Walleye on fishfinders

[shoot2retrieve]

For walleye fishing do you typically look for structure on your locator primarily then look for the fish. I have read tips on humps, points and such. Just curious what stands out to you guys on a locator that would say good conditions for walleye. I always have the bass fisherman attitude since I'm just getting into hard walleye fishing and trying to learn as much as I can. Just unsure if I should look for other stuff aside from structure. Thanks!!

[Pooch]

Many times we catch walleye without them being obvious on the sonar. If we actually see fish we catch them almost every time. If you mark fish that are "off the bottom" they are probably active walleye, northern or just suckers.

If a hump or drop off looks "fishy" we give it several passes before moving on even if it didn't mark fish. Some of our best catches come from spots that didn't show fish on the first pass. But after catching a few the spot really started working. Sometimes a little commotion draws other fish in. Especially Northern.

Pooch

[Seenofish]

It's funny how many times I've done my homework to best estimate where they should be - then go there - not to see them on the finder - but catch them there anyway. Over the years I've found that if you only trust your finder to "see" fish, you will pass up far more than you should. To me a Depth/Fish Finder is a tool "ONLY" to enhance what you have come to on your own through extra work on understanding movements, seasonal diffs, predator/prey relationships, aquadynamics, contour maps, and so on. If you look at it any other way, you've wasted your full potential and your money on the electronics.

[colt100]

I do the same as the others. I can at times mark walleyes but most of the time, they are too close to the bottom for me to read them. I keep my unit on when trolling and sometimes see fish but alot of the times, I will catch a walleye when nothing showed on the unit.

If I go over a hump, sunken island, ect and mark fish that I think are walleye, I take out a jig and make some casts. More often then not, I pull some walleye into the boat doing this. I do well trolling flats for walleye in the evening so I more or less just use my fish finder to find the structure I want to troll and then troll along it.

It is a tool to help you catch fish and if used properly, it does that very well. However, if I find fish, i'm not stareing at the electronics, I'm reeling them in.

I sure wouldn't want to fish without my humminbird. It has helped me put walleyes in the boat in the past.

Hope this made sence.

[FishCo]

It really is amazing what you can "See" on your electronics with out marking any fish, per say. I'm constantly learning about my electronics, it's features and settings and am finding new ways take advantage of what is really avalible.

Soft and hard bottom areas are easily ID'd, Greyline on Lowrance units, so I always try and identify those areas as well.

I also find it more and more valuble to turn OFF many of the Auto settings and use Manual settings on many of the features. This has tremendous value on the details of botttom structure, weeds, etc. and then you start to see seperation of, what appears to be just bottom, are actually fish holding tight.

Past couple of years, I also find myself utilizing more of the Zoom features and split screens more and more.

I'm certainly no expert on electronics, but I, like all of you, have spent a lot of money on these units, and I'll never stop trying to learn more, and utilize my equipment to it's fullest advantage.

I agree with many of you that, even though you are not "Seeing" fish, if your in the right areas at the right times, given the conditions, the fish are there.

You still have to present your baits to the fish, before you can catch any, wheather you have electronics or not.

Just my 2 cents.

Jeff

[shoot2retrieve]

Thanks guys great info. So does it seem that soft or hard bottoms tend to be areas to target once you've id them on a locator? If you come across structure on the locator is that something you definitely at least give a try even if no fish on the locator? Thanks.

[Pooch]

Every time!

Last year in Canada we were headed for a familiar spot and went over some soft to hard to soft again bottom. Threw a marker, went back and put a bunch of fish on the boat from an area that normal folks wouldn't give a second look. Never marked a fish, but they were obviously there.

If you are fishing some soft bottom (sand or mud) and go over a pile of rocks in that soft area, throw a marker off to the side and go back and at least give it ten minutes. Sometimes the fish are there unmolested and then again sometimes not. Mostly depends on the time of year. Bait fish are drawn to these areas for cover. Walleyes follow.

A lesson I learned about structure came from watching cattle in a pasture. Our neighbor left a tractor setting in his pasture for a couple days and some if not most of the livestock hung around the tractor. If there is a tree or small building in the pasture they will congregate near it. Think about it this way, if you were in a flat featureless area and there was a lone tree or building with nothing else within sight your first instinct is to move towards it. I think every living creature is hardwired to seek shelter or hiding places.

Pooch

[Shotgun Lane]

Did you know that "stand out feature" works for Dove Hunting ?

In large fields with bordering hedge rows, pick the tallest tree in the hedge row that lies between a watering hole and a feeding field. That's where you stand with your shotgun and at least 4 boxes of shells. :)

[reddog]

I have always fished water without worrying about whether I seen fish or not. Ive laughed at guys that say they wont stop until they see fish on the screen.
Now that I have my Humminbird, I am in the process of getting more confident about not fishing until I see fish. I'm not there..... yet.

Go ahead and snicker if you want. I wont mind.

[albhb3]

Just buy the bird and a hds10. you wouldnt believe it but the fish come up fincuffed!

[wa11eye]

shoot 2 retrieve,

there is a lot that we all need to learn about walleyes. as soon as you think you have 'em pegged, they'll switch up on you and you get to start all over again.

as for what to look for on your electronics--- lots of folks will zoom up on a location with main motors running and not mark or see any fish. doing this, you're probably not going to. stealth is where it's at. bow mount electric motor is crucial here. if you're really shallow, say 15 fow, remember your cone of reception under the boat will be @ 6 foot. you're only seeing 6 foot of the bottom.

what i look for are not only arches on the screen, but clouds of baitfish as well. like the other folks, i will also look for transition zones from hard to soft or vice versa, humps, cups, points, etc. the spot on the spot areas. depending on your body of water, not all walleyes are so easily found. many will suspend in the open water following schools of baitfish right under the surface.

if you're really serious about getting into walleye fishing, i would suggest two things. first of all would be to purchace the Walleye Insider's Critical Concept walleye series books. there are five of them. about $12 each/ new from their site. the second thing to do would be to really know your electronics, how they work and how to interpret what your seeing. for some this is easy, others are not really sure they just wait for the little fish emblems to bleep and show up, then they fish.

these books would be your best bet for on the water success. you'll learn about different water types, classifications, structures, electronics, habitat and habits, habits of bait fish, how to use different baits, learn more about the equipment you have. the list goes on and on.
if anyone you know has these books, and they have actually read them, they'll tell your that they're jam packed with info.

don't go for the videos. the problem with videos is that --yes, they have lots and lots of pictures/ video of fish, but you're not really learning anything in depth about gear, trolling, how the lure works and why it works. they fill up time on a lazy afternoon and may even help you to nap.

good luck, buy the books and read 'em. you'll never fish the same!!!!

[shoot2retrieve]

Awesome, guys and Wa11eye for the info. Thank you. I will give those books a shot.

[SonarGuy]

Don't forget sonar dead zones when fishing structure. Also wide cone transducers are a nightmare when it comes to the amount of dead zone present.

[orchard frank]

If you fish open water at all, seeing pods of baitfish can be a great indicator. Actually baitfish anywhere is good. Most of my fishing is in northern Great Lakes, typically fishing suspended fish that may or may not be related to structure. Fishing 12-18 feet deep over 25-40' of water is a good pattern most of the season. See a few walleyes, but more likely to see bait. Use the bait to position lures. I also run a high bait on this pattern, 4-6' deep, where you will almost never see a walleye on the graph, but will often produce on an outside board.

[eyeballs]

Lots of good advice here. I would only expand to say it's imperative to fish the fish - not spots. Become intimate with the walleyes never-ending movement dynamics 365 days a year in a variety of waters and you'll be on your way to finding and catching fish fast.

When walleyes are shallower than about 10 or 12 feet it's smart to fish for fish to locate them. When they're 15 foot or deeper, the more it makes sense to utilize your electronics. A basin, slow tapered lake will reveal walleyes easier than a sharp tapering reservoir with many ledges and channel edges to sort through. Take into account the topography.

[wa11eye]

eyeballs,

i agree and don't agree. you don't always want a slow taper. the season will dictate that as well as many times the eyes will push schools of baitfish up to a hard shelf and coral the bait feeding when they feel like. that doesn't happen on slow taper areas.

other than that, i do agree with you.

shoot to retrieve. there are so many variables in any kind of fishing. you can have 6 different patterns going on the same lake at the same time.

in one area you may need to troll for them, slip float in another, jig for them in another, find the stumps in another.

so many variables, so little time. one habit that was hard for me to break was to fish yesterday's memories. they were there yesterday, why not today? the fish move to follow the forage. if you contact eyes at the same location two days in a row, chances are it's a different school of fish.

wa11eye