Hello...

[sweetwater slim]

HELLO... I am a serious LIGHT TACKLE STRIPER FISHERMAN... Last fall I discovered WALLEYE fishing in the lower Susquehanna River in Cecil County, Maryland... Life has not been the same since that day... I am learning more about these wonderful fish everyday... Most evenings I do alright keeping pace with most of the "regulars", catching 3 or 4 keeoers in a couple of hours. I fish from shore with waders to get to the reefs and breaklines in the current to reach my fish... At what temperture do WALLEYE spawn ?... The SUSKY river water temp is 40 to 48 degrees In the last week or so the bite has dropped off... the fish I have kept still have roe in them so they haven't spawned yet...How does SPAWNING effect the bite??? What adjustments do I need to make to up the catch rate??? THANKS in advance for any help...

[aceoky]

Hello, and welcome! Sorry I don't know the answer to your questions (yet)

[JinxCanada]

HELLO... I am a serious LIGHT TACKLE STRIPER FISHERMAN... Last fall I discovered WALLEYE fishing in the lower Susquehanna River in Cecil County, Maryland... Life has not been the same since that day... I am learning more about these wonderful fish everyday... Most evenings I do alright keeping pace with most of the "regulars", catching 3 or 4 keeoers in a couple of hours. I fish from shore with waders to get to the reefs and breaklines in the current to reach my fish... At what temperture do WALLEYE spawn ?... The SUSKY river water temp is 40 to 48 degrees In the last week or so the bite has dropped off... the fish I have kept still have roe in them so they haven't spawned yet...How does SPAWNING effect the bite??? What adjustments do I need to make to up the catch rate??? THANKS in advance for any help...

well my first bit of advice is to put the females BACK!!! if you want to keep catching walleye for future years. keep the smaller males (you can tell them cause they will have sperm coming out of them) btw..if you catch a walleye and it's bigger than 25 inches, it's most likely a female. the males are smaller normally in case you are wondering after spawn which you have in front of you. :-)

as for the spawn, walleyes do NOT feed much before or during the spawn, however, they do reaction bite to lures floated in front of them...which is how most of us actually catch them. at least this is how i understand it, but hey...i've been wrong before.

[Guest]

HELLO... I am a serious LIGHT TACKLE STRIPER FISHERMAN... Last fall I discovered WALLEYE fishing in the lower Susquehanna River in Cecil County, Maryland... Life has not been the same since that day... I am learning more about these wonderful fish everyday... Most evenings I do alright keeping pace with most of the "regulars", catching 3 or 4 keeoers in a couple of hours. I fish from shore with waders to get to the reefs and breaklines in the current to reach my fish... At what temperture do WALLEYE spawn ?... The SUSKY river water temp is 40 to 48 degrees In the last week or so the bite has dropped off... the fish I have kept still have roe in them so they haven't spawned yet...How does SPAWNING effect the bite??? What adjustments do I need to make to up the catch rate??? THANKS in advance for any help...

The spawning temp range varies a little depending on the source of information but 40-55 F is stated in one source. Net search Walleye Life History for more but your temps are right there.

When the fish are actually spawning they probably don't eat (they obviously have other priorities hehe) and I wouldn't be surprised if they have a period of rest hrs before & after spawning where they don't have much interest in anything. HOWEVER, not all the females spawn at the same time, day or even week and most spawning activity is said to occur at night. It is not uncommon to catch open water suspended females that are both pre and post spawn within the same day on erie. Believe me, when weather conditions are right they are eating.

Males may tend to stay shallower during the day (on spawning structure) and females may drop off deeper during the day. Males are 1st to arrive and last to leave spawning grounds.

I'm not a river guy but after the spawn I'd expect some/most of the fish would drop back downriver. There is definitely a peak. Can't offer suggestions on how far and how fast but changing water levels can be an influence. If your matching the regulars your doing all right. To pass them, you need to have a presentation they don't have, better knowledge of the structure "sweet spots", present your bait better, or have a better "touch" because of equipment, or experience. What else? Search fishing reports for river eye bites in other locations for ideas? Try nite fishing if legal.

Locals use certain presentations because they work & tradition. It can be tough to come up with something that works better. If everyone is throwing lead jigs, you might try a floating jig on a Carolina rig. Orig it was std hair/feather jigs until twister tails were introduced and they remained std on several lake erie tribs for many yrs but the floating jighead program has caught on in recent yrs. If legal and you don't snag fish, very slow retrieved stickbaits like Husky Jerks would work. Throwing sticks is definitely something to do in the fall (& summer but faster retrieves and add other crankbaits). Maybe a different color/size of jig body - maybe GULP?

Everyone will think you are nuts but Luhr Jenson makes a little in-line side planer called a Hot Shot or HotShot that is designed for river fishing (trout and salmon stuff out west). Church tackle has a little in-line and Offshore just introduced one but I'm not familiar with them. Anyway, you slip the Hotshot on your line, attach a bait, then let out your desired lead length while holding the Hotshot planer in your hand. Wrap your line and set a wire trigger arm, then let out line and the planer "swims" out from shore. Now you position your bait so it hovers right in the sweet spot or whatever. Not the way to go in every situation/river.

The equipment deal is about the only other thing I can think of with an immediate impact. If your jig fishing. the right rod of ideal quality will definitely put way more fish on the stringer. If everyone fishes mono, fireline or powerpro might give you an edge in some situations via better sensitivity or by minimizing time spent w/breakoffs and reties from snags.

I don't totally agree with the idea of putting all the girls back. With the exception of during the spawn, no-one has a clue whether an eye is male or female. Whether a fish is harvested during the spawn or any other time of the year, it is still gone. Should you exploit fish? Of course not but if you follow all applicable regulations your not doing anything horrible. Size and harvest restrictions are intended to allow harvest while maintaining the resource. Big females have contributed to the gene pool for many yrs, and though it really depends of the situation and body of water but they may be well past their prime anyway and males don't alway squirt before the peak. Accidently take a little female and you remove a fish that might have spawned many, many yrs... Might be better to take one big fish that has a short future than 2 smaller fish with many spawning seasons in front of them? Life is fraught with perils. See what your DNR guys think if you have concerns.

[aceoky]

I don't totally agree with the idea of putting all the girls back. With the exception of during the spawn, no-one has a clue whether an eye is male or female. Whether a fish is harvested during the spawn or any other time of the year, it is still gone. Should you exploit fish? Of course not but if you follow all applicable regulations your not doing anything horrible. Size and harvest restrictions are intended to allow harvest while maintaining the resource. Big females have contributed to the gene pool for many yrs, and though it really depends of the situation and body of water but they may be well past their prime anyway

VERY well said IMHO!

[sweetwater slim]

Thanks... Jinx, that explains why there was nothing in there stomachs... Guest... great info, great site.

[JinxCanada]

VERY well said IMHO!


i can see your point of view..but..with the lousy last few years of fishing in the detroit river for walleyes...i still feel right now it's bet to put the pregnant females back to spawn. we all certainly catch enough throughout the summer. but to each his own.

[aceoky]

As you said to each his own, I Felt (and still do) some very valid points were made, NO where did I say (or imply ) to keep "'em all" or anything close to that, however there ARE daily limits in place for biological reasons and it's Not my place to tell others how to fish or what "I think" they should or shouldn't keep, they paid to fish and that is their decision to make. So long as it's legal, I won't voice any ill will on that either......to each his/her own :howdy:

[sweetwater slim]

I am amazed at how much pressure these fish can take... Most guys I know that fish WALLEYE never consider catch and release for WALLEYE... They go in the bucket because they taste so good...I fished with a guy last fall who tried to explain it to me as I was on my way to filling my bucket and he was releasing all his fish... I THOUGHT HE WAS CRAZY... Now, I'm starting to see the light... and don't want to kill every fish I catch...By the way... Tonight I got a nice pair of 23" eyes... and yes we are having them for breakfast before going out for STRIPERS...:yum: