Walleye and light at night???

[Hawker]

OK, need to know if anyone knows for sure the answer to this. Let’s say the Walleye have moved in to feed shallow along the banks at night on a river system. If your fishing that stretch where they are feeding and hit the water with say the bright light of a flashlight, boom they are gone for a while, sometimes quite a while, sometimes for the rest of the night. Would an “infrared” light cause them to react, or can they even detect the light from an infrared source?? Reason for the question is that just got one of them newfangled video cameras that have a built in infrared light, and where there appears to be no light, when you watch the little screen you see everything almost like it’s daylight. Bottom line question though is, can the Walleye detect the presence of infrared light and will they react to it the same as they would light from another source like a flashlight.
Thanks
Hawker

[jcass]

Best way to find out is to take it out and try it. If the fish hang around - it doesn't bother them.
Interesting - X-Ray vision!

[Walleye Express]

>OK, need to know if anyone knows for sure the answer to this.
> Let’s say the Walleye have moved in to feed shallow
>along the banks at night on a river system. If your fishing
>that stretch where they are feeding and hit the water with say
>the bright light of a flashlight, boom they are gone for a
>while, sometimes quite a while, sometimes for the rest of the
>night. Would an “infrared” light cause them to
>react, or can they even detect the light from an infrared
>source?? Reason for the question is that just got one of them
>newfangled video cameras that have a built in infrared light,
>and where there appears to be no light, when you watch the
>little screen you see everything almost like it’s
>daylight. Bottom line question though is, can the Walleye
>detect the presence of infrared light and will they react to
>it the same as they would light from another source like a
>flashlight.
>Thanks
>Hawker


[b] Hawk.

I fish lots of places at night that have a constant un-natural light source. Bridge lights, street lights, and Store front business lights. The walleyes use these light sources to alluminate, see and snipe at the baitfish swimming above them in the water column. I've also used a crappie light laying on the water below a local spillway Dam with success for walleyes. I'm thinking that the walleyes spooked away from your light, only because it was introduced abruptly to an otherwise dark surroundings. Get a 12volt Black light or soft bulb light and turn it on for a while near where you want to use your camera. This should negate the spooking effect once they grow used to it's presence. Flashing the water with powerful strobe like flashlights will always spook the fish.

[Backwater Eddy]

I do a considerable amount of night hunting for walleye. From my personal prospective steady light sources do not intimidate a walleye much at all.

What walleye get really spooked from, is shadows. Shadows will send a walleye into high gear more then anything. I have approached feeding walleye and shined a light in there face and they get a bit ticked off, but many do not bolt. In contrast I have had walleye at me feet and the moon-shadow from my arm and rod cast across their line of vision made them explode in the water and flee. I have witnessed this many times.

I feel it is largely due to the light spectrum they utilize for feeding at night, and conditioning. Shadows spell danger to walleye because from a very young age they are weary of larger predators, and shadows. Even as a larger predators they still view peculiar moving shadows as highly suspicious and worthy of avoiding at night.

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

><,sUMo,>

[WAeyes]

Yep, moving shadows are a no no when walleye fishing. Case in point, during the last full moon, I had a couple keepers on a stringer down the shoreline from me. I decided to walk down past them to try a different spot. The moon was shining my shadow into the water so I walked hunched over to keep my shadow out of the water as much as I could although it was still out into the water a little ways. When I walked past the fish on the stringer and my shadow came on top of them, they absolutely freaked out trying to get away. After I got past them a ways, they settled right down again.

How they react to infra red light, I have no clue.

[shadowman]

i use a camera all the time and it dosn,t spook them but what does is when you see one with the camera and pop it in the head with it they will move back a bit and stop until you hit it again, the camera has never spooked one that i saw matter of fact its really neat to watch them do there thing without being bothered by it.