03-23-2012, 09:43 PM
[cool][#0000ff]WHAT TO CATCH WALLEYE ON?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This question comes up several times a year. I never sneeze to be damazed at the wide variety of answers...and the passionate answers that THIS or THAT is the ONLY way to go. Somebody once caught a walleye...or two...using a certain lure and/or bait and they are forever the ex-spurts on walleye fishing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I've managed to catch a few over the years...some on purpose...many by accident. And like most dedicated wallieholics I have a "basic food group" that I fish with confidence when conditions are right for a particular style of fishing. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you carry a good assortment of plastics and heads, some spinners, some diving crankbaits and some nightcrawlers you will be able to catch walleyes...if you can find ACTIVE FISH. Colors? Everybody develops their own favorites...you know, the ONLY ones that will EVER work. But the truth is that if you put almost anything in front of a hungry or otherwise active walleye it will likely get bit...some time or another. It's for true that wallies can get picky and pattern on specific sizes, colors and flavors. But for the most part they ain't all that particular. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Now, the method of fishing can make a big difference. As a general rule you will catch more toothy critters on something low and slow than on high and fast. It pays to use small heads on large plastics and fish them as slowly as you can without snagging the rocks. Ditto for cranks. Use ones that run just above the bottom and which have a good action at a slow retrieve. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Walleyes will hit a lot of different baits but there are more caught on crawlers than about anything else. A close second would be dead minnows...fished on or just above the bottom...or used to tip jigs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have kept fishing logs for years and I have files full of pics of fish I have caught...and the lures upon which I caught them. Can't count the number of different types, sizes, colors and actions of the lures that have caught walleyes for me over the years. Ditto for the baits upon which I have caught them...or seen them caught.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]For those who whine because we can't use live minnows in Utah, here are a few of the things that I know that walleyes have munched:[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Worms, minnows, carp meat, white bass meat, perch meat, chicken livers, catfish stink bait, hot dogs, hamburger, rancid elk meat, anchovies, squid, smelt, sardines...etc. Granted, most of the "wierd" catches were one time only deals...and you will do a lot better long term with worms.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Okay, that is only lures and baits. And all of that is influenced by time of year (spawning/feeding), water temps, water clarity, depths, available food supplies, fishing pressure and water activity, etc. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short, it's okay to have a favorite lure or bait. In fact it is always better to fish something which you can fish with confidence. But don't laugh at the guy next to you who starts slinging some wild and crazy "bargain barrel" lure from WalMart. He might just outfish you on any given day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]This question comes up several times a year. I never sneeze to be damazed at the wide variety of answers...and the passionate answers that THIS or THAT is the ONLY way to go. Somebody once caught a walleye...or two...using a certain lure and/or bait and they are forever the ex-spurts on walleye fishing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I've managed to catch a few over the years...some on purpose...many by accident. And like most dedicated wallieholics I have a "basic food group" that I fish with confidence when conditions are right for a particular style of fishing. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you carry a good assortment of plastics and heads, some spinners, some diving crankbaits and some nightcrawlers you will be able to catch walleyes...if you can find ACTIVE FISH. Colors? Everybody develops their own favorites...you know, the ONLY ones that will EVER work. But the truth is that if you put almost anything in front of a hungry or otherwise active walleye it will likely get bit...some time or another. It's for true that wallies can get picky and pattern on specific sizes, colors and flavors. But for the most part they ain't all that particular. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Now, the method of fishing can make a big difference. As a general rule you will catch more toothy critters on something low and slow than on high and fast. It pays to use small heads on large plastics and fish them as slowly as you can without snagging the rocks. Ditto for cranks. Use ones that run just above the bottom and which have a good action at a slow retrieve. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Walleyes will hit a lot of different baits but there are more caught on crawlers than about anything else. A close second would be dead minnows...fished on or just above the bottom...or used to tip jigs.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have kept fishing logs for years and I have files full of pics of fish I have caught...and the lures upon which I caught them. Can't count the number of different types, sizes, colors and actions of the lures that have caught walleyes for me over the years. Ditto for the baits upon which I have caught them...or seen them caught.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]For those who whine because we can't use live minnows in Utah, here are a few of the things that I know that walleyes have munched:[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Worms, minnows, carp meat, white bass meat, perch meat, chicken livers, catfish stink bait, hot dogs, hamburger, rancid elk meat, anchovies, squid, smelt, sardines...etc. Granted, most of the "wierd" catches were one time only deals...and you will do a lot better long term with worms.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Okay, that is only lures and baits. And all of that is influenced by time of year (spawning/feeding), water temps, water clarity, depths, available food supplies, fishing pressure and water activity, etc. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short, it's okay to have a favorite lure or bait. In fact it is always better to fish something which you can fish with confidence. But don't laugh at the guy next to you who starts slinging some wild and crazy "bargain barrel" lure from WalMart. He might just outfish you on any given day.[/#0000ff]
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