Ideas please

[Tomcat]

Our group of guys fished a north western Quebec lake for walleye 7-14 Sep this year. While I could mark walleyes consistently on the bottom in 25 to 30 FOW, it was difficult to entice bites (whether bottom bouncing a worm harness with a crawler, jigging with a crawler or dragging a crankbait). When I cleaned those walleye we did catch, their stomachs were empty. This held true for the complete week. While skies were mainly overcast, we only had rain on three days (no thunderstorms). Surface water temperature declined from 22 to 18 degrees C during the week. I've rarely experienced a complete week of walleye with empty stomachs. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[Sinker]

Are you sure they were walleye?

[Old Ironmaker]

That's funny Sinker. If water temps dipped like that I would say you were looking at a lock jaw cold front.

[grt1]

ive seen that up here too, sometimes they just shut down and stop eating, particularly up here its after the may fly hatch and they have had their fill of larvae.

[Headhunter]

Were you able to try minnows?

HH

[Tomcat]

Thanks for the responses. No live minnows allowed in Quebec. And I believe Quebec will not allow dead minnows starting 2017. I've just never gone the minnow route.

[mark demmery]

I've seen it happen with cold fronts or pressure changes. Slow dragging crawlers or dead sticking a minnow in their face was the only way we could seem to get any sort of reaction. other than that, they were content sulking on the bottom...lol.

[Consigliere]

Sometimes a bit counter intuitive but faster speed may be the ticket. Right now in Lake O and SLR with the really warm water trolling speed to get bites is faster than normal and the walleye are putting up some great fights (relatively speaking)

 

The most likely tho is just

Cold front lockdown and the activity periods would be very small. Night fishing may have been the most productive time.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Consigliere

[muddler]

I often try a small 3 inch plastic pink worm (steelhead pinkie) on a small slipbobber and do nothing. Surprisingly it works for me very often. Mud

[mike rousseau]

Maybe aggressive verticals reaction baits like blade baits and jigging rapalas

[mike rousseau]

Also in my opinion depending on the waters 25-30 feet might be deep and those might be neutral/negative fish

 

I know spots full of fish but tough to get a bite because it's not a feeding location

 

Or I can fish a shallow rock point with a few fish but they are all actively feeding

[Sinker]

Also in my opinion depending on the waters 25-30 feet might be deep and those might be neutral/negative fish

 

I know spots full of fish but tough to get a bite because it's not a feeding location

 

Or I can fish a shallow rock point with a few fish but they are all actively feeding

This is what i was going to say. ^^

 

Seriously though, are you sure they are walleye? Are there any other fish in the lake? Maybe whities or herring?

 

S.

[Chuck Enwinde]

Also in my opinion depending on the waters 25-30 feet might be deep and those might be neutral/negative fish

 

I know spots full of fish but tough to get a bite because it's not a feeding location

 

Or I can fish a shallow rock point with a few fish but they are all actively feeding

 

^^Makes sense.

 

I think the curious part is that all of their stomachs were empty not so much that the bite was tough. Were they mostly long and skinny?

[Tomcat]

This is what i was going to say. ^^

 

Seriously though, are you sure they are walleye? Are there any other fish in the lake? Maybe whities or herring?

 

S.

 

The fish we did catch came from pods of walleye we were marking. Consequently, yes, the marks were walleye.

[Tomcat]

 

^^Makes sense.

 

I think the curious part is that all of their stomachs were empty not so much that the bite was tough. Were they mostly long and skinny?

 

While I did catch a couple of walleye during the week with stomachs full of minnows, 95% of the walleye caught had empty stomachs. And no, the walleye caught were not long and skinny.

[Reelpro]

I was up in a North Western Quebec Lake the same time. Have fished the same lake for over 20 yrs a few times a yr.

 

When they get the lockjaw coldfront blues we size baits down to a 1/8 or 1/16 oz jig, with a worm or berkley power minnows 3" or 4" .

 

They are a much narrower profile than the gulps and will entice strikes.

 

When they get like that - fish jigs right on bottom - slowly dragging them on bottom with little or no lift.

 

When they are chowing - 5"-6" Cabelas GO TO Swim minnows worked aggresively are deadly up there for the walleye and pike - anything black silver as most of the baitfish up there are fallfish.

 

 

[Tomcat]

Thanks Reelpro. I'll put your recommendations to work next time I come across this situation.

[haze190]

Thanks for the responses. No live minnows allowed in Quebec. And I believe Quebec will not allow dead minnows starting 2017. I've just never gone the minnow route.

and thats why Quebec sucks.

[Tomcat]

and thats why Quebec sucks.

I live in Ottawa and I have been fishing Quebec almost exclusively since 1966. Although you are certainly entitled to your opinion, I couldn't disagree with your post more.

[Garnet]

I always thought what a fish ate was the stupidest article ever wrote.

 

If I caught a walleye in resent decades I already know what it ate. (Black Bucktail).