Try front strolling to land walleye

The successful fisherman is a student of his favorite waters. Les Jarman of Stockton is a successful fisherman and guide on his favorite lake. And once again, he proved it last week while fishing for walleye.
Although the high waters of the lake this year have changed fishing patterns, fishing has remained good for walleye, crappie, white bass and catfish.
Along with Brent Frazee, outdoor editor for the Kansas City Star, we tried a different approach for catching walleye by trolling for these fish that are prized as gourmet material and are one of the most valued fish that swim in the lake.
“Trolling at around 2 miles per hour with a Berkley Frenzy or a Bandit lure have been the best way to hook a walleye for the past three weeks,” Jarman said. “By trolling across secondary points with these lures I have produced limits of walleye for many of my clients.”
After working the area for 30 minutes, where Jarman had been catching fish, Jarman’s rod dipped and he responded by reeling in the first walleye of the day, a 17-inch beauty that will look even better on the table.
“This one’s for Donna,” he said.
Donna, my wife, had been bugging Jarman all spring for one of her favorite fish, the walleye.
A few minutes later he hooked a twin to the first fish and we were on our way. Both Brent and I added to the success by catching walleye and even a crappie and smallmouth bass.
After Jarman caught a white bass he said, “We have been catching lots of whites and big crappie while fishing for the walleye. You never know what might hit those lures while trolling.”
Although trolling isn’t our favorite way to fish, you can’t argue with success and as long as it works, we will keep on trolling.
Front trolling, which is what we were doing, is the most widely used method of trolling, although back trolling is preferable in certain conditions. At the speed we were doing and using crankbaits, it would be impossible to keep the right speed except by front trolling.
The walleye isn’t known for its fishing qualities. Once they are hooked, they carry on a dogged and twisting fight, less spectacular than many other fish species.
Walleye are members of the perch family, although they are often grouped with northern pike because of their toothy mouths – as many first time walleye anglers find out if they try to land them as they would a bass.
Although often thought of as a northern fish, today many southern big impoundments have some good populations of walleye, and fishing for them has made many anglers happy.
My first Missouri walleye came from Lake Paho near Princeton long before Stockton was a lake. My second walleye came from an oxbow lake in Carroll County. That one was a big surprise since I was fishing for crappie.
The Lake of the Ozarks and Bull Shoals are also good Missouri lakes to catch walleye, along with many Kansas waters.
Fishing for walleye can be a challenge. They use a wide variety of depths in lakes. To have success, you have to use a near perfect lure or live bait presentation. You might get a limit one day while fishing in 30 feet of water and then move into the shallows the next day and catch them there.
It takes determination and knowing the walleye’s habits, and its preference to baits and the different lures that work.
“The walleye are furnishing some good fishing this year for Stockton, and since the high water has hurt the bass fishing, the walleye have made up for it,” Jarman said.
After several hours of trolling, we ended the day with three limits of walleye. We also caught crappie, white bass and smallmouth bass. It was a great day of fishing and catching on a nice day in June.