New walleye fisherman help

[hbomb49]

I Have been out a few times to local south metro lakes looking to catch some walleye, but have had no luck. I usually like to slip bobber fish, I'm a pretty inexperienced fisherman. Any tips? I was reading about trolling with live bait rigs, but have never tried it. How do you usually fish a live bait rig? Any good lakes to try? I was thinking of trying spring lake by prior lake. Thanks any help would be great to get a walleye in the boat this year.

[PerchJerker]

The bottom line is that metro area walleyes are tough, even for experienced walleye guys. It's due to factors like the amount of pressure on the fish, the amount of activity on the lakes, the overall number of walleyes in these lakes, and most importantly it's due to a lot of metro walleyes relating to the weeds and being hard to locate because of that. You can catch them but it tends to be hit and miss, and a lot of them are caught accidentally while targeting other species.

Livebait rigs are effective for walleyes but on metro lakes the panfish will drive you nuts ........

If you're determined to get a walleye out of a metro lake, your best bet might be to work a jig and minnow or jig and leech along the deep weedlines. Weed walleyes will go shallow too and inside weedlines can be great, but deep weedlines are probably a better bet for starters. Look for areas with easy access to deep water, and easy access to shallow flats or points for feeding. Drift, drag or cast your jig along the weedlines and sort through the pike, bass, and panfish that you'll catch and with luck you'll run across a walleye or two as well.

I don't really know anything about Spring or Prior so I can't help you with those lakes. Good luck and I hope that helps.

[terrible_fisherman]

I went out pitching Jigs on Spring earlier this year and did very well but then it slowed down significantly. Have not been their for a couple months now but their are definitely eyes in there.

[BobT]

The bottom line is that metro area walleyes are tough, even for experienced walleye guys. It's due to factors like the amount of pressure on the fish, the amount of activity on the lakes, the overall number of walleyes in these lakes, and most importantly it's due to a lot of metro walleyes relating to the weeds and being hard to locate because of that. You can catch them but it tends to be hit and miss, and a lot of them are caught accidentally while targeting other species.

Livebait rigs are effective for walleyes but on metro lakes the panfish will drive you nuts ........

If you're determined to get a walleye out of a metro lake, your best bet might be to work a jig and minnow or jig and leech along the deep weedlines. Weed walleyes will go shallow too and inside weedlines can be great, but deep weedlines are probably a better bet for starters. Look for areas with easy access to deep water, and easy access to shallow flats or points for feeding. Drift, drag or cast your jig along the weedlines and sort through the pike, bass, and panfish that you'll catch and with luck you'll run across a walleye or two as well.

I don't really know anything about Spring or Prior so I can't help you with those lakes. Good luck and I hope that helps.

I'd like to add something to this good information. Since you've indicated that you like to use slip bobbers, try this. Scout inside the weedbeds for small clean pockets and drop your slip bobber into them. I've never done this myself but I've heard it can be effective for weed dwelling 'eyes.

Also, I'm not real familiar with metro lakes but my guess is they are very clear and so with that in mind, maybe nighttime would be a good option.

[mq32]

I am like you hbomb49 in that I would consider myself pretty inexperienced as a fisherman and I had never fished down here (wright county area) before and am trying to figure things out. I can't find a walleye to save my life. I tried fishing Sylvia for the first time this weekend with a lindy rig setup and I must say Perch Jerker is dead on. I caught plenty of sunnies and some bass and 0 walleyes. Oh well better luck next time I guess.

[hbomb49]

Thanks for the tip perch next time I'll focus on jigging. I kind of the other way around from most fishermen. I started Ice fishing and now am trying open water the last few summers, just got a boat this summer, so I so use to being in one spot and vertical jigging on the ice.