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If you like to catch and eat fish, walleye is one of the best tasting game fish. If you like the challenge of reeling in a feisty fish, a walleye will not disappoint you. Renting fishing cabins in Minnesota offers fishermen some of the best opportunities for catching a big walleye.

The Best Time to Start Fishing for Walleye

After a long winter, fishing getaways let you enjoy the great outdoors with friends or family. Minnesota has over 11,842 lakes with at least 10 acres, and thousands more from 2.5 acres and up, to plan your fishing trips. The best time to fish for walleye is about three weeks after the winter ice has melted off the lakes. The peak spawning activity happens in cold water temperatures between 42 and 50 degrees F. Usually the fish spawn earlier in rivers and in small shallow lakes with less clarity in the water. The fish don’t eat until after a resting period of one to two weeks after spawning, but after that, they are ravenous.

How to Fish for Walleye

In the summer, walleye do not swim deeper than about ten feet in most lakes. The level of dissolved oxygen that walleyes need runs out in deeper water, so they stay relatively shallow. For a time in spring and fall, there is a turnover, meaning the water temperatures are even at all depths. Before the water stratifies into various temperature layers, walleye can be caught in deeper depths. The favorite foods of walleye are minnows, leeches, and night-crawlers. Live bait fishing offers the fisherman versatility. Bait can be attached to a plain hook and split shot, jigs, slip sinker rigs, slip bobber rigs, or spinners.

The Best Methods for Walleye Fishing

During the day when there is a lot of boat traffic or the water is calm and clear, walleye are not likely to bite. There is likely to be more action in the first hour after sunset. Try fishing the outer edges of a known spawning area with a slip bobber and a leech. Hold the bait above their line of sight, rather than below it. During the daytime, a windy shoreline will attract walleye to minnows that are feeding on the plankton that are blown in. The wind also stirs the bottom, making the water murky and darker the way walleye prefer.