Question for the Walleye pros

[thegrumpyfisherman]

Just curious, I'm not a pro at catching walleye but I do catch them. There is a lake I am going to in a couple weeks that I have been to many times and I have managed to find a couple spots where they seem to appear for their evening and night feeding religiously.

 

My question is, during the day where do they go? The lake is North of Sudbury so it will be cool and clear water, and it is all rock, there is weed but nowhere near where they show up to feed at night. In this particular lake one of their night spots is near a narrows. If I was going to try to find them during the day would they likely be near the same spot? In clear water with rocky bottom how deep are they likely to sit? What would you throw down there to try and entice a daytime bite? Am I likely to find them with sonar or is it a matter of trial and error trying different ledges in the same area?

 

I'd appreciate any tips as to tactics and what kind of areas to try. The one in my profile pic I caught trolling at 11 am in 8 feet along the shore of all places in the same lake, I always catch them randomly but would like to try to target them. Thanks!

[mike rousseau]

I don't have much lake experience...

 

But I would suggest fishing the same spot but deeper... Or fish in any deeper channels close to these night spots... Use your sonar to find em...

 

I fish clear water and have caught walleye in 2-80 feet of water... They'll go anywhere they want...

[Tomcat]

Although just a recreational fisherman like you, I'd suggest that the walleyes could be deeper during the daytime hours on clear days. If the sensitivity is properly set on your sonar unit, you should be able to see both bait balls and walleye. Slow troll (3 way swivel + weight + lure (e.g. Original Floating Rapala or Junior Thunderstick) near the bait balls/walleye or anchor and jig there. One caveat, catching walleye in over 40 feet of water will likely lead to extended swim bladders necessitating the harvest of any walleye caught.

[Sinker]

Whats in this lake for bait? I catch a lot of walleyes in shield lakes suspended over deep water chasing bait. Usually in the 20-30ft down, over much deeper water.

 

Inline boards with deep diving stick baits.

 

S.

[thegrumpyfisherman]

Whats in this lake for bait?

 

I'm guessing it's the usual fall stuff like shiners. A couple years ago I marked the schools of bait fish in one of the deep open spots mid lake and was told by locals there to just troll Rapalas in that area right out in the middle. I did for 5 hours and notta. I tend to have the same luck jigging near drop offs, notta. All my catches are random either when trolling for pike or that typical evening bite and even then I'm apparently not doing something right.

 

I've always read these fish school, find one and you find a bunch. I was just hoping for any tips on how the members who chase these fish regularly would attack it and what they might use, where they might start this time of year in a shield lake? Or is Walleye frustration just a part of fishing for Walleye?

[AKRISONER]

this is why i dont even bother for eyes during daylight. I either wake up before dawn or am out past dark because I have no luck with the darned things anytime after 9am or before 5pm.

 

I keep hearing that deep trolling with planer boards or even dipseys can work though, yet to try it myself though.

[Steve]

anytime I catch "daytime" walleye its in thick(er) weeds.

 

but your lake doesn't have any....so....

 

the troller in me says take some 20' to 30' diving lures (tail dancers, trolls to's, crystal minnows, etc) and cover some deep water in the vicinity of where you have already located them.

[moxie]

Troll till you mark something, stop and drop jigging raps? As others have said avoid fishing them deeper than 30ft due to the bladder issue. After you've caught what you plan to eat of course. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[Joeytier]

Fish this weekend are definitely transitioning to fall mode, up here anyway. 90% were taken on crankbaits suspended over the deepest dropping shorelines on the lake. The big gators are starting to wake up too!

[thegrumpyfisherman]

Good info everyone thanks for the help. I asked because I'm taking 6 guys with me for their first time on this lake and am hoping to make it an experience they want to repeat.

 

The swim bladder tip was good I hadn't thought of that. I caught one once slow trolling a Rap F18 and a bottom bouncer over a 50 foot hole and remember its belly was puffed out. It did revive in the livewell though but floated belly up for 4 mins before it improved and I never knew why.

 

Will try all the tips and let you know how it went!

 

Thanks again!

Edited September 16, 2014 by thegrumpyfisherman

[luclarochelle]

I would imagine they move to the cooler water during the day. Does the lake have any natural springs in it? They will be looking for the colder water. That being said, they will be deeper (25-30 fow). Troll some deep diving crank baits to locate the fish first. Once you find them, drop down a jig and have some fun!!

 

Also, figure out the wind and fish the shore that the wind is blowing on.

 

Good luck!!

Edited September 16, 2014 by luclarochelle

[wormdunker]

I hate to crush all these theories, I do fish some lakes north of Sudbury. Summer of 2012 I was trolling go getters with a small piece of dew worm & hammering nice size walleye during mid day with the hottest, brightest sun. Like most walleye fisherman I usually do well just before dark. That is because the wallys go shallow at this time to feed on smaller fish. Find an area with deeper water 20-30 fow. Keep your boat away from the shore. Cast toward shore in 2-4 fow with the original gold & black floating Rapala. Hold on with both hands!

[BillM]

I hate to crush all these theories, I do fish some lakes north of Sudbury. Summer of 2012 I was trolling go getters with a small piece of dew worm & hammering nice size walleye during mid day with the hottest, brightest sun. Like most walleye fisherman I usually do well just before dark. That is because the wallys go shallow at this time to feed on smaller fish. Find an area with deeper water 20-30 fow. Keep your boat away from the shore. Cast toward shore in 2-4 fow with the original gold & black floating Rapala. Hold on with both hands!

 

You're also fishing highly tea stained lakes. Makes a big difference.

[outllaw]

ever try vertical jigging with a 3/8 jig and finesse minnow. works great down here

[captpierre]

caught a 25 incher trolling in 25 ft with a perch Walleye Diver.

 

fish came off a 13 ft hump- no weeds

 

1.5 mph

[tb4me]

It depends on how many guys will be fishing the same boat..Trolling may not be an option, If thats the case Just use the right jig head with a Berkley alive..Bottom bounce as you drift around..Have fun and Good Luck!

Edited September 17, 2014 by tb4me

[Steve]

put all six guys in the boat, lol.

 

four inline boards and two long lines.

 

that's how you cover water and figure out the bite....

 

gawd I love trolling

[thegrumpyfisherman]

put all six guys in the boat, lol.

 

Best idea yet!

[doubleheader]

There are too many variables to give you anything more than general guidance. Walleye movement is typically predicated on food and barometric pressure. Your best bet for the mid day is to cover some ground, and assuming you have decent electronics, trust them. Speed is your friend this time of year, so whereas in June you may have trolled a harness at .8-1mph, try varying speed up to 2.5 mph but stay in the zone. Also, spend some time probing the deep ledges and submerged reefs.

[thegrumpyfisherman]

Well thanks for the tips everyone, just got back from 2 days on the lake. Final verdict is I tried most of the ideas. The weather was calm, water clear and about 60 degrees, also was sunny. I tried trolling, jerk baits, a worm harness, and the only thing that worked was jigging worms extremely slow in about 25-30 feet around the edges of submerged structure. Slowest I've ever seen it to be honest. I came up with only 6 pics over the 2 days, between 12 and 15.5 inches. I even trolled over the deep water both on the surface and about 20 feet down for a few hours Saturday afternoon. Some tiny smallmouth and 2 pike were all I found, total of about 10 fish. The lodge owner said it was because the water hadn't turned over yet, so the fish were dormant whatever that meant. Mind you with 2200 miles of shoreline, I was only able to work a tiny portion of it.

 

I never tried just randomly dropping jigs next to stuff in open water. When they bit it was that real light tug, and I had to be very patient before trying to set the hook or I'd lose them. Not quite what I had expected for fall fishing, but I am guessing the calm sunny weather didn't help even though it made for a nice day out for me and the guys!

 

Thanks again for the help!

[AKRISONER]

You are a bit early still!

 

This warm spell has the fish tricked. Once we start getting some really cool nights and non 25 degree days things will start picking up. The fishing right now is really weird but some species are starting to get moving to their fall destinations.

[thegrumpyfisherman]

You are a bit early still!

 

This warm spell has the fish tricked. Once we start getting some really cool nights and non 25 degree days things will start picking up. The fishing right now is really weird but some species are starting to get moving to their fall destinations.

 

I figured that was the case, the weather was more like late August than late September! Out of the 6 of us 2 guys didn't catch anything at all, I was surprised there seemed to be no bass or pike or anything. My only theory is that they are deep and not active? Usually I can catch countless pike just dragging a Rap along the shore, but even they were nowhere to be found it was very strange indeed AKRISONER.

[AKRISONER]

surprised about the pike, I was noticing that a couple of weeks ago they were starting to move a bit. We were finding them a bit deeper but were running the edges of shorline drop offs in about 15 FOW. As the weeds die off it will just be a matter of finding the deeper beds.