Today’s walleye angler are practically manic about all things walleye. Who doesn’t live for the bait thumping, rod pumping, head shaking action and flicker of that white tip tail? (Make sure to watch the full episode here: Walleye Magic)
There’s army of anglers practically manic about all things walleye. Who doesn’t live for the bait thumping, rod pumping, head shaking action and flicker of that white tip tail?
The payoff is pretty good, too. It’s hard to beat fresh walleye fried, broiled, blackened or baked.
The challenge, too, is part of the fun! Many times, we need to dig deep in the playbook to crack a bit, so when everything finally comes together, it’s a pretty good feeling.
Yes, at times, walleye can be a fickle fish, but today’s anglers have an ever-growing arsenal of fish catching tools, techniques and tactics at their disposal. Now combine that with plenty of on-the-water experience, and you have the recipe for “Walleye Magic!”
If there’s a walleye fishing must-have, it’s GPS mapping — an honest to goodness game changer. Companies like Lakemaster and Navionics have greatly sped up the time it used to take walleye anglers to learn a lake, and once you find ‘em, new boat control technologies like trolling motors with electronic anchoring and hands-free trolling features definitely stack the odds in the angler’s favor.
But location and boat control are still only parts of the walleye puzzle — you still have to catch them! Successful walleye anglers have learned to fish power and finesse, drawing reaction strikes when walleyes aren’t hungry, or quickly capitalizing on a bite when the feed is on.
And in the year 2018, artificial baits are not a walleye fishing exception, they’re the rule. Sure, livebait’s still part of the program, but anglers have built the confidence to know that it is by no means essential. Livebait jigging and rigging still produce, but these days, we have other plays that will win the walleye game, too.
All combined, it would no doubt look like Walleye Magic to the anglers of yesteryear.
