Walleye Fishing In Summertime: How To Catch Walleye In The Heat

As summer sets in and water temperatures rise, summer walleye fishing can become increasingly difficult. But once you locate where they are and provide the right presentation, you’ll start filling out a limit in no time. We’ve put together three techniques that have worked well for us to help you catch more toothy critters.

Attack the Grass

During summer months when lake vegetation is peaking, try spending time around weeds like coontail, milfoil, lily pads and cabbage weeds, which will hold schools of baitfish and new insect hatches. Weeds near current or deeper water will typically hold more fish so focusing on these high percentage spots will pay off.‘Snapping’ a swimbait like the SmartBaits Gifted Grub around weedlines and through grassy patches will help you locate the active fish. If the fish are more lethargic, try rigging up a more subtle live bait rig to coax the reluctant fish. Walleye will be feeding during low light conditions, so try to fish around sunrise or sunset for the best results.

Go Deep or Go Home

As water temps continue to rise, try fishing deep, as summer walleye will relate to points, main lake basins, breaklines, weedlines and river channels.An added bonus is that fish in deeper water are usually a bit more aggressive during the day, so if you’re limited to fishing while the sun is up, try staying out deep.Trolling the Northland Tackle Walleye Spinner Rig crawler around points and through river channels will interest fish closely related to the bottom. If the fish are suspended in the water column, try trolling crankbaits which are an ideal presentation for the suspended summer walleye.During low-light conditions fish will move up to shallower water so make sure to adjust accordingly as conditions change.

The Summer Walleye Fishing Night Bite

Walleye fishing at night can be the most effective way to catch not only a limit but also a trophy. Walleye will typically move up to shallower flats, bars or points to gorge on available forage at night.When fishing shallow cover at night, keeping ‘snag-free’ will help you keep your line wet and also keep you in action.A great way to target Walters at night is with slip-bobber like the Rod-N-Bob Slip Bobber. If you need added visibility, attach a glowing indicator to the top of your rig. Then, pinch on a few split shots about 12 inches above the hook which will help keep your bait in the strike zone. Rig up a lively leech or crawler and just wait, that bobber should disappear in no time.Use this rig in any of your ‘High Percentage’ spots, or when the bite gets tough and a finesse approach is needed to get bit.