Where are the Walleye?

**copo427ss** · 08-20-2008, 07:50 AM

well. we trolled the slag piles parrel from shore starting out at the outer edge at 35 ft. and wourking back and forth all the way across the shoal. nothing. no schools. not even a straggler. we covered from 3ft-12ftdown with three rods out. then moved to the mid gap to the north gap, to north north wall and finally donnleys wall. SKUNKED!!! this weather must have pushed them back out to deeper water. only marked a few small schools of baitfish. nothing like before. so the thread continues...... where are the walleye??????

Islander · 08-20-2008, 08:56 PM

We went from the departure buoys all the way to Seneca Shoals this evening and did not mark one, no bait fish, no Walleye. Last week the screen was black with them. We made a drift on the way in and got one in the River in 25ft. The wind drove them out somewhere. Hopefully it is better by the weekend.

blk97 · 08-22-2008, 10:22 PM

Went to Dunkirk again, we gotta be nuts. Bent my prop, don`t use the first ramp at Dunkirk, the water is really shallow. Engine over heat, forgot to close intake on out drive.Lost a cannon ball, accidents happen right? I`m thinking i`m a jinx. What do you say? Also did i mention we caught no Walleye . Where are the Walleye?

ratfink · 08-23-2008, 07:13 AM

I fished Dunkirk area Thursday, picked up 2. Talked to a bunch of guys back at the launch and nobody had done all that well, very few nets out. If you noticed there was a ton of bait on the screen, I mean loads of it. Could be the culprit for the slow fishing.

**jig** · 08-23-2008, 09:58 PM

fished today tried 60 to 70 fow didnt get any ran out pass elk turn back toward ne and went half way back to walnut pick one and that was it i think we where about 150 to 160 back . walnut

**walleyerick** · 08-23-2008, 10:07 PM

I got out onto the lake at 7 this AM. As I was leaving the small boat harbor I saw the windmills spinning at 12-13 rpm. I was hoping for a calm day on the lake but as I cleared the harbor, I was greeted with 3-4 ft waves. I started trolling about 1/2 mile out and right away I caught a nice 3# walleye. He fought half way between a sheephead and a bass. I put him on the stringer and kept trolling west. By 9 AM I picked up a 1 1/2 # bass and it was getting really windy. By 10 the winds died doen and the lake started to flatten out so I trolled all around the international buoy in 42 fow : nothing. Later I trolled back in a hit a 3.5 # bass an a sheephead. After I threw the bass back in, I was thinking I should have kept it to eat. Anyone ever eat bass ?

6 hrs of fishing one walleye. It's a lot of work. (I'm still going up and down).
BTW, if the windmills are 10 rpm or less the water is pretty calm.

blk97 · 08-24-2008, 10:38 AM

We also was at it again yesterday, Left Grand Island RAMP 8:AM headed For the lake, surprized again with 3-4 footers.We trolled, we drifted we tried spinner and worm, we tried stick baits, no walleye. Somebody please tell me what i`m doing wrong.I`m using copper colored spinners, blue & black bomber-A stick baits, i even bought a green renosky, i over heard two guys talking at the bait shop, so i said why not try it, this could do the trick. No luck. Where are the walleye.

**walleyerick** · 08-24-2008, 10:53 AM

Personally, after fishing for yellows for 50 years, the only thing that consistently works are worm harnesses with big fat juicy crawlers. It doesn't matter what color except that under some lighting conditions (dark, sun, overcast, etc.) some colors are better than others so that the fish are attracted by sight. At 40-50 fow, the light is usually attenuated quite a bit, so that clean, polished, reflective spinners work best. Assuming that we won't get lucky enough to troll right through a school, it is important for the fish to see the bait from a long ways away as possible. Once they see it, if they are curious or hungry, they will check it out, then strike.

Having said all this, there aren't near anywhere as many walleye as there were 5o years ago when commercial fishermen plied the lakes in the deep water. Let's hope it gets better.

With my little boat I am not going out 10+ miles to troll at 80 ft. So I guess I will just enjoy the suspense of whether I will catch the big one.