Basic Things to Remember about Rigging and Jigging for Walleye

Rigging and jigging are two of the primary ways to use your bait and start catching some delicious walleye. If it's your first time to fish for walleye, you'll enjoy greater productivity rates once you understand the basics of the two.

Basic Things to Remember about Rigging for Walleye
To rig live bait for walleye, you'll have to use a slip sinker. This is connected to the hook you need to pierce your live bait. With rigged bait, you only have to drop it in the water and allow the bait to do its work. The constant movement of your live bait will set out vibrations that will induce the walleye into taking the bait; hook, line, and sinker.

Rigging is a technique more effective in a specific fishing area. It isn't ideal if you wish to cover the maximum possible area because of how it works. In rigging, you and your live bait stay put in one area. You wait for the walleye to come after you and not the other way around. Walleye traveling for better water temperatures are more prone to taking the bait so you'll have more chances of catching them during the day. At night, walleye are too busy feeding from their long-time preferred habitats to notice your bait.

A spinning rig is one of the most popular choices for catching walleye. When you're using a spinning rig, you should remember to keep your rig vertical while you keep your boat stationary. If you sense that a walleye has taken the bait have your companion move your boat on top of your catch as you begin pulling the fish to the surface.

When shopping for rigs, consider the leader length you'll use because you'll want more length to handle the finickier walleye. Colors rarely matter.

Basic Things to Remember about Jigging for Walleye
With rigging, it is up to the bait to make the necessary action to catch the eye of walleye in this instance. In jigging, however, an angler is used and controlled by the individual to produce the necessary bait movement and action. Because of the presence and function of anglers, artificial bait may be used with jigging. The main advantages of artificial jigs over real ones are the added scent and better hook strength.

Another difference between jigging and rigging is the timing. When you feel a bite, you reel in the rigged bait slowly but with jigged baits, you set your hook right away.

Here are the several types of jigging techniques you can use.

Trolling Jigs - Jig trolling techniques may work where spinner rigs and crank baits have failed. Generally, however, jig trolling is used for walleyes not traveling in schools and swimming in medium depths.

To make trolling more successful, try to bounce your jig at the bottom as your boat moves forward. Long-shank hooks are a preferable match with trolling jigs because they can keep your baits vertical.

Vertical Jigs - Whether you're fishing in lakes or rivers, as long as the depths are eight feet or more, vertical jigs may be used effectively. Vertical jigs work better in rivers, of course, but you can increase their effectiveness by looking for the deeper areas of lakes.

To keep your bait vertical, look for long-shank hooks again as well as round heads. With a long-shank hook, you get a better grip on your walleye once you start reeling it in unlike with a shorter hook. Using light-wire together with vertical jigs also makes a better combination because they are less vulnerable to snagging.

Consider the jig weight when using vertical jigs for fishing. This is especially true if you're fishing in deeper waters and stronger currents. With vertical jigging, it's better to have someone with you so you can fully concentrate on manipulating your fishing rod.

Pitching Jigs - Pitching jigs are more effective if you're fishing for walleyes in shallower depths. Most cases, walleyes are hiding amidst structures and break lines in shallow depths. Just remember that walleye, especially older ones, don't like sunlight so they're sure to look for shade. When pitching jigged bait, you need to use short-shank hooks and keep bait horizontal.

In the end, jigging and rigging have their respective shares of pros and cons so consider trying them out to see which one works better for you.