The tackle, flies and techniques you need to land walleye on the fly

As I leaned over the side of the boat and slipped my barbless 2/0 Clouser Deep Minnow from the mouth of another Shield-lake walleye, I had a realization: I’ve caught more walleye on flies than on conventional tackle. Granted, walleye fishing isn’t particularly good in my home region, so I mostly catch them incidentally when fishing for pike, bass and even trout.

When I’m further afield fishing lakes with good populations of walleye, however, I quite deliberately target them with my fly rod. Or, I’ll co-target them if they’re mingled in with other species. In fact, whenever walleye are within roughly 10 feet of the surface, it’s totally feasible to fly fish for them. And when they are even shallower—in cool northern lakes or among the summertime weeds—it can be surprisingly productive to use flies. Here are a few tips if you also want to stick some Walters on the fly…

Many walleye situations call for fast-action 8-weight fly outfits, and sinking linesMy go-to fly rod for walleye is a fast-action 8-weight. That’s so I can throw largish flies (more on that in a moment) with minimal effort. In the places I fish, it’s also quite common for walleye to be found with either pike or largemouth, often around weeds, so I want enough backbone to handle any kind of jungle combat that might ensue.

If the water is less than four feet deep, you can use a standard weight-forward floating line and weighted flies. In water any deeper, however, the only practical way to target walleye is with a full-sinking or sink-tip line. For years, I was reluctant to invest in a sinking line, but now I can’t imagine fishing a lake without one.

Finally, I use a simple length of 12- to 20-pound mono for a leader, upsizing around heavy cover or if it’s windy, since the extra stiffness will reduce leader tangles. With floating lines, use a six-foot leader; with sinking lines, keep it to 30 inches. If pike are in the neighbourhood, add a 12-inch wire bite tippet, or there will soon be a lot of hammer-handles sporting feathered lip jewellery.