"A mistake I see a lot of anglers making today is they don't match their fishing rod to the style of fishing they are doing," Gary said. "A lot of them miss walleyes because they had a fishing rod that was too stiff, too soft, too short or too long.

"Basically, the deeper you are fishing, the longer a fishing rod you want for a good hookset. A longer rod is more flexible and provides better leverage. Walleyes are finicky in June, so I use a 7-footer for bobber-fishing and deep rigging. If you are long-line trolling, running boards or lead-core fishing, you want a longer rod in the 8-foot range.

"Another mistake I see comes with live-bait rigging," Gary continued. "You want a rod flexible enough so when a walleye grabs your lure and starts pulling, you can keep pressure on while retaining flexibility. The secret is to let the rod go back as the walleye picks it up, but don't set the hook right away. They will usually move the bait in their mouth just right, and then grab it again. That's when you set the hook."

PERRY GOOD
Perry has a PWT Championship to his name, among other major wins. The Brainerd resident is the world's 33rd-ranked walleye angler, and is the only fisherman to qualify for every PWT and RCL championship.

"A lot of Minnesotans don't look in the weeds for walleyes, which I find amazing because in the tournaments over the years, that can be the only place we find them," Perry said. "My rule of thumb is if the lake has stocked walleyes, fish the weeds. Stocked walleyes are raised in weed-filled rearing ponds and they think it's home.

"One of my favorite lakes is Gull Lake near Brainerd. There's natural reproduction, but it's also stocked, meaning there are walleyes in the weeds. When I first moved up here, I was fishing the Camp Confidence Classic with Tony Dean and we fished the weeds with 4-inch plastic worms. My first cast yielded a 7-pound walleye!

"These weed walleyes are not afraid to go shallow in stained-water lakes and even in the river," Perry continued. "I won a tournament in Red Wing in 2 feet of water in the weeds catching 7-pounders. It worked on Mille Lacs in 2001 when I won the Wave Wackers by sight-fishing walleyes in the cabbage beds.

"Plastic worms, weedless jigs or regular mushroom jigs ripped through the weeds with Fireline are the best tactics for catching these weed walleyes no matter what body of water you are fishing on."

STEVE DEZURIK
Steve spends more than 200 days a year in pursuit of walleyes, both as a guide and tournament angler. He frequently posts articles on www.in-depthangling.com, and the Champlain resident really loves fishing the Minnesota portion of the Mississippi River from the headwaters on down.

"Whether you are trolling or casting crankbaits, wing dams are the best location this time of the year," Steve said. "I like to cast a Bomber 5A or Grappler Shad up on the wing dam and reel down the top of the wing dam. Everybody says they fish wing dams, but I hardly see anybody there in the summertime. Lakes are not the only place to catch walleyes in the summertime.