WAY OF THE WALLEYE CD ROM 
Fishing Summer Peak Rivers: Toss Hook Often
by CD RomCo

This information is presented as promotional material for Way of the Walleye CD Rom and is protected by copyright. © 1996 CD RomCo and its Licensors

When fishing a small river from a boat, bring an anchor and toss the hook often, keying on visible eddies, current breaks, intersections of inlet streams with the main river. Cast and drift a lightly weighted split shot rig, rolling livebait along, barely off bottom until you hit that portion of the pool where your line suddenly stops. Fish on. Watch and study an eddy long enough and you'll witness subtle shifts in current flow that occasionally force fish to move a few feet or inches to remain just out of the flow, yet close enough to dash out and grab a passing meal. Seems like these gentle nudges of forced activity move fish from their resting stupor, perhaps convincing them to take another look at your bait or lure. Also look for shallow gravel tongues, trees that may have fallen, large boulders either submerged or showing, weed areas either in the form of long thin grass or a miniature version of cabbage. Each of these areas is worth exploring - even if only for a few casts. You never know when you could pick up your shore lunch.

Fishing small rivers from shore: Try casting upstream, beyond the boulders, crank the lure down, and run it with the current, bouncing bottom along the edge of the current break. Eight- or ten-pound line will do. A snap on the end of the line facilitates lure changes. Favorite lures for rivers with a fair walleye population include baits like the #7 Fat Rap, usually in a gold-minnow pattern; the 2 1/2 inch Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, in an orange-bellied craw pattern; or a weight-forward spinner like the Mepps Walleye Killer with a crawler, minnow, or 3-inch plastic shad body on the hook. The weight-forward spinner fishes best across current, quartered to it, or upstream. If you can't fish from shore, wade upstream. It's the most effective way to make presentations. Begin with the Fat Rap or the Rat-L-Trap from well below the eddy or pool below the current break. First make casts to the quiet water. Then move forward to cast to the head of the current break. Finally, move even with the current break, snap on the weight-forward spinner, and fish it crosscurrent and down current throughout the same areas. Work quickly with vibrating baits. Slow down with weight-forward spinners.