WALLEYE HELP PLEASE!!!

[creecy]

ok, I'm new to the walleye fishing game... i usually only fish largemouth... but i recently found a river in arkansas that gets its waters from many different springs, and so the water temp is fairly cold. and it has been brought to my attention that the walleye population in the river is a large number.. well i've only caught one using a brown and orange deep diving crankbait...

The river is anywhere from 2' to 9' deep and is about 40 yards wide...

my question is.. HOW SHOULD I FISH THE RIVER??!? WHAT BAIT SHOULD I USE?!? WHEN IS THE BEST TIME OF THE DAY TO CATCH WALLEYE?!?

[Chad]

>ok, I'm new to the walleye fishing game... i usually only
>fish largemouth... but i recently found a river in arkansas
>that gets its waters from many different springs, and so the
>water temp is fairly cold. and it has been brought to my
>attention that the walleye population in the river is a large
>number.. well i've only caught one using a brown and orange
>deep diving crankbait...
>
>The river is anywhere from 2' to 9' deep and is about 40 yards
>wide...
>
>my question is.. HOW SHOULD I FISH THE RIVER??!? WHAT BAIT
>SHOULD I USE?!? WHEN IS THE BEST TIME OF THE DAY TO CATCH
>WALLEYE?!?
>
>



#1 never admit you have fished bass...especially on this site.
#2 river fish seem to bite at all times of the day.
#3 river fish like current breaks. The current is like a buffet line and they like to have areas they can hop in line but then also take a break. Look for those areas where the slack water meets with the current.
#4 techniques...lots of options depending on the amount of current. jigging-pitching shallow and vertical jigging, rigging with plain hook, spinner, float n spin is a favorite of mine, bottom bouncing if not too much current...if lots of current a 3 way may be better, casting shallow cranks, trolling cranks..if the water is dingy with good current the fish wont mind the motor. I have caught fish in 2 ft of water with the big engine running. Salmo hornets, #5 & #7 Shad raps, RS Shad Raps, etc... You could also cast from shore both jigs and cranks. Lastly, dont forget about pitching and jigging plastics. If you find a good hot spot dont be affraid to ancher the boat and verticle jig it.

ChadM

[bountyhunterss]

find them deep holes and jig or blade bait . even a hook minnie combo . I know a hole in PA you can pull eyes till your arm hurts. other days none.

[karpbuster]

Welcome to walleye fishing.

The river has rapids? I fished one river for walleye in Canada and we just busted em. I like jigs a lot. We had some reefer jigs, or just a hair/marabou or curly tail. I usually have white and green/yellow. On occassion black/olive/brown not often. They were in the slack water beneath dams or falls. As in any river the fish don't like to swim all of the time, so they will be on an ambush point where fast water rolls by, in the slack water. Could be behind a big rock. One dam had a concrete break and the walleyes had their noses right at the break where the fast water runs by, if I didn't get the jig in front of them I didn't get a hit. Add a minnow or night crawler (or gulp) as needed (no hits). If it is all slack water let your jig hit bottom and swim it back slow, vary your retrieve/action. If you are getting hits and you have a full crawler on, let the fish take the jig/worm (open bail) reel up slack and set the hook.

Good luck!

karpbuster

[DLK]

Just a thought find deeper water and log jams { trees falling into river.} they are current breaks and bait havens. Good luck. Dan

[SS2]

Good advise so far. 1st hr & last hr of daylight are generally my most productive times other than nite fishing for shallow clear water fish (9 ft & less qualifies). There is a famous nite spring bite in your parts that you can dig up info on. Poke around through the links and you may be able to find some reports specific to your stream or similiar streams. Try a net search on Arkansas walleye, etc.

This was from searching Greers Ferry Akansas Walleye so it's mostly lake stuff but there are tidbits especially if you explore. Good Luck.

http://www.sdafs.org/meetings/98sdafs/reservor/bly.htm

http://www.walleyecentral.com/arkansas.htm

http://www.upnorthfishing.com/fishinggreersferryarkansas.htm

http://www.anglersfishinginfo.com/fishingreports/archives/index.html



http://www.anglersfishinginfo.com/fishingreports/ar/ar.htm#BULL%20SHOALS%20(EAST)




http://fishing-arkansas.com/byspecies/other.asp
Walleye Fishing
Planning a walleye fishing trip? Arkansas contains plenty of walleye fishing hotspots and few anglers vying for this species. No other state consistently produces walleyes as big as The Natural States'. The world-record 22-pound, 11-ounce walleye was caught in Greers Ferry lake in March 1982. It has been said that Arkansas has some of the best walleye fishing in the United States.
A cool water fish, it's commonly found in water temperatures from 65-75 degrees. Walleye like clean streams and lakes with rock, gravel and sand bottoms and a good combination of pools and riffles.
Most are caught at night and on cloudy days (they avoid bright light) on a variety of natural and artificial baits. Minnows and bream are effective natural baits while minnow-imitation artificial baits work best in winter and spring. Try jigging spoons and trolling deep-running lures in the summer when walleyes are in deep water.
Some of north Arkansas's waters that support good walleye populations include Bull Shoals, Greers Ferry, and Norfork lakes, and the Eleven Point, upper and middle White, Kings, Spring, Black and Current rivers. Try walleye fishing in these west-central waters: Saline, Ouachita and Little Missouri rivers and Lakes Hamilton, Ouachita, Catherine and Greeson.




Greers Ferry 12/6/06: http://www.agfc.com/fishing/20061206_fr.html

Walleye fishing improved. They are starting their early pre-staging efforts around bridge pilings and the main mouths of major creeks. Troll deep-diving Spoonbill Rebels and Wally Divers with line weights to get down to the fish in about 50 feet of water.