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Trolling for a good sized walleye has a great trend among all types of catching walleye. That is because it is also very impactful way to get the fish in your net. Trolling needs a little larger gear and preparation which makes the trip much effective than other ways of fishing walleye. The main part of gear that makes the game interesting are the walleye trolling rigs.
They present the lure or the bait in such a way that the fish never resist to bite. These rigs are so powerful that they make trolling twice as more powerful way of fishing as the other types of fishing. But if done in the right way, the way you set up these rigs is very sensitive.
If you make them in the wrong way the results will be probably different. And of course you can try different methods if you have an idea to present the your lure or bait in a better. However the already used and experienced walleye trolling rigs are covering all situations on the water. So if you just take a few minutes learn the way they rigs work and how to assemble the rigs at home then it will save you big efforts.
There are so many crazy lovers of walleye who are out for fishing all the time. And many of them are trolling regularly and know every single thing about it. With the help of experienced anglers we have been able to figure out the most successful rigs for trolling walleye.
In this article we will share the best walleye trolling rigs and how to make them at home.
Top Walleye Trolling Rigs
These are the rigs many anglers prefer to use for walleye while trolling. But it doesn’t mean that they can’t be used fishing from shore or dock.
You can hook your preferred lures or bait to any of these rigs and see how it performs with different things.
1. Bottom Bouncer Trolling Rig
This rig is an incredible fish catcher for many types and it is also modifiable. You can actually choose what size of output you need from it and what should be the length.
When the size of walleye in your spot is expected to be larger you can have increase the length of hooks and using heavier line.
This rig covers an area inside the water to detect and force the fish to bite on your hook. Especially while you are trolling it can even cover an entire lake. The special thing about the rig is that it has several hooks over different depths which will cover all the lake.
Using the bottom bouncer rig for trolling walleye you will have high chances of hits and you will land many good sized fish on the boat. The following is the method to make the bottom bouncer walleye trolling rig.
Things you need to make the bottom bouncer rig.
- Bottom bouncer wire 20 cm, should be thin and light. A wire having snap swivel is preferable than other swivels.
- A hook to tie at the end of line.
- Weight from 4 to 8 Oz.
Method to Make it
Preparing it is very simple you can go through many rigs in just a few minutes. We recommend to make 1 or 2 at once and see how did they work for you while fishing. Maybe they need improvements during the procedure of making them. So you will make sure not to repeat the mistakes again.
- You can either have a wire with a weight on it or add a weight to the wire at home. So if you have weightless wire add a weight or sinker of 4-8 Oz at its longer side.
- Now depending on the wire diameter you can either add your lure or bait direct to the snap swivel on the other side of wire or add a fishing line piece of 12-18 inches and tie your lure to that if the wire is thick. Walleye are line shy so be careful you add the line piece if the wire is thick.
- Now tie your main fishing line to the middle of the wire and it is ready to use.
As we have said before the rig is extremely useful for bottom rigging for walleye while trolling. The weight will always be jumping at the bottom of the lake while you are trolling for walleye. Which is why it is called bottom bouncing rig.
Walleyes love to be at the bottom of an average depth lake. So this can change your luck entirely and land a few great size fish on your boat.
2. Three way swivel walleye trolling rig
Mentioning about the three way swivel rig it would be wrong not to mention how many ways it has to use it. This is a type of trolling rig that is being used for many species that can be trolled. For large fish like lake trout, walleye and smaller fish like crappie for most types of fish the rig is working great.
It just works on the principle to cover as much of the water area as possible. It can have a single hook at a specified depth or 2 or even 3 hooks at a range to target all the fish in the area. By the way you can read our article on the best crappie trolling rigs and how to make them.
The method to make the three way swivel one is very easy but a little length. However it will also not take more than a little while if you try to make it.
Things you need to assemble the rig.
- 3-6 Oz pencil sinker.
- 3 way swivel.
- A hook.
- A thinner line to make pieces of.
The way to assemble the trolling rig
If you just have an overview of your fishing spot then it will be easier for you to make it. The depth of walleye in your spot is pretty important to know before preparing it. If you don’t know the exact depth then having just an idea of a depth range will also work.
Like on my spot the fish are usually 15-20 feet deep, so I will need to cover the 15-20 feet range with the rig. Then the area of the fish will automatically be covered and the fish will bite easily.
To cover a range you will have to tie 2-3 hooks in your rig while if you know a near exact depth then 1 hook is more than enough.
- Tie the swivel to your main fishing line from one hole of the swivel.
- Tie the weight to the other side of swivel by 18 inch piece of thin or transparent line.
- To the third hole of swivel link your walleye fishing hook separated by 12 inches of transparent line. This formation will make a branch to your fishing line holding your hook and bait or lure.
- Similarly you can add to or three swivels and thus increasing your hooks and branches to your line. Which will eventually cover larger depth area.
If you tie 2 or more hooks then this amazing rig becomes a walleye catcher and takes each single one of them.
The third one is also a great rig specifically for trolling walleye. So don’t miss that too because having several options makes the situation more easy. If one doesn’t work the other options are still there.
Lindy Trolling Rig for walleye
Similar to the bottom bouncing rig or a more easier version of it. It is instead used for to troll in the middle of the water and not too deep to touch the bottom. However it will need you to figure out the depth where walleye are hanging out in the water.
This is also one of the top walleye trolling rig, trolling has been amazing with this rig for me while targeting walleye.
You will also have to use a weight according to your need to sink your trolling rig for walleye to a specific depth level. Generally to sink your rig to 15 or 20 feet depth in order to follow walleye in its own level of depth you will have to use 4 to 8 Oz sinker.
Which will work great and will get you many walleyes while you are trolling in its range.
To make the rig you will need a sinker of 4 to 8 Oz, a bead to prevent the sinker from sliding below. And a barrel swivel to connect the main line and the rig.
Thread the weight on the main line and the bead to prevent the sinker from going down. Cut a piece of line with a length of 3-4 feet and tie your hook to its one side and the swivel to other side. Now thread your main line after the bead and sinker to the other side of swivel.
This amazing walleye rig works incredible and have caught a lot of fish for many anglers. It is a gift for those who troll for walleye and want to find a good rig.
Final words
There are several other rigs for trolling walleye that work good but the discussed are the best rigs as per experienced anglers. Here are some of the best tips for fishing walleye. Best of luck, warm regards.
