Try Crankbaits for Spring Walleye by Mark Romanack During April or May the walleye fishing season opens across most of the Midwest. The season opener attracts thousands of anglers, each anxious to take on favorite waters and test their angling skills. Most anglers will step up to the plate with traditional fishing tackle such as jigs tipped with live bait combinations. Jigging is rarely a bad option early in the walleye season, but this time-proven method isn't the only way to catch fish. For anglers who aren't comfortable with their jigging skills, or who wish to explore other options, casting crankbaits is easy to master and highly effective. It's a technique you seldom hear or read about--most anglers associate crankbaits with trolling or with warm-water fishing. Crankbaits are an excellent option for early season walleye because they are ideally suited to shallow water. During April and May most walleye living in natural lakes and streams will be found foraging in water 10 feet deep or less. Another advantage of crankbaits is they can be fished more quickly than jigs. Covering water quickly with a crankbait is an excellent means of eliminating unproductive water while searching for fish. Crankbaits are also easy to fish. Simply cast them out and crank them in. The key is to select lures that dive deep enough to tick bottom without dredging it. When casting crankbaits for walleye, three lure types produce best-- stickbaits, shad-shaped lures, and high-action baits. Stickbaits are long, slender lures that closely imitate emerald shiners, smelt, dace, and other natural walleye forages. Most stickbaits have a subtle action that's deadly in cold to cool waters. Both floating shallow divers and count-down models are productive when fishing depths from three to six feet. A few of the classic lures in this category include the Rapala No. 11 Minnow and No. CD9 Count-down, Storm Jr. ThunderStick, Bomber 15A, Bagley Bang-O-Lure, and Smithwick Rattlin' Rogue. Shad-shaped baits have somewhat more action than stickbaits, and they closely resemble gizzard shad and alewives. These baits dive a little deeper and are useful when fishing waters from 6-10 feet. Some favorite shad-shaped cranks include the Storm Rattlin' Thin Fin, Cotton Cordell CC Shad, Bagley's Bass'n Shad, and Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. High-action baits wiggle and wobble aggressively. This category of crankbaits tends to produce best in off-colored water or when the sun warms the water to above 50 degrees. At times it seems walleye strike these baits more out of anger than a desire to feed. Some excellent high-action cranks include the Fred Arbogast Mud Bug and the Storm Rattle Tot and Wiggle Wart lures. Collectively these families of crankbaits are some of the best lures you can throw. Don't venture too far from prime spawning areas for early spring walleye. Some of the most productive fishing areas will be near stream mouths, rocky or gravel shorelines, and back bays with sparse weed cover. Move quickly until you encounter fish, then slow down and fish the area more thoroughly. Once you've picked off an active fish or two with a crankbait, it never hurts to tie on a jig and go back to the basics. Copyright (c) 1997 Mark Romanack. All rights reserved.