What to take in to consideration when trying to catch a walleye...

[Jari Razskazoff]

I've never been too good at catchin' walleye. Can anyone help me with tips as to what to look for, what type of structure, and depth or whatever, as a general early ice season pattern for success? What do walleye generally do this time of year?

[Jim Almquist]

I like to find a point or inside turn in the 14' to 18' range that drops into deeper water. The water that is shallower then 14' would have weeds/rocks and a flat of sorts that the fish could hunt along. I like the point/inside turn because when the fish are going to eat they will come from the deep water and naturally follow up to the funnel area to hunt. If you can find a spot that has a few rocks on the point or on the side of a point that is even better or even a small weed patch. Most lakes you would be better off fishing from 1/2 hour before sunrise to about 9:00 and then again from 3:30 to 6:00 or when you quit seeing fish on your graph. Make sure to be setup at least 45 min. before you think they will bite so that things can quite down and no more movement on the ice. If I am fishing the lake for the first time I like to try and find out what type of baitfish it holds so I can get the same type minnows. I will usually setup a minnow with a jig on a deadstick rod for one of my holes and a spoon with a head of a minnow with a perch pattern spoon that I will jig with. If I have a couple of fish come in and look but not bite it will be time to switch spoons to maybe a all silver Swedish Pimple with the red flapper and a head and see if that makes a difference. If the fish show a preference for a certain color change your jig over to something of the same color. If every time you go out you change lakes you will have a harder time in developing a pattern so that is why I like to pick a good walleye lake and keep trying to refine your pattern till its almost a no brainier. The hardest part to teach some one cause they think I am full of it till they catch a couple of fish is that most times you WILL NOT FEEL A TUG but might just feel something and it is because it just inhaled your minnow head but DID NOT BITE and you have to look at your graph and get a good feel for how your jig feels when you are jigging and when something feels different and the fish is right on top of your lure SET THE HOOK. You will be surprised how many fish you will get and they will be all lip hooked. It is really nice when they come in and just smack the lure but after January 1st they just are not that aggressive and will want to suck on your bait. The same thing happens when you have changing weather patterns they will not bite as aggressive and will just light bite or suck on the bait. Hope this helps and did not raise to many more questions

[south_metro_fish]

This is some great help with my situation. If the main break is around 20 feet is it worth fishing around it at all or should you just stick above it in a flatter areas where they hunt? I know you were talking about fishing the inside curve of the point but do they tend to stick around the deeper water or do they tend to move toward the main lake basin into the flats to hunt?

[Jim Almquist]

I always seem to have better luck fishing on the break rather then the flat. I have tried going to the flat area after the bite stopped on the break but it seems like they are done feeding in the area. I have seen it were there will be a second bite that will happen after the 5:00 bite and it seems to happen about 6:30 to 7:00 but that seems to be more of a rarity then the norm. For some reason I have caught more Walleyes right at 5:00 then almost any other time and if I have not seen a fish by 5:00 I will pack it in by 5:30 because they are not moving for what ever reason.

[Bassboy1645]

Def set up early to keep noise to a minimum but you gotta love the guy that comes in on the wheeler full boar at 445 500pm pulls out the 5hp jiffy and crackles pops and roars 20 holes 15 feet away!

[Northlander]

In Wi. I like to set up a tip up shallower than my house and one deeper than my house. Judging by if the flags go more shallow or deep Ill move my house in that direction. In MN. Ill just set 1 deeper than where I fish until prime time than I always have 2 rods going in the house.

I alwasy start out my jigging agressively. If the fish hit that way I saty with it. If not I slow down until I get bit. Some times that means deadsticks and bobbers. Usually though I always jig something even if its a small jig and crappie minnow. At times thats enough to draw fish in and if they dont hit what your jigging they will pop the deadstick/bobber rod.

[south_metro_fish]

So well I was crappie fishing tonight I got a good surprise when I got my first walleye through the ice. I was only in 14 feet of water in a bay in what I think was a flat with out any real deep water around. I had a crappie minnow dead sticked with a plain red hook right near the bottom. Man was that fun on my light panfish rod. But any way it was probably around 16" good eater and when I cleaned it and looked in its stomach it had about a half dozen crappie minnows in it. Should I try crappie minnows when I actually try for them on Tuesday, or should I just get some fatheads or should I try both?

[waterbound]

Try both fatheads and crappie minnows. Sometimes they only want one size or the other or sometimes you'll catch bigger fish on the fatheads and smaller ones on the crappie minnows. It's really a matter of letting the fish tell you what they want.

[south_metro_fish]

What size forage minnows and buckshot spoons should I be looking for?

[minnesotatuff]

jimalm,

i call it "happy hour"! the hour of dusk to dark, when walleyes put on the feed bag. i mostly fish for walleye. your advice was dead on. last saturday was the first time ive been out this year on the ice...got one nice 18" keeper at about 5:30 for sunday breakfast. i also missed one a little before on the deadstick with a nice shiner.

regards,

minnesotatuff

[Jim Almquist]

These are some of my favorite patterns. As far as size I would let the fish and the weather dictate but for the most part I would say 1 1/2" to 2 1/2" and weight wise 1/4oz to 3/8oz. If you have a front moving in or real stable weather you can upsize but if a cold front went through and you now have crystal clear skies and the temp is falling with the wind out of the north I would go small. The minnow head that I put on is usually one of the smaller minnows in the bucket because I hate to ruin a big lively minnow just for the head. I like to pinch the head off and if all possible leave the air bladder with the head because it will sort of float the head while jigging and gives it a more realistic look.

[south_metro_fish]

Thanks a bunch you have been giving me lots of good info. I was wondering about the kastmasters, I had one sitting on my stove and was wondering if that would work for ice fishing. Headed out tomorrow morning and give some of this a shot. Tried last night with no luck, bad location but that is how you learn. Thinking I might stick more around the 14 to 18 foot depth this time.

[Cicada]

Be careful, if your kastmaster was sitting on your stove, it may be a hot lure.

[Chef]

I've caught my biggest Walleyes on early Ice with the FT Kastmaster and a Shiner minnow hooked through the back.

[Sherpa]

I'm going to store my tackle box in my oven from now on so all I have are hot lures.

[tsande00]

How are you guys hooking the heads on a treble hook? mouth of fish facing away from the lure? Towards the lure?

[riverrat56]

How are you guys hooking the heads on a treble hook? mouth of fish facing away from the lure? Towards the lure?

I don't think it matters much....I try to get the hook buried in the skull of the minnow so if I miss a short bite it is more likely to stay on the hook.

[rcatcherman]

I think everybody ahead of me have it covered.

[Jim Almquist]

I really don't know if it matters but I always have the head facing the lure and through the skull like Riverat56. If I have more then 2 fish look at my lure with no bite I will check my bait to make sure it is still on. If I see more then 4 fish and still no bite it is time to switch lures.

[fishermatt]

A couple thoughts what lake to fish: Find a known-to-be Good walleye lake or 2 in your area and Focus on just those lakes for a while. (maybe a lifetime!) Instead of chasing the "hot bite" on some lake you've never fished, go back to your "home lake" and get to know her a little better. The you can create your own hot bite!

It won't take very many trips to start either finding fish or eliminating water. Experience on one body of water is invaluable as time and seasons go on. After 5-10 years on a lake (or 20-25) you will develop a "feel" for where the fish will be in the differrent seasons, and it makes finding them a LOT easier!