How to catch bigger walleye?

[mclemson]

Hey there, just discovered this site and these forums a few weeks ago, and there's a wealth of information here. But one thing I'm wondering is, "How do I catch not just walleye, but bigger walleye?"

I'm new to walleye fishing, having fished Lake of the Woods in 2009 and 2010, and of course fishing for random stuff as a kid. From those two LOTW experiences, I know I can catch my eaters and keepers, but this year I'd like to target bigger fish that I can snap a photo with and then return to the lake.

What's the right way to target bigger walleye? Do you use bigger lures? Do you fish different locations? Are there certain colors or presentations? Or is it just a function of time (spend enough time fishing and you'll eventually catch a big walleye)? Everything I've read says, "Here's how you catch walleye," but I haven't found a lot that says, "These are where to find the big walleye." My hunch is that deeper water is the key.

My boat fishes with Lindy-style spinner rigs and 1/2 oz jigs with white twin tail grubs. If I change my lure, I'll still need to do the presentation from the same boat as folks using these methods, because I'm not sure I can win them over to, say, crankbaits.

A little about my tacklebox inventory, if it helps: Shad Rap #7 (firetiger), SR #8 (perch), HJ8 (yellow perch), HJ10 (firetiger), HJ12 (silver), and a DT14 (firetiger). These have never touched the water, but hoping they could come in handy this year somehow. Other than that, jigs in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 oz in a variety of colors, and Indiana #3 blades and beads in a variety of colors, with some Snap Loc dipsey sinkers and NO-SNAGG sinkers.

Just looking for general feedback and hoping the thread can be useful to others as well. Feel free to target it walleye fishing in general, or my situation in particular if you like. (We're typically a Memorial Day weekend trip, but we're going a week late this year. We stay at Buena Vista and then motor NW an hour or so before we start fishing in the islands that surround Splitrock Island.)

[jyenney]

I don't think big walleye are a thing you can target. There are definitly times in the year, say- late fall, early ice, and early spring where you odds go up to catch a big female.

I have caught a few over the 10 pd range, but it's never when I expect it.
The last one I caught last year, I was fishing for crappie in 4 ft of water, on a hot August day in the afternoon using a small size bait ??

In my experince bigger baits don't catch bigger walleye (I have wasted countless hours trying this theory), but alot of folks would dissagree with me.

I'm all ears if anyone says diffrent.

[Curryale]

I think the simple answer is that in order to catch big walleye consistently is to fish in a lake or area where a lot of them are.

It is my feeling that most or at least many lakes do not contain large populations of big walleye. I have doubts that most smaller northern waters can sustain or have numbers of big fish over ten pounds.

I know that big fish are caught in these smaller waters - but I would imagine it is less frequent then bigger waters.

In the summer one technique that has worked well for me is trolling larger lures late at night and/or fishing deeper then most other people during that day.

Overall though in my opinion the best way to catch the big ones is to head to a place like the Bay of Quintie or Columbia River (or another similar place) in the fall. Its big water - with high populations of trophy fish.

my biggest walleyes have all come targeting sunken islands and reef structures on small lures worked very slowly. the smaller more aggressive fish stick to shorelines and after they reach the 17-20 inch range something goes crazy in their brain and lose the attraction to shore structure and move into deeper water that borders on sunken structure. at dusk, target the shallow areas adjacent to the deep water. i find that lighter, smaller baits work better if you work them really slow. 4" ringworms are my personal favorite. longer slower sweeping retrieves help draw the finnicky strikes. remember that in order for a fish to get that big, that they must be an opportunistic feeder. they wont expend large amounts of energy chasing fast moving baits very far, so the longer you keep your bait near them, the higher your odds are of getting that trophy on your line.

[Morton]

All the right stuff has already been posted.

Water ( Lake or river ) that has the right population of "larger" Fish.
Time of year when these fish ( as well as the eaters ) are most active.
Presentation that affords you the greatest opportunity.

Follow the forage size and location ... your baits should grow with the forage base as it grows during the year ... my rule of thumb is to upsize a little bigger than the forage size.

Good luck on your quest and new picture collection.

Morton

[lund115]

To quote Doug Stange:
"First you have to fish big fish waters"
That is the simple truth, and then it is targeting them when they are the easiest to catch. Most cases that would be the Spring and the Fall when the walleyes pack on the weight before the winter and around the spawn.
LOTW is a great fishery and has plenty of 10lb fish, and lots of 5-7lbers.
Your Lindy rigs are a great tool to use fishing structure or breaks. Use your crankbaits, on larger sand/mud flats, or open basin areas. I would talk to the local baitshops for information. If you plan on making LOTW a yearly trip, I would strongly advise hiring a good guide in the area. You can pick his ear for 8 hours, see what he uses, and where to go. It is money well spent to learn alot and catch some fish that day and put more fish in your boat in the future.

[Bill Krejca]

A sort of "end around" approach to getting a big one is to target those waters that have an absolute size restriction. By this, I mean NO walleyes over.... It is very evident that not being able to keep even one, say, over 22", or whatever, results in a good supply of larger fish. Also, where netting is allowed, the chances appear to be less.

A lake I used to fish quite a bit was Tramping Lake , near Snow Lake, Manitoba. On a normal trip, most of our party would get one of 28" or better, 22" being the largest allowable keeping size.

Bill Krejca

[Chad]

As others said...Fish big fish waters.
Be willing to give up a lot of action in lieu of a few big fish bites.
Also you need to target places at certain times of the year to improve your odds.
Lastly, fish with big fish baits. Using fat heads will not consistently put big fish in the boat. Using large creek chubs on a big fish late will. You may only catch 3 fish but they will be big.

Lake Oahe for example. We fished the MWC there last yr and a friend fished large creek chubs all day. They only had 3-4bites all day but they were all over 6lbs.

On some lakes big fish target different bait fish. They may be chasing baits that are suspended sush as smelt, tullibee, cisco, whitefish, etc...

When pulling cranks larger profiles can help but I have also caught large fish on small baits.


Some sure fire big fish waters:
Lake Erie
Lake Winnipeg
Mille lacs
Lake of the Woods

[BrianZ]

i'm no expert, but all of my walleye over 8lbs have been caught in the middle of the night or deep into the predawn twilight or late into the dusk twilight...
but then again i prefer to fish at night which means i am mostly fishing for walleye in the dark

[Gale Johnson]

pull cranks, you will catch on average bigger fish

not 100% rule but a good rule of thumb