Rivers are hotbeds of opportunity for walleye and sauger anglers year-round, and no weapon is deadlier, day in and day out, than a properly presented leadhead jig. Of course, there’s far more to the game than chucking a jig into the current and hoping for the best.
Kevin Dahl knows the drill. A lifetime on the water and 13 years of matching wits with the world’s best sticks on the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit have given the Muskego, Wisconsin, pro a stable of undeniably sweet jigging skills. Enough, in fact, to help him qualify for the MWC’s prestigious World Walleye Championship a dozen times and win a pair of MWC tournaments, including the circuit’s 2010 season kick-off on the Illinois River at Spring Valley, Illinois, last March with partner Steve Stack.
To help make this your best walleye season ever, he’s agreed to share a selection of tips and tricks for jigging up more river walleyes all season long.
Gearing Up
“From your boat to your jigging rods, line and the jigs themselves—the right equipment is the foundation of it all,” says Dahl, pictured above on the stage at Spring Valley.
In the rod department, Dahl favors a 6½-foot, lightweight graphite blank with enough backbone for solid hooksets and a fast tip for extra feel. “Some guys swear by shorter jig rods,” he notes. “But the extra length keeps my line as far away from the trolling motor as possible while I’m jigging two rods on the bow of my Ranger. Even with the boat’s large front deck, I can keep the rods close to my body, which is critical for comfort and being able to jig for hours at a time.”
Reels are likewise lightweight, with smooth drags. Dahl spools up with low-stretch, high-visibility superbraid such as 10/2 Spiderwire Stealth in Hi-Vis Yellow. Berkley FireLine Braid and Original are other top options. Dahl adds a barrel swivel (to limit line twist) and 24-inch mono leader of 8-pound Berkley Trilene XT to the business end of the mainline. “The superline cuts the current and transmits bottom and bite information,” he explains. “The mono works like a shock absorber on the hookset and while fighting the fish. If you run straight braid, you’ll lose more fish because the hook pulls out easier.”
When choosing jigs, Dahl opts for the widest hook gap he can find. “I pour a lot of my own, but Northland Fishing Tackle has a great variety of choices, too.” Hook size runs from 3/0 on a 3/8-ounce jig up to 5/0 on a 5/8; shanks are long, except in the cool waters of early spring, when Dahl tips with minnow—and no plastic for extra bulk.
“Use whatever weight jig it takes to maintain bottom contact with the line going straight down into the water,” he advises. “This is key to feeling bites and bottom, and also reduces the number of snags. I typically start with 3/8-ounce and go up or down from there. Don’t be afraid to use a heavy jig if that’s what it takes—I’ve used 1-ouncers in five feet of water in strong current with good results.”
Experimentation is key to finding the right jig color for the conditions at hand. “I start with chartreuse, blue, and orange,” he says. “But I change colors until the fish tell me what they’re looking for.”
Tipping Points
Tipping options abound, from various livebaits to a multitude of artificial offerings. Minnows are a standby—hooked under the jaw and out the nasal cavity. In cool water, Dahl tips with just a minnow (fatheads are the pick 90 percent of the time, though shiners have their moments). If short hits are the rule, he adds a stinger hook (a size 10 or 12 treble on a short section of 8-pound Trilene XT). “Stingers are trash collectors and can detract from the presentation, but if you reel in your jig for the fourth time with the minnow missing, it’s time to tie one on,” he says.
As the water warms, Dahl beefs things up, threading a softbait on the jig first, then piggybacking a minnow on top of it. “After rigging the minnow, I slip a thin slice of PowerBait Power Nightcrawler on the hook to hold it all together,” he notes.
Dahl’s go-to softbait options include Berkley Gulp! Minnows, Gulp! Minnows and PowerBait Ripple Shad and Power Minnow Grubs, as well as ringworm designs. Top colors range from high-vis firetiger to natural silvers, white, pink and purple.
Other situations dictate different trailer combos. “For example, when the MWC fishes the Detroit River in mid-April, if we see nightcrawlers on the lawns or streets in the morning after a rain, we’ll switch to a ringworm-style softbait with half a live ’crawler, or sometimes a minnow,” he says. “If the walleyes are really snapping, I’ll use just the ringworm with no live bait. Ringworms also work wonders on the Mississippi River.”
Different Strokes
Water temperature dictates Dahl’s jigstroke. “In use a slower action in cool water,” he says. In frigid conditions, the presentation is almost a drag—hovering the jig, with a subtle lift and drop. “I’m not actually dragging,” he notes. “I let the jig land and hold it there, lifting it up over anything I feel on bottom. This method is only good in clean areas with few snags.” As the water warms or if the fish are aggressive, Dahl picks up the pace. “You can ramp it all the way to snap-jigging the fish want it that way,” he says. In general, lifts run from an almost imperceptible rise in cold-water hovering, up to 1 to 3 inches in warming conditions, 6- to 12-inch lifts for aggressive walleyes, and finally 1- to 2-foot snaps during a suicide bite.
No matter the jigstroke, Dahl warns that it’s all for naught if you can’t tell when a walleye takes the bait. “Always stay in contact with your jig—both on the way up and on the way down,” he says. “Many hits come on the drop, and if you’ve lost contact with the jig, you’ll miss the fish.”
While some bites feel like solid thunks, many more register as subtle taps, a “sticky sensation” or just the presence of extra weight on the line. “Whenever you feel something different, set the hook,” Dahl says.
Boat control is also key. Running his bowmount MotorGuide trolling motor, Dahl “slips” down-current, keeping his line as vertical as possible. “This is where high-vis lines come in handy,” he notes. “If your line lags behind, you’re going downriver too fast; if it gets ahead of you, then you have to slip faster.”
“Hull design is a big factor in boat control,” he notes. “Some guys really fight the wind and current, because their boat isn’t built to handle the situation. I’m fortunate because my Ranger’s keel design keeps the boat nice and straight, with minimal effort from the trolling motor.”
Electronic ’Eyes
Seeing is believing, and Dahl relies on Lowrance HDS sonar units to show him exactly what lies beneath the waves. “The crisp bottom separation lets me see low-riding walleyes with their bellies dragging the sediment,” he says. “It’s a huge confidence builder to know you’re on fish, and makes you more in tune with the presentation and on point for strike detection.”
Dahl is careful to note the depth at which each fish comes from, along with other pertinent details such as current strength—or lack thereof—water temperature and the presence of forage. Being able to determine why walleyes favor a particular location under certain conditions, he can establish patterns for catching the most fish from every trip.
Speaking of location, Dahl is the first to admit that a river’s ever-changing personality can make finding fish challenging. “There are so many factors, location can be a tough one,” he says. “However, if you can find an area with current, some kind of current break—or a seam in the current—and baitfish, you can be pretty sure that walleyes will be there at some point during the day.”
“When you catch a fish, go back up-current and fish the spot again, trying to duplicate what you were doing when you got bit,” he adds.
On a seasonal scale, Dahl keeps in mind the walleye’s annual migrations—from deep-water wintering areas to shallower spawning grounds, then out into summer ranges where food is a key factor. “Walleyes typically stage in deep holes over winter,” he says. “You might find them in 15 to 30 feet or more, depending on the river. They move toward spawning areas as water temps reach the low forties. On the Illinois River, where Steve Stack and I won the MWC Spring Valley tournament, you’ll find fish in the 10- to 14-foot range over harder bottom, such as rocks or clambeds.”
After the spawn, it’s all about finding the forage," he says. "Find the food, match the size of the bait with your presentation, and you’re well on your way to walleye success.”