When I think of snap jigging, visions of current breaks, light bucktails, and finicky striped bass fill my mind. That’s what I grew up doing in the shallow bays throughout the South Shore of Long Island. It was a way to present baits to fish in a way to trigger a reaction strike when they would not bite. Little did I know, after moving north to western New York, snap jigging is an integral part of success for suspended walleyes when fishing the Finger Lakes and Great Lakes.
After discussing this tactic in depth with National Walleye Tour Pro Craig Sleeman, it became more apparent that there were some differences and similarities to what I grew up doing and the new techniques. Craig has been dialed on this tactic for years to help put his clients on fish and cash some checks on tour.
“It’s a technique that can be utilized year-round and can be one of the most effective ways to put more fish in the boat,” Sleeman says.
The most important thing to look for are transition areas where walleyes will stage in between where they spawn and where they feed. These are essentially large resting areas where walleyes will set up, usually around midday before they start feeding.
Sleeman says he normally looks for wind-driven spots adjacent to spawning or weed flats. Wind will generate current making it perfect for walleye to stage and rest.
Transition edges can be huge, too, during the winter and summer months when walleyes are out deep. Sand flats adjacent to underwater points can be stellar areas to find large amounts of walleyes.
Tackle School
Rods
When it comes to tackle, the difference between casting and vertically jigging varies a little bit with rod length. Sleeman loves to use a Douglas Rods LRS 725XF spinning rod for casting.
The rod was designed specifically for snap jigging with an extra fast tip and some serious backbone to drive the hook home. When the fish are vertically below the boat, he goes with a shorter Douglas Rods LRS 683XF spinning rod.
“You want to have a longer rod when the fish are positioned away from the boat better. That allows for a better hook up ratio when the bites are short and finicky,” Sleeman says.
Reels
Large arbored spinning reels are a must — 3000-sized reels are what you want, so you can take up line quickly and hold a lot of it. A Daiwa Fuego spinning reel with its fast gear ratio, deep spool, and great drag system is a great choice for fighting these walleyes.
Since some of these flats may be on the deeper side of the 70- to 90-foot range, having a reel that can hold a lot of line is crucial.
Line
Sleeman is a fan of the Suffix 832 braid in 10- to 15-pound test, but I’m a huge fan of the Cortland Masterbraid in 10 to 15lb test.
The difference between 4-strand and 8-strand braids aren’t going to affect the outcome, it’s more personal preference.
A stiffer fluorocarbon leader is important when fishing in rocky or weedy areas where zebra mussels can nick line and cause break-offs. Seguar makes Blue Label fluorocarbon leader material and its extremely abrasion resistant: 15- to even 20-pound shock leaders are perfect.
Baits
There are many different baits on the market that will be best suited for snap jigging. You can never go wrong with the old faithful Rapala Jigging Rap for a vertical presentation. Even though its an ice fishing jig, its darting action causes the bait to get ripped erratically to trigger rection strikes. For casting, you want something that’s going to have a fluttering action to it. Bucktail jigs like a Spro Bucktail jig paired with your favorite strait tailed soft plastic trailer are perfect for this scenario. A Z-man Scented Jerk Shad on a Northland Smeltinator jighead is also a perfect to entice inactive walleye into biting.
Snap Jigging for Suspended Walleye: Tips and Tactics
Sleeman does have some tricks to increase his hook up ratio, since you’re relying on reaction strikes entirely. He adds a larger VMC stinger treble hook to the bottom of his jigging raps. The larger treble has a better chance of successfully landing a fish compared to a smaller one when these walleye are swatting at the bait.
On bucktails and soft plastics, Sleeman adds a Torpedo stinger treble or single octopus hook.
“When these walleyes are hitting out of reaction, they tend to short strike the bait and not eat it fully,” he says. “That stinger hook on the just increases the chance of the walleyes getting hooked putting more fish in the boat.”
How To Find ‘Em and Hook ‘Em
The hardest part about the whole process is, of course, finding the fish. Side-imaging sonar is your best friend when trying to locate suspended walleyes. You will be able to see the schools of walleye spread out if you slowly idle around sand or weed flats.
Make waypoints when you see these shadowy looking schools on the sonar. Then, use the trolling motor to get set up on each school.
You’ll be able to vertically drop on them or you might have to cast depending on the wind, current, and how spooky the fish are. Forward facing sonar is a huge help here, because it lets you know which direction to cast and allows you to see your bait.
As far as action is concerned, once your bait hits the bottom, depending where the fish are sitting in the water column, slowly reel up and proceed to “snap” your bait on a slack line. After that initial snap, keep reeling slowly to keep the bait in the fish’s zone and repeat the snaps until the bait gets back to the boat.
Usually the reaction strikes will come either on the drop or on the snap-up.
In the end, snap jigging suspended walleye can be some of the most fun fishing you can have during the toughest time of day during the toughest time of the year to fish.
Sleeman always says, “When the fish are fickle, snap jig! You won’t regret it one bit!”
