newbie looking for information and advice

[mk_bovee]

im new to this board, as well as new to the sport of walleye fishing. i live in northern michigan, surrounded by alot of lakes that have walleye in them, but no matter what i try, i cant seem to get any.

i have tried spinner harnesses with leeches, crawlers, and shiners, all to no avail. ditto for jigs and slip bobbers.

i have also tried trolling for them with rapala's, thunderstick's, and rouge's.

i have also checked with the local state game office as to the amount of walleye's they have noticed in their surveys, and was told that the lakes i was fishing all have excellent walleye populations in them, so id believe i can eliminate that as a possible excuse.

i have been focusing on the breaks and weedlines of the lakes, ranging from 20 fow to 5 fow, and always starting about an hour before dusk and going to the wee hours of the morning. i know i must be fishing the proper areas because i seem to have no problems catching smallmouth bass and rock bass all the time. ( i had been told that walleyes and rockies and smallies prefer the same types of areas)

i tell ya, at times it seems like im just :deadhorse:.

any suggestions or advice woud be greatly appreciated.

[RJmjZ]

There's way "moretoit" than having fish in the lake. You'll be doing yourself a favor, the lake, and fish a favor by studying the ecosystem of the particular lake you want to fish. Study it up one side and down the other. Pretend you are a novice biologist, geologist, meteorologist, ect., and fisheries person. The kinds of things you will learn can largely be applied to any future lake you intend to fish. Besides, if you take this route, you will often be able to tell if the fishery persons in charge are doing their job right, or if they are full of balony. With knowledge comes greater responsibility.

[Phil T]

You have to be at the fish when they are actively feeding. Success relies on things that can't be marketed, like location, time, depth and speed. If you're on truly active fish, any of the things you've tried will work, some better than others.
This isn't stressed nearly enough, because there's no advertising money in it.

[stinkycat]

I am not from your area but maybe hiring a local guide for half a day will get you pointed in the right direction based on your local lakes. Each lake can be completely different than the one across the road. Each local areas can also have slight differences than other parts of the state. Just the very slightest variation can make a potential "skunked day" into a great day. IMHO

[Raybob]

You have to be at the fish when they are actively feeding. Success relies on things that can't be marketed, like location, time, depth and speed. If you're on truly active fish, any of the things you've tried will work, some better than others.
This isn't stressed nearly enough, because there's no advertising money in it.

...Excellent advice! :)

ie: some tough luck guys like to fish outta the wind or at random on flat calm dayz rather than where the Eyez have the feedbag on at a time and location of their chosing, rather than the Eyez... I try to locate the food source in the eve/summer w/run n' gun for the conditions (24/7) & then locate the "active" Eyez in primetime (usually after dark shallow for sUMos in the summer warm-water months)...

[ksx3]

Along the lines of advice already given, I would suggest doing more homework on the lakes. For any new body of water I fish, I have always bought a lake map and studied it thoroughly. I personally prefer the fishing hot spots maps and take DNR maps whenever available (as these usually mark DNR placed cribs). Combined with the use of the GPS, maps can really help put you on the exact spots you are looking for. Also keep records of your work - weather conditions, what you did, time of year, baits, bottom structure, etc. You will end up teaching yourself and have notes not to mention you will be learning spots.

[Phil T]

Here's another tip if you're visiting a lake. Don't bother fishing until the local boats hit the water.
I used to live at Devils Lake, ND. When I go there now, I'll cruise around and look at the new shoreline until some of the local (seldom new, often some old glass trihull with grandparents and grandkids) boats start to fish. Then I'll hit my favorite spots, and guess what? The people who fish a body of water more than once a week know what time of day and how deep the active fish will be found.