Targeting Eyes

[amateurfishing]

would like to hear/read some opinions on hitting/catches walleys...rod type (ultra light, light, medium), test line, preferred/go to lure and/or bait. I am hoping to start learning more bout these fish & hopefully attempt to target some in next couple of months at a local lake. thx so much.

[OnAFly]

My go-to this year has been a small shiner under a bobber. I've had a few on gold buckshots, but most have been on the bobber.

Med rod, 4lb line, uncolored hook about 6 inches off the bottom.

[chasin_walter20]

Tip ups with big golden shiners or jigging northland's forage minnows tipped with a head. Both right off the bottom. Tip ups i use 50lb braid with a 6ft 14lb berkley mono leader with homemade quick strike. The other go to is my St. Croix light action 26' spooled with 4lb flurocarbon with a 1/8oz gold swedish pimple... cant go wrong

[MattL]

Shiner or fathead on a plain hook about 6" off the bottom. Medium action rod with 4 lb line or a tip-up with 6' of 6 lb mono leader.

About any jigging spoon on the market today will to the trick. I prefer buckshots or rattling flyers.

Also, try to keep the lights and noise down. I seem to do well on tip-ups due to this, especially if I am fishing with others or in the wheelhouse. In shallower water I will sometimes run them 150-200' feet away.

[DuckBlind]

6 lb line, whatever cheap old rod/reel combo I grab in my bucket, plain hook with a glow bead on the hook, fathead.

[amateurfishing]

r shiners diff't than crappie minnows?

[OnAFly]

Yes, a crappie minnow is a small fathead minnow. A shiner is a different species of minnow.

They don't always make a difference, but sometimes tehy do.

[FirstIce]

From my experience location and timing is key. Usually walleyes bite best right at sunrise, sunset and throughout the evening. I'm not saying you cant catch walleyes during the day, it depends on the lake. Most of my success is during lower light periods. You also want to pay attention to structure whether its mud, sand, gravel, rocks, weeds, or drop offs those are all key things to consider and all of them will vary lake to lake. Pay attention to high traffic areas, usually those are areas you want to avoid going. I seem to have best luck away from crowds. Usually a deadstick set up or tip up I will use a colored jig. My favorite would have to be the Northland Doodle Bug single hook jig in some type of glow color. Usually I tend to stick with 6lb line and sometimes 8lb. A good walleye jig rod would most likely fall into the medium or medium light category. (lighter jigs for the ML and 1/4oz and up for the medium is good. Typical spoons like mentioned the buckshot or rattlin flyer work good I will use fatheads or shiners usually I prefer fatheads over shiners just because they are cheaper and more hearty. If the walleyes will only bite on shiners then I will use shiners.

[amateurfishing]

i read alot about "structure" on a lake....if i am reading a lake contour map for the first time, how do you locate structure if none is defined on a lake map (without walking every square food of the lake & dropping sonar down)?

[harvey lee]

I use mainly med rods with a faster tip for jigging. Line is 4-6# braid. Reel is an Abu 300 or a Tica ss500.

On my jigging rod, I typically start out with a JB Lures Rattlin varmit in glo red. Others of course that will work are the types like the Northland buckshot rattle spoon. My other goto jigging lure is a Lindy Rattlin Flyer. many colors to choose from but the one I almost always start out with is the glo red one. Suttle bite, I opt for the smaller profiled one with a minnow head on the treble.

I like the rattle lures as the fish can feel that rattle in thier lateral line on thier body to sense where that lure is. Same with the glo lures in dirty or stained waters.

Another great bait for sending out vibration in the water for fish to pick up are the blade baits. They can call fish in if they are feeding. If they choose not to hit a larger profile bait, you always have your deadstick in the water with the whole minnow swimming about.

Don't be afraid to change profile baits or even color if you have fish coming in but not biting. Can make the differnce between a fair day to wow, what an eveing of fishing and those colors can change as fast as the sun goes under the clouds.

On my other rod, I go with a deadstick rod with or without a bobber. I like the bobber as there are times when I am jigging and I miss a suttle bite on the deadstick. Set up for that rod is a Abu 300 reel, 6# braided line and a demon glo red hook tipped with my minnow of choice.

Bobber of choice is a Venom bobber or an Ice Buster bobber as they will both work well. I prefer the Venom one as with the weight and slide adjustment, it is easier to get the top of the bobber to be level with the water surface. Some days that is huge as the eyes will feel no resistance when they pull on the line from the bobber being up so far.

Many times you can jig an eye in the area and they will hit the set line.

I also use a GPS with a lake map installed to look over the structure on the lake to find breaklines and fltas where they could possibly be feeding. Also nice to locate points and inside turns for fishing.

If you are fishing a lake with no structure, then I typically find the deeper hole if there is one and fish even the smallest drop or rise in depth. Otherwise, I will also go by any wood, rocks or mud to sand transition areas.

Another great option but some work is to get to the area you would like to fish and drill 20-25 holes. Then take your flasher and fish each one for 5 minutes or so until you locate fish. Nothing in those 20 holes, them mover and pop another 20 or so. Sooner or later you will learn the lake and the areas the fish hold.

Many times on a new lake for me, the more holes I punch to locate fish, the better my success is. If I get lazy and just sit in one spot, unless my luck is good that day my success could be pretty bad. Do not be afraid to pop a ton of holes as your success should increase in locationg fish.

Yes, sometimes its drill holes and trial and error.

[amateurfishing]

thx a ton!! when jigging & deadsticking at same time, how far apart do you have your lines?

[BobT]

When jigging for 'eyes in the winter, do you find that you have to be very subtle with a lot more finesse than summer time? I realize the fish determine this but how much action do you start out with before refining your method?

[harvey lee]

Typically I keep them a few feet apart. If one is using a lure like a Lindy Rattlin Flyer or a Lindy Darter, these lure will swim quit a bit in the water and if the lines are too close, they could get tangled. Thats about the only time unless a bigger fish gets on one line and swims to the other and gets tangled up in that line.

If that were to happen, just open the bail on the other to let line out so you can reel your fish in. Then untangle the fish and line. Maybe once or twice a year this hasppens to me so it is not a real big issue. Now, if you do not open your bail and the fish goes on a long run, he could pull your other rod in unless you have it in a rod holder. I typically have my deadstick in a rodholder so this is way less likely to happen.

[harvey lee]

When jigging for 'eyes in the winter, do you find that you have to be very subtle with a lot more finesse than summer time? I realize the fish determine this but how much action do you start out with before refining your method?

If I am marking fish when I start to fish, then I jig according to what the fish tell me or how they react. If I have no fish marked after say 5 minutes of subtle jigging, then I pound on them pretty hard.

I believe I do alot more finnese jigging in the winter simply due to the fact that I have a flasher and can watch how each fish reacts to how I am jigging. Open water I do not always have that option.

I also like to drop my lure to the bottom and bang it there a few times also. If it is a muddy or sandy bottom I can stir up some bottom content and hopefully attract a fish or two.

Another thing to watch for good jig action is how you tie the jig to your line. A lure like the Lindy Slick jig will react differenty depending on where your knot is tied to the jig.

Also, try to use a swivel to elimanite line twist. Try to open your bail every time you let line out and do not pull against the drag as that is a great way to put line twist in your line.

I do not believe live bait in the lake sits and spins around in circles like a bait with line twist could.

These are just a few things I have learned to do which have increased my success with icing fish in the winter.

[fishersofmen]

Good info Harvey!

[Stick in Mud]

How apart I drill my holes depends on how deep it is....if you're in shallow water, the fish (unless it's big) doesn't have the room to swim around enough to get them all tangled. In deep water, it doesn't take much for them to swim a few feet in any direction. A lot of it also depends on the equipment you're using...if you're using light line on a light rod, you need to be more careful because you can't control the fish as much. With heavier line and as heavier rod, you have more control.

[tunrevir]

I like to run a small shiner on a tipup or on a deadstick in the shack near me depending on the area I'm fishing. Typically, early ice I'll run a shiner and tipup away from the shack to keep the noise down and jig within the shack. This time of year many times I'll deadstick a small shiner or fathead 3' from the hole I'm working a jig in. I think many times the fish are attracted to the jigging but may take the shiner or vice versa depending on their mood. I have 2-3 rods rigged with various spoons or jigs and will work those depending on the mood of the fish. Sometimes swimming jigs are the ticket like a rap or chubby darter, sometimes they want flash and vibration of a spoon and other times they won't touch the first 2 offerings but will smack a rattle spoon. I run 4# test on most of my walleye jigging rods and use a 28" med action rod for heavier spoons and swimbaits and go with a light action 24" rod for light spoons. I think finding a location that holds fish and being there during the prime feeding time for the lake your on is the biggest key to consistently icing walleyes.

Tunrevir~

[KidMoe]

I would emphasize the keeping noise and light down and being patient. Especially on pressured local lakes this is key. I prefer a tipup with a slip sinker above the swivel and a couple feet of 6lb flurocarbon with a circle hook and a single bead. This setup minimizes gut hooked fish and maximizes hookups. I prefer shiners but fatheads and sometimes small sucker minnows work too.

[amateurfishing]

when using tip ups, how much line do you use? is it relative to depth, distance you want to keep line away from shack hole, or anything else?

[KidMoe]

Usually i put 100 feet or so of the inexpensive black braided tipup line. You want enough line that a fish that runs can't empty the spool but if you put a ton of line on it can cause snarls and knots to happen.