Tips For Catching Walleye With Crankbaits

EDITOR'S NOTE: Gary Parsons of Glidden, Wisconsin, a professional walleye fisherman, specializes in tournament fishing, speaking, writing and walleye-fishing promotions. Gary, who has fished in walleye tournaments since 1983, has won Angler-of-the-Year titles on all three pro-walleye circuits: the North American Walleye Anglers in 1995, the Professional Walleye Trail in 1993 and 1994 and the Masters Walleye Circuit in 1988 -- the only angler to accomplish these feats. Parsons and his business partner, Keith Kavajecz, won the Masters Walleye Circuit Team of the Year and World Championship in 1988. Gary and Keith co-host "Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World," which airs on TNN.

QUESTION: Can you give us some more tips on tournament walleye fishing? ANSWER:
TIP 5: In cold-water conditions, anytime the water temperature drops to less than 50 degrees, fish crankbaits that have a reduced amount of side-to-side wobble and an increased amount of top-to-bottom roll. Short-lipped twitching types or what bass fishermen call twitching lures or jerkbaits fall into that category. Basically, shallow-running stick baits troll best at slow speeds. These crankbaits also troll at very slow speeds when the water temperature gets that cold. This style crankbait lends itself better to increased results with walleye over tight wiggling, wobbling baits. Then in the summer months, when the water warms up to more than 50 degrees, you can start fishing with the more active crankbaits, like baits with side-to-side wobbles, to have better success with walleye. You can actually categorize the style of action for the time of year or the water temperature.

TIP 6: When trolling crankbaits, we usually use a small outboard, for instance a 10- or a 15-horsepower kicker motor. This kind of motor gives you an infinite variety of speeds, from the very lowest of speeds all the way up to 2 or 3 miles per hour. Keith and I prefer a variety of speeds rather than only having the ability to kick a big outboard in gear. Then if we want to slow down to 2 1/2-miles per hour, we can. By having a piece of equipment like a kicker outboard on your boat, you'll actually dial in the speed you need much more efficiently, and you'll get a lot more fish. Mercury Motors have just come out with have a digital computer-based system that allows you to reduce the amount of engine rpm by 10 rpm at a time.

Tomorrow: Tips For Using Berkley's Pre Select Line And FireLine