Across other parts of the walleye heartland, rivers provide springtime opportunities to target transient fish that spend the rest of the year living in adjacent lakes or impoundments.

Just a few of the rivers in this Upper Midwest region that see substantial spring runs of walleye include the Detroit, Maumee, St. Clair, Thames, Saginaw, Tittabawassee, St. Joe, Wisconsin, St. Croix, Fox, Wolf and Menominee.

Walleye found in rivers are doing certain things in March and April, and catching your share boils down to understanding how these fish relate to lure types, water temperature, water color, current and lure presentation.

Jigs Rule In Rivers

A lead-head jig tipped with a live minnow is hands down the lure/bait of choice among river rats everywhere. It’s no secret jigs and minnows are the popular choice. The secret comes in knowing how to get the most from this classic river-fishing presentation.

Long-shank-style jigs are also better options for river fishing than the popular short-shank jigs so commonly used in combination with live bait. Long-shank jigs are superior because they are designed to accept a variety of soft-plastic lures and also can be used with live bait.

Jigging is a rather straight-forward fishing method, but there are subtle ways to manipulate jigging for maximum effect in rivers. The first approach is to select a jig that’s large enough to let you feel the bottom. Walleye in rivers stick close to the bottom, and a jig that’s too light will have the angler fighting to feel the bottom instead of concentrating on feeling bites.

Low-stretch super braid or fused lines are mandatory for river jigging. These lines make it easier to feel bottom and detect subtle strikes.

Water Temperature And Color

This power plant along the Detroit River has a warm water discharge site that attracts walleye – and a lot of anglers.

In March, when the water temperature is barely warmer than an ice cube, river walleye fishing is about going slow and staying low. The best fishing success is achieved by anglers who slow their jigging presentation to the point the jig is barely moving and keep their lures/baits glued tight to the bottom.

Isolating the warmest possible water is often the key to finding concentrations of fish. Warm-water discharge sites associated with manufacturing facilities or wastewater treatment plants are prime spots to check out in March when the water is icy cold. Other places to check include feeder creeks or ditches that pour into a larger river. These tributary waters are another source of warmer water. In most cases it only takes water a couple degrees warmer than the surrounding flow to attract baitfish and walleye.

At ice out, not only are river waters ultra cold, runoff tends to make the water murky at best and often downright dirty. In water this cold and stained, walleye can be caught, but only by concentrating on keeping the presentation slow and the bait easy to spot.

Walleye are sight feeders, and dirty water complicates fishing by making it more difficult for fish to see lures and baits. Anglers can compensate for this handicap by using brightly colored jigs and bulking up the presentation with larger jigheads, using gaudy soft plastics, trying bigger minnows or combining both minnows and soft plastics.

As water levels naturally drop and clear, the bulky and gaudy approach should be replaced with a selection of more natural colors and subtle jig dressings. Also, as water temperature rises to the 50-degree range, jigging presentations can be stepped up a notch.

Understanding Current

River current is something a walleye never fights, but rather adapts to. Anglers are obligated to do the same to be successful.

Walleye position themselves along the bottom of the river in key spots where the flowing water has been disturbed. Collectively known as current breaks, these are places a walleye can lay on bottom out of the direct current flow and wait for the flowing water to wash food within reach.

A current break can come in many forms. Some of the more common current breaks are submerged rock piles that divert the flow of water, a subtle depression in the river bottom, deep holes, and flats and river bends where the water volume spreads out and the current naturally decreases. Other current breaks to watch for are wing dams, bank erosion structures, points and the downstream edge of islands.

Some current breaks can be spotted by watching for the telltale eddies or swirling water that form on the surface. Other more subtle current breaks must be found by closely observing a sonar unit. Even a subtle depression in the bottom can hold fish and provide consistent results. That’s the beauty of current breaks. When an angler finds them, these spots will continue to attract fish season after season.

Presentation Options

In rivers, jigs can be fished vertically and suspended just off bottom, or they can be dragged along the bottom. Both presentations work, and which is best changes from day to day and location to location.

Obviously if the river bottom is filled with lots of snags, dragging isn’t going to be an effective presentation. Dragging works best when targeting walleye on sand, gravel or clay bottoms that can be worked with few snags.

Rivers represent the first crack most anglers have at walleye in the spring. Across the midwest, dozens of rivers attract both walleye and anglers anxious to catch their share.

Simply letting the boat drift naturally with the current and letting out enough line so the jig maintains contact with bottom is the key. Normally a one-eighth- or one-quarter-ounce jig is ideal for dragging situations.

Vertical jigging is the ideal jigging presentation for fishing snag-filled waters or for targeting obvious structure such as channel edges, riprap banks, flats with scattered rock piles, etc.

The whole key to vertical jigging is boat control. This rather detailed form of jigging requires a boat equipped with a bow-mounted electric motor.

The goal is to match the boat’s drifting speed exactly to the current speed. In doing so, the jig will drift along at the same speed as the current, and positioning the jig directly below the boat and just off bottom is easy.

The problem is that wind can cause the boat to drift faster or slower than the current. Boat control is maintained by pointing the bow of the boat into the wind and using the electric motor to modify the boat drifting speed. This is accomplished by watching the fishing line. When the line starts to angle one direction or another, the boat is moved in the opposite direction. This helps position the boat above the jig and keep the line vertical in the water.

Vertical jigging is easiest to master when using rather heavy jigs in the three-eighths- to five-eighths-ounce range. Also, vertical jigging is a presentation that requires constant attention to boat control. On the positive side, vertical jigging presents the jig right in the key strike zone 100 percent of the time, making this fishing method deadly in many river fishing environments.