A River Guide

Walleye Spring spells walleye on river systems throughout Wisconsin. In 2009 my clients, family, freinds and I averaged 40 walleye a day, several exceeding 10 pounds! The week after Easter in 09' we had three 100+ fish days. Best bets for numbers of fish are the Wolf, Embarrass and Wisconsin Rivers. For trophies, I fish the Menominee, Oconto, Fox and Peshtigo Rivers. Peak fishing occurs during the months of March and April.

Beyond Spring

Spring isn't the only time to fish walleye on rivers. Summer offers smaller resident fish which can be quite agressive as shown above. This walleye took a 1 ounce Northland Reed Runner spinnerbait while musky fishing a Wisconsin River System. 

A River Guides Tip

The importance of good bait is often an overlooked piece of the puzzle by most anglers. What do I mean by "good"? To me good is lively, fresh and wild if possible. In spring I've outfished others by using something a little different. For example, suckers instead of fatheads or red tails instead of shiners. Sounds easy and straight forward. However, finding bait different than the garden variety gas station fathead can be challenging. My advise, call ahead and see if the shop owner can special order bait. It may make all the difference in the world.

Bait shops I like:

Daves Bait in Kaukauna

Wolf River Outfitters Fremont

                    Redtail Chub

The Garden Variety Night Crawler