Walt Matan uses a jig-n-plastic rig to catch limits of shallow-water walleyes in the spring.

My Uncle Buck used to say, “If da boat floats, yer fishin’ too deep!”

Uncle Buck loved to fish walleyes or “vall-eye” as he used to call them. Growing up in Whiting Indiana, there wasn’t much for walleye fishing, so he had to travel north. He headed on up to the Turtle Flambeau Flowage in Mercer, Wisconsin and farther north to the Frog Rapids in Ontario.

He’d load up his station wagon with fishing gear, food, booze, lumber, hammers and nails and, along with his sidekicks Pappy Shetzil and Peachy Paul, the adventures began. These three Croatians worked and fished together for more than 40 years…the glory days!

Plenty for the pan

My father Poppee and I fished with Uncle Buck after his buddies passed, and we hit the spring walleye population hard. The goal: catch, eat and bring home as many golden, delicious walleyes that two men and a boy could physically extract from the lake. The only problem was our extraction method was poor at best.

Armed with medium-action Zebco 33 combos, we had two techniques—cast and retrieve Rapalas, and cast giant bobbers with gold hooks and minnows. These were both great techniques when we found suicidal walleyes, but not so good most of the time!

Times have changed, but two things haven’t. Walleyes head shallow in the spring, and it’s my job to catch, eat and take home as many walleyes as humanly possible. It’s really okay to harvest a few fish, as long as you follow the regulations.

Times they are a-changing

Nowadays, I use jig-n-plastic for shallow-water walleyes. Although I cast up to water that is only inches deep, I make sure the boat is floating. Flipping shallow cover for walleyes is some of the most fun you can have on a body of water.

You may have to fish up to a dam on a river to find them. You may have to go at night to find the active ones on a lake. But, if you get after it and put in some time and figure it out, you will learn some patterns that will get you plenty of tasty fillets for the rest of your days.

Today, there are only two styles of jigs that I use. Made by B-Fish-N Tackle, the H20 jig is an elongated ball head that has a wire keeper to hold plastic and bait tight to the head. It has the weight of the jig stamped on the head for easy selection. The Draggin’ Jig has a wedge-shaped head, wire keeper and fiber weedguard that keeps it from snagging rocks, brush or weeds. When it comes to weight selection on these jigs, lighter is best.

I’ll flip cast an AuthentX Plastic Ribb-Finn, Moxi or Pulse-R up shallow and let them tumble downstream. These baits are all beefed up ringworms that are available in a bunch of colors that drive walleyes crazy! They each have a different action, however. The Ribb-Finn has a thin forked tail for finesse fishing, the Moxi has an elongated twister tail for aggressive fish, and the Pulse-R is “just right,” with a paddle tail for every walleye and sauger that swims.

Right now, weather permitting, river walleye fishing is hot, so head to the Mississippi, Wisconsin, St. Croix, Illinois, Wolf, Rock or a river near you and flip some jig-n-plastics. You may go home with a fine meal of fresh “vall-eye” fillets, and maybe one for the wall!

Learn more about walleye fishing techniques in the April issue of MidWest Outdoors, available now at the newsstand or by subscribing on our website.