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I'm anxious to get through the next couple months and head to the lake for my first spring walleye run fishing trip. was hoping to get some pointers on where to fish in my 16 ft. lund. this summer i went out as far as the reefs but the weather will probably not be so cooperative in the spring. I have heard the action is hot on the maumee but have never fished it. any feedback would be appreciated and help pass the time til good fishing returns in the spring. merry christmas!
Hey Chillin I know what you mean I get it about this time every year and start loggin on to this site for some walleye.com fishing stories, you dont have to be to afraid of that size boat I have been fishing the same size boat and as long as you ck your weather and waves you will be ok .There is realy some good fishing no some great fishing in early spring just after ice is off the lake and can be had really close to shore any of the main rivers will hold fish pre spawn, during, and after. A favorite place for us is straight out of wildwings in front of davis bessie cooling towers, you will see a group of boats there we dont get into the pack of boats but stay on the inside closer to shore , 11 foot of water up to 14 foot stay in that range purple hair jigs tipped with a shinner or two vertical jig , get your 4 fish and head home ,you can do this every eve all thru the early spring . we leave from Columbus Ohio about 4 pm find some bait You need call ahead to see who is open in early spring some of the bait stores close early . launch the boat catch our limit and be back home by 11 pm its a great time of the year , hope to see you out there let me know how you do mblmike
Is jigging productive for the bigger females as well as the males? So far my largest walleye was 30 inches and 10 pounds. I would love to get a 13 pounder for the wall this spring. But on the other hand the best eaters are the smaller ones!
dont get to excited the algae has everything a mess and dosent look good for this year also.
Seriously? Have you ever seen algae in the spring?Quote:
Originally Posted by shawnb1977
What I mean is do to all the weather and algea last year the hatch was about zero.and and this year dosent look good , just the info I retrieved from our lake Erie water shed meeting last week , they estimated3-5 years for the spawning beds to turn around. While reducing the numbers from 4-3 fish a day. An estimated one hundred charters went bankrupt last year. And the record rainfall this year will make things difficult this year also.
We have been comming out to the western part of Erie for years, but this year I think I will cancel out. the last two years have been tough for us and all the talk about the alge has the guys on edge about comming out this year. This is a sad situation!!!. I know skipper9 and a few others done well! but it is 10hr. ride for us and we only have a week. To all the locals and charters tight lines be safe!
Bankrupt, Hell I am considering buying a second boat... We caught limit after limit of great eyes... I just had to spend the gas money to follow them big fish.. don't throw in the towel yet. There are plenty of eyes in the great lake Erie....
Ya, ran more trips during 2011 than I ever have and already have most of the peak times booked up for 2012. People will still keep coming up, they want to fish. Plain and simple, they want to fish. The kicker is I havent booked the regulars yet. Looks like its time to send out the winter flyer and start making casting rigs. 13 weeks to go.Quote:
Originally Posted by skipper9
I'm sure the economy had a lot to due with those charters going out of business not the lack of walleyes in the lake. Most likely a lack of walleye in the box. I also believe some people are just too stubborn to give up on casting and start trolling. I finally gave in and bought the equipment. Although, I can't wait for the spring jig bite so I can knock the dust off the loomis rods and leave the trolling stuff in the shed. I would rather catch one walleye casting or jigging then 10 trolling, but you have to do what you have to do when the fish are all scattered after they spawn and leave the reefs.
I keep casting, work the deep ledges and the flats. Some days they are near the bottom and some days its a short count and medium reel speed. So many people dont realize their lures are under the walleye. Its hard to teach but once they figure it out, the smiles are on. Happy customers come back.Quote:
Originally Posted by mkalink
I agree with you and also would add that to me the worst thing a person can do is throw a couple of bottom bouncers out and just wait for the fish to find your bait. Sure one bottom bouncer is OK but you have to remember that there is a whole column of water above those bottom bouncers that would not be targeted while dragging 2 bottom bouncers and not using the count down system with the other rod. Another important thing to remember is to fish the swing while casting weight forward spinners, there is something about the lure action that turns walleyes on while fishing the swing.Quote:
Originally Posted by gregnwtf
It all comes back to presentation. Bottom bouncers can be killer to use at the right time of year, good wind. May and June seem best for bouncers but I normally bring them up 1 to 3 cranks off the bottom to target the fish that are near bottom and looking up. There are many days when only a bouncer works. When casting the harness, the walleye hit the bait normally when it changes speed at the half way around point, and just after that. The trick is slow reeling " SLOW". You are not cranking a bass spinnerbait. I teach this every trip. Flat days in June I dont normally count longer than 8-10 sec. Get some on a 2 count "splash". Keep the boat noise down on flat days. I make a long return route when going back for another drift. Everyday is still alittle different in some way. More casts equal more fish.Quote:
Originally Posted by wakina
I agree and should have also said let the fish tell you what they want. I sure miss those drift and cast days, got my neck and shoulders busted up in a bad car wreck in 2004 and can't tolerate casting anymore, three or four casts and I am done for the day. One of my favorite tactics for Bottom bouncers was a three way setup with a 24 inch leader to the BB then a 36 to 48 inch leader from the other or horizontal side of the three way to a F-5 Wordens Flatfish orange with black dots or green with black dots, always got the ones with the gang hooks and put a half a nite crawler on each side, on calm days with just a slight drift those flatfish wiggle, weave, bob, shimmy, shake and dive in a eradic pattern they move and then stop and move again, they caught alot of walleyes for me. The hard part for me was as you said keeping the noise down in the boat as some people just can't grasp the fact that what they do noise wise topside is magnified into the water column through the boat.Quote:
Originally Posted by gregnwtf
Great info on the cast and drift method guys, keep in coming! Thanks
Jim