GO BIG FOR RIVER WALLEYES
WHEN I moved from Ohio to Washington state in 1993, it took some time to get used to the fact that walleyes weren’t everywhere I turned. Fortunately, as I came to discover, the West is hardly devoid of walleyes. In fact, in 1996, I caught my largest walleye to date from the Columbia River, a 14 1/2-pounder stretching an honest 31 1/2 inches.
Walleyes are fun to catch, and for anglers who love to cook what they catch, few freshwater fish can beat the quality of walleyes as table fare. Success with western walleyes involves understanding the moving water they call home, as well as a handful of now-traditional techniques.
STRUCTURE AND CURRENT
Experienced river walleye hunters know that the fish aren’t just anywhere. To find them in these big river systems on any given day can require a fair amount of searching.
“I wish I could), Saunders, a Wisconsin native, caught the walleye bug years ago. By his own admission, he would often rather spend time hunting them than greenheads.
