Walleye opener is just around the corner and I know people around the Alexandria area are pumped to get out on the lake and start catching some walleyes. With the temperatures this spring the walleye opener around Alexandria should be excellent conditions. We have had a large amount of rain and most of the lakes are up 2 to 6 inches higher than last year. Yet many of the lakes are at normal water levels, with the lakes being low last year. Some lakes that I would key on: Mary, Reno, Osakis, Miltona, Chippewa, Lobster, Latoka, and Geneva. Many of these lakes are warming up nice for a great walleye bite.


Now the question comes up on what to use? Depth? Colors? and bait? We all have the choice on what presentation to use whether its jigging, lindy rigging or slip bobbering. I personally like to start the season with hair jigs. I might occasionally switch to a Lindy rig or spinner but primarily I use hair jigs. The jigs consist of hand tied bucktail hair, bucktail hair combined with Flashabou, and the non bucktail such as marabou. Each jig has its strengths and weaknesses when fishing the shallow flats. I use these types of jigs depending on how the fish are acting. If the fish are biting and very aggressive, I will use the Bucktail hair combined with Flashabou. I will use bright colors such as orange, chartreuse, or pink, this lure will produce a lot of flash that the aggressive walleyes will chase and inhale. As the fish become less and less active I will switch over to more negative colors, such as Greens, Blues and Purples in just good old plain bucktail hair. This will produce less flash and can help target those negative fish. Then finally when the fish are completely negative and not biting I will switch to a non-bucktail jig like marabou. When fishing Marabou the slightest movement will make the bait wave or breathe.
I would start out moving fast with lindy rigs and Jigs. When I say fast I mean .8 to 1.0 MPH. Then let the fish tell you what they want. If your getting bites keep moving that fast, getting those aggressive fish to bite, if you are not getting bites slow down. Try to locate fish that are on points, inside turns, and holes in the structure where they can hide and ambush forage. Choose a spot where the wind is blowing in onto the structure and consider where the wind has been blowing the last couple of days. This wind pushes baitfish into an area and disorientates them to a point in which a school of walleyes can have a hay day. This time of year walleyes can be at any depth they want, 1 to 20 feet of water. Now what depth am I going to be focusing on, 8 to 15 feet of water.

Good luck to all those that are heading out. If you have questions about jigs, Fishing reports or anything else, please feel free to contact me at hhguide@hotmail.com or visitthe website at www.hhfishingguides.com