iFish Lake St. Clair

The walleye have been on in the Detroit River.  Most reports are coming from the Canadian side of the river.  Have received several reports form the Belle Isle and Cow Pasture areas.  Most reports are for lighter colored jigs: white, yellow, and fluorescent colors. Fish are coming on jigs tipped with Fin-s, Berkley gulp minnows, and Wyandotte worms.  Most coming from the minnow baits however.  Most fish found around the 30′ mark.  Cold front coming in for the weekend may slow things down a bit.  Male and females being caught with many of the females spawned out. Good luck and be safe.

Most reports coming from the upper Detroit River on the Canadian side.  Some fish coming from the niddle of the river as well.  Getting reports from 24′ to 34′ of water.  Look for off color water as it seems most fish are coming from that as opposed to clear water. Go for bright colored jig heads tipped with plastics.  Either brown worms or Fin-S and Gulp minnows seem to be working.  Fishing should hold out until the cold front hit’s later in the week.  Reports of limits being caught

Jigging for walleye in the Detroit River at Springtime can be a challenge for first-timers.  This article should give you a better chance and with practice you’ll have it down and be putting limits of tasty Detroit River walleye in your boat.

Detroit River walleye jigging boat control

One of the most important aspects to jigging for walleye in the fast Detroit River current is boat control. Boat control will be much easier if you have a boat with low profiles and low wind resistance and are equipped with an electric trolling motor.

In the Detroit River you have 2 factors that want to control your boat; the current and the wind.  I always keep the bow of my boat into the wind regardless of the current.  This will make a big difference when it comes to vertical jigging.  The wind always wins.

This boat set-up will allow you to resist the wind and current at exactly the level required so that when you are walleye jigging, your fishing line remains vertical and you can easily maintain contact with the bottom.

Vertical Jigging Technique

If you lose contact with bottom, chances are good that your line is drifting away from you. Reel in and start fresh. You most constantly monitor the angle of the line to remain vertical.  One tip is to watch the angle of the line. If the lines starts to angle to the right, point the trolling motor to the right until the line is again straight up and down.

Detroit River Walleye Fishing Tackle

Most fishermen will use either 3/4 or 1 ounce jigs. It is most important to maintain bottom contact and know for sure where his jig is. My best advice is to fish the lightest weight jig you can and still feel the bottom and be able to keep the line vertical.

What bait should you use?  Some guys carry live minnows all the time. They catch fish. I prefer artificial baits like the Fin-S or Berkley Gulp Minnows. Sometimes an artifical tipped with a live minnow is the ticket.  Everyday is different, so switch it up. One website to buy walleye jigging equipment is Detroit Custom Tackle.  Learn more about stinger hooks from this In-Fisherman article.

Detroit River walleye jighead with stinger hook

Some fishermen use stinger hooks and some don’t. I do know that stinger hooks will catch those short striking walleye. There are different variations of stinger set-ups for walleye jigs. You can buy jigheads with the stingers already attached or tie them on to the jig eye yourself.  Either way works.

What Kind of Line and equipment for Detroit River walleye jigging?
I prefer a braided line for Detroit River walleye jigging.  Todays braids are very thin, don’t stretch and provide maximum feel. Leave the mono at home.  Some prefer flourocarbon.  I don’t see any issues with it except for the chance of getting bit off.
I prefer a medium heavy rod with a baitcasting reel.  The reel should have a fairly fast retrieve so that you can get the fish in the boat quickly.

So, How Do I Jig?
Jigging methods vary from sharp snaps of the rod tip to slow up and down movement. My best advice would be to try a variety of techniques and let the fish tell you what they like.

Detroit River Chart

Here is a link to a NOAA nautical chart showing the Detroit River.  Use this when you hear a fishing report that references a certain arear that the walleye are being caught.  Detroit River Walleye Fishing Chart