01-05-2003, 01:29 AM
[cool]One of the keys to success with Utah walleyes is to first find their groceries. In Yuba, Deer Creek and increasingly Starvation, if you find some perch, the walleyes will often be nearby. But, walleyes do not feed 24/7. As most walleye nuts know, early and late are best...or cloudy days...or times when there is so much snow on the ice that it cuts down the light level.
This year's regs prohibit taking perch from Yuba. GOOD. That doesn't mean that you can't fish for walleyes, but you are likely to put in a lot of time between fish. They are much tougher through the ice, without being able to use something like live minnows.
You can catch them, but there are more caught by accident than by design. They are light sensitive, noise sensitive and just plain finicky...even when they are active. If one cruises by a jigging spoon with some perch meat on it, meant for jumbo perch, it may or may not take a swipe at it. Those with underwater cameras often leave the ice frustrated, knowing the fish are down there, but not successful at getting them to bite. Unlike perch, finding walleyes is no assurance of getting any on the ice. Heck, even perch go on vacation sometimes too.
There is no hard and fast rule about depth. They will be where you find them. I have caught them in less than 10 feet of water beneath Yuba ice, and I have caught them in the deepest spot in front of the dam...forty five or fifty feet. Your first trip or two will probably be more hunting than fishing. But, don't count on the fish being in the same place every time you go.
With the water levels being out of whack, it is highly unlikely that there will be any fish where you last caught them in open water. But, it's always worth a try...especially if it is along a sloping inderwater point, or a deepwater hump. If you have GPS readings on previously successful spots, might as well start there.
Discouraged yet? Welcome to walleye fishing.
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This year's regs prohibit taking perch from Yuba. GOOD. That doesn't mean that you can't fish for walleyes, but you are likely to put in a lot of time between fish. They are much tougher through the ice, without being able to use something like live minnows.
You can catch them, but there are more caught by accident than by design. They are light sensitive, noise sensitive and just plain finicky...even when they are active. If one cruises by a jigging spoon with some perch meat on it, meant for jumbo perch, it may or may not take a swipe at it. Those with underwater cameras often leave the ice frustrated, knowing the fish are down there, but not successful at getting them to bite. Unlike perch, finding walleyes is no assurance of getting any on the ice. Heck, even perch go on vacation sometimes too.
There is no hard and fast rule about depth. They will be where you find them. I have caught them in less than 10 feet of water beneath Yuba ice, and I have caught them in the deepest spot in front of the dam...forty five or fifty feet. Your first trip or two will probably be more hunting than fishing. But, don't count on the fish being in the same place every time you go.
With the water levels being out of whack, it is highly unlikely that there will be any fish where you last caught them in open water. But, it's always worth a try...especially if it is along a sloping inderwater point, or a deepwater hump. If you have GPS readings on previously successful spots, might as well start there.
Discouraged yet? Welcome to walleye fishing.
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