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Walleyes in deep water can often frustrate fishermen. I know that was the case for me many years ago when I first started tournament fishing. But thanks to techniques learned on the Professional Walleye Trail, the Masters Walleye Circuit and the North American Walleye Association, I feel much more comfortable fishing for walleyes in deep water.

The biggest problem associated with deep fish is that they are often in a negative or neutral feeding mood. This can make catching them tough. However, as a tournament angler, I have to catch them to cash a check, and the good news is that these fish can be caught. Here's a few tips for finessing deep water walleyes.

When walleyes are deep and "off the bite" so to speak, it's really important to fish slow, use lighter line, and try to keep the bait in their face. I like to Lindy rig with six or eight pound test Stren Magnathin using an eight to ten foot snell rigged with a number four or six Mustad beak hook in the color red. I'll use a medium action six foot Quantum spinning rod. I like using the red hook, because it seems to appeal to neutral fish.

I'll then rig the hook with a live leech, minnow or half a nightcrawler.Using my electronics to pinpoint the fish, I'll hold right on top of them with this rig until one bites. Sometimes switching from a leech to a minnow can also make a difference. Working slowly, however, is the main ingredient on inactive fish.

Another trick I like to use is to vertically jig an eighth ounce Odd'ball jig over the top of the fish, keeping the jig within inches of the bottom. This is easy to do on calm days, but when the wind is blowing, I'll usually stick with the live bait rig. I'll tip the jig with a half crawler or even smaller piece if they are really finicky. Sometimes neutral or negative walleyes can be caught on spoons by vertically jigging right in their faces. The flash of the spoon can often trigger a strike when they will totally ignore live bait. Matching the forage base is key when jigging with spoons. Where the forage is long and thin, such as minnows, perch and other fingerling baitfish, I'll use the Mann-o-Lure in half and one ounce sizes. When the forage is short and wide, such as shad, small bluegills or crappies, I'll use the Bait Rigs Deep Willow in three quarter ounce size.

During cold water periods, I'll tip the spoon with a minnow head or piece of crawler. Otherwise, I like to fish it without live bait, since anything attached to the hook can alter the natural fall and wobble of the spoon. I fish all my spoons with a number four Mustad Triple Grip treble hook.

Deep water walleyes were once a mystery to many of us, but the methods described here will work on walleyes wherever you fish. Like with any new technique practice (and patience) makes perfect. Add these techniques to your deep water walleye fishing arsenal and your catch should improve tremendously.