James Lindner and Jeremy Smith offer up a few tips on utilizing floats during a tough walleye bite.

Float Fishing Strategies for a Tough Walleye Bite

Flat calm, bright sunny day, and crystal clear water. These aren’t the optimal walleye conditions. During these conditions the bite may be tough, but there is still ways to catch them.

Utilizing a float is probably the most effective way to target them during a tough walleye bite.

Using a slip bobber paired with a leech, crawler or minnow, will allow you to position your bait right in front of the walleye and leave it there for an extend period of time.

When you are rigging your float don’t overcomplicate your set up. A simple VMC hammer head jig or plain number 6 hook with a few split shots work great under a float. Often times, less is more.

During these tough conditions, utilizing your electronics is key. On most bright, flat, sunny days, walleyes aren’t going to bite your bait with the boat right over top of them, especially in depths of twenty feet or less.

In order to get bite you need to position your boat about a cast length away from the school of fish.

This is when the Humminbird MEGA 360 and side imaging come into play. Both of these are very helpful tools, because you are able to see fish that aren’t directly below the boat.

Remember when you’re facing a tough walleye bite, utilize your electronics and position yourself away from the fish, make sure your bait is set at the correct depth, and don’t over complicate your setup. If you do those things you will be able to catch a few walleyes even in less than ideal conditions.