Andrew Martinsen's Walleye Fishing Update The Hook How to Hook Walleye for Buckets Full of Fish Walleye have two basic eating patterns. They sometimes slash like a pike will, but mainly they inhale. It is this inhalation form of eating that can make it a challenge to hook and hold. If something gets in the way of the inhalation, they simply stop. But of course the challenge is half the fun! To improve chances of snagging a walleye, one key lies in making it easier for bait to be inhaled. There's not much that can increase the chances of getting a hook in on a slash attack from the fish, but when sucking-it-in mode is in action,.... Take care in choosing the line. Walleye tend to be rather small in weight, so a 6-pound-test line will generally do the trick. The use of lighter line also makes it easier for the line to get "sucked" in when the walleye makes an attempt to inhale bait. Bob the bait. Bobbing or bouncing can help produce a bit of slack in the line, which can remove some of the resistance involved as the fish tries to inhale the bait. Keep slack in the line. Keeping slack allows the bait to be inhaled. If slack is lost, so too will be the bite in most cases. Use shorter strokes. When jigs are used, many anglers tend to stroke a little too heartily with their rods. A cleaner, short stroke can actually help land the fish. Hooking a walleye in the summer months when most seasons are open is often best done using jigs, crankbaits or live minnows. The evening hours are recommended, but early mornings work well, too. In the late evenings and early mornings, the shallows are the best places to go. As the sun heats things up, the walleye tends to move out to deeper waters. Try these hooking tips for buckets full of walleye next time you're out on the water.