical jigging.
A somewhat more efficient means of boat control involves using a bow mounted electric motor. Either the key fob or a foot control can be used to keep the boat drifting at the same speed as the current. This is accomplished by lowering the jig to bottom, then allowing the boat to begin drifting unassisted. By watching the fishing line as it angles into the water, it becomes apparent which direction the boat needs to be moved to position the boat over top of the jig.
Sometimes called “chasing the line” vertical jigging is the constant manipulation of the boat to keep the boat positioned over top of the jig and the jig near bottom, but not dragging on the bottom. This delicate dance takes a little practice to master. The trick is to point the boat into the wind, lower the jig to bottom, then let the boat drift without making any adjustment for a few seconds.
Repeated short bursts of power from the electric motor are used to position the boat. By setting the thrust level on the electric motor in the medium range, the boat can be moved in the necessary direction smoothly without that jerking around sensation.
Effective boat control is about 75% of vertical jigging success. The rest comes into play regarding the rods/reels and fishing line used. A relatively short and stiff rod does a better job of telegraphing subtle strikes than a limber rod. If using a spinning rod, something in the six foot range and a medium/heavy action is about ideal. Match this stick up to a 20 or 25 size spinning reel loaded with 10 pound test super line. At the terminal end add a three or four foot leader of 12-15 pound test fluorocarbon line and tie the jig directly to the fluorocarbon leader.
While many anglers argue that tying the jig directly to the super line is a better idea, the problem with super lines is they have exceptional tensile strength. If and when the jig snags bottom it can be very difficult to break the line.
Meanwhile, when a shock leader of fluorocarbon line is used, the jig can be broken off more easily if snagged, and the knot will typically fail right at the jig, making it easy to tie on another jig. The fluorocarbon leader also provides an invisible connection between line and lure.
Vertical jigging can also be accomplished using a baitcasting outfit. A six-foot, six-inch to seven-foot, medium/heavy baitcasting rod makes a good vertical jigging setup. The reel is again loaded with 10-pound test S Super Braid and a shock leader added to the terminal end.
Baitcasting reels that feature a “flipping” feature make it easy to let out line by simply pushing the bail release. As soon as the pressure is removed from the bail release, the reel locks into direct drive again.
With a spinning reel, the angler either has to open the bail to let line out or set the drag loose enough that line can easily be pulled from the reel when drifting and the bottom depth increases.
Both methods work nicely for vertical jigging and it simply becomes a matter of personal preference. Selecting a jig that is heavy enough to easily feel bottom is the next step in becoming efficient at vertical jigging. The water depth, current speed and amount of wind on any given day will dictate how heavy a jig must be to vertical jig.
Because the jigs used for vertical jigging are often 1/2, 5/8, 3/4 or even an ounce in size, adding a stinger hook is necessary to help hook fish that short-strike. The best jigs for vertical jigging feature a long shank style thin wire hook that’s oversized to allow for a variety of soft plastics to be used and also combinations of soft plastics and live bait.
JIG PITCHING
No doubt vertical jigging does the heavy lifting when it comes to river walleye fishing. There are, however, times when vertical jigging isn’t the answer and it becomes necessary to pitch or cast the jig into position. Often, walleye will seek out shallower water where the current isn’t as strong. This happens a lot in the post-spawn period when walleye are turning their attention towards finding food. Walleye also push shallow when run off or wave action turns the water dirty.
Generally speaking, vertical jigging works best in water 10 feet deep or deeper. If the water is heavily stained, vertical jigging can work nicely in shallower water.
Because the boat itself can spook fish in shallow water, pitching to present the jig to fish that are unaware of the presence of the boat can become critically important. In this case, selecting a jig that is heavy enough to sink quickly to bottom, yet light enough the current can sweep the jig downstream is important.
For most jig-pitching situations, the jig is going to be 1/8, 1/4, or 3/8 ounce. Let the boat drift naturally with the current and cast the jig quartering upstream. Let the jig sink to bottom on a slack line, then reel up the slack and lift the jig a few inches off bottom. Pause the rod and let the jig sink back to bottom while the current cascades the jig a little downstream.
Repeat this simple presentation until the jig is near the boat and then reel up and make another cast. If two or more anglers are in the boat, leapfrog by taking turns casting quartering upstream, so as to keep a jig in the water all the time.
Since it’s difficult to keep live bait on the hook while pitching, most anglers opt for using soft plastic baits, including split-tail minnows, curl-tail minnows and paddle-tail grubs in the 2.5 to 4.0 inch sizes. Stinger hooks are typically not used while casting jigs because of the increased likelihood of snagging.
A somewhat longer and lighter action rod is needed for jig pitching. A six-foot, six-inch to seven-foot medium/light to medium action rod is ideal for jig pitching. Match this rod up with a 25 to 30-size spinning reel loaded with 10-pound test super line and terminated with a fluorocarbon shock leader.
DRAGGING JIGS
Vertical jiggers preach not to drag the jig along bottom to help reduce snagging. However, there are times when letting the jig drag along the bottom produces more bites than vertical jigging.
Dragging the jig is performed by turning the boat sideways to the current and dead drifting, using the electric motor simply to keep the boat sideways to the current. A small to medium-sized jig is lowered over the upstream side of the boat and enough line played out that the jig can be felt as it ticks along the bottom.
Dragging works best when the bottom composition is clay, sand, gravel or gravel with a few rocks. If the bottom is mostly rock rubble, dragging will produce more snags than fish. The same rod/reel/line setup used for pitching jigs doubles nicely as a setup for dragging jigs.
Most of the bites that occur when dragging jigs are detected as simply a sensation of weight in the rod as the fish slurps up the jig off the bottom. This presentation tends to produce best in rivers that have a modest current and are stained in color such as the Saginaw, Kalamazoo, Grand or Tittabawassee Rivers. Jigs tipped with minnows or jigs tipped with half a nightcrawler are the standard setup for dragging presentations.
THREE-WAY RIGS
Another means of fishing in rivers is known as three-way rigging. This setup involves running a super braid main line to one end of a three-way swivel, then adding a short fluorocarbon dropper line to a pencil sinker on the bottom swivel and a four to five-foot length of fluorocarbon line to a small jig or single hook tied at the terminal end.
Soft plastics or a combination of soft plastics and live minnows are typically used as bait and this rig is dragged upstream slowly, maintaining contact with the bottom. Three-way rigging works best in rivers where the water clarity is stained to dirty in color. By zig-zagging the boat upstream, this rig can be fished in a wide range of depths, while staying in contact with the bottom at all times.
As with dragging jigs, three-way rigging works best on bottom compositions that are relatively snag free. While this presentation may seem unorthodox, it’s amazingly effective at times and works especially well when fishing obvious structure such as channel edges, hard bottom flats where walleye commonly spawn and shoreline structure.
The same rod and reel setup used for pitching and dragging jigs can double nicely as a setup for three-way rigging. On windy days when the boat is either drifting too fast or too slow, the electric motor can be used to control the boat and maintain bottom contact with the jig.
WRAPPING IT UP
Rivers and the walleye that thrive in them are complex creatures. Becoming a master of river fishing for walleye involves learning a range of different presentations including vertical jigging, jig pitching, dragging jigs and also three-way rigging. With all these presentation tools at an angler’s disposal, no river walleye is safe from the frying pan.
