walleye problems

[dalton1294]

some of you might have seen my other post but, on my lake the fish have completely quit biting, ill catch one every few days!!! the water is hot and clarity is low, milfoil has been treated. if anyone has some suggestions on were and how to catch these fish please let me know.

Originally Posted by dalton1294

some of you might have seen my other post but, on my lake the fish have completely quit biting, ill catch one every few days!!! the water is hot and clarity is low, milfoil has been treated. if anyone has some suggestions on were and how to catch these fish please let me know.

That's not enough to go on for a diagnosis. How big is the lake, how deep, what type of structure is available, what's the primary forage?

[zackblain]

try a bunch of different methods til ya find something that works fish will tell ya what they want when you give it to em

[REW]

Dalton,
Go fish the lake after dark.
Get on the water an hour before sun down.
Then, fish it until sun rise.

I expect that you will do just fine.
REW

[dalton1294]

about 800 acre lake, the lake has a max depth of 71ft, sharp dropoffs, sandbars. several areas in 15-22ft were rocks were dumped, as for what there feeding on? im not really sure but my guess is small perch and shiners as there are thousands upon thousands of them. water temp is at 82, and clarity is at about 4 ft. weedline begins at 12-15 ft of water, several sunken christmas trees have also been sunk in this lake, 4-8ft there are alot of rocks scatterd around...i hope this is enough info to help u give me some ideas on how to fish these elusive eyes.

[BGunn]

Originally Posted by rew

dalton,
go fish the lake after dark.
Get on the water an hour before sun down.
Then, fish it until sun rise.

I expect that you will do just fine.
Rew

+1



....

during the summer when the water gets warm the lakes I fish with lots of weeds the walleye's will get in them becouse there's more oxygen and it provides shade plus thats were the baitfish will be. try getting on the edge of the weeds with slip bobbers or look for holes on the weeds and jig..

Originally Posted by dalton1294

about 800 acre lake, the lake has a max depth of 71ft, sharp dropoffs, sandbars. several areas in 15-22ft were rocks were dumped, as for what there feeding on? im not really sure but my guess is small perch and shiners as there are thousands upon thousands of them. water temp is at 82, and clarity is at about 4 ft. weedline begins at 12-15 ft of water, several sunken christmas trees have also been sunk in this lake, 4-8ft there are alot of rocks scatterd around...i hope this is enough info to help u give me some ideas on how to fish these elusive eyes.

The first aspect you must consider is location. If your lake is 71 ft deep, I assume that a thermocline develops. On a good sonar unit, you can usually see the thermocline as a horizontal band. Typically, you would expect your walleyes to be suspended above this depth as there isn't much oxygen below the thermocline. The fish should be readily visible as well on your sonar. With such a hot summer, many walleyes will seek cooler water temps and suspend chasing any available baitfish in open water. I would expect some of these fish to make shallow forays to structure, including weeds, during low light conditions to look for the perch you mentioned. Feeding windows in the summer are short but intense so you have to get the timing right. Trolling at the level of the fish would be your best bet for the suspended eyes, using various speed and color changes. The outside weed edge would be effectively fished using a lipless crank, which can be snapped free from a weed stalk if it gets hung up. This sudden movement often produces a reaction strike. It's best to try jigs for the rockpiles and sandbars. Remember, as you mentioned, there is a lot of food in the water so these fish can afford to be picky. You must attempt to get your timing and presentation perfect during peak feeding periods. Otherwise, you are hoping to get a reaction strike by varying speed or ripping crankbaits through weed edges.

[Burr]

Like the other parts of the year, the one we are in now is odd too.

The first step in catching fish, is to find them. It's easier to find them with today's electronics in deep water, but almost impossible to find them in shallow water without catching them. Your sonar cone is only a couple feet wide when your in 6 fow. So finding them can be a challenge if they are shallow.

I typically find fish, including active fish, in just about every depth this time of year.

Some located in the traditional, edge of the weed line.
Some in deep locations - 35 feet - which seems to be about were thermoclines have setup in our area as of last weekend.
Some in shallow, and extremely shallow water.

It's a good time to experiment with different presentations, different depths, to see what will trigger them. After locating them, then how do you make them bite?

I've got one lake that I've been trying to figure out how to get the Walleye to bite this time of year. There are Tulibee, Northern, and Walleye, confirmed with a camera, that hang out suspended in 35-38 fow, over 75-95 water depth area. I ran some deep diving cranks about 5 feet above them last weekend for a bit less than an hour. Picked up 3 Northerns, but no Walleye. The volume of marks is unbelievable, but I have yet to find out how to trigger the eyes to bite, while not triggering the Northern.

As mentioned earlier - I may try it a dusk to see if they become more active from dusk to dark, and consider moon phase as well. I know they are there, but have not figured out how to get them to bite, yet.

After doing that for an hour, I went into 6 fow, put on boards and spinners, and caught eyes. So that really narrows it down, they are between 4 and 35 foot depths....