Casting a Jig for Weed Walleyes

The key to fishing the weedline is boat control. A bow mount trolling motor and good electronics make this much easier. Keep your boat parallel to the weeds, slightly deeper than the weeds grow. This will vary from lake to lake. Clear water allows deeper weed growth as opposed to dingy water.
I use a 6 1/2 foot medium action spinning rod and reel combo loaded with 8 lb test mono for most of my jig and worm fishing. The weeds may be 8 feet tall in 8 feet of water actually sticking out of the water but only one foot tall in 12 feet of water--of course, that may vary. In other words, a weed gets shorter and shorter as it gets deeper until it cannot grow because of the light.
A 1/8th ounce jig worm falls at about one foot per second. This means I need to start my retrieve quickly when I throw it up to where the weeds are only a foot from the surface and work it back towards the boat letting it fall deeper and deeper until it is at the base of the weeds. This takes practice and you will get caught on weeds. When that happens, you give a quick snap of the rod and you will be surprised how often you can clean the jig of weeds and continue the retrieve. Keep a picture in your mind of predators, walleyes included, that when they are active, will cruise around the edges and the tops of the weeds looking for prey.
Example: A walleye might be in 10 feet of water 4 feet down right in the top of the weeds that are 6 feet tall. Casting a jig up near where the weeds are sticking out and trying to let it swim back over the tops of the weeds is what you can only accomplish by casting. Trial and error will give you a new tool to catch fish in any lake that has weed cover.
Next week -- Crankin the Weeds.