Tips for a productive walleye outing

Fishing is like befriending a large and playful beast, the Disney kind, whose favorite meal is your ego.

The problem is our desire to attribute a few good catches to our growing skills and knowledge and, in doing so, bolster our belief that we've finally become the fine anglers we want to be. We even get a little cocky. Then, BAM, our proudly held skills yield nothing but consecutive fishless days, usually with friends in the boat who've all heard our recent success stories.

The beast contentedly burps

Fearing a humble retraction in next month's article, I submit the following tips hoping their contribution is greater than the laws of averages in producing the finest walleye fishing I've ever enjoyed.

First, if you can afford it, upgrade your sonar and GPS unit to one with contour maps of your favorite lakes or reservoirs.

I recently bought a new Garmin unit that has preloaded LakeVü g3 inland maps, which present a contour line for every two feet of depth change. I've tested the maps on Moses Lake, Banks Lake, and Potholes Reservoirs and am pleased with their accuracy. I'm looking forward to trying them on our North Idaho lakes after the weather warms a bit.

Most new sonar units allow you to color shade selected depths. A few essential benefits arise. First, you can quickly scan the map to identify locations where depths and contours match your strategy for the day.

Second, while trolling, be proactive in making the course changes required to stay on a given depth instead of being reactive in maneuvering to get back to the depth you've wandered away from.

You'll keep your offering in the strike zone more consistently on depth-oriented fish, like our walleyes.

Commit to always fishing your best. Take the time to do the little things needed to fish with confidence. They say it's critical to success in lots of endeavors. I agree, but I think the confident state of mind is simply a byproduct of good preparation and effort to execute to the best of your knowledge and abilities. You will fish better and usually catch more by expending the additional effort.

So, take the few minutes needed to correct a leader that's a little short or long, replace a sinker that may be a little light or heavy or a lure that may be too bright or dull, or perhaps too small or large for the specific depth and water conditions. Take time to deploy the planer boards if you think the boat may be spooking fish away from your trailing lures or the drift sock when you can't maintain your desired trolling speed.

Third, match lure size and colors to the forage base you believe walleyes are consuming. Bugs are primarily brown and black, like the lake bottoms in which they hide. In early spring, you'll see many emerging bug larvae in walleye stomachs, in contrast to the perch and other minnow forage, eaten a little later in the year.

Downsize your baits when trolling spinner and worm combinations and go with black, brown, purple and dark blue colors. Use black beads and or pill floats and pinch off the tail section of your nightcrawler to make an even smaller profile. Also, try some of Mack's Lure UV smile blades in motor oil and purple.

Though walleye have been the focus here, there are plenty of opportunities to find and apply minor refinements to pursue any of our favorite fish species. Also, I didn't invent or discover any of the tips mentioned above. They were all learned from others and refined through practice, with most coming from reading and watching dozens of fishing articles and videos.

Next month we'll explore inland sockeye fishing and perhaps some hiking. Have a safe and wonderful time in the outdoor paradise we call home.