A Lesson Learned: Or How to Catch Walleyes in Swift and Muddy Conditions
by Sam Anderson

Imagine if you would that you are faced with the following fishing conditions. It is cold windy and it seems that every cold front in the U. S. is marching towards your location. The river that you are about to fish on is muddy by spring run off and rainy weather. In fact, it looks more like coffee with added cream to make it a chocolate brown. Walleyes are hard to locate let alone get to bite. If all conditions would clear up you still have to contend with a 5 to 8 mph current that sweeps bait away from any walleye and makes them miss the bait. The metabolism of the walleye will not reach fighting stage until the water warms up.

All of these conditions are what I faced while fishing the Detroit River outside of Trenton, Michigan. Conditions were starting to improve by the first day of the tournament, but they were far from ideal. The first thing most anglers had to contend with was the swift moving river that was dumping into a Great Lake. Current became extremely important when thinking about presentation and the slow bite that would occur. A fisherman would have to place the lures right on the nose of the walleyes and hold it there to entice the walleye to bite. To do this you had to use a heavy six to eight ounce sinker just to get your bait to the bottom.

Knowing which presentation to offer these fish was also the trick. First troll to find fish. Though they are fairly bunched up they lie in current breaks. Identifying current breaks might seem easy, but again some are not visible from the surface. You need to look for riprap, depressions in the floor of the river, and slow tapering flats near river bends for starters. Using a good sonar unit really helped to find fish that were really tight to the bottom.

Some anglers went to 3-way swivel systems and others tried bottom bouncers. My system was an adaptation of what local fisherman use in this area. My system was simple, but it can be complicated if you don't watch what you are doing. The first thing that I did was use a Lindy Exchange Bottom Bouncer and 6 to 8 ounces of weight. I tied a 3-way up from the bottom bouncer 8 inches. Then another 3-way 12 inches above the bottom 3-way. From the bottom 3-way I ran a six foot leader and a #11 Rapala. From the top 3-way I ran a 20 ?25 foot leader and another # 11 Rapala. I used 17 ? 20 lb. test XT line on my leaders or a #11 Rapala.

Colors may not seem like they would be that important, but I would increase my odds by using colors that would shine in the muddy water. For example, clown and orange/gold colors were my favorite. Sight for the walleyes might be reduced, but why not give them at least an advantage if they are close to the bait. Not stopping just with color as an attractant I would also put on a crappie minnow on the back treble hook.

If you are going to try this on a river system that has a lot of current, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR FISHING RULES. Some states do not allow more than one lure on a line and make sure that it is legal before you give this a try. With the added lure and the length of the leader it allowed the second bait to dive towards the bottom and then be pulled away. This gave the walleyes an impression that the minnows were fleeing from them and they would move after them to snatch up a slow moving meal working up stream.

My line from my reel to the top of the last 3-way swivel would be Solar colored Fire Line that would give me the feel that I needed in the fast current. It also allowed me to follow an watch my line better. The rod of choice for this presentation would be a little stiffer than the ones I use for jig fishing or live bait rigging. In fact, I used a Quantum Muskie rod in the 5 1/2 to 6 foot lengths. This gave me a stiffer backbone and allowed me direct contact with my lure presentation and increase my feel for what was going down on the bottom. Plus, this brute of a rod also kept me from wearing out after pulling 1/2 pound of weight all day.

Again looking for current breaks made me troll into the current and at a very slow pace. Many times I was standing almost completely still or moving just slightly down river. Boat control became very important. A simple way to work your boat an bait would be to slowly move up stream? yet side to side. If you decided to move down stream and offer this type of presentation it would cause less boat control and to fast of a presentation for these cold front walleyes.

Many times I found myself even going across the current to find a few fish holding just off the main fishing structure. Most of these fish were interested in my lures and I was extremely happy to learn this new approach to fishing swift water walleyes under muddy conditions. This technique may seem overkill, but it taught me a valuable lesson. Never underestimate the power of a river ? or ? the equipment you might have to use to fish it! Good Luck trying this on your flooded river this spring.