Walleyes on the Rocks

You can order a drink on the rocks or straight up in any bar.

That's exactly the choice fishing pro John Balla has when he chases walleyes on the Great Lakes from late summer into fall. Fish will be on the rock reefs and islands or "straight up," meaning somewhere in open water just off the structures.

On Green Bay, spots like Strawberry Island, Horseshoe Reef, Whaleback Shoal and Chambers Island are key. At Bay de Noc, search the area near Round Island, Big Bay de Noc Shoal or Driscoll Shoal to find fish. Likewise, the Charity Islands at Saginaw Bay or the Lorain Sandbar at Lake Erie are magnets for walleyes at that time of year.

"Offshore reef structures in the Great Lakes seem to be the best when water is above 68 to 70 degrees," said Balla, who competes on several walleye circuits. "That's the magic time when the walleyes start showing up. It gets too warm in shallow water, so they move to the mid-lake to chase schools of alewives up on the shoals. And, that's when you'll be fishing open water with spinners on or near structure. You'll need to cover lots of water."

The Great Lakes offer miles and miles of water for fish to roam. Pinpointing the exact location of the biggest walleyes in the system is the challenge. "Search before you destroy," Balla said.

Start by checking the usual sources - Web sites, online fishing forums, guides, bait shops, guys at the boat ramps. Gasoline prices are out of sight, so do as much homework as you can before you go. But, there's no way to skirt the fact you'll be burning some fuel to run the outboard no matter what you do. Fish do not stay put. Information you get about where they were yesterday is helpful. But, expect to spend up to several hours looking for marks on the sonar screen that signal clouds of baitfish. Better yet, look for the larger hooks that indicate walleyes.

"You'll want to mark fish or baitfish even before you start to put lines in the water," Balla said.

Water is often crystal clear on mid-lake structures which are far from feeder rivers that might muddy the scene. That fact makes the wind a mega-factor when deciding where to search.

Some reefs top out as shallow as 4 to 8 feet deep. When the water is calm, walleyes will be "straight up", holding just off structure in deeper water. Check the first steep break from the top of the reef by motoring at a good pace and keeping an eye on the sonar screen. Add icons to the GPS whenever you see bait clouds or fish hooks worth checking out.

When the wind blows, waves cut light penetration, and wave action stirs up the bottom. Water becomes murky, and walleyes can feed right on top. If so, they might not be visible on standard sonar. But, trust us, they're there. Their well-developed eyesight lets them take advantage of the situation to attack prey at will.

The tactic of choice is to troll spinner rigs. A couple of different types of rigs are available, which include Old Guide's Secret harness rigs and Shake-E blade rigs. These are all new rigs from Lindy Little Joe for 2008. Hatchet Harnesses are also a good choice. All of these rigs give out their own particular flash and vibration.

Start out with a telescoping 8 foot rod, like St. Croix's PGT80MM's, which are designed for use with planer boards. Ten pound Silver Thread monofilament line is perfect for pulling spinners.

Line counter reels are absolutely essential to add "repeatability" to the trolling passes. You want to duplicate a successful depth once you discover how much line to let out to put yours baits just above the walleyes.

Balla uses three different weighting systems. He uses bottom bouncers when fish are all the way down on the bottom. However, active fish suspend more often than not. When the baits are less than 20 feet behind the planer boards, he uses one ounce inline weights that add more fish-attracting flash to the rig. The rule of thumb is that your bait runs at a depth equal to half the amount of line out at 1 mph. For example, with 20 feet of line out, the bait runs at 10 feet at that speed. Go faster, the bait rides up. Go slower and the bait slides down in the water column.

Balla uses snap weights when he is letting out more than 20 feet of line behind the spinner. Any shallower than that and snap weights tend to make the planer boards surge in the waves too much which imparts too much action to the spinners.

He uses the same amount of weight on every rod and achieves various depths by varying the amount of line out before attaching the planer boards to make it simpler to determine the effect depth and reset lines the same way. Always run one line high in the water column, usually the closest of the spread toward the reef or island.

Balla uses planer boards with tattle flags to alert him when lines are fouled or a small fish is hooked.

In calm conditions, let the fun begin once baitfish and/or walleyes are viewed on the screen. Waves? Go for the top of the reef. Either way, troll with the wind to enhance control of the boat, the planer boards and when fighting fish.

Best GPS speed over ground is 0.8 to 1.2 mph. Vary it by making S-turns along the break to check various depths and to speed outside lines and slow the ones inside. Watch to see if walleyes show a preference. "I never troll in a straight line," Balla said.

If you think it's time to just sit there once lines are out until fish bite, think again. The best trollers are always checking their lines for debris, changing depth, changing speed and changing blade size, shape or color. In the clear water of the Great Lakes, he likes metallic blades like hammered gold, hammered silver or hammered copper. He also experiments with bead colors. Try pearl, silver, gold, green, blues, purples and white.

Sometimes walleyes don't hit the bait hard enough to get hooked. The tattle flag will pull back and pop back up. Release the line, let the board drop back, causing the spinner to flutter down like a wounded baitfish. The walleye may come back and hit it again. Sometimes, they just follow along with the bait held loosely in their mouths. The tattle flag will tilt but not go down all the way. Again, release line and let them sit for a moment to see if they'll grab it harder.

Watch trolling passes on your GPS to constantly cover new water. Enter waypoints when fish are found. You'll soon identify the location and direction of the school to increase your trolling efficiency.

Here's a word of caution. The Great Lakes offer tremendous fishing, but they can become deadly in a hurry if the weather turns sour. Listen to your weather radio, always have a working marine radio and never go fishing alone.

You'll need all your smarts to get home if you get caught in a serious thunderstorm, so it's safer not to drink in the boat. After all, the only thing you need on the rocks or straight up are the walleyes.