Walleye 101

[T Bone]

Tasted walley for the 1st time the other day. That's gotta be the best freshwater fish I've ever eaten. As soon as the lakes ice-off, I'm gonna give them a go.

Assuming spinning gear and fishing from shore, is there any real secret to these fish? What is the basic simple rigging for them?

 

[Moosie]

Tbone.... one like this ?

http://www.hunttalk.com/forums/gallery/showimage.php?i=14921&c=355

 

[Nemont]

T-Bone,
When I lived in Bozeman I used to think flyfishing was an expensive sport. I move here where everyone is a Walleye fisherman and watched as guys spend thousands and thousands of $$$$$ to fish for them.

I am too frugal to spend that kind of money so my son and I have learned to fish from shore for them. Spinning gear works at times, pitching jigs from shore works at times, live bait works sometimes and sometimes (more often then not) nothing works.

Nothing compares to fresh caught walleye.

Nemont

P.S. Why are you waiting for the ice to come off to chase them? The biggest fish usually come throught the ice.

 

[Moosie]

Nemont, You were a little younger in that picture ... huh

We used Jigs in Canada. It was my first and last time fishing for them. They were GREAT to eat though !!!!! Batter fried and.... OHH I need to eat lunch !!!!!!

 

[Nemont]

Moosie,

Yeah thinner too. That is just K-man with his catch of the day.

Nemont

 

[GFHunter]

T-Bone,

I have fished for walleyes most of my life. Only over the last 2 years have I really got into it. It is not easy to catch them without a little knowledge of where they hang out such as underwater structures and ledges, How deep they are, what they feed on, the time of day they feed, etc, etc..... These factors will change depending on where you are fishing at. It varys in montana from lake to lake.

This is my second year icefishing for them, and it is fun to catch them through the ice.

Here are a few tips that I generally consider when fishing for them. By the way you will always find exceptions to these rules. Walleyes are bottom feeders, mainly the bottom 6 feet. Walleyes also like to feed during light changes such as the morning and evening. I think walleyes like to feed more at night then during the day although I have caught a few during the day.

If you are fishing from shore, I would find a place with a lot of crawdads and minnows that are active after dark. Walleyes will feed on them bigtime. I caught a really nice one last year and as I was filleting it out a small crawdad crawled right out of his mouth. Freeked me out.

This is a matter of opinion but I think perch are better eating then walleye. The only problem with perch is you have to catch a bunch of them for a good meal. Happy fishing!!!! Hope this helps.

 

[Steiny]

GF Has some good pointers.
Fish on the bottom.
Walleyes like the dark. Overcast days, dusk and after dark are best times.
Have done my best with live bait, leeches, night crawlers and minnows, in that order.

 

[WFGinNM]

Walleye are addicting, fishing for them and catching them consistently is the closest thing to hunting you'll get with a fishing rod in your hand. Like GFHunter said, It helps to know the where, when, and what they are hitting. Sometimes they could be in the same place and turn on or off depending on conditions and what you are throwning at them. We almost rely entirely on jigs or Lindy rigs, sometimes they want little 1/16 oz. heads with little plastic grubs, and other times we use 3/8th heads with 6" lizards to turn 'em on. I just got in an order from Cabelas and can't wait to get out.

--Bill

 

[cornfed]

TBone walleyes can be tricky at times but they are not that tough to catch. They will spawn when the water gets into the low 40's and they spawn in gravel to rocky areas, rocks about the size of your fist. So fish these areas before and after the water hits the low 40's. Earlier the better minnos work,later on I do not mess with them. Most of the time I will just use a mister twister of a basic color-white,yellow,black or chartruse. Key areas would include main points,rock piles and moving water. I like areas where water is running into a lake!Any questions send an email,always willing to help.

 

[Delw]

Wish we had more walleye down here. I love them even the kids andApril likes them

Delw

 

[T Bone]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Monday I went out for my 1st day of walley fishing. Reports were that the action was great over the weekend.

My conclusion is that there is no such thing as a freaking walleye. Its the unicorn, sasquatch, chupacabra of the fishing world.

On the bright side, I'm now the owner of a lovely minnow bucket.

I'll give it another go in a few weeks after I wack a couple turkey birds.

 

[schmalts]

Walley spawn in full swing here. A guy can catch 30-40 a day at times. It can be a lot of fun in the right conditions. Other times it is impossible to catch one. I usually can get half a dozen everytime i wade out in the river on my land. I float leaches in around big boulders in deep holes and that works well in the summer.
If i had time i would scan in a few poloroids of schmalts the young boy with dad during the walley run on the Mississippi river. One thing we learned, release anything over 21 inches because they start to taste like crap.