By Okuma® Staff

Spring Walleye Tactics: Pitching Jigs in the
Pre-Spawn Window

By Austin Moser – Austin’s Northwest Adventures
www.austinsnorthwestadventures.com

As winter starts to back off across Eastern Washington, there’s a different kind of energy in the air. The days are getting longer, the weather’s starting to warm up, and anglers are finally getting back out on the water after a long winter.

Spring Walleye

Spring is one of the most exciting times of year to fish, and for a lot of us, this is the season we look forward to the most. Pre-spawn walleye fishing, in particular, can be some of the best fishing of the entire year. This is when those fish start staging up and feeding heavily, and if you understand where they’re positioning and what they’re keyed in on, you can put together some incredible days on the water. Right now, these fish aren’t fully committed to the shallows, but they’re getting close. Most of them are setting up along deeper edges just outside of spawning areas like rocky shorelines, riprap, and gravel
flats. Throughout the day, they’ll slide up and down depending on sunlight and water temperature.

A typical setup looks like fish holding in 10 to 25 feet of water along break lines, then pushing up into 4 to 10 feet when conditions line up. Sunlight is a big trigger this time of year. As those shallow rocks warm up, it activates the food chain, and that’s when these fish make their move.

On the Columbia River and many of the reservoirs along it, crawdads are a primary food source during the pre-spawn. As water temperatures start to rise, crawdads become more active along rocky shorelines and flats, and walleye key in on them heavily.
That’s where crawdad imitations really shine. Keeping your presentation tight to the bottom and matching natural crawdad tones, browns, oranges, and darker colors, can make a big difference.

Techniques

The main technique we use to target these fish is pitching jigs.

• • Set up in deeper water, usually 15 to 25 feet 
• • Pitch jigs into 4 to 10 feet on rocky flats or shoreline
  structure
• • Let the jig fall to bottom and work it back with slow lifts and controlled drops
• • Keep constant contact with the bottom to imitate natural movement

Most bites will happen on the fall or right as the jig comes off the edge into deeper water.

Gear Selection

Gear plays a big role in being able to fish this technique effectively. A setup we rely on heavily is the Okuma Deadeye Pro Series 7’6” spinning rod, rated for 6 to 15 pound line, paired with a 2500 size Okuma Inspira ISX spinning reel.

That 7’6” rod length really helps with casting distance, allowing you to reach farther up onto the flats and cover more water. It also gives you better line control and helps maintain contact with your jig as it works down the break. The Deadeye Pro rod has a high modulus graphite construction, and when you pair that with a 10-pound braided mainline, it gives you an extremely sensitive setup. You’re able to feel everything, bottom composition, transitions, and those subtle changes that often indicate a bite.

The reason we like that 10 pound braid is the smaller diameter and the lack of stretch. It cuts through the water well, even in current, and allows for a much more positive hook set, especially on longer casts or in deeper water.
That combination of the high modulus graphite rod and braided line really lets you stay connected to your bait. You can feel the difference between rock, sand, and structure, and more importantly, you can detect those subtle bites. A lot of times it’s not a big hit, it’s just a slight change, maybe a little extra weight or something that feels different. That’s what turns into fish when you’re dialed in.

We run that braid to a 3-to-4-foot leader of 12-pound fluorocarbon. The fluorocarbon leader is important because it’s less visible in clear water and it holds up much better around rock and hard bottom. When you’re constantly working a jig along abrasive structure, that added durability makes a big difference over the course of a full day.

Spring Walleye Bait Selection

When it comes to bait selection, this is where the FishLab lineup really fits this style of fishing. The FishLab Nature Series Kickin’ Craw has been a great pre-spawn option, especially in Columbia River systems where crawdads are a primary forage. It fishes clean on a jig head, stays tight to the bottom, and has just enough action to trigger bites without overworking it.

Rigged on a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce jig, it allows you to maintain bottom contact in varying depths, wind, and current conditions while still keeping a natural presentation. In heavier current or wind, we’ll step up toward that 1/2-ounce range to stay pinned to the bottom. In calmer conditions or shallower water, dropping down to a 1/4 ounce gives the bait a more natural fall and slower presentation. Keeping your bait natural, staying on the bottom, and focusing on subtle movement on the fall is what triggers most of these bites.

Timing for Spring Walleye

Timing also plays a role in how these fish position throughout the day. Early in the morning, they tend to hold a little deeper and tighter to structure. As the sun gets up and starts warming those shallow rocks, more fish slide up onto the flats and become more active. Late afternoon and evening can bring another strong shallow window before they move back out.

If the shallow bite isn’t happening early, it’s usually just a matter of time before it turns on.
Spring walleye fishing is all about understanding those transitions, where the fish are staging, where they’re feeding, and matching what they’re keyed in on.
By pitching jigs up into the shallows, working them down the break, and focusing on crawdad imitations in systems like the Columbia River, you’re putting your bait exactly where it needs to be during this pre-spawn period.

When everything lines up, that bite on the fall is hard to beat.