Looking To fish Walleyes...Can You Help Me?

[donna6270]

I am use to only fishing panfish such as crappies and sunfish, but I am looking to learn how to fish for walleyes at Lake Vadnais in MN. I don't know the first thing about what to use for bait or setup...CAN ANYONE HELP ME OUT and possibly tell me what all i am going to need as far as tackle and bait...and what the best way to fish for them are? Thank you
Donna

[lippy]

well to get started u need a spinning rod and reel. july get hard fishing 4 eyes but u can hook a few. weeds weeds weeds! use a jig and a minno pitch into the weeds sometime u can swim it back so it just ticks the top of the weeds or have a weedles hook and fish them just like bass. some times u can find fish in deep water 20 to 30 feet here u will need to rig or use a bottom bouncher tip it with craller find a place on the lake that drops fast like a point etc and fish some what slow and follow the stucture at 20 to 30 feet
good luck
lippy

[Box]

Vadnais is a "shore fishign only" lake North of St. Paul. I t is actually the drinking water source for much of St. Paul area, so they don't allow boats or ice fishing, or even wading in the lake.

I haven't fished there for years, but we used to use a sliding weight (lindy rig sinker) with a floating jig head or Phelps Floater and a big nasty looking leech :) The bigger the better.

Then toss it out and leave the bail open on your spinning reel, and wrap a piece of paper around the line, and just wait until you see the paper/line being stripped out. Then set the hook... :)

I would use a medium spinning rod and 10 or 12 pound mono, and then use lighter line for the snell, in case you need to break line, you won't lose your sinker and swivel.

Not sure why they don't restrict lead weights there, but maybe they do. You might want to check the signs to see if that has changed.

Otherwise I bet a Rapala Long Cast minnow would be good choice for casting and reeling in above the weeds. The long cast minnow has caught plenty of walleyes on my little lake up north.

good luck, and have fun! If you are unsure what a snell is, just go buy a Lindy rig setup, and it is basically that line with the loop on it that goes to the hook! Put a weight on your main line, then tie a snap and swivel, and then hook the "snell" onto that. You can change the hook to a floating jig or float, and let it sit on the bottom waiting for a fish, or reel it in slowly over the weeds or rocks. Then there is always slip bobbers as well.

-Box


http://www.walleyecentral.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=103808

[Thecaptain38]

Lippy is dead on...I prefer to fish deep of the eyes...good action on the smaller fish in the weeds and the bigger eyes tend to hang deep...of course depending on the natural forage of the water you are fishing...the key to fishing the deep structure is slow presentation...don't rip it passed the fish...let them smell and take it...

Good luck