Help - curious after reading planer boards/lights post

[nebrwalleye]

I just read the post regarding lights at night on planer boards - very intriguing. I have done enough reading to know how to use planer boards, but really have not done much of it. In fact, I honestly only remember seeing one person every use them down here. Clearly, their used extensively up North, but seldom here in central NE. Almost exclusively larger reservior systems.

Questions:

1) When do you start trolling at night? The literature I've read indicates that many don't bother w/night trolling for eyes' until fall. Do you do it all season long?

2) Would it be any different on reservior systems vs. natural lakes?

At many of the lakes here, the walleye have just finished their spawn and are in the 10 day recovery period. When they move shallow and start actively feeding, is that too soon to troll at night? Any help would be appreciated.

[Walleye Express]

nebrwalleye.

It's that 10 day recovery period you want to zero in on. Those spawn-skinny walleyes are going to be looking to put on some summer weight. And the size of the forage they'll love to see are those that will regenerate them fast. Try some big cranks near these spawning areas and river mouths if you have any, after dark for the first few hours. Keep your presentation high and slow. There will still be residual late post spawn fish dropping out of the system for a few days yet. They will mix in or run right straight into other smaller forage species (Smelt, Herring, Perch, Shad) all looking to spawn in these river systems or dropping out of them like the walleye are. All these forage fish will be mature, as there is no young of the year at this time yet. So bigger cranks make sense to me and more importantly, the post spawn walleyes.

[Sunshine]

Night fishing for walleye with trolling boards can work all year especially on congested waters. I do agree that the prespawn, spawn and post spawn timeline puts the fish in shallow water near spawning areas when they are in a night time activity mode.

For the post spawn 10 day window, if you have perch in the system look for them near the walleye spawning area and you could have a bonanza.