Newbie help

[roby.36]

Hi guys, we just recently bought a boat and are planning on taking advantage of the nice weather Saturday hoping to do some walleye fishing. I have been reading alot on here but I have some questions. The first is what should I use? jigs or troll a stick bait? or would we be better off using spoons and harnesses? We dock out of turtle creek so we will probably stay around there. Don't care if we catch fish Ohio walleye just would like to catch some. Thanks in advance for any comments/ suggestions.

[imrsmk]

That is hard to say without more info. Since your thread says newbie and you said it is a new boat, I'm assuming you are completely new to walleye fishing and Lake Erie?

From Turtle Creek, jig fishing will be the closest and simplest for you to start out with. Trolling requires a lot more gear, boat setup, and knowledge. Both are effective if you know what you are doing.

To answer your second question, most have been trolling crankbaits, but some are starting to switch to worm harnesses. We are in a transition period right now.

I would recommend goimg out with some experienced friends or hire a charter to learn the ropes, especially id you want to troll. It will be worth the cost.

Be safe and watch the weather.

John

[roby.36]

John, thanks for the response. We are not new to fishing up there.... just not this early or in our own boat usually we go out in the summer drifting with harnesses.And some experience jigging but not much. The boat is set up for trolling with walker electric down riggers, big trolling rods with line counter reels, and more spoons than we know what to do with. So I guess to clarify I don't know much about trolling.

[imrsmk]

Understood. For jigging, I would check out the thread "Headed out to the Big Water" which contains some great tips and how to start.

Not saying you can't catch'em using spoons right now, but typically most people will wait until the water warms up some and the fish become more active. Especially if you are looking to stay around Turtle Creek, I would focus on jigging.

Just my 2 cents.

John

[Madd Matt]

Understood. For jigging, I would check out the thread "Headed out to the Big Water" which contains some great tips and how to start.

Not saying you can't catch'em using spoons right now, but typically most people will wait until the water warms up some and the fish become more active. Especially if you are looking to stay around Turtle Creek, I would focus on jigging.

Just my 2 cents.

John

I agree with John. Spoons are not what you would want to drag through the water that far West right now. It is a little early for them to be the most effective lure. Also, while you can use downriggers to troll (obviously that is what they are made for), unless you have the ability to know exactly where in the water column they are then down riggers would not be what I would start off with the first time out this year on a new boat, when you are used to drifting. Precision trolling takes a lot of precision (regardless of what all the drifters say). One of the main things that I would want to do is take all those line counter reels and make sure that they are calibrated. Mark out 100' in your yard and then run out exactly 100' of line from point A to point B. Look at your counter and see how accurate of how far off it is.

If you are 20% off on your line counters then you can be running above or below the fish and never know it.

Right now the fish are still hitting jigs and there are a lot of limits being caught jigging and drifting crawlers. If you aren't sure of all your gear being "dialed in" right now for trolling, I'd go jig and have fun.

My 2 cents.

-Matt

[roby.36]

Thanks for the 2 cents guys it really helps. Still trying to figure all this stuff out

[Hoytman86]

Thanks for the 2 cents guys it really helps. Still trying to figure all this stuff out

Aren't we all?

[krteach]

I'm also a newbie to Walleye fishing, only been really fishing walleye for 2 years (Done the Jigging on Detroit River, Bank Drifting on the Maumee, Ice Fishing on Erie and just this year trolling on Saginaw Bay) Lucky for me I've limited out every time. Found that just getting out there, when it's safe, reading post here on the forums have REALLY Helped. I also learned about the 30/30 or the 50/50 rule by goggle off shore planner board set-up. Some good information on speeds, in-line weights and line selection. I would agree, trolling is more difficult then jigging. But can be just as effective.
Now I'm still learning about presentation of "what type of baits" of "what type of season", but again, I'm getting good information from this site.
What a GREAT Sport, and wish the best in your fishing experiences.
I do agree, listen to the weather reports, don't take chances, and make sure all the safety requirements are met on your boat.