What does the 2016 opener have in store for us?

This year will be another interesting opener.  The season opens this Saturday and as with most openers, the volatility of our weather this spring will make things intriguing.  Here's my guess:  the walleye on most inland lakes have already spawned and should be post spawn and ready to feed.  I would look to areas close to or adjacent to spawning areas to find walleyes.  I'm going to be hunting both the inside and outside weed edges close to shore.  The weather this week isn't helping us a whole lot - we'll have at least two fronts pushing through this week - the more consistent the weather the better.

We're going to do the same thing we've done in years past. Move until we find fish. It will be interesting to use the Garmin's on Houghton this year.  I am curious to see how all the extra technology will pay off on that lake.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what new things I can learn about the structure and cover on Houghton.

We'll be throwing Charlie Brewer 3" slider grubs on Old Fart Lures walleye jigs.  We play around with jighead sizes as that can have a significant impact on catching fish.  We'll mess around with 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 oz. jig sizes.  I like to try a color called citrus shad (perch imitation) and a subtler color like a green pumpkin, just to see if the fish might be preferring one over the other.  This year I've converted all my walleye stuff to Okuma and I'm super excited about their products.  The Helios spinning rods and reels are incredible combos and are a joy to fish a jig on.

We're going to throw some more hard baits - jerkbaits, rippin raps, and blades.  

We'll also be experimenting with the new Panoptix transducer and the features on Motorguide's Xi5 trolling motor (super impressed with how precise their spot lock feature is).

Can't wait to get out there!  We'll definitely be posting so stay tuned!