Our Outdoors: Predictable River Walleye

Spring in the upper Midwest is unpredictable; seventy-two and sunny one weekend, twenty-seven and snowing the next. However, there is one thing about spring that is a given; fish will go through the same process in preparation to beget more fish. It is during this time of year - the prespawn period - that walleye anglers can capitalize on some predictable angling and increase their success. 

Finding Prespawn Walleye
In states such as North Dakota, where the angling season remains open year-round, tracking fish movement on open water and through the ice is easier, because there is no closed season to keep anglers from their pursuit. A few years of experience, especially with a well-kept journal, will help anglers determine when and where the fish will be each spring.

The first place to check in early spring is near open water on rivers. Deeper holes that are the first to open near dams, bridges and riffles will hold prespawn walleye. In this early phase of the prespawn period, the fish will be less aggressive, but this will change in the coming days. Watch for fish to hold in these holes, and move up at daybreak and dusk to feed. Focus on working a jig or livebait up from the depths to the shallows to find where fish are holding.

Light bites will be the norm. Using circle hook livebait rigs and stinger hooks on jigs will help hook slow-biting fish. Livebait helps to entice takes from lethargic early spring walleye and minnows tend to be the only bait vendors have in March and early April.

On The Move
As spring progresses and shorelines lose their white winter coat, the growing amount of daylight along with generally warming waters signal the approaching spawn. Walleye generally mate over gravel and rock areas in tributaries and shallow areas of rivers. This need for clean spawning grounds makes dam sites a great place to target prespawn fish, as the rushing water scours away silt and debris from the area and the structure provides an upstream barrier.

Oftentimes, dozens of fish will stack up around these barriers or crowd the shallows of feeder creeks and streams. Anglers can target these spots in search of walleye moving from deeper waters to prepare for the spawn.

Walleye rarely rush up, spawn, and rush back. Before mating begins, the fish will stage. What they wait for is anyone’s guess: ideal temperature, moon phase, day length or a little of each of these and other factors. As a general rule, male fish will appear near the mating sites first, followed a few days later by the typically larger females.

Catch A Break
Like many people, fish take the path of least resistance. They simply cannot swim to the fridge and grab a snack, so conserving energy in frigid spring water is a must. Look for fish to find areas to hold in prior to the spawn that don’t tax their reserves.

Key areas for staging prespawn walleye include eddies, obstructions and waters that border shorelines. Eddies are a top choice for staging walleye as the flow is generally slower and varies in direction. These swirls bring edible prey to the fish, instead of the fish having to give chase. Obstructions, such as wingdams, boulders and bridge pilings break the fast-paced flow of water and allow walleye to snag an occasional meal that comes floating by. Finally, shoreline areas have slower-moving water than the main channel area and often sport fallen trees, rip-rap and other structure which slow the flow down even more. Angling in these areas will help fishermen find staging walleye.
The bite can be fast and furious, or the fish can be furtive in their feeding, producing no hits for one hour, and a limit of eaters the next, but focusing on high-percentage areas will take the guesswork out of spring fishing.

Though type-cast as a mysterious and unpredictable fish, walleye go through the same motions each spring. Capitalizing on that fact can produce some predictable catches this time of year…in our outdoors 

Editor's Note:  Nick Simonson, is an avid fisherman, hunter and writer from Valley City, ND. As many of you know he has been an outdoor journalist for five years, writing his column "Our Outdoors" for his hometown newspaper, the Valley City Times-Record and offering the same writing to viewers of the Total Outdoor Network as a Field Staffer for Fishing Buddy Outdoors.

Photo: Josh Holm of Valley City with a nice walleye he caught on the Sheyenne River from an eddy area behind some sunken boulders. The fish was released to spawn and fight another day. 

Photo Credit: Nick Simonson