walleye fishing

[jspitzer]

Hey guys got any pointers on walleye fishing?I've fished for catfish, crappies,bluegills, and bass but have never caught a walleye. I've heard they are mighty tastey.

 

[BassCat73]

Re: walleye fishing

Deep weedlines/drop-offs are good spots. I don't fish for Walleye a lot, but when I do. I anchor and throw out a slip bobber rig with a leech as my bait. I keep the bait about 18" off the bottom, depending on how the fish are suspending and let it sit until something takes the bobber down. Here's an article: http://www.walleyecentral.com/articles/?a=1091 <br />I also throw out a small round jig tipped with a leech or a minnow. I twitch it along the bottom. <br />Also, the Walleye bite is usually better in the early mornings or late evenings.

 

[JB]

Re: walleye fishing

Freshwater Fishing topic.

 

[PAkev]

Re: walleye fishing

Walleyes are indeed very tasty but are one of the most difficult species to specifically target. Since they also seem to be more elusive than other commonly caught species, their greater size is often a collateral benefit for both catching and eating. <br /><br />The walleye bite is usually best in the spring during the post spawn but can be caught throughout the summer during transitional light conditions as BassCat indicated.<br /><br />In the evening and morning, they will often visit the shallows where they often find baitfish more accessable before and after the prevailing light conditions provoke them into retreating back to deeper water. Most folks have good success right after dark as they tend to feed more aggressively.<br /><br />BassCat offered some good advice with the slip bobber rig. Another good method is trolling planer boards off the side of your boat along shore break points. It seems their preference of lures change each season on our lakes around here. Last year they seemed to prefer live minnow bait rigs. This year they seem to like the firetiger and hot pink husky jerks.

 

[TELMANMN]

Re: walleye fishing

Clinton is on the Mississippi river so if trying from there go to a local bait shop and ask what they would suggest. <br /> Have caught many eyes, mostly from lakes, and I think only crappies taste better.

 

[tomatolord]

Re: walleye fishing

we fish for them in the early evening - where there are humps of land - usually we try to troll right through the evening rise of bait fish.<br /><br />We troll with large rapala type lures - running shallow<br /><br />Other than that most walleye guys, from what I understand, go deep, trolling backwards with jigs off of the bottom during the day.<br /><br />They are a schooling fish so once you hit a pocket of them you can do allright.<br /><br />They are the best tasting fish - white firm flesh and I guess since they are large fish you get a good amount of meat as well.<br /><br />We just grill them over a camp fire at the cabin.<br /><br />tomatolord

 

[Sylvanowner]

Re: walleye fishing

When river fishing, jigging with a minnow or crawler is your best bet. Drifting with a bottom bouncer/spinner combo works good. Lindy rigs with a minnow or crawler can work also. When fishing big bodies of water, pulling crankbaits along ridgelines at around 2 MPH seems to work best. Different times of the year call for different depths. In the spring when the water is cold, the 'eyes will come shallow and as the summer progresses, they go deeper as do most fish.<br /><br />As far as Walleye being the best tasting fish, I'd almost have to disagree. The main thing about Walleye is that you can make it taste any way you want. If your eating it without any seasoning, you're not going to taste much. Shorelunch over an open fire is good because Walleye will take whatever seasoning you want. If your eating the bigger Walleye's (24" or bigger), make sure you take out the lateral line unless you like fishy tasting fish. I think a properly prepared salmon filet has a much better taste than Walleye and I've been catching Walleye's pretty much my whole life.

 

[Skiuseme]

Re: walleye fishing

Hit the wing dams on the river. That is my best advise

 

[JAG59]

Re: walleye fishing

My favorite method is wind drifting. Just line the boat up so that the wind pushes you over the area you want to fish. My favorite rig is a 1/8 oz. jig (orange) with a chartreuse twister tail and a night crawler on the hook. Sometimes I'll put a stinger hook on the rig for short hits. Just drag the rig along the bottom, jigging occsionally. Your rod tip will signal every little lump the jig hits on the bottom. It won't take too long before you can tell the difference between the bottom and a strike. Don't set the hook like you do with bass. This is the hardest thing to learn with 'eyes. Just arch the rod up lightly. If you feel a fish pump back, then set the hook with an easy yet firm lift of the rod.