Where are the Walleye?

[walleyerick]

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]

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]

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.

[blk97]

Walleyerick, thanks for the info. I love walleye fishing and is willing to pay a charter .Do you know any that guarantee walleye? I want to learn when where and how to catch walleye on the Eastern end of Lake Erie. I will not stop until i learn.

[walleyerick]

If you can get a money back guarantee, take it ! Personally I'd be surprised if you could get one. When the season opens up in May, the walleye are just done spawning and they are in shallow water. The water is probably low 50s.
Later on as the temp rises in L Erie, they usually go to deeper water because they like it cooler.

But who knows ? Someone said a while back "that's why they call it fishing, not catching". Truer words were never spoken.

Walleye like to run in schools, but the bigger ones are mavericks and they travel alone.

[blk97]

Walleyerick, i had a charter on lake Wylie, North CAROLINA. The charter was money back or a free outting. We fished for crappie. Had a ball. Where are the walleye?

[walleyerick]

Lake Erie is a big lake and they could be anywhere ! It is about 10,000 sq. miles in area. If a charter boat guarantees walleye or your money back, let me know. If you have a sonar fish finder that should help locate reefs and schools, but it's still a big lake and even the best hi tech equipment won't guarantee fish. If I find 'em, I'll let you know where.

Good luck.