Fishing on Leech Lake these days means you have to be versatile. The water is clearer than ever, and walleye seem to be feeding primarily on crayfish longer during the summer. These combined factors have led to finicky and nomadic schools with varied temperaments.
To figure out the best way to approach this fishery during the dog days, we sat down with long-time Leech Lake Guide Toby Kvalevog to discuss his 3 go-to presentations for summer walleye on Leech Lake.
1. Bobbers
On a good day, when there’s cloud cover, a little wind, and the fish biting, nothing is better than a simple slip bobber. Small profiles like bare hooks or light tungsten jigs are great hooks to fish with bobbers. Not only that, but downsizing your bait is critical, too. A plain orange octopus hook is best in calm conditions, while Kvalevog goes with a tungsten jig in windy conditions. If there’s a cloud cover, reach for black.
2. Jigging Raps
To get fish fired up, sometimes you need to go with reaction baits that closely mimic the movement of scurrying crayfish. For this, Kvalevog goes with a jigging rap using a quick snap of the rod to pop the bait off the bottom as he brings it back to the boat. A jigging rap also mimics perch which are the other preferred forage come mid-summer. You can use orange jigging raps to match molting crayfish or perch patterns that look just like the real thing.
3. Paddle Tail Plastics
Kvalevog will also utilize paddle tail plastics worked quickly with an occasional pop. Again, lean on natural colors for your plastics. The paddle tails can be fished over the top of fish to them something they can follow if they shy away from more aggressive jigging raps.
If you’re headed to Leech for a summer outing, have a few rods rigged with each of these presentation to stay versatile and capitalize on your time when you find fish. These three techniques are trusted summertime fish catchers for Kvalevog, and he relies on them heavily for his clients in the boat.
