10-13-2003, 04:31 PM
[cool]Do walleyes eat crawdads. The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that they prefer minnows and leeches (long worm-shaped critters). But, I have filleted several walleyes from Deer Creek and from lakes in Colorado and Arizona that had body parts of crawdads in their digestive systems. I once heard that small walleyes...in waters not rich in minnows...learned to subsist on aquatic insects and small 'dads. As they get larger, the old ways sometimes kick in when a spooked bug shoots up into the water in front of them. Otherwise, they do not typically root around in the rocks and vegetation like largies and smallies do. I have also heard they are more likely to chew and swallow a softshell (molting) crawdad than a hard shelled one.
Almost anyone who has developed a walleye addiction learns that one of the most effective rigs for old marbleeye is a slow-trolled worm harness...with two or more hooks strategically placed to keep the nightcrawler running straight and true...and which can hook even the short striking 'eyes. There are some days when 90% of your fish will come on the back hook. On other days, they gulp the whole thing and it wouldn't make much difference whether or not you were using a stinger hook.
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Almost anyone who has developed a walleye addiction learns that one of the most effective rigs for old marbleeye is a slow-trolled worm harness...with two or more hooks strategically placed to keep the nightcrawler running straight and true...and which can hook even the short striking 'eyes. There are some days when 90% of your fish will come on the back hook. On other days, they gulp the whole thing and it wouldn't make much difference whether or not you were using a stinger hook.
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