Kayak Walleye Fishing

Add Walleye to the list of fish that I have caught in the Hobie PA 360! With all the bass fishing I do out of my kayak on the Columbia River, it is a wonder that I have never caught a Walleye by mistake. I have caught many out of a boat while bass fishing, but I have never caught one in my kayak. This week I was determined to focus on Walleye fishing and it paid off big time.

I studied some good areas that I knew held Walleye, and figured that my best technique would be jigging a blade bait. The baitfish are thick in the river right now, and I assumed the Walleye would be keying in on them. I bought some 5/8 oz & 1/2 oz silver Blade baits from Norisada Custom Tackle and headed to the river.

The area I wanted to fish had good current, and was about 30 feet deep. It was a bit technical to fish out of the kayak, because the current split into two directions. One way put me in the sweet spot, but the other way took me to "no man's land". I finally figured where to start so that the current would drift me the right way, but it took constant correcting to stay in the slot.

Using a 6'6" medium spinning rod with 20# braid and a 10# mono leader, I dropped the 5/8 oz blade bait to the bottom and started vertical jigging it. I was pretty much directly below my kayak, but in order to get there I had to cast upriver a bit because the current brought the bait back to me.

I had been jigging for about 5 minutes when I lifted my rod to start another jig and it felt heavy, so I set the hook. I was hooked up to something solid, but I did not know if it was a Walleye or a smallmouth. After a robust fight, I could see a nice smallmouth with the blade in its mouth about 10 feet underwater. To my surprise, I could see about 5 other similar-sized smallmouth trying to steal the jig out of its mouth!

It took a couple of minutes to land the fish, get it unhooked, and back in the water. In just that amount of time, the current had carried me a couple of hundred yards downstream and out of my area - not an easy area to fish out of a kayak.

I got back into the zone and started my drift again, and again I was instantly greeted by another smallmouth. For the first hour, I could not keep the smallmouth off my lure. Every time I thought to myself...walleye?... but as they came up through the crystal-clear water of the Columbia, I could see that it was another smallmouth. I was having an absolute blast catching them, but I was hoping for a walleye.

Finally, on my 4th or 5th drift, I set the hook on something a little bigger. I thought to myself, "this is either a big smallmouth or a nice walleye." The fish fought hard, taking drag and making runs, so I figured it was a dandy smallmouth, but as it emerged from the depths I could clearly see it was a walleye - and a nice one! I scooped it into the net and checked the box in my mind - the 1st BMO walleye in the kayak!

Using this same technique, I ended the day with 3 nice walleye, a great result for my 1st time actually targeting them. The key to catching them was to have my drift in the right zone. I do not use a fish finder in my kayak, so I go by landmarks and current seams, which makes finding the exact drift difficult, but I like the challenge. This is why I like fishing out of a kayak so much; you have to read the water, be observant of signs of activity that could indicate fish, and feel out the bottom with your lure. I would rather be in touch with the area I am fishing than rely on a depth finder - it is what fishing is all about to me.

It was another great day in the Pacific Northwest - can't wait to cook up some walleye tacos!

Thanks for reading,

Bill