Jigging for Walleyes in Heavy Current

Don't despair when spring rains cause rivers to rise during your search for walleyes. Go with the flow!

The key is not to fight it, said walleye professional John Campbell, winner of the 1999 Professional Walleye Trail Tournament on the swift Detroit River. If you try to fight it, you are going to lose.

To catch walleyes and sauger in rivers anytime of the year, the critical factor is to keep your bait close to the bottom. That challenge is compounded when spring rains fill rivers to the brim.

One way to copefocus on river bends. They naturally slow water. Another way? Increase the weight of your jig while slip-jigging downstream. Also called line chasing, slip jigging involves matching boat speed to the current while keeping a bait directly below the boat to keep slack out of the line so you can feel the strikes. Heavier jigs in fast water make that possible.

A 5/8-ounce Fuzz-E-Grub and even a 1-ouncer can be a finesse jig under certain conditions, Campbell said. A heavier jig gives you better feel, and big walleyes have no problem eating a bait that large.

Don't try to use your electric trolling motor to slow down. Batteries won't last long, and fish in fast rivers and high water are used to food rushing by. In fact, that often triggers a vicious response from a walleye that is convinced its dinner is trying to escape. Use the electric motor only to control drift from wind. Point the bow into the breeze and compensate with short bursts on the motor.

A second downstream strategy is to look for areas of slower-moving water called eddies. They form behind any obstruction, natural or man-made, and collect fish looking for a place to rest. Don't neglect even the smallest point jutting into the current.

A shoreline might look straight, but there are a lot of little bumps along it where there might be a lot of walleyes, Campbell said.

Another important locationdepressions on the river bottom created by current or by barge traffic.

Use spinning gear and 6-pound to 8-pound mono depending on the average size of the fish. Heavier line means a wider diameter. That translates to more water resistance and a tougher time staying in contact with the bottom. One trickCampbell uses high-visibility line for his main line. He ties on a swivel and then attaches a foot of low-visibility line to the jig. The arrangement removes fear fish will react negatively to the line and prevents line twist.