Walleyes - DEEP CLEAR Lake in September

[walleyepro]

In-laws new cabin is on a very deep (110ft), very clear lake & cold, with very sparse weeds in norther MN with a good walleye population. I can find the walleyes in less than 30 feet and get them to bite in the spring through the end of July and again in the late fall on jigs/lindys/crankbaits without too much of a problem.

In the Summer the problem is that I can't find them half the time and when i do find them only little ones bite. How deep do they go and how can i catch them. I'll be up again over Labor Day. Are they suspended over 50-100 feet or where do they go?

The lake gets a lot of local pressure in the spring and then no one fishes it the rest of the year. Where can i find them? i dont have experience fishing this kind of lake.

[dfv87]

Clear lakes say to me... low light times or night fishing. JMO

Main lake deep cranking also with lead core would be another option.

[walleyepro]

In spring and fall night fishing is the way to go, but now i can't even find them at night. I'm talking 9pm - 3am. How deep is deep when you're talking lead core? Would a 3-way with a big 2-3 oz drop work as well to get down deep? I've tried looking for fish in the 30-60 range and dont really mark much.

[GRAND DAD]

Well not that I know what am talking about, but this year every thing has been backwards for me. So if I think I should fish deep I fish shallow and it has paid off pretty good this year for me. Just an idea.

[muskielaw]

I fish a lake very similar to what you are talking about 22 ft water clarity and max depth of 80 ft. Because I do not live on this lake I am very rarely out there late at night but I can tell you coming off the lake at dark and even during the day the fish are stacked either in 40-50 fow on the bottom or suspended at 40-50ft over the deeper hole. I have talked with many of the people that live on the lake and they catch all their big walleyes trolling at night in the 40-50 ft either on bottom or suspended. Trick is figuring out how to get your bait to that depth, as you mentioned 3 ways is one option, lead core, snap weights or the deepest running crank you can find draggin couple hundred feet behind the boat. Just troll off one of the breaks into deeper water and watch your graph. You will find the fish out there in deeper water. If you don't have a good graph it will be more of a challenge.

[Chode2235]

I fish a lake very similar to what you are talking about 22 ft water clarity and max depth of 80 ft. Because I do not live on this lake I am very rarely out there late at night but I can tell you coming off the lake at dark and even during the day the fish are stacked either in 40-50 fow on the bottom or suspended at 40-50ft over the deeper hole. I have talked with many of the people that live on the lake and they catch all their big walleyes trolling at night in the 40-50 ft either on bottom or suspended. Trick is figuring out how to get your bait to that depth, as you mentioned 3 ways is one option, lead core, snap weights or the deepest running crank you can find draggin couple hundred feet behind the boat. Just troll off one of the breaks into deeper water and watch your graph. You will find the fish out there in deeper water. If you don't have a good graph it will be more of a challenge.

2 words: Down riggers.

[walleyepro]

i have a 16ft old aluminum boat. would down riggers work on my boat?

[AaronM]

Yes, but expensive. Look into snapweights, that would be your best option IMO. Invest in the Trollers Bible book, do a search either on here or Google about snapweights and learn a bit about them.

[WingDing2]

Go to Cannon dot com and look for mini troll or uni troll

[fishermatt]

You don't need downriggers, but you do at least need rod holders if you plan on fishing leadcore/snap weights/3 ways deep. For clear water a deep diving crank (12-20 feet) with a 2-3 oz snap weight about 90 feet out then another 60-90 feet out will get you as deep as you should need to go. A lot of times at dark or at night, suspended fish might be a lot closer to the surface than you think, so if you can run multiple lines run one shallower too.

[tunrevir]

If the lake has tullibees in it then the fish will follow them to the surface in the evening as they follow the plankton. With clear, deep water You might also want to use planer boards to get the lures off to the side and away from the disturbace of the boat. You can still run leadcore or snap weights off of boards. The other thing i'd look for is a thermocline and concentrate your efforts above the thermocline which will eliminate alot of water that is unproductive. A good depthfinder will show a thermocline. If the lake has tullibees like mentioned before then look to the shallow reefs and boulder strewn shorelines at night in the fall and catch the piggies when they are shallow chasing the spawning tullies. Good luck!

Tunrevir~

[Black_Bay]

If the lake has tullibees in it then the fish will follow them to the surface in the evening as they follow the plankton. With clear, deep water You might also want to use planer boards to get the lures off to the side and away from the disturbace of the boat. You can still run leadcore or snap weights off of boards. The other thing i'd look for is a thermocline and concentrate your efforts above the thermocline which will eliminate alot of water that is unproductive. A good depthfinder will show a thermocline. If the lake has tullibees like mentioned before then look to the shallow reefs and boulder strewn shorelines at night in the fall and catch the piggies when they are shallow chasing the spawning tullies. Good luck!

Tunrevir~

Tunrevir gave the best advise yet.

[fishingfool]

You mentioned sparse weeds. If it were me and I coudl find any cabbage or other green weeds that is where I woudl start. most of my summer and early september walleyes come shallow from the weed edge or even in the weeds. if they are are sparse enough to pull a leech through great, otherwise I use a 1/8 jig head with 4 inch ringworm or rattletrap.

[hhguide]

Go Shallow in the weeds! Dont look deeper you said you have tried that I would look shallow inside the weed edge! Good luck.