Trolling walleye with a spoon is very popular, especially during the ice season. And, when you decide to troll in the open water surface, trolling with a spoon should be your priority. It’s because spoons come with irresistibly erratic actions and allow the anglers to cover the large water surface.
However, trolling with spoons isn’t that simple. You should know how to troll for walleye with a spoon and learn effective techniques. And it will lead you to catch more walleyes.
There are many effective techniques to troll with spoons. So, to make your job trouble-free, here is a step-by-step guide. Keep Reading!
Do Spoons Work For Walleyes?
Walleyes don’t like to have the same lure for a repeated bite. In this case, anglers use split-stot or a plain hook to differ in their lure presentation. But using spoons is one of the most popular and attractive presentations for walleyes. Because walleyes get interested in making their bites when it’s a spoon.
Another reason to choose spoons is the fast activity. Spoons run faster compared to other types of baits. Also, it will let you troll at high speed. And this higher speed is one of the key techniques to troll for walleyes. Using spoons for walleyes will bring you two significant benefits-
- It will have a quick covering of water
- Target and pick the active walleyes
Ways How Spoon Works for Walleyes
Spoons are unique in features and completely different from other commonly used lures. These are designed with an oblong shape, and one side of the spoons is featured as concave.
And this shape can create a good light reflection to grab the walleye’s attention. Spoons aren’t only the best way to catch walleyes, it also a perfect way for other large species of fish, for example, trout, muskies, pike, bass, and many more.
Trolling For Walleye With Spoons: 10 Best Techniques
Some must-follow clever tactics can help you get a successful fishing experience. Here we’ll introduce you to these tips for trolling with spoons. Let’s check out what these are-
1. Let the Spoons Wobble Side-to-Side
It’s important to ensure the spoons wobble on each side and produce fish-catching actions. Spoons won’t deliver the same result at all levels of speed. Considering this fact, choose the Krocodile spoons while you operate at high speed.
But for the medium and slow trolling speeds, you must choose the Coyote and Needlefish spoons, respectively.
2. Consider the Number of Your Trolling Motor
The speed level shouldn’t be high if you don’t use a separate trolling motor. It’s a very productive technique to keep the low speed at a single trolling motor while fishing walleyes.
3. Observe the Shoreline Surroundings
Before you enter and start fishing in the new area, you must look deeply at the shoreline. See whether there is an availability of rocks. Check out the bottom structure and the rises and drops of that water surface.
The pockets are naturally created between the rocks, seaweeds, sand, drops, and rises on the shoreline structure that is very fond of walleyes to rest. If you find the same, drop your fishing line 30 ft underwater.
4. Use Zig Zag Pattern
The zig-zag pattern is much more effective than the straight line for walleyes. It allows the spoons to change their actions by stirring up the water. Therefore, the walleyes get encouraged to bite the bait. So, keep the top of your fishing rod close to the bottom of the water bodies; this technique will enhance the fishing possibility.
5. Choose the Spoons Lightweight
The thin and lightweight spoons are best for the most darting, erratic, and baitfish action in any water body. In this case, spoons, for example, Super Duper and Krocodile, can be your perfect assistance with their lightweight design.
6. Optimum Temperature
The usual low water temperature varies from 50° to 67°, and the upper limit comes at 76°. But, if you want to troll in the best water temperature, it should differ between 65° and 70°. If you can detect the perfect temperature, it will be easy to catch more walleyes.
NB: No worries if the water temperature is below 50° on the water surface where you want to troll. Walleyes are also willing to bite if the water temperature is above 35°.
- Consider the Low-Lighting Weather
When you troll during the day, you have to troll deeper because the walleyes don’t like bright light. In terms of brightness, they go deeper into the water during the daytime. However, you don’t need to troll deeper as they swim and search for food in the shallow water at night.
- Choose the Attractive Spoons Color
Walleyes are used to school up in groups and searching for food. And this is where spoons work well for walleyes in their group feeding. So, using attractive colors will help you catch more walleyes. 7 specific colors are mostly used to take walleye’s attention. These are-
- Golden
- Yellow
- Green
- Red
- Chartreuse
- Orange
- pink
Considering the water clarity, forage, and walleyes’ aggressiveness, these 7 colors work fine to garb walleyes heed throughout all seasons.
- Accurate Spoon Size
A ⅜ ounce spoon is the best size spoon for walleye. To drop, you have to go for ¼ ounce. It will get you a successful trolling experience.
- Consider the Bait
Fishing with live bait for walleyes brings quick success. The three most highly accepted live baits are-
- Nightcrawlers
- Minnows
- Leeches
Special Tip: Slip sinker or the bottom-bouncing rig tremendously draws walleyes’ attention in the clear water.
How Fast Do You Troll Spoons For Walleye?
The average speed for walleyes is 1.8 MPH. But, if you want a good result, keep the speed level between 2.5 and 3.5. Usually, anglers are used to troll between 2.0 to 2.5 MPH. But, according to professionals, the best trolling speed is considered at 3.5 MPH.
The 3.5 MPH speed is the magical speed for great success in fishing walleyes. However, if you’re a beginner, you still can go with the mid-speed.
How Far Behind The Boat Should I Troll For Walleye?
The Distance beyond the boat can be up to 35 or 50 ft ahead. Watching your sonar can be a good trick to get the accurate distance behind your boat. If the sonar goes through the weed line, notice the plant height. Start pulling when they seem 2 or 3 ft off the bottom.
Special Tip: Walleyes take some time to examine the baitfish they want to bite. Starting trolling right after putting the fishing line wouldn’t be a professional way. You must wait for a while.
How Many Lines To Let Out When Trolling For Walleye
It depends on how much depth you need to cover. However, the standard measurement is 50 ft. Let 50 ft of the line spread out and clip them into release. If this length isn’t enough to reach the depth, take 150 ft more.
Remember, the fishing lines come with huge weight. A line with 6 or 8 lbs is commonly used for open water. Near snags, the weight can vary between 12 lbs and 14 lbs. 10 lbs will be easier to manage if you’re a beginner.
- Perfect Line to Use for Walleyes
Professionals suggest using the monofilament line for walleyes. It is ideal because it’s strong enough to tackle giant walleyes. This line comes with a thin design that will help you enable your trolling lures and allow them to reach a substantial depth.
What Are The Best Spoons For Walleyes?
Many spoons are available with great features to fish walleyes confidently. Here are the 3 top used spoons for walleyes-
1. Mepp’s Syclops
This spoon is featured with s-patterns and a slender body shape. As a result, you can troll with it at any speed level. The Mepp’s Syclops can encounter the least air resistance and cast long distances.
It works fine in open and ice water when you jigged vertically. The anglers like to use Mepp’s Syclops for its versatile walleye actions. Besides, it offers multiple colors and sizes, allowing you to make a variety focusing on your fishing requirements.
2. NorthlandTackle Gss O-Shot
The s-curve shape and lightweight design of the O-Shot spoon make it stand out from walleyes. Due to its lightweight design, it can make a fluttering action while jigging. The reason why the Northland O-shot is so popular is its inline glow stick. This glow stick can be charged with a simple flashlight, generating wonderful glowy reflections.
In terms of the colorful metal surface, the glow of the O-shot reflects off the spoon and produces wonderful flashes to attract walleyes. So, for your nighttime fishing application, it will be the perfect fishing gear. You’ll get it available in multi colors and sizes to choose your best fit.
3. Gibbs G-Force
This spoon comes with a glow-paint in its color combination. Therefore, it’s great for both nighttime and daytime trolling applications. Unlike the ordinary spoons on the market, G-Force is featured with a single treble hook for a trouble-free operation in heavy surroundings with weeds or timber.
Using G-Force will help you create dynamic erratic action with each of your lures. So, the walleyes will be attracted to bite with the combination of movement, flesh, and color.
Best Time To Troll For Walleye
You can categorize the best time to troll for walleyes into two categories-
- Best Time of The Day
- Best Month of The year
- Best Time of the Day
The dawn and the dusk are the walleyes’ food-seeking period. So, if you’re confused about what time of day walleyes are most active, the answer is dawn and dusk. This time frame is when walleyes feel comfortable getting out of the deep water and seeking food. And it’s the most traditional and effective time to troll for walleyes. They swim into the shallow water and look for small prey or minnows.
- Best Month of The Year
The best month to fish walleyes are May and June. Your fishing success tends to be highest in these two months. It’s easy to catch more walleyes in May and June because they frequently come up the shallow water near shore.
However, the average good timing varies from late April to early May. Since the temperature gets perfect for spawning, walleyes seem available in fishing areas.
Trolling Tips To Catch More Walleyes: 3 Efficacious Tricks
Here are 3 more tips to assist you in having more success while trolling for walleyes with spoons-
1. Know the Bait Position
Throwing the walleyes’ favorite bait into water isn’t the only trick to catch them. You must know how deep the bait is positioned and whether this depth is perfect considering the school of walleyes.
2. Change the Lure Speed
You must change the lure speed if the remaining speed isn’t handy. It will bring a quick and massive difference. The typical lure speed differs from 1.5 mph to 3 mph. But, you can increase or decrease the speed according to your water body and depth requirement.
3. Choose the Live Bait
Live bait can always be the best bait when you’re fishing for walleyes. Although walleyes like different types of food, they are very fond of minnows, leeches, and the nightcrawlers we’ve mentioned earlier. These three baits are considered the 3 best go-to-live baits for walleyes.
FAQs
The best depth level varies from 10 to 20 ft. Walleyes are also found in the 6 to 12 ft depth.
The Gulp is the most proven scant that greatly creates a walleye strike zone. This scant can grab the walleyes for a long time and make them decide to bite.
For walleyes, you need not pay attention to a leader. Your trolling will be fine without a leader.
If you want to go with many different jigs and lures, the reel size of 35 (3500) will be the best choice. It will allow you to make a wide range of operations.
Final Words
Trolling for walleyes with spoons is a highly accepted method to catch the targeted walleyes throughout their wide range. But it’s not the only way you should go through. Some obvious tricks and techniques are there to follow before trolling for walleyes with spoons.
In this article, we’ve shared all the possible yet easy-to-follow techniques. Hopefully, this guide will help you make your next go. Happy fishing!
