"I like lead-core trolling," he explained. "With lead-core line you can troll a crankbait real slow and keep the lure in the strike zone within 4 inches of the bottom and cover a lot of area. I cast crankbaits on the shallow rocks and wing dams. On this structure I cast the lure and bang the rocks on the retrieve. That's a late-spring tactic for me. In the early spring I troll the crankbaits on lead-core line in depths from 8 to 12 feet. I troll a shad-style bait usually, but sometimes a longer stickbait-style of crankbait is better because it has more wobble. You can troll flats, cover some ground and pinpoint the fish. Once I'm on walleyes I can go back and either vertical jig plastics or hair jigs. I can also pull a three-way swivel setup in this situation. Trolling crankbaits allows me to cover ground and search for fish. On rivers, trolling lead-core is a popular presentation because you can keep the lure in the strike zone 100 percent of the time."

One aspect that is often overlooked when the topic of finding spring walleyes in rivers is discussed is the correlation between forage and game fish. Anglers realize walleyes are transitioning from one current break to the next in their journey to the spawning sites. But how does the baitfish factor come into play?

"Some people don't think that spawning fish are forage-oriented," said Johnson. "But wherever I find forage, I catch fish. These walleyes are feeding. I'm looking for current breaks, but that's where I'm finding forage and that's where those walleyes are feeding."

According to Delain, "Fish have to feed. Walleyes tend to key on those emerald shiners or gizzard shad that are a predominant forage base in rivers. You can always count on walleyes being where those forage fish are. It's those points, current breaks and rockbars that pinpoint that forage, and walleyes will be there to prey on them. Forage is a key factor in where you find these migrating walleyes."

So now that you're convinced to head downstream in your search for spring walleyes, here are some tips from our pros.

"Stock up on hair jigs in different sizes and colors, and make sure you have plenty of plastic that mimics the forage in the system," said Delain. "Learn how to troll with lead-core line and take along plenty of crankbaits."

"Pay attention to every little detail," noted Johnson. "You never catch a walleye by accident, and the fish are always talking. You won't know what they're saying until you get one to bite, but when you get that one fish to 'go,' you need to analyze how you caught it. I'll stop right after I catch a fish and look at what the weather conditions are, what color I'm using, what kind of structure and look at any other minor detail. It's important that you discover what triggers the bite. Are you rolling the jig? Are the walleyes hitting as the jig drops off the edge from shallow to deep water? Is one color of crankbait working better than all the others? Ask yourself lots of questions and put that information to use to fine-tune your presentation, and you will get into some fast action on some big walleyes.