Quote Originally Posted by West Basin View Post
Randrasik,

All good advice so far.

You are lucky in that the walleye are close to west harbor this time of year. The South Passage, the area between South Bass and Kelleys Islands and the mainland, is a typical hotspot right now. I see quite a few charters fishing it. It will depend on the day, but you should not have to go far to find active fish.

Drift fishing is starting up now. I think the two most important things you need to concentrate on, other than making sure you have walleye around, is first starting out with a variety of depths and second knowing how to feel and hook a walleye.

When you start out, assuming you have a depth / fish finder and you see at what depth the walleye marks are at, you need to get your lure into that depth and keep it there as long as possible. Ues the countdown method. Once you cast out and the lure hits the water, start counting (thousnad one thousand two etc.). A typical lure sinks about 2 feet per second. Count as high as it takes to get the lure to the walleye depth. Then start your retrieve. Have your crew use slightly different counts. Fish that count for a few times and if no walleye, then change the count. The idea is to figure out the correct seconds count to get the lure into the "walleye zone" after you start retrieving it. Experiment until you find the right count and retrieve speed to keep the lure in that zone as long as possilbe.

The second thing is to learn a "walleye suck" or how walleye hit a lure. They are not like bass or pike, they typically don't "hit" a lure. Generally you won't feel a define hit. It's more like a sudden feel that the lure got heavier, or a little more tension on the line. it's usually a weak "hit". If you feel this drop the rod tip back 4-6 inches just for a spit second then try setting the hook. It you hook it, great! if not, let the lure fall back, give it 3-4 feet of slack for a second, then start the retrieve again and be ready for a second try by that walleye. This takes time to learn, but spend the time to learn. Experiment. You'll figure it out. Once you do your catch rate will definitly improve. And it's fun to figure out!

Otherwise check here for fishing reports and you can actually see where one charter is fishing on the charter webcam. Read the "Live fishing webcam" post on this Western Basin forum, it's probably 5-10 treads down the list now.
That is very sound information. One additional point. Different baits, weights and lines will allow the bait to sink at different rates. Therefore, on your first cast, start counting when it hits the water, and then stop counting when it hits bottom. That way, if you are in 24 feet of water and the bait hit bottom at a 20 count, then you know that half-way down would be a 10 count, and so on. If you are marking fish from 12-15 down, then a 10 count should be about right.