Ask the Walleye Pro: Tom Keenan

Q: I live in central Illinois. I love to fish for walleye and sauger. What can I do to improve my catch in the lakes around me? They are mud bottom with some points, manmade rock shores and at some lakes there are a lot of weeds, grass and lilypads. What can I use to catch walleyes and saugers? I have gotten spoiled in Canada and I would like to catch more around my area.

-Gary Gundy, Normal, Ill.

A: Gary that is a lot of information to answer, but here goes. The time of the year and water clarity will determine where and how you should be fishing. Stained water usually holds shallow-water walleyes at all times, especially in the spring. Early in the year try casting crankbaits along the rocky shorelines or points. If you catch a fish or two go back to that same area and trying casting lightweight jigs tipped with live bait to those same areas.

Try to always fish wind swept shorelines if they exist. In clear lakes usually you have to fish a little deeper. Jigging or using a Lindy rig is a great way to fish deep, structure orientated walleyes. Weeds are also a great place to catch summer walleyes. Casting jigs or slip bobber fishing weed walleyes is what I key in on for the lakes in my area. Try to fish the points and the turns in the weedbeds. In the fall, the walleyes are usually found in deep water. Trolling crankbaits is the best technique for catching fall walleyes. If you are not a troller try a Lindy rig with red tail chubs or small sucker minnows.

Q: I’ve heard reports that people are catching more walleyes on plastics than with live bait. I’ve heard that this is the case especially when jigging on the Detroit River as well as the Mississippi. Is this really true or is this just bait companies promoting their products? Also, could you please recommend some specific jigs that work well in rivers?

-Connor

A: Connor I just got back from the season-opening FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River, so I have some current research to share with you. Some guys in the tournament did very well using just plastics. The best bait was a Berkley Gulp natural crawler. I did very well with the Gulp Crawlers both jigging and trolling spinners last year. I do believe that at certain times plastic can be very productive. I caught almost all of my fish at Detroit using Lindy Fuzz-E-Grubs tipped with a minnow. Fuzz-E-Grubs have been a big part of my success in tournament fishing and I would recommend them in both rivers and lakes.

Q: What kind of structure and bottom content do walleyes look for when spawning? Do people ever sight fish for walleyes like they do for bass? If so, how do you locate beds and what tactics do you use?

-Ed, Baraboo, Wis.

A: Ed, walleyes spawn in various structure throughout the Midwest. Most of the walleyes I fish in the spring are usually river fish because that is the only water that is open to fishing. Usually river fish spawn on gravel or small rock shorelines, but that is not always the case. For example, Lake Winnebago walleyes spawn in marshes. Lake walleyes usually spawn along rocky shorelines or on rock reefs. Spawning usually takes place under the cover of darkness. I have never sight-fished for walleyes before.

If it is legal in your area to fish for spawning walleyes try casting crankbaits at night. I would suggest baits like floating Rapala’s or Shad Raps. Usually a slow retrieve works best at this time of the year.

Q: Would you tell me what FLW stands for in such as Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour? I have checked at least 25 articles and none of them mention what it means.

-Larry Brown, Guttenberg, Iowa

A: Larry, that is an easy one. FLW is acronym for Forrest L. Wood. Forrest is the founder of the Ranger Boats company and was a pioneer in developing the sport of competitive angling.

Tom Keenen is a well-known walleye angler from Hatley, Wis. Keenen won the 2003 FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn. and has also claimed victory at the PWT Walleye Tournament in Fond du Lac, Wis. In his illustrious angling career, Keenan has accumulated over $600,000 and has captured the 1998 and 2000 MWC Team of the Year honor with his brother Mark. Keenan’s sponsors include Ranger Boats, Evinrude, Lowrance, Pure Fishing, Lindy-Little Joe, Off Shore Tackle, Frabil, Gander Mountain and Minn Kota.