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Night Hawk Stories... Entry 13

Fishing Reservoirs for Summertime Walleye

click to enlargeEDITOR'S NOTE: Keith Kavajecz of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, a pro walleye fisherman, specializes in tournament fishing and walleye-fishing promotions. Kavajecz, who has fished in walleye tournaments since 1986, won the 1994 and 1998 North American Walleye Anglers Angler-of-the-Year award. He and his son, Tommy, won the 1998 North American Walleye Anglers Team of the Year. Kavajecz and his business partner, Gary Parsons, won the Masters Walleye Circuit Team of the Year and World Championship in 1988. Keith and Gary co-host "Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World," which airs on TNN.

click to enlargeQUESTION: Where's the third place to find summertime walleye?
ANSWER: I recommend that you fish reservoirs, man-made impoundments on rivers, as the final place to fish in the summer. Typically a regular river will have a lot of structure in it. Recently-flooded land, any little creek coming in or a mountainous break coming down into the old creek creates bays, points, etc. We look for where the old channel comes up close to where nice points stick out. Fish deep water close to points. For that type of situation, a lot of times we use an L-shaped piece of wire with a weight in it called a Bottom Bouncer. The weight actually bounces along the bottom and stays right down on the bottom. But because of the wire's shape it holds the bait off the bottom. Oftentimes we'll use a spinnerbait with the Bottom Bouncer, and in many places we'll use either a live crawler or a Berkley Power Crawler. Since you pull and put the action on it, you certainly can get away with using plastic bait instead of using the real thing. If the water warms up in the summer, often the walleye will drop down into deeper water.

click to enlargeQUESTION: What kind of line do you use?
ANSWER: On Bottom-Bouncer fishing, when I get down below 30 or 40 feet of water, often I'll switch from monofilament to FireLine. The thinner diameter of the FireLine allows the Bottom Bouncer to get down much quicker and also gives you better sensitivity. The thickness and stretch of monofilament will take away from that sensitivity and make feeling the bottom and the bites hard. Ten-pound Vanish works very well for Bottom-Bouncer fishing too because it's abrasive-resistant. I also like the fact that Vanish line is very clear, and the fish can't see it. Vanish also works well for leaders on either the D-rig or on Bottom Bouncers. Because the spinner or the D-rig may go over rocks, you want to use a fairly abrasive-resistant line. The one real advantage to fishing with fluorocarbon lines is that they're much more abrasive-resistant than regular monofilament.

Tomorrow: Tips for Summertime Walleye Fishing

 

Entry 11-Fishing Rivers for Summertime Walleye
Entry 12-Fishing Lakes for Summertime Walleye
Entry 13-Fishing Reservoirs for Summertime Walleye
Entry 14-Tips for Summertime Walleye Fishing
Entry 15-More Tips for Catching Summertime Walleye

Night Hawk Stories