walleyes can't see?

[RickK]

I know that no creature can see in total darkness so there must be a point that walleyes can't see to hone in on a bait visually. Ie a very cloudy night and tink fog rolls in. Do you night fisherman ever stop because its TOO dark? When it starts to get like this do you notice fishing falling off? Anyone every catch a walleye on a dark stormy night ice fishing (lets say on tip ups away from lantern light) thick ice with heavy snow?

[RickK]

er thats THICK fog,..not tink fog.

[Lou in Alex.]

I've fished at night almost exclussively for the last few years- I dont believe there's a point where eyes can't find a lure.I think that what they lack in vision at times is offset by their lateral lines.I've fished alot of new moons-where of course there was no light- darker than dark- with as much success as on nights with moonlight.The only adjustments I make are to bump up lure size- my thinking being its a larger target, and perhaps increased vibration given off by the lure or bait.I'll work slower than normal-giving more time for fish to hone in on it.Icefishing is another thing-traffic on the ice can alter fish habits.I've found the best times to be times of least surface traffic- regardless of light levels.Good luck-Lou in Alex.

[HUsky]

Rick,

We often view situations assuming the fish, or other animals, have the same sensory input we do. Just as a dogs vision is very good when we cannot see due to lack of light, the walleye's eye allows vision in very low light levels (which we would call amost pitch black). In addition, fish have a lateral line system which is a sensory organ located along their sides that serves to locate objects, prey, etc. The lateral line system works via vibrations given off by objects, so it has absolutely no dependence on light at all. This is probably the system most fish use for night feeding. So, no matter how dark the night, or how murkey the water, they will feed and can be caught.....

[stevefellegy]

Several years ago, a study on freshwater fish and there "hearing" abilites was done at Harvard University. It was determined that walleyes can "hear" (locate), a minnow(2" long), setting still, hiding behind a rock, from eight feet away.

[RickK]

Thanks for the great input guys OK about part two,..walleyes evolved with those big glowing eyes for something,..that is, I know that can use in in very low light conditions and you mention how good their lateral lines are,.but I wonder how well they can strike a bait in total darkness. Is it THAT good that like a bat they can do as well as seeing the bait? I would guess not thus the eye developement,..so the question is: Do you think you can catch AS MANY walleyes on a moonless, cloudy night, in fog/stained water etc. ? Or does anyone consider that and wait for a tiny bit of light? Does total darkness effects your plans to go out?

[WAeyes]

Total and complete darkness gets me about as excited to fish walleyes as one can get. I believe it is one time where the big mother piggy is at my mercy. Big baits with contrasting colors, as suggested by Backwater Eddy, seem to work best for me.

There are several ways to get their attention in tough to see conditions.

1. Big baits
2. Use of different colors.
3. Loud rattle lures.
4. Wide exagerrated wobble
5. Eratic stop and go presentations

Then there are nights when I can't catch a thing on any of those combinations. Those nights a smoke colored twister worked very slowly with minimal jigging motion seem to work best.

Let the fish decide what they want. But don't ever let anyone tell you walleyes can't see at night.

[WAeyes]

Interesting study. Do you have any more info on that or do you know where I could get any more info on that study?

[RickK]

OK...How do you feel about on very black nights using something that will add a bit of light,..like glow paint or even a calume light?
Does it attract more hits or scare eyes? What about a small dot well in front of a larger lure/bait,..kind of like a dodger/flasher used ahead of a laketrout/salmon rig? Do you think it improves hits or do you all think that this is this unnessary

[WAeyes]

I can't speak from personal experience but I know some folks here have had good luck with glow baits. Won't hurt to give it a try.

I guess I have some built in old school traits that believe the best lure is one that looks natural to the fish. My philosophy is that big fish got to be big fish for a reason. They do not try to eat things that do not look normal to them.

Now there is always exceptions to the rule and for those times the glow baits just might be the ticket. But in general, night in and night out, I am trying to imitate some type of forage in the system...just works best for me.

[RickK]

Thank you,..we don't have a lot of walleye habitat here so experience is slow to learn and its great to have this board and all the experience that you have learned. Because walleyes are kind of rare, I might try a few things,..I too have tried to match natural forages when I can,..maybe I'll try a VERY,very tiny dot of glow paint on a few things,."maybe" it'll help them hone in the target,..if not, it'll be fun trying to increase the odds.

[eyedoktr]

RickK, great topic. I personally catch fewer but larger walleye on the new moon phase vs. the full moon phase. Conversely, I catch more but smaller 'eyes during the full moon phase.Does that mean that the older they are, the better they see/feed at night? I don't know, it may just appear that way. As far as glow in the dark goes, 15-20 years ago I was playing around with the luminous jig paints on different types of lures. To me it seems like you can have too bright a lure. I was living on and fishing a very clear lake and even at night under the ice, if the lure was too bright I got fewer hits until some of the glow wore off. One of my most productive experiments was to take a 1/8th oz. bucktail jig, brown head, mostly brown with some yellow tail, and very lightly apply some glow paint on a few of the tail hairs. These are just my observations and have not been proven scientifically to the best of my knowledge.

[flyman]

I don't doubt that 'eyes can feed in any light condition. In my experience, there is an optimal amount of light for walleye feeding. Last fall, I had found a 50 min. time frame where I could catch at least 10 walleye easily. Before (too much light) and after (when it was maybe "too" dark) this time, I would really have to work to catch fish. It was nice, because I could really focus my fishing for the best use of my time. This great pattern lasted about 1-2 weeks without fail, as long as the day wasn't cloudy. Then, when the full moon came there was not this short time of exceptional activity, but some fish could be caught sporadically the entire night. I know the baitfish were in this area all day and night. However, the majority of the feeding came under certain light conditions. On clear days w/out a full moon, it created 1 hour of phenomenal fishing before things got "too dark". When conditions led to these light conditions over extended time (clouds, full moon), there was no peak activity time, but the fish might feed at any time. So, while they can and will feed in any light condition, there is probably a range that seems best. It is possible to be "too dark" to be in that range of optimal activity, but some fish will still be feeding. Of course, this all relates to my experience on one very clear body of water. I'm sure location, forage, water clarity, etc. all may create very different results.