How to Fish a Spinner Harness Over Weeds for Big Walleyes

Learn these trolling techniques with lightweight spinner rigs and live bait to catch more walleyes living in the weeds.

Learn how to fish a spinner crawler harness over weed beds for walleyes—creating the best rig, bullet sinker tips, and shallow water trolling techniques. | Joe Shead

Spinner harnesses are some of the most popular lures for walleyes. When trolled slowly they are good search lures and the use of live bait tempts even the wariest of walleyes. Spinner harnesses are often fished over classic walleye structure like gravel bars or mud flats where you can cover a lot of water without encountering many snags. But what about weed walleyes? Don't fret. You can still use this presentation, even when walleyes are in the weeds.

A 1/8- or 1/4- ounce bullet sinker keeps your spinner rig running over the weed tops when fishing in shallow water. | Joe Shead

Use Light Bullet Sinkers to Stay Above the Weeds

The trick to fishing spinner harnesses in the weeds is to keep your presentation light enough so it rides up over the weeds. This simply might not work if you're fishing really tall weeds. But if you've got weeds growing only 3 feet off bottom, this technique works. It's also a dynamite pattern if you're fishing really shallow areas of about 6 to 8 feet.

Part of the key is using the right sinker. A 1/8- or 1/4-ounce bullet sinker like you would use when fishing a plastic worm for bass is the secret. Try the smaller size for 6 to 8 feet of water and the larger size if you'll be fishing in 10 or 12 feet.

You want to keep your presentation above the weeds, but if you do get into weeds, the pointed bullet sinker will slip through them with minimal hangups. If you use a single-hook rig with a minnow, you can mostly bury the hook in the minnow to further reduce snags, although you can certainly use a multi-hook rig with nightcrawlers as well.

Keep your line just 25 feet behind the boat to pull walleyes out of the weeds or in the shallows. | Joe Shead

Keep Your Trolling Distance Short

The second tip for this rig is to keep it very close to the back of the boat. Cast out only 25 to 30 feet. That's it. Then immediately close the bail instead of letting out more line and letting the harness sink to the bottom. This will keep your lure from going too deep.

Troll spinner harnesses over weed tops to catch more walleyes. | Joe Shead

Maintain the Best Speed to Spin Your Blades

You want to keep the boat moving to keep the harness from getting down into the weeds or from hitting bottom. Troll along at about 1 mph. You want to keep going fast enough to keep the spinner blades spinning. An occasional quick sweep of the rod tip will get the blades going if you're temporarily going too slow.

What to Do If You Keep Snagging Weeds

If you start snagging weeds or the bottom, make adjustments. Trolling faster will make the lure ride higher. Or try shortening the distance your lure trails behind the boat. Those are the two easiest fixes. The other option is to reduce the size of the sinker. If the weeds are really tall, you might have to fish a different area.

Keep your rod to the side of the boat to target fish that haven't been spooked when fishing shallow water with spinner harnesses. | Joe Shead

Avoid Spooking Fish in Shallow or Ultra-Clear Water

Obviously, in shallow water, when trolling just a short distance behind the boat, there's real potential for spooking fish. This technique works best in dark-water lakes where visibility is reduced or on cloudy days. At the very least, stick your rod out to the side of the boat to keep your lure in front of fish that the boat hasn't passed over. It might surprise you how tolerant of boats walleyes can be. You can actually use this technique in surprisingly clear water.

Let the Walleyes Come to You

Keep the harness over the weed tops, either by increasing speed or decreasing cast length. You want the fish to come up out of the weeds to you; don't go down to them or you'll constantly get snagged. You'd be surprised how aggressive walleyes can be when they have to dart out and make a quick decision when a flashy spinner cruises overhead.

Spinner Harness Trolling Is Simple, Efficient and Effective

Spinner harness trolling is one of the simplest and most effective ways to catch walleyes. With the right tackle and proper speed control, you can cover water efficiently and trigger aggressive strikes from weed walleyes.