As the waters warm in the spring, not only are the bait fish on the move but so are the walleye, looking to fill their appetite after a long winter.  With the bait fish, perch and bass at the tributaries and at structure spawning, the predatory walleye take advantage of this season and can be found in the same areas.  Chances are that if you see a large school of bait fish on your electronics, a walleye will not be far behind. 

Recently, X Zone Lures Pro Staff Rich Faragher got out for some walleye fishing using X Zone Lures swammers.

In order to locate the walleye, it is best to try different depths of water, different structure and cover until you find a school of fish.  For most walleye anglers, the preferred method of walleye fishing is with down riggers and planer boards.  By casting out several rods onto the down riggers, it is best to troll in a grid pattern along structure lines.  

We caught up with X Zone Pro Staff Rich Faragher as he recently had the chance to go out fishing in Trenton for some spring walleye.

He said that conditions for fishing were really good with it being overcast and winds were 12 kph, light rain and the water temperature was 62 degrees.  Rich said he was casting and trolling worm harnesses on the slider lines off the flicker shad main line in 22 fow, trolling at 1.6mph.   Rich indicated "With casting you have to let the bait sink and slow roll it just fast enough for the blades to spin lightly and enough for the X Zone swammer paddletail to swim."  He said " in the pic, we were trolling and they crushed the X Zone swammers actually forcing us to keep two fish due to the hook being so far down its mouth". 

If you just want to go out for the day and try your luck at walleye fishing, you do not need to purchase special gear for your boat.  You can rig a worm harness and attach an X Zone Swammer and try trolling in an area that you find a lot of bait fish.  

Head out to the mouth of rivers and locate the schools on your electronics and then try trolling.  As the day progresses and the water warms, the walleye will travel into deeper water and can be found with the bait fish.  Walleye are a great species to catch and with any species, be sure to check the regulations on slot size in your area to ensure a healthy fishery for the future anglers.

Written by Shelley Langley, the opinions and expressions are that of the author's