mike rousseau Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Hello everyone... So the early fall walleye bite is in full swing on the St.Lawrece River... Some may say that the walleye fishing is tough right now.... But that's because they aren't willing to "work overnights" to produce good numbers of solid walleyes... In the past 2 trips out this week totaling about 10 hours of fishing we have put 53 walleye in the boat averaging 22-24 inches... About 10 from 25-28 inches...45 have been from when the sun hits the tree line till 4am... That's right... 4am!!! My current work schedule has put me in a position that if I want my hours on the water then I have to head out and fish after work... From about 12am-4am... Most think I'm crazy until I convince them to join me... Then they're hooked... The peace and quiet of having the entire river to yourself... The quiet soothing hum of the Yamaha idled down to a crawl... The vibration of your crank bait feeling like a base drum in your hand... The well lit sky... The low winds and refreshing cool night air... AND THE WALLEYE... These suckers just seem to let their guard down and eat like there's no tomorrow.... The absolute best time in my opinion is the 2 hours after the sun hits the tree line... But really all night is pretty good... What structure do you target? In all honesty... I've found that to be trial and error... You just gotta try spots after dark and see what ones produce... I've yet to find a pattern that says "this is exactly the type if structure you need to fish".... But once you find a good night spot it'll produce most of the year for you... Most of my night spots are connected to the largest channels... I believe the walleye scatter all day in these channels then school up to chase bait in the shallows at night... What do you use to catch em? I like crank baits... Taildancers... Reef runners... Thunderstickes... Trolls to minnow... Etc... I also pull harnesses when the bite is tough... But to troll harnesses on river structure you'll wanna know exactly where the fish are holding cause it's a slow troll with a harness in the current... And COLOR.... Clown... White... Pink.... Orange... Chartreuse....the darker the night the brighter the color for me... On a "bright" night like the super moon this week you can get away with chrome colors like perch... Blue silver... Black gold.... Black silver... Tips... Bring a buddy cause It's safer... Also be well organized in the boat... Hooks are easy to find by accident at night... Headlights... GOOD HEADLIGHTS... No standing cause you can't see the extra rods you don't wanna step on... At first fish close to your launch till you get used to night fishing and build your confidence... TROLL ROD IN HAND or else you can't feel weeds on your hooks or subtle bumps from timid fish... So don't be afraid to work the night shift... You might be surprised what kind of nocturnal characters show up to grace your net... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pidge Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Best way to moonlight! Sweet catch and good read of your outing. Nice stuff man. Pidge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captpierre Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 good of you to post such great advice! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Great report! What kind of water temps are you looking at down there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted September 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 70 degrees right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Sort of funny, my dad used to tell us stories of the boats on Lake Erie at night fishing for Blue Pike and Walleye at night when he was a young man, you would be hard pressed now to find people around here out there fishing for Walleye these days. Walleye were never really a prime target for me, the only time we tried it about 30 years ago? We had our limits by midnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaf4 Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 that description makes me want to go! but with St. Lawrence at your doorstep and not mine, it makes it much easier for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Fantastic report, you hit all he W's of W5. Who, what, when, where, why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Lotsa good stuff there Mike. I spent many many May 24 weekends fishing for Quinte pickerel and we'd never even head out until dusk and the fishing would often be great for several hours. Same as muskies although I no longer do it, but night time fishing for them is a blast and something I did for years. Hit the water as the sun touches the tree tops and we'd nearly always boat a few fish in the next couple hours. Night time is an awesome time to be on the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Good Job!!!!! Definitely need a feed of pickeral now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 I know this sounds crazy but, I've caught walleye on pop-r's after dark. they will smash surface baits... if they aren't hitting "quite" as heavy, I've taken them on wake baits or J-11's slowly reeled just under the surface. great tips Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Well, with the weather being what it is, the fall frog migration shouldn't be far away and Mr. Pickereye won't be far behind. Thanks for the info Mike, good stuff! HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvette1 Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 nice set of eye's mike congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnsled Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Great report and info Mike, congrats and thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Your definitely not crazy! That is my favourite time to fish. Your current schedule is the same as the one I share on BOQ in the spring. Usually fish till 5AM! That must of been sweet being under that moon that night. Nicely done is an understatement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted September 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2014 (edited) Thanks everyone... Here's a few more pics from a day last week after work... Double header first pass to break in the new net.... 5 and 6 pounders...Notice the tags still on... And the lures... Nice 26 incher Edited September 12, 2014 by Mike Rousseau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted September 12, 2014 Report Share Posted September 12, 2014 Don't you just love the neon eyes. We never thought about getting in the boats on the Ottawa until the dishes were all done after supper and a few games of poker, nothing like a good BBQ and an ale at 4 AM. Up at 11:00 for a round of golf, lunch at 19th hole then nap, supper, fishing, AM BBQ, repeat. Some afternoons forgo golf and go to the ballet in Fort Coulange or Pembroke. Every young Steelworker needs some culture in their lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxie Posted September 12, 2014 Report Share Posted September 12, 2014 Fishing time is anytime. Have a buddy in Port Hope who has tried to get me out for the fall night bite on Rice for a few years now but life always to seems to get in the way. Thanks for sharing Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walleye'm Fishing Posted September 12, 2014 Report Share Posted September 12, 2014 Awesome night action right there!!! I only fish after dark for walleyes. I've never fished past 2 am though... However, I've always wanted to pull an all-nighter and fish for eyes 'till dawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickeral eater Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 Great report! Had a few marathon nights on erie when we didn't get out until 11 and stayed until early afternoon the next day. It's actually quite nice being out there without the traffic and blazing sun. Again awesome fish and great recap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 great fishing I use to love fishing them at night now I need my sleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxgoaler Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 nice opal eyes, I'm envious, wtg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James77 Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 This is a great write up, I'm definitely going to give this a shot, so many damn rocks in my lake though makes it stressful. I couldn't agree more about your colouring for night time I've experienced the best results with those colours at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted September 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 This is a great write up, I'm definitely going to give this a shot, so many damn rocks in my lake though makes it stressful. That's where you literally need to know the area BETTER then the back of your hand... And even then... a GPS and years of experience can't predict where that floating log is... I dodged one with Andrew and Pete a couple weeks ago that looked like a section from a telephone pole it was so big... Missed it by a few feet... Luckily it was light out... We would have been in serious trouble... I tend to back off on the throttle at night... I know it'll still be bad but i'd rather hit a log at 18-20mph then 35... And even if you know the water... travel in the deeper areas and when you get to where you wanna fish slow down and putter in... It's a win win... Safer and you won't scare the fish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Ironmaker Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 I hear you Mike, a common yell at night on the Ottawa was " DEADHEAD 1 O'CLOCK !!!!!!!!!!!" Spent a cold May night hung up on a shoal outside of Callander Bay. The worst thing that can happen is when someone thinks they know the water like the back of their hand, better know it better than that like you say. No one can be that good. Most of the guys that get in trouble on water are rookies and experts. No matter day or night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now