Walleye fishing is popular in part to the many different ways you can catch walleye.

Maybe one of the most popular is 3 - way rigs. A 3 - way rig is similar to a slip sinker rig. 3 - way rigs catch walleye's in rivers, lakes and reservoirs along structure and in open water. Live bait, jigs, spoons and crank baits can all be fished off the 3rd lead. Both the drop leader length and the length of the bait leader effect how close to the bottom the bait will run. The shorter the drop leader the closer to the bottom the bait will be. Likewise if the bait leader is short the bait will run closer to the bottom.

Of course crank baits also catch walleyes. In deeper water when trolling for walleyes you want to use deep diving crank baits run at a depth of 15 to 30 feet off rocky points, weed beds and river inlets and channels. If you have a depth finder watch for and fish over and around bottom structure like trees, rock piles and old roads. Use an S-shape and troll over structure in both directions. In shallow water casting crank baits is often more productive than trolling past the openings of coves and inlets. Big walleye often follow bait fish into shallow water at night. Fish minnow and shad imatations and rattle baits.

Drifting live bait under a lighted float is an easy yet highly productive way to catch walleyes. At night walleyes will be in shallower water in areas with cover like docks, rock piles and along the edges of weed beds. If fishing under 5ft a fixed float is best. When fishing deeper water a slip float is the way to go. You want the bait to be around 2 feet off the bottom.