Walleyed at Starvy

[Lip_Ripr]

Just wondering if there is a preferred method for fishing for walleyed through the ice. Or is it just something that happens when it happens. What is the best way to target them through the ice, and what lures/jigs work the best? Thanks
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[Gemcityslayer]

Find the perch during the day, and 2-3 hours before the sun sets drill a set of holes in shallow (6-10 fow).... and start fishing them the last hour of sunlight, until an hour after dark... fish rattle style lures (rippin rap is my favorite), buckshot spoons, or flutter sppoons (tip spoons with a minnow head or a strip of cut-bait). Small plastics / swimbaits can work good too. If you don't catch one during that magical window around sundown, odds are you aren't in the right "spot". But the above mentioned tactics will give you the best odds in general. If you are really dedicated to catching an eye you can keep fishing after sundown well into dark or even better all night until the sun comes up.

You got to actually target them in my opinion, fishing for perch / rainbows and hoping for walleye isn't going to be as effective as targeting them. Some faith / confidence never hurts... good luck! A little luck never hurt for ol' marble eye.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]First of all, the walleye population in Starvy has been down the last couple of years...along with the perch. But like the perch, they seem to be coming back.

There have been very few catches of walleyes from that lake this winter...even by the guys who usually do well. Recent catches have been from waters much deeper than the perch...40-50 feet...and usually right around daybreak.

As has been suggested, using noisy lures and a bit of minnow, perch meat or crawler will improve your odds.

Look for underwater humps or points near deeper water.
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[Gemcityslayer]

I imagine they are out deeper during the day like TD says... They are probably never too far from the pods of perch though. And from my experience it seems like there are always some wallys that just stick to deeper water even at night. A good strategy is to drill a row of holes from 5-6 fow out to 40-50 fow and fish one after another until you see what depths they are preferring.

I don't see hardly any reports from Utah from guys night fishing for walleye I don't get it. Maybe it is just something people do but don't post reports about. In Wyoming it is common practice to show up before the sun goes down and fish until it comes up for walleyes... They will often come in shallow during low light periods / darkness and chase bait into the shallow water where it is easier for them to catch a meal.

I guess one difference is in our WY walleye waters you can use 6 lines and live bait... but a lot of guys here don't even bother setting live bait lines and just jig w/ lures and do really well at night. Pretty common too for guys to set 5 livebait lines and jig with 1 rod and catch a good % of fish on the jigging rod.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]It's tough to generalize...one state to another...one lake to another. What often works on one lake, during one set of conditions, may not work at all on other lakes...or even on the same lake under different conditions.

One reason Utah anglers don't spend a lot of time ice fishing for walleyes at night is that it is seldom more productive than fishing them early and late in the same locations. Utah walleye lakes are not overrun with walleye. There are seldom more than a few fish within a target area...and those few fish are not always active.

In former times, Yuba reservoir had a large population of both perch and walleyes. The walleyes were so thick it was not difficult to catch plenty during the day...along with the perch. Today it is rare to catch either a perch or a walleye in Yuba, at any time of day. Here's a picture from the good old days.

[inline "YUBA WALLEYES - PERCH.JPG"]

All of our walleye lakes have had their ups and downs...including Starvation. It is currently in a down cycle. It does not get supplemental plantings so it is strictly natural reproduction. And the current population does not make it worthwhile to freeze all night for one or two bites...or nothing.

Deer Creek is also on a down cycle. Very few walleyes taken even during the prime nighttime hours during the postspawn period. And there are probably less than a handful taken through the ice each year daytime or nighttime. I do know a couple of walleye chasers who hit it after dark...or at least they used to. They caught zero walleyes through the ice last year and none so far this year.

Willard and Utah Lake? Both have good populations of walleyes but shallow water and abundant feed. The walleyes are scattered, well fed and very spooky in skinny water under the ice. You can see them go through on sonar...at least you can hope the marks are walleyes...but they mostly ignore whatever anglers offer them.

There are quite a few Utah walleye fans that head to Wyoming when they get the wallie itch...rather than put up with our local frustration. And at least a couple of our better wallie chasers have actually moved up there. What does that tell ya?

Back to Starvation. Your recommendation to fish shallow water after dark may work in some of your local lakes. But I do not know of any walleye that have been taken from Starvation...under the ice...in water much less than about 30' deep. But I know of many that are brought up from 45 to 65 feet. And there is a deep hump down off the dam where they have been taken at up to 80' deep in the winter.

Ya see, the perch in Starvation are wacky too. We have a lot of them being taken this year in water less than 20 feet deep...where they stay around residual weed beds. But this year and most other years there are also plenty coming from water over 50 feet deep. So there is no single defining pattern.
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[tigerpincer]

Is it wrong of me to ask what waters in Wyoming might a Utah boy in search of his favorite table fare(walleye) consider a visit?
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[Moosedog]

Boysen res. , Ocean lake is also in the same area.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Here is a list of Wyoming lakes that have walleyes. It is from a membership website. You need to log in to get all the info but you can use this list to do individual searches.[/#0000FF]

[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2273"]Alcova Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2280"]Big Horn Lake[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2275"]Boysen Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2276"]Buffalo Bill Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2272"]Lake DeSmet[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2269"]Glendo Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2281"]Grayrocks Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2282"]Guernsey Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2283"]Hawk Springs[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=3643"]Healy Lake[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2270"]Keyhole Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2271"]LAK Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2292"]Ocean Lake[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2294"]Pathfinder Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=3267"]Rock Lake[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2328"]Saratoga Lake[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2297"]Seminoe Reservoir[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2299"]Wheatland Reservoir #1[/url]
[url "http://www.fishexplorer.com/wy/lakedet.asp?lid=2300"]Wheatland Reservoir #3[/url]
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[Gemcityslayer]

[quote tigerpincer]Is it wrong of me to ask what waters in Wyoming might a Utah boy in search of his favorite table fare(walleye) consider a visit?[/quote]

The top walleye lakes are Boysen, Ocean, Greyrocks, Glendo .... in my opinion. But Alcova, Seminoe and Pathfinder are good too.
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[Gemcityslayer]

You Know Starvy walleyes and Utah walleyes much better than I.

I do a lot of reading about eyes in general and try to apply what works all over the country to my waters.... some stuff seems to apply everywhere but there are definitely differences from region to region, lake to lake.

Appreciate you taking the time to share your local knowledge.

I try to give advice that has worked for me at one time or another... and fishing shallow at night has worked everywhere I have ice fished for eyes (Only in Wyoming though) I do think sometimes it can pay to think outside the box and try new things though... I would honestly be surprised if some walleyes do not utilize shallow water at times under the ice at Starvy... especially with the perch showing up shallower...often the places I do best in shallow are never more than a stones throw away from deeper water.
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