Night fishing for walleye......

[Walteye]

I know that at times walleye fishing at night is better than during the day, but when is that? Do you upsize trolled lures, and what is considered some of the best lures, and at night, does color matter? I am trying my luck again for walleyes at night in the Black River Bay; Chaumont Bay New York area this year and as yet I have not been that lucky (3 years and 1 walleye, and that was at daybreak). Any help is GREATLY appreciated. And I mean ANY help!!!!!!!

[larry eaton]

nite fishing eyes is a great way to get the big fish. they have one thing on there mind food. at nite i find baitfish early in the season head shallow at nite where the warmer water is. here i like to troll glow in the dark cranks, fishing them high in the water colum so they can be seen. as the water warms start looking around deeper rock structures and fish over them. towards the end of summer and water temps drop back into the60`s start working back towards the bays and weed edges. i find trolling to be more productive at nite. once you locate fish ,dont be afaid to slip back and toss some cranks at them.hope this gives you some ideas, dont give up trying.

[guest]

Night fishing is my favorite time to catch eyes, there's something special about the pull in the dark that wakes you up fast. I don't know what kind of structure you're fishing, but look for any rip rap, pilings, or very shallow rocks, weed edges work too. If you're fishing structure that's less than 6' deep I'd cast stick baits. If you can find lights on the ends of docks or other artificial lights those are good places to fish too. Husky jerks and rattling rogues are great night baits, depending on the depth you wind up fishing. And if you're fishing clear enough water get a spotlight out and look for their eyes glowing down there. Long line trolling with your bowmount will cover a lot of water if you need to search large areas, and when casting or trolling throw some pauses in to the retrieve/troll.

[Walleye Express]

Walteye.
For my area and many others, spring and fall are the best night fishing opportunities. The post spawn fish dropping out of the rivers and the pre spawn fish coming into the river systems both are looking for BIG BULK UP meals. Using bigger cranks at this time is best. Use cranks that have either bright orange or cream/white colored bellies on them. Run these cranks high in the water column. 5 feet down in 12 feet of water is a good gauge. Night time fish like to locate and trap their prey agains't that small amount of light that remains at the surface. keep your trolling speeds s..l..o..w.

[Johhnny Ray]

Night fishing is truely awesome. My favorite is the lighted slip bobber. Seriously, watching a lighted bobber go down is a cool thing.

The best time to fish at night is when the water is ultra clear.

[bbakes]

Go to articles and tips on this site, find a goofy looking guy, me, Bret Baker. Click on my face, read through "Working the graveyard bite", and "Bottleneck Bonanza". Both deal with night fishing in my neck of the woods. They detail my approach to locating and catching walleyes at night. I fish after dark all season, but early spring and late fall are when I tend to outproduce my day trips.

[SUPERTROLLER]

Jointed rapala's and Thundersticks. They give off more vibration and run higher in the water column on longlines. I also like Rattletots on short leads behind planer boards. As others have said, troll the top portion of the water for the active fish.

We sometimes fish the contour breaks where walleyes come on and off the flats. We drift or use the electric trolling motor to position ourselves right on the break and vertically jig with 1/2 or 3/4 oz. Hopkins spoons. This can be very effective.

[Lund AnglerMJ]

I'm not sure where you speak of,but if you haven't made contact,in that amount of time,change location's,and tactics.Big-time.If this is Erie..they may be out deeper,and suspending.A night bite,is always (I belive,and I'm not alone)how big fish feed.Not everyone of them,but alot.Enough to loose sleep for.I too fish all season at night.Spring,on a clear resevoir I fish,is a good shallow flat area bite.In summer,the river has 'em going.In fall,too.Try talking to others,at bait shop's,although times the info,can be hard to find.Don't give up....

[RedLionJim]

I fish down in Henderson Harbor with the same results as your having in Chaumont. I was told to try night fishing and it was much better. I fish the windy shore lines and cast #11 rapala's or big thundersticks(blue/white. Be very quiet as the walleye's will spook. but you will catch fish. good luck

[JCarp]

I'm still learning but color & size can matter, so keep changing baits until you find the right deal for your situation. The right color can outfish the wrong one 4 or 6 to 1 at times. Bait size can affect action, in some situations an HJ10 or HJ12 Husky Jerk will consistently outfish a HJ14 by a huge margin. I don't pull F18 rapalas quite as much anymore. I know of a successful muskie guy that pulls ripsticks after dark.

On one lake we fish for saugeye, flat lines out produce boards by such a wide margin we stopped using boards. All lines go on boards at other places. Speed changes and zigzags can trigger fish. It's often good to slowly pull the rod forward and then let it drop back slowly.

If you can locate deep open water fish during the day, sometimes you can see the marks rise up in the water column at dark. Run baits at or above the marks. Once you can't see them, go high.

Deep structure fish may move up onto the break or hang on the edge as mentioned in the other posts. One approach is to long line one bait and cast one up onto the point or flat and let it swing back to the rear of the boat, repeat.

I wouldn't make a career of it, but don't rule out fishing for deep fish in clear water. Only time we tried it on erie, a friend caught a fish on a HJ running 8' over 43 FOW and almost immediately caught a fish near bottom on a dipsey/stinger spoon. Around 11 pm.

Good Luck,
jc

[JCarp]

One more, don't rule out deep divers on short leads off boards. Works well on erie.

jc