Trout rods are excellent fishing equipment. They fetch a good amount of trout on most fishing days, but can they still be useful if you switch to fishing for walleye?
You can use a trout rod to catch walleye. On average, trout are half the size of an average walleye. However, trout are true fighters, and walleye tend to retreat to the bottom when hooked. Once you hook a walleye on a trout rod, take your time, so you don’t break your line, reel, or trout rod.
Keep reading to discover more on how to use a trout rod to fish for walleye and other alternative equipment to catch walleye.
How To Use a Trout Rod To Catch Walleye
The aquatic habitat of trout is home to many other species of fish, walleye included. Most of these neighboring fishes are roughly the same size as the trout. They could also have similar feeding habits. Occasionally, trout fishers pull out some of these untargeted fish from the water.
Before using your trout rod to fish for walleye, here are a few measures you should take to improve your results:
- Change the fishing bait.
- Change your fishing location.
- Change your fishing techniques.
Change the Fishing Bait
To reel in a good catch of walleye with a trout rod, you will need to change the species of fishing bait you use as a lure. The common live baits used for catching trout are usually worms, earthworms, and maggots, but walleye is a different species and so are attracted by different kinds of fishing bait.
The walleye diet consists mainly of small fish like minnows, shad, and smelt. Minnows and minnow-like lures are the best kind of lures to attract them. The most effective fishing baits you can use to seek out walleye in the water are:
- Minnows
- Leeches
- Nightcrawlers
- Shiners
Change Fishing Location
Knowing the best areas to catch walleye in the waters you’re fishing is essential. Without this, you may find yourself fruitlessly casting your line into the water.
Unlike many fish species, walleye are mostly found tightly attached to the rocks and near aquatic vegetation. If food isn’t present in a part of the water, you can be sure your target walleyes aren’t there either.
When you’re seeking walleye out in the water, you should start at the warmer parts of the river or lake. This is because they are cold-blooded and hence, respond well to temperature.
Northern parts of water bodies are usually warmed up faster than the rest, so you can direct your fishing there unless there is a spring or other cold water source.
Change Your Fishing Techniques
Most trout fishers prefer to go out fishing around dawn. They keep at it until about two hours after sunrise. At this time, trout are most active and can be easily caught. Since you’re fishing for walleye, a different kind of fish, you may need to change this technique.
Spring is the best season of the year to fish for walleye. The fish spend their entire day searching for food to eat and mates to reproduce with. They’re very active and easier to capture at this time of the year.
You may also need to change your fishing hours every day. The most favorable time to fish for walleye is in the late evening. They’re rarely seen during the day because they seek out shade from the high intensity of the sun.
If you plan to target walleye during the day, look for deep holes near submerged rock plies or other bait fish ambush structures.
Also, don’t forget if walleye are not biting, you might be able to target other species of fish, like crappie.
Other Methods of Catching Walleye
While you can use a trout rod for walleye fishing, there are rods primarily used to fish for walleye. These rods also have unique features that aid the fishing process. You get a better grip on your rods, easier pull-up action, and a better bend in the rod.
Overall, a rod suited for walleye fishing will increase your chances of a good catch every time you go out to the water.
The best kind of rod used in fishing for walleye is the spinning rod. Here are some of the advantages of using a spinning rod when fishing for walleye:
- The spinning rod has excellent strength and backbone power. This strength allows anglers to draw up the larger weight of walleye on it. The fishing rod has enough strength to support trolling.
- The rod features good sensitivity. This sensitivity alerts you when there is pressure on the hook from a fish bite. The angler can quickly set the hook when they feel the slightest change in pressure on the rod.
- This fishing rod goes a long distance in the water. The spinning rod is The best for long casts because the line easily flows off the spinning reel spool.
How To Fish With Spinning Rods
To get better fishing results, follow these steps when using spinning rods:
- Work your line: Put your chosen bait on the hook and proceed to cast the line. You can also use the bait together with a fishing lure to increase your chances. You should ensure that the hook reaches the bottom of the lake or river. Retrieve your hook and leader as soon as it reaches the bottom.
- Hook the walleye: When you feel a tug on your fishing line, a walleye could be biting on the bait. Ensure you secure your potential catch by setting the hook firmly in its mouth. Typically quickly moving the pole’s tip about 12 inches will set a sharp hook into the walleye’s mouth. Then, slowly reel your line, maintaining constant pressure to retrieve your fish from the water.
- Troll for walleye: You may also adopt the trolling method of seeking out fish. Put your boat if forward motion, typically 0.9 mph. Then deploy your bottom walker weight and walleye worm harness to the bottom. Continue to move your boat forward while adjusting your depth occasionally to tap the bottom, where walleye live. This method of fishing is better adopted in the fall or winter.
- Exercise patience: Sometimes, fishing can be a slow process, and you will need to for a long time. You must learn to be patient and trust the process. However, you can also leave the area you’re fishing to check out other spots in the water body. For walleye, If you are not getting bites after thirty minutes, you should move to the next spot.
Conclusion
You can use your trout rod to fish for walleye in the water, and that’s great news! However, walleye-targeted rods, like the spinning rod, can offer a more efficient approach to fishing for walleye.
Also, walleye rods can be great at fishing for trout by simply adding a bummer or leader of 6-pound monofilament. Hopefully, this article has given you some insight on how to use trout rods and walleye rods efficiently.
