This statistic has been documented on many fishing surveys. There have been many fishing surveys published that show fishing for walleye with live bait accounts for over 2/3thrds of all walleyes that are caught on a walleye rod and reel combo. Many of the die hard walleye anglers who claim they use artificial lures for walleyes 90% of the time, will still put live bait on their lures when the walleye fishing gets slow.

Minnows and other small fish, night crawlers, and leeches top the list of the best walleye live baits to use when fishing walleye. In some unique walleye habitat situations at different times of the year, other kinds of baits such as water dogs and frogs will work, but the majority of the time they won’t produce like the old reliables.

Many of the live baits used for walleye fishing are not available throughout the year. For example leeches cannot be caught if the temperature of the water is below 50degrees because they are not active yet and will not swim into the leech traps. It will be hard to find a bait shop in the summer that will carry shiner minnows because it is so hard to keep them alive in the summer months in the bait dealer’s tanks and in the anglers minnow bucket.

When you make your live bait selections for walleye fishing you need to be aware of the season because some live baits better at certain times of the year. Although night crawlers are a poor choice for a bait selection to fish for walleye in the spring time when the season changes to summer night crawlers are one one of the best baits to use to catch walleyes. Spring and the fall are the best time of the year to use minnows for walleyes, but they do not work very well in the summer months.

There are times of the year when the type of minnow you use is very important. For example, during the spring time shiner minnows is a good live bait choice and will produce better the some other species of minnows such as redtail chubs. When the season changes to the fall shiner minnows are a poor choice for a live bait selection while fishing with redtail chubs may catch walleye very well. The bottom line is different live baits work better on different bodies of water and in different seasons. Also, it's a good Idea to check with your local bait shop to find out what live bait will work best to catch walleye.

Ribbon leaches are considered by many fisherman to be the best live bait for walleyes.Leaches are an excellent bait because because they swim, and squirm constantly after they are placed on the hook when the temperature is above 50deg. They are not a good choice in cold water because they are not active at temperatures below 50degs.

Make sure the live bait you use choose to fish for walleye, it is active and lively. When walleyes are really biting you can get by with a half dead minnow or chewed-up night crawler, but a struggling minnow or squirming crawler will normally catch more fish.

Mark Fleagle is an Expert Author At Ezinearticles.com. and has over 30 years of fishing experience who has written 100's of useful fishing articles. Would you like to max out your catch on your next fishing trip? Blow your fishing buddies out of the water and get your bragging rights today! Also don't forget to get your free copy of "78 Fishing Discoveries Unleashed" http://www.oldfishinghole.com
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