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Guys, I catch a lot of walleye on every trip I make to Canada. I have even done some guiding and taken o few clients to catch as many as 60 walleye in just a couple hours. So you are not dealing with a first timer or novice. Please keep this in mind if you respond. I almost always can catch big numbers without any problem.
I hate to admit it but I have never been able to find any good patterns for big walleye over 26 inches. I'm looking for some help finding productive methods to help me locate those trophy walleye that I haven't been able to locate. I know they are here because many big fish are caught here every year.
My current plans are to start fishing tapered points in deep water 30' to 90' with live bait and very light Fireline crystal using 18" 6# test flourocarbon leaders.
Note: this lake is a shield lake in north Canada with an incredible walleye population. In mid-summer I have located a few areas where there is 90 feet of water with the bottom "paved" with big marks but I have never been sure that these were even walleye. There are no lake trout in this lake. The only other big fish are northern but I can't imagine that deep bottom would be covered with northern. Do you think these fish ever catchable? How?
I have never spent much time fishing deep water so I really appreciate anyone adding some tips on this that they have found to be successful.
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In deap lakes, I have marked and caught them as far down as 40 feet. suspended right in the middle over an 90 foot hole.
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I saw schools of bait over them extending from the surface down 15 feet or so. Loons and gulls were working the bait. I didn't see any signs that they were raising to the bait and at the time I wasn't even sure they were walleye because of the way they were just laying on the bottom. Now I'm beginning to think they really might be walleye (big walleye). It seems like the best strategy might be to just continue working over the area for a few hours in the mornings and see if I can get lucky and find them coming up. If there is enough wind I might even just keep working the area over casting and drifting with Erie Deeries and hope I can get something started. I suspect it might require a patient person but when there is 50 ft. between the marks on my "Bird" and my bait, it's going to seem like a long slow wait.
I know this sounds crazy but I wonder if I could chum these fish into raising off the bottom. I'm even considering taking a sabiki rig and catching a bunch of those bait fish and then chunking with them in an area just to see what happens.
Thank you for the reply. [  ]
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I am not a seasoned walleye fisherman whatsoever so this may be basic knowledge to you or even information you don't care to hear. I started fishing for walleye in September of this last year. Before then I have never targeted them at all. I have accidentally caught a few while trolling for trout so thought maybe I could try my luck for some bigger walleye. I fished for about 2 months before it got too cold at night to try anymore. In those 2 months I only caught 7 walleye. 2 fish were around a pound, two fish were between 3 and 4 pounds and the other 3 were over 8 pounds. My biggest was 9lbs 11.52 oz which won big fish of the year for walleye in arizona.
I would position my boat about casting distance from shore and turn my trolling motor on its slowest speed and cruise the bank. I would cast onto the bank or as close as a could get to it and reel my bait to the boat. I used an F13 shiner rapala and fished from 11pm until 4am depending on how long the mood stayed out. I was sure to use no light at all and be extremely quiet. All 3 of my bigger fish were in 1 to 3 feet of water. I sure didnt catch numbers but the size was what I was after.
Like I said this may be basic knowledge to you so I hope I didn't waste your time by having you read this. I'm just a beginner to walleye fishing but found a method that worked for me.
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Wow, that is very impressive for your first year of Eye fishing. Most people don't pick up that much info on catching eyes in 5 years of chasing them. I'm also very surprised the are eyes that big in Az. What was the water temp the night you caught that big one? I've always had a hard time catching eyes in the late fall, when the water temp gets below 60*.
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The lake in my home town actually holds the state record at 16lbs 1.76oz. I've lived near this lake my whole life but never targeted walleye. Its just not an extremely popular fish in az. I don't know the exact water temp. I don't have a fish finder or anything. I can tell you it was very cold though. The air temp was 25-35 degrees. We had trouble keeping the ice off our line. I've talked to a few people that fish for walleye on this lake in deep water during late evenings or early morning and they tell me they catch a lot but nothing over 4lbs. I don't think many people want to brave the cold for the big ones but it was well worth it to me. Now that I've figured out a system I will be trying for much larger fish in the coming years.
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You are off to a very good start, catching an eye that big in your first year, congratulations.
Last year was my best year yet for walleye, with the best day being when two of us caught over 40 but none were over 20 inches. The lake I fish in has few eyes over 7 lb, the largest I've caught is 6 lbs. The record in our state is close to 17 lbs and the method you used was very close to the method he used. Sounds like I should change my fishing times.
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Well thank you. I love catching the big ones but I'd love to have a trip where I can pull in 40 walleye. Ive read tons of articles on catching walleye in daylight hours but it seems everyone fishes in really deep water. This lake is only around 35 feet in its deep spots so ill have to stick with my late night shallow water method. It can get tough though. I've had plenty of nights that I've fished for 5 hours and never had a bite. I'm usually out there with nobody to talk to other than my dog. For some reason I can't convince anyone to fish with me in 25 degrees at 2am haha. You're in Utah right? Maybe one day ill have to come up and join you on a trip that I can catch 40 fish. And of course you're welcome to join me on a cold late night trip and catch some bigger fish.
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This lake I fish in is only 30 ft deep at it's max depth, last year being a low water year, I don't think it went over 25 ft. Don't get me wrong, catching 40 in not normal, it was just a good year for the eyes. Our average catch per day was 6 to 12 eyes, with a couple of 20 fish days. The average depth we were fishing was 6 to 12 ft using bottom bouncers. Sounds like bottom bouncing could work for your lake as well, have you tried that method? Last year was my first year of having that much success at catching walleye and I owe it to the guy I was fishing with, mike4cobra. Mike is a tournament walleye fisherman and really knows his stuff on Walleye. Yes, I live in Utah and you are welcome to come up and fish with me but this being my second year of fishing for the eyes with this newfound knowledge I really don't know if it will be another good year or not. The catching really doesn't turn on here until the water temps hit 45 to 50* but we might start catching a few per spawn eyes, as soon as the ice is off. Does the lake you fish freeze in the winter?
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I've never tried any other method other than rapalas shallow at night. I've read about jigging off the bottom but haven't tried it yet. What bait do you use off the bottom? This lake doesn't usually freeze over completely but we've had some cold days and its about 8 inches right now. I know where the fish spawn in this lake but I don't know how to go about catching them without a fish finder. I would invest in one but I'm going to school this spring and need to save as much as possible. Do you guys use a fish finder to locate them too? Do you think it's possible to be successful fishing blind off the bottom?
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G8RB8 (gatorbait), for those 90' fish, I think I'd do some vertical jigging, with some "meat" as a trailer. A jigging spoon - especially one with a glow finish - and a minnow, leech, or earthworm on the hook would be where I'd start. I'd use heavier line than you propose, though: something like 20# braid with a 15# fluoro leader would be the minimum. The braid will give you much improved feel of the lure and the slightly lighter leader will allow you to break off if you snag (braid is almost impossible to break off.)
Good luck!
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Yes, it is possible to catch eyes without having a finder, especially if you know where they spawn. Eyes start moving toward their spawning areas early in the year, feb & march. They usually stage in deeper water near ther spawning areas. The best way to catch them is to slow troll, .5 mph with Lindy rigs and night crawlers, as the water temp rise from the 30's to the 40's change over to worm harnesses and increase your speed to .9 mph. We caught a nice one last year, 23", that was per spawn female with this method. You don't usually catch as many in the pre spawn but they can be bigger, if they are females. If the area the eyes spawn at, is large, a finder will help for sure because you won't have to cover as much area to find fish but you can still catch them but it might take you longer. Not a big deal for anyone that is use to, not catching fish when fishing late at night[  ]. We do use electronics, Mike has the side finder Lowrance that is a step up from a finder because it shows a Xray type image of the bottom but like I said, he is a tournament fisherman.
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Well I appreciate the tips. Hopefully they'll help me pull in those 10-15 pounders. Obviously a trip to the lake with no fish won't scare me away haha. As long as I know they're in there ill keep at it.
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I can definitely give some deep jigging with a spoon a try using my baitcaster/braid outfit. Thank you very much for the suggestion.
Do you have a suggestion for a glow finish spoon that you have had good results with? What size?
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I haven't fished that deep, so no first-hand recommendations for a lure like that, I'm afraid. I Googled "glow jigging spoon" and found a link to Moonshine Lures.
If it were me, I'd get a few ½-ounce in glow perch, glow yellow tail, and glow clown. Or any similar lures in about that weight in silver, chartreuse, and white. Check some saltwater jigging spoons, even.
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lakes and rivers deffenantly have different stradigies, tho some times the stradigies can over lap.
being able and ready to adapt to your spicific conditions on any given day is the key to getting on them.
primarialy I like to fish for them on the detroit river, where I sit in the back of the boat with my feet propped up and my rod resting on my feet. On a day where there is no wind or a noreast wind no more than 6mph with an ocational freighter rolling by. I have to do nothing more than use a 3-5 foot leader with a few beads and a single #2 arbordeen hook with a worm and weight for them to wake me up. I do quite well with this method.
on days with winds that come from another direction I have to resort to shorter leads or go right streight to hot-n-tots.
on lakes when I find them suspended I use the same methods depending on the conditions, but there is one key thing to remember, that is walleyes hit at the bottom of your jigging cycle. weather it is from bobbing action from the boat or hand lining or jigging, you must be ready to set the hook on the up word stroke.
when on the lake where you find them on the bottom, you need to bounce your stuff on the bottom, resting on the bottom for a 1-2 count before rising, when they are suspended on the lakes you set your lure to drop to the point of the bottom of where they are suspended.
as to getting the realy big ones, its just a matter of being at the right place at the right time. they may be in the school, they may be off feeding on thier own..
the most important thing to remember is the 2-5 pounders are the best eating.
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It looks like I'm going to get a chance to figure out these deep giant walleye after all.
I just took a job as asst. manager and guide at a first class lodge in Ontario's Near North. We are going to be offering one free day of fishing with a guide for all new guests that will be staying for a week. This huge lake is incredible in both size and numbers of walleye. The pike and sm bass fishing is also excellent but virtually untouched because of the great walleye fishing. The cabins are the nicest I have ever seen in Canada and the food is actually chef prepared. Believe it or not the all inclusive price for a week with everything (lodging, food, bait, gas, and boat) provided is actually cheaper than towing your own boat to stay at most Canadian lodges on a housekeeping plan ($1250 wk). All guests have my personal guarantee that they are going to have a walleye fishing experience they only dream about. I'll be there to show you how!
Anyone interested in more details please contact me thru this thread so I can discuss this openly with the members of this forum.
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congratulations on the new situation. be sure to keep us up to date on how the fishing is there, you never know when you might bring in a coustomer.
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I have fished the Clyde River in Newport Vermont where Walleye run each year by the hundreds of thousands spawning in late April.They rarely bite any suggestions.These fish run out of Magog Quebec through Lake Memphremagog, over 25 miles (40 km) long through to the Clyde River.The largest fish was taken in 1965 weighing in access of 32 pounds and entered on the Wide World of Sports if I remember correctly.Does this connect in any way near where you fish. Mr Vermont
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Anyone interested in a great walleye trip on my "secret" lake, check out this article.
[url "http://www.thefishingblitz.com/article_walleye_secret_lake.html"]http://www.thefishingblitz.com/article_walleye_secret_lake.html[/url]
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