Equipment for catching walleye

Somewhat new to walleye fishing. My husband fished for walleye probably 35 years ago...other than that we have fished for perch. This season we decided to try walleye again. Did decent but most were 17"-18" range. BUT this last fishing trip I lost 2 bigger walleyes while reeling them in. Broke the line both times. :mad: My question...we are using the same rods and line we use when we perch fish. Do we need different poles or different line? Was a little frustrated losing 2 bigger walleyes when I almost had them in the boat. Any help greatly appreciated.

Assuming your casting????

Most ppm use different poles for perch and walleye. Perch you normally want a very light pole, walleye a little stiffer.

Perch you can get away with some pretty thin line or braid if your prefer. Never tried to cast braid, but on my perch I have 6 pound mono, of my casting pole I use 17lb floro, on my trolling rods I use 30lb braid.

Male sure if using lighter line to keep the drag set soft. The fish will take some line but your not putting all the force on the lighter line, or pulling on the fish hard.

When I get 's big on hooked up and not trolling one of the first things I do is loosen the drag

Yes, casting. And need to get the 17# floro you mentioned I think. Not gonna chance it again losing 2 big ones after working so hard all day to get a couple in the boat. Thanks! Didn't think I would ever like walleye fishin but actually ended up loving it! My husband has been trying for years to get me to try it. I told him he better not take me out there again with piece of crap equipment! :rolleyes: Funny now....wasn't funny Saturday! :p

I use a 5' ultra light w/8 lb floro for perch and 6'6" medium action w/braid and floro (one of each) for Walleye. What general area were you casting for Walleye?

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Originally Posted by My Way

I use a 5' ultra light w/8 lb floro for perch and 6'6" medium action w/braid and floro (one of each) for Walleye. What general area were you casting for Walleye?

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Been fishing around the dumping ground, north of Cedar Point

I usually fish out of Mienke's, but two weeks ago, September 2 when the Perch bite was all but dead 5 of my friends went on a Charter out of Mariner Village Marina (Sawmill Creek). We went to the Dumping Grounds, we were trolling for Walleye and we got 36 nice fish between 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. My point is there must be good fishing in that area. My boat is not set up for trolling, I'd really like to come back and give casting a try in my boat but its kind of far, One hour 1 hour 15 minutes by car... Thanks again, tight lines and good luck.

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the best advice I can give is when using light line set the drag loose enough to give when a fish makes a run or does the old head shake. using light line is an art in itself.

Have not caught a walleye over 3lbs since April.Suspect broken line due to age and or drag not set properly.I use both 10lb mono and 30lb power pro braid to cast.The braid has several advantages over mono.You can feel the bottom and fish hits better and set the hook better into their boney mouths.We cast in the rocks frequently and the braid is much better pulling your rig out of snags.The 17lb fluorocarbon is what we use for leaders,but not what you want on your reel to cast.Too stiff and thick to get any distance casting.

Backing off the drag saved me earlier this year. Was perching with 5ft ultra lite with 6# mono. Caught a 31in walleye. Drag worked great during the fight. Took some extra time but got it in the net. This was out of the Grand River.

I use a 5'6" Medium weight rod and Diawa spinning reel that I got from Highway bait for both perch and walleye. Highway bait has some knockoff Fenwick rods that are really nice (if they still have them) for $35. I think i paid $35-45 for the reels. 20-30 lb power pro braid is all i use and then just tie on a 4-5 foot seguar floro leader. Works great for casting erie dearies and weapons. 20lb Powerpro is like 6lb mono, so its geat for perching, but strong enough for casting as well. good luck fishing and have fun!

For casting, you need a little finese. I like a medium action 7 ft. rod and a quality spinning reel. I like to use 8 # T-line monofilament. With this set up and using good knots like the double uni or polamar, you can land some very large fish. But you just cannot winch them in. For trolling it is a different story. Line counter reel with 30# PowerPro. Good trolling rods. I have poles rigged specfically for the methods you want to fish. Perch poles and casting poles can both be used but it has been my experience that perch poles and line especially, get neglected and abused more.
my .02$