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Have you been looking for a while to put a few more of those big walleyes that you see coming through on the ice? If your answer is what I think it is, I would suggest you keep reading. This article discusses ice-fishing jigging techniques and method of catching walleyes that get off your line after fighting them for a bit. I refer to this method as "catching them on the rebound". This is not a technique that is limited specifically to walleyes, but since the elusive walleye is my usual target of choice while ice fishing, they will be my focus for this article.

I am assuming that you have already located an area that holds fish and they are fairly active. I will always have a dead stick set in a rod holder set a couple of feet of the bottom when the law allows two lines. Depending on the area that I am fishing and the fish's mood, this rod will either be set with a jig or a red "bleeding baitfish" style hook. I don't do much with this rod and instead concentrate on my jigging rod that is usually set up with a Northland Buckshot with fire line.

I feel that a good jigging technique is imperative in catching those bigger eyes. I start off jigging from the top of the water profile and work my way down. Once I get to the bottom I like to pound it a bit with the spoon. This stirs things up a bit and will many times bring in cruising walleyes. I find that most of the eater-sized walleyes will be associated with the bottom. I feel this is because they can utilize the bottom surface and/or structure for camouflage and security from bigger and sometime cannibalistic fish. The larger walleyes (23"+) almost always come through suspended when the fish are actively feeding. This is easily seen on the electronics that I am using. This is also about the time when my heart start to pound (kind of a buck fever type of feeling). One thing that I have learned is that these larger fish don't get big by biting and they are many times reluctant to take my presentation. I can many times remedy this with two techniques. The first technique is to get them to follow the spoon up a ways until they are forced to make a decision. When I think that they are about to swim away after they carefully inspect my bait, I quickly drop the rig below them. It now will take them a second or two to situate their body for downward movement and will usually take a second or three. As soon as I see that they are changing to a downward direction, I quickly pull it back above them. Many times this is all that it takes. I refer to this as my "cat and mouse technique".

When this isn't working I will employ my second technique, which involves quickly reeling in my line and placing a whole shiner on my jigging spoon (I just had a head to start with.) I then quickly drop down my line (it helps to have a heavy spoon) and go after it again.

Ok, I bet your wondering how I came up with, "On the Rebound?" This is a "second chance" technique that has landed me many large walleyes after they have gotten off after fighting them for a bit. Treble hooks are good for hooking fish, but when fighting large fish they will many times get off. This is because often they are only hooked with one hook. The other hooks that are not set into the fish can actually pry the set hook out with leverage created by pushing against that big pigs mouth. When this happens that fish can many times still be seen on the flasher after it gets off. Now is not the time to give up! The fire line will give you the ability to feel if your minnow came off (especial if your fishing with a whole minnow). If it did, reel it in QUICK and get it back down there fast (heavy spoon). If you don't think that you are fast enough you can hook one minnow through the head and one tail-hooked through the spine (which will stay on good and still offer a little scent). Either way, don't give up on that walleye! I usually can get them to bite up to three times without ever losing site of them on the graph by simply utilizing the rebound followed by my cat and mouse technique again.

Next time that big fish gets off don't give up in frustration. Instead, stay diligent and get after it! This won't always work, but I guarantee that you will get a few more pictures of big walleyes if you go for them On The Rebound.