Walleye Fishing Tips

         

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Walleye Fishing Tips

The Walleye (Sander vitreus vitreus, formerly Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch. The walleye is sometimes also called the yellow walleye to distinguish it from the nearly extinct blue walleye.

In some parts of its range, the walleye is also known as the walleyed pike, yellow pike or pickerel. Truth be known, walleye aren't related to northern pike or pickerel. Instead pike and pickerel are both members of the family Esocidae.

Genetically walleye show a fair amount of variation across different watersheds. In general, fish within a watershed are quite similar and are genetically distinct from those of nearby watersheds.

Walleye from certain lakes are said to have superior or distinct flavor. The source has been believed to be caused by minerals in the water or genetics.


It's likely to be more a matter of personal taste than scientific phenomenon but at this point I don't think anybody knows for sure.

One thing's for sure, there's nothing like a fresh cold water walleye cooked on a lakeshore and served hot. You haven't lived until you've had a fresh walleye lake shore lunch.

In the states it's often common belief that walleye are best caught at dawn and dusk or on cloudy and overcast days under choppy conditions when light penetration into the water column is disrupted. I can tell you if you fish northern Canada the right time of year you can catch walleye all day long on into the evening hours, depending on the day of course. Spring and fall are hot walleye fishing seasons as walleye feed readily then. Spring is an excellent time of year to visit northern Canada on a fly in fishing vacation.

Having the right tackle and strategy is also crucial to catching walleye. Walleye are known to prefer a realistic presentation, not to the extent as you would for trout, but it deficiently helps.

In the early spring, the Walleye are right close to shore or congregating around areas with sand like a sand bar or a Wild Rice bed with a sandy bottom. They can also be found in the weeds and around rocky points close a sandy bottom area. The location of sand is very important because that's where walleye spawn. Walleye also spawn in river currents. This time of year Walleye are quite aggressive and will smack many baits. Yellow or white twister tails on a jig head work great when worked over a dropoff area next to weeds.

1/8 oz jig heads work good in low to non current areas. When jigging in heavier currents 1/2 oz jig heads may be necessary. Otherwise your bait will just move with the current.

The color of the jig head doesn't seem to matter much but the tail colors do.

In the spring the smaller male walleye usually stay in the shallower waters while the large female walleye lurk in the deeper cooler water. In the evening females will sometimes move to the areas you were catching smaller male walleyes earlier in the day. Jigging over the side of the boat with a lantern rig work great in the evenings for catching large the female walleye.
 

When the water starts to warm up, you will find that the Walleyes go deeper and hide in thick weeds. This is when it pays to work the shorelines in the evenings and after dark. Lunker walleye lurk the shorelines hunting baitfish. Trolling near shore with walleye baits is very effective. Just be careful when trolling in the evening. Hitting a rock could make for a bad night in the north woods.

Once it has warmed the huge walleye go to the deeper holes during the day. If you want to catch monster walleye during daylight hours you are going to have to ge deep.The thermal layer is often right off the bottom.

walleye also suspend in open waters during the warm summer months. Anywhere from 15 -30 feet deep is where you will find walleye in most lakes during the summer. Use a graph to locate walleye schools and determine the depth they are suspending at.

Use deep diving baits to get down to where the walleye are at and you will usually do good.

In late summer walleye begin to move back to shallow waters.
 

 
   
 
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