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smallmouth & walleye ??
#1
i have been reading some of the post's about smallmouth & walleye's here on this site for some time.. and i think you all have a strange way of thinking that these fish are warm water fish.. where do you think these fish come from?? (and i dont mean the DWR hatchery ether) they come from the north east and canada and the last time i was at ether place it was as cold there (if not alot colder) as here.. and as fare as not catching them tell it get's warmer that is bull!!! we caught them year around in mass,NY, minn,ohio,ND,SD, and most any where thay are.. then i get here in utah and here that it is to cold for them??.. what do you all think happens to these fish when it get's cold?? they pack the bag's and head south where it is warmer? if your not catching smallmouth or walleye in the cold water your not fishing for them right!!! not only that but here in utah they (DWR) seam to think that they have to put these fish in the stinkest dirtiest skummy lakes around..Why?? these fish love clean clear water and they like it cold.. not warm or hot but cold!!!! just want to know what you all think..

from the fuzzyfisher------------------fish on dudes
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#2
Considering that Walleye are, or at least used to be, primarilly a northern river fish. I will freely admit that I must not be fishing for them correctly in the cold. I know that plenty of them are caught through the ice all over the states and in Canada. Smallies, I don't know as much about. I do know that they live and grow quite well in the colder regions. Anyone that thinks they are warm water only, shoud check the population (and size) of Smallies in the Clark Fork River in Northwestern Montana. The only reason I can think that anyone around here would consider them a warm water species, is that they are so used to fishing for Rainbow and Cutthroat trout, that are too weak to survive warm water. Anything that survives after the trout die, must be warm water. Just my .02
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#3
It's only wihin the last twenty years that most Utah natives knew there were fish besides trout. Quit trying to confuse the issue further by splitting warm and cool water fisheries. LMAO I'm just kidding, please don't flame me. It was a joke.

Good Fishing, Kayote
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#4
I think that we might have better luck for Walleyes during the winter if we could use live minnows. I know, I know.No live bait. [Wink]
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#5
I think the reason they are classified as warm water species is due to thier ability to survive in much warmer water. Trout really have a tough time in warmer waters when smallies and walleye prefer cooler water but can survive much better than other species in the warmer waters. But yes you are right, bolth smallmouth bass and walleye do thrive in colder waters. Consider the fishing season on Gods lake in Manitoba. not very long due to it being so far north, but tons and tons of huge walleye.
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#6
It's not that we consider them warm water it's that fact that they are more active in warmer water not hot water. All fish have their own optimal water temperature. Even warm water fish don't like the really warm water. If they bite like they do during the summer than everybody would be out during the snow storms and spent time ice fishing for smalls or walleye instead of trout or what ever fits your fancy. I know they come from rivers but your in Utah and fish here are different even though they are the same.

I usually like fishing with the kids when I go for smalls.
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#7
[green][size 2]The problems lie in our waters. There too deep! A large portion of the lakes we see on tv are shallower then our local haunts. Plus, live bait(minnows) would be fun.[/size][/green]
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#8
ok i have seen some good feedback on this but i think it's still off the mark... first walleye's feed year around and if any of you have seen them after iceout then you would know that they must feed realy good so they must be eating under the ice.. now i seen one post that say's (the fish in utah are different even though they are the same) huh??? has the DWR done something to the DNA of the fish that we dont know about?? then it is the same fish......... and now i see a post that the lakes around here are to deep?? will last time i seen a deepth map of the great lakes they are alot deeper than the lakes around here and smallmouths and walleye's thrive in them.. as fare as live minnows go that is one of the best things for these fish under the ice.. but they can be had by other mens as well..

from the fuzzyfisher---------------------fish on dudes
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#9
I was introduced to walleys on the foggy jordan river starting in january, we caught walleyes on jigs and channel cats on worm below a bobber. We also caught walleyes the day the ice got blown off utah lake a few years ago. Never have caught them through the ice but open water in winter. Same thing with smallmouths at ice off on rockport. It was an ultra slow motion retrieve or the same thing with a pause. So they will feed in the winter. Hey fuzzie I think I have seen you at electric lake and scofield. Keep on having fun and catching them. Slabs on fuzzyfisher!
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#10
Ya smalls and walleye have different feeding habits in different lakes but they still are the same right. I fish didn't feed during the winter they would be dead. If you don't think walleye and bass are more active during the summer months than why don't you spend all winter braging about the numbers of fish you catch.
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#11
[cool]In days of old, walleyes were simply called "pike" by the Utah trout fishermen who discovered they could snag these tasty non-trout species in the lower Provo. The term "Warm water" fishes is just another manifestation of folks finding it easier to pick up something somebody else has said or written on some forum.

Most fisheries biologists use the term "spiny-rayed" fishes to generically distinguish between their "hatchery pet" trout and all the basses, walleyes, sunfish and such.

Warm water is a relative term. What one state considers cold water, another state would classify as warm. For example, Utah's "warm water" walleyes cannot spawn in the waters around Phoenix because the temps never get cold enough for them. They are all planted, and they survive well, but they just reabsorb their eggs after the spawning time passes.
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#12
hey hedgesd.. i did not go fishing for them in the winter because there was no place around to fish for them with out a boat.. and i just got a boat 3 weeks ago.. and have been to yuba 3 times (where 15 years ago i would slay the walleye's all year around) but it apiers that ether there as been a increase in the carp or a big decrease in the walleye.. there is 10.000 carp to every 1 walleye. and no perch that i could find.. and utah lake is to shalow for my boat.. not going to bust my prop on my boat out there.. that leves starvation,jordanelle,deer creek,the gorge,and willard bay.. did any of these lakes have safe ice this year? maybe starvation for a week or to.. but without ice or a boat there is no way to get to where the would be hanging out.. i see you live in cedar city would you drive all the to starvation to fish from the bank for a fish is nowhere near the bank? or drive 1/2 the way to say fishlake and catch fish all day? the fish are not different they just move when the water turnsover in the winter you can find walleye's in as deep as 50 to 60 feet of water where ever the thermlcline is is where the fish will be to..

from the fuzzyfisher---------------fish on dudes
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#13
Hey Fuzzyfisher,

I am just getting into walleye fishing. I caught my first walleye in 2001. I rarely target them, and my best day last year was six walleye at Deer Creek. You wrote, "[size 1]if your not catching smallmouth or walleye in the cold water your not fishing for them right!!!" and "as fare as live minnows go that is one of the best things for these fish under the ice.. but they can be had by other mens as well.." Obviously, we don't possess the knowledge and experience that you do regarding walleye and small mouth bass, so h[/size]ow about sharing the techniques that work for catching them during the colder months of the year?
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#14
I have read on this and some others site that you can't catch LMB during the winter because they hibernate or some thing like that.Like you have mentioned above they have to eat even when the ice is on.This winter I did really well with LMB threw the ice at my favorite Bass pond. You just have to do as much research as you can and then go out and try what you have learned.It also helps to talk to people that Know how.When you know where they might and what to use it makes it easer to locate and catch those SM,LM Bass and walleyes.That's my $.02
[Smile]Tincanfsh
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#15
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#16
I catch big largemouth through the ice at several Basin waters, and have for years. Each water and species is different, but all can be had 12 months of the year. Do your homework and pracice, practice, practice.

Good Fishing, Kayote
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#17
[Smile]I fish for walleye 12 months a year, and have caught them 12 months a year. I think all fish act the same in one way or the other. they all have there own patterns they fallow. Every lake, res., stream is differant in one way or another, clear, stained, deep, shallow, what have. so of corse, the fish will act differant. what works well in one place might not work at another very well. In one lake they might feed on open water forage and other places they feed on bottom forage. to catch walleye consistently you have to learn more about there forage food. I've alway considered walleye and smallies a cool water fish they can do well in pretty warm and very well in cold water. my 2 $$ later chuck
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