By Jason Mitchell
We often find walleye in less then ten feet of water early in the year. Doesn’t matter if we are targeting pre spawn or post spawn fish, on many different lakes, reservoirs and rivers… a good percentage of walleye will often be shallow. Whenever walleye are shallow, swimming jigs can be deadly effective but the effectiveness of a slow swim seems even more effective in the spring.
As we are in the post spawn period right now, many shallow locations will often hold fish but shallow sand flats, weed flats and shallow gravel or wind-blown rock will all hold walleye shallow at times. Shallow walleye are often spooked from the presence of the boat early in the year. Just my own observations but it seems like when the water is still cool, less than sixty degrees… fish spook from the boat much more. When the water warms up and the fish’s metabolism ramps up, the fish will become much less boat shy. Early in the year, it is often important to long line where the presentation is far behind the boat or to cast because fish often won’t hold right below the boat in shallow water. This is where swimming jigs can be so deadly.
There are many ways to fish a jig and the versatility of a jig is what
makes jigs so effective all year long. For shallow fish
however that are bumping off the boat, a slow swim is often simply
deadly. With this jig swim technique, you don’t have to make
a steady bottom contact. You don’t have to snap the jig or
pop the jig between making bottom contact. The technique is
more so just picking the right weight jig so that it glides along the
bottom but doesn’t touch the bottom. Just a slow reel or slow
drag behind the boat. This presentation is especially deadly
around emerging vegetation. If you are fishing though eight
feet of water for example and there are scattered weeds coming two to
three feet off the bottom, simply cast and reel a jig that swims about
four feet down. Fine tuning the presentation often means
finding the lightest jig you can swim at a moderately slow speed while
finding fish sometimes means using a heavier jig and simply reeling
faster to eliminate water and contact fish. Obviously, you can tip a jig with a minnow or half crawler. You can also use soft plastics like a paddle tail or fluke. Hair and marabou jigs are also extremely effective, especially early in the season. Not to say that you can’t mix in some snaps and pops with the jig to clean off vegetation or trigger a strike but so often on so many days, a simple slow reel or drag is deadly.
I believe that the effectiveness from swimming jigs in the spring come from the simple fact that you can fish extremely slow yet keep the jig up out of the bottom. There are many bottoms that are covered in slime and algae where heavy bottom contact fouls up the presentation. You can creep a 1/16th or 1/8th ounce jig behind the boat or on a cast where the presentation just hangs off the bottom. The jig is near the bottom but not on the bottom. The presentation is that simple, just cast and reel or drag and long line behind the boat.
This presentation also seems to perform much better with monofilament line. The mono seems to cushion the jig glide and floats through the water causing the jig to lift with a steady pull. Six-pound monofilament is my all-around favorite line for swimming jigs in shallow water.
In some parts of the country like northern Minnesota, jigs paired with shiners are a confidence bait but large rainbows or small chubs can be deadly because both rainbows and chubs swim pretty hard against the jig. Figuring out the pattern each day often means figuring out what size and type of minnow the fish are preferring. Some days, it doesn’t matter. While other days we see a specific preference for say a large spot tail shiner or a medium size rainbow. If there is something often overlooked by many walleye anglers, it might be the effectiveness of hair jigs early in the season. Hair jigs do have a strong following but that following is very regional. There are many places where anglers refuse to use hair jigs but hair jigs are probably one of the deadliest spring presentations for walleye that many anglers don’t use.
The advantage of a hair jig is that bucktail or synthetic hair is much more durable than a minnow and the hair causes the jig to swim and glide very naturally. The hair pulsates and quivers very delicately. Now you can use a hair jig many ways and there are times when the fish want the jig snapping and gliding but catching walleye on hair jigs is often as simple as casting and reeling. The jig might not look like it is doing much in the water when you drag behind the boat or cast and reel but it sure does catch fish.
When using hair jigs, remember that most tackle manufactures tie too
much hair on the jig to give the jig better shelf appeal. I
find that most hair jigs work better if you pull about half the strands
out to make the hair thinner. The thinner hair dressings seem
to have a much better action. A phenomenal hair jig on the
market right now is the Northland Deep V Hair Jig. Also make
sure that the hair is hanging straight behind the jig. If the
hair is twisted or crossing the hook, it won’t pulsate or swim
correctly.Knot placement is crucial when swimming jigs. You can use an improved cinch or palomar knot if the knot is perfectly centered so the jig swims straight. I find that a loop knot also works well as the jig will always be balanced and straight as it swims.
We see this swim jig pattern so prominent on many different walleye fisheries across the Midwest each spring. Swimming a jig off bottom and not maintaining bottom contact or finding bottom is difficult for some anglers as many anglers have been taught that jigs must be finding bottom to catch fish. Making bottom contact can be the answer at times but here is something to consider. In shallow water early in the year, walleye will often cruise or position slightly off bottom to soak in sunshine. These fish can also still see the jig swimming slowly above them and when there are weeds growing up off the bottom or rocks covered in algae, fouled up jigs seldom catch fish.
Swimming jigs in the spring is something I am extremely confident with. Could be as simple as making a long cast behind the boat with a 1/16th ounce jig and dragging the jig along eight feet of water or casting a 1/8th or ¼ ounce jig and swimming the jig over a shallow sandbar or rock reef. Use your temperature gauge to find the pockets of warmer water and slowly swim a jig. Chances are, there are going to be some walleye waiting for you.