By Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
We have entered that time of year when we get some warm days and everyone wants to be fishing. However, the water is still cold, the weather is schizophrenic, and as a result early spring is one of the most challenging times of the year to catch fish.
One of my strategies, throughout the year, is to target species that are most active and easier to catch at certain times. When the water temps. are cold, I am thinking cold-water species (e.g. trout) and cool-water species (e.g. pike, walleyes).
When it comes specifically to walleyes, many anglers think of targeting them in early spring during their spawning activities. The bite for any fish species actually slows during spawning because at that time those fish have other things on their mind. The rest of the year they primarily are concerned with finding enough prey to survive and grow. In my opinion, fishing for walleyes is actually better pre- and then post-spawn.
Pre-spawn would be NOW!
Stumbled onto a video recently that has some really good tips on catching pre-spawn walleyes, in other words, here and now!
If you are hesitant to watch the video because it says “river”, go ahead, skip it. That will leave more fish for the rest of us to catch.
Yes, the presentations mentioned in the video are specifically for moving water. There certainly are a number of moving waters in Nebraska, rivers, streams, and canals, where you could be catching walleye, sauger and saugeye today. Might I add, that these presentations also work very well in standing waters, lakes and reservoirs. In fact, I will tell you that you will catch a lot more walleyes from lakes and reservoirs, year around, if you think in terms of moving waters even in those standing water systems.
Did not post that video to promote any brand of baits. If you want to run to the closest tackle shop and buy exactly what was recommended in the video, go for it. Those are excellent baits. More importantly, recognize the types of baits and why those presentations work. Then, the real challenge is applying that information to YOUR fishing on the waters YOU fish.
Do that and you will discover they work. You bet they do!
