walleye in the timber and brush

In many rivers and reservoirs, timber and brush provide the only shallow- water cover. Weeds are scarce or non-existent, so walleyes rely on timber and brush to provide a supply of food and a shady resting spot.

You can find some walleyes around almost any kind of submerged timber, including flooded trees, stumps, logs on the bottom, and trees toppled into the water from an eroded bank. But your chances of finding good numbers of walleyes will be better if you know what type of timber to look for.

The best timber is near deep water. A timbered flat along the edge of a creek channel, for instance, will hold more walleyes than a timbered flat with no deep water nearby. A tree toppled into deep water off a steep riverbank will attract more walleyes than a tree toppled onto a shallow sandbar.

Timber may hold walleyes anytime from the prespawn period until late fall. But brush holds walleyes mainly in spring, when high water floods willows and bushes along the bank.

Walleyes move into the brush when the water level begins to rise. As long as the water continues to rise or stabalizes, they remain in the brush. But when the water begins to drop even the slightest bit, they move to deeper water. This movement may be an instinctive reaction, to avoid being trapped in an isolated pool.

Anglers who specialize in fishing timber and brush prefer cone-sinker rigs with weedless hooks, brushguard jigs, or jigs with fine-wire hooks. Other good lures and rigs include spinnerbaits, jigging spoons, slip-bobber rigs, and crankbaits and minnow plugs with clipped trebles.

If you are afraid to drop your bair or lure into the thickest tanlge of sticks and logs, you will catch only the most aggressive walleyes, which are also the smallest ones. The bigger walleyes usually hang out where the cover is densest, so you will have to rish losing a few rigs to catch them.

TYPES OF TIMBER AND BRUSH THAT HOLD WALLEYES

*Toppled trees with small branches intact are better than old trees with only large limbs remaining. Walleyes can find baitfish and insects among the small branches.
*Standing timber near deep water can hold walleyes, if the trees are close enough together to provide ample shade. Avoid fishing a flat where the trees are widely scattered.
*Flooded brush often holds walleyes in high water. The brush itself may be too dense to fish effectively, but you can cast into pockets or work the edges.

TECHNIQUES FOR FISHING IN TIMBER AND BRUSH

*Rig a nightcrawler or minnow on a size 4 weedless hook attached to a sliding cone-sinker rig. Then crawn the bait slowly through dense timber or brush. The weedguard will prevent the hook from snagging, and the cone sinker will easily slide through obstructions.
*Retreive a brushguard jig tipped with a pork trailer through toppled trees or standing timber. The jig will seldom hang up, and the trailer will stay on the hook indefinitely. A brushguard prevents snagging in the dense cover but may cause you to miss a few strikes.
*Cast a 1/16 -to 1/8- ounce jig with a fine-wire hook into a pocket in flooded brush. Tip the jig with a minnow and retreive slowly, raising your rod tip to avoid snags. A fine wire hook will improve your hooking percentage, and if it does snag, it will usually bend enough to pull free.