Ice Fishing Walleye Tactics

[TackleBoxMike]

I've jigged, slip bobbered, rattle reeled for them walleyes through the ice hole. Have any of you guys caught eyes on a tip-up or maybe you guys have a different tactic that you have used in a ice fishing hole? also What seem to be your favorite tactic?

Lets keep our hooks sharp.

TackleBoxMike

[ivegottabite]

i usually use jigging spoons such as buckshots and kastmasters. i like to dance em on the bottom to stir it up and attract the eyes.

i am hoping to try out the salmo lures to see how they work. i have heard nothing but good things about these lures.

[Matt Johnson]

Think smaller, especially throughout midwinter. Some of my better walleye baits have been larger profile panfish jigs packed with maggots. I also down size quite a bit to 1/16oz jigging spoons or smaller swimming lures. Dropper rigs (made from jigging spoons and swimming lures with the hooks removed, and then you add a small piece of mono to the end and tie on a small jig) work well too. I catch a majority of my winter walleyes on smaller presentations.

Tip-ups work well for walleyes too. You can cover more water and different depths. I like to place tip-ups in shallower water and then jig the deeper water with jigging rods. Always be sure to punch extra holes near the tip-ups incase they start going off, that way you can quickly jig the holes next to the tip-ups if thats where the fish are, and you don't have to worry about spooking the school by punching more holes after the sun goes down.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Mike Walerak]

Here is my generic set up for ice fishing. A still line with plain hook and a minnow, jig a spoon or swim lure, some favorites are angle eyes, buckshot spoons and jigging raps. Then I set 2 tipups. One with a big minnow (sucker or shiner) and one with a small minnow(large fathead). This seems to cover all of the basis. Once I find somthing that works I make a switch.

Just want to comment before someone else catches it, we are allowed 4 lines in SD.

mw

[Ranger sport]

Tipups work great for walleyes. Set them up on a weed line or on a point. Suckers or shiners work great depending on what time of the year and the conditions. Also keeps them away from the noise in the house if you have visitors that stop over for a cold one.

[Maximum12]

Nice topic, although I have to say I'll be out in the boat at least once more on Saturday. I just started fishing walleyes on the ice last year, & almost every one I caught came on jigging spoons. I had close to zero luck (or lack of skill!) with letting minnows swim free.

I didn't catch any on tip-ups, mostly set them out for northern ~ I'd love to hear more about that. Do y'all use colored hooks on your tip-ups for walleyes? Some sort of lighter line as a leader? Put the minnow on the bottom or leave it a foot or three above?

[tucciproshop]

The hardest part about tip-up fishing is of coarse finding the fish. Look for the drop offs or the sunken island's.

[Gerd]

In Minnesota, I usually move from hole to hole jigging with either a spoon or a jigging rap of some kind. Then I generally put out a second line with a slip bobber set about a foot or so off the bottom with a small jig or plain hook and a minnow. Then I open my bail so any fish that bites can just pull line out if I don't see the bobber going down right away... When I fish in Wisconsin, on the other hand, it's a little different. We are allowed three lines here so I usually jig with one rod and throw out two tip-ups at different depths. I also get a rod rigged with a slip bobber if I need a break from the jigging. I have done well with the tip-ups for walleyes, by the way.

[EBass]

I've caught a few on tip ups. Plain red circle and fathead minner 6" off the bottom. I tie some flourocarbon leader.

Otherwise mostly jigging to. Sometimes I have a bobber rod to for when I'm lazy and plop that down. Sometimes they like crappie minner and jig like Matt said. It helps to have friends with and everyone is trying something different.

[P.DONA]

I"m taking this all in, guys, and gals!!!

I hope to effectively catch Walleye in Ct, this year!!! The number are getting better around here. The only tactic I know right now is tip ups at night in the shallower water from a drop off to deep water.. a Shelf we would say. using Chubs about 18" off of the bottm..

You guys/gals are the experts!!!

[jigeye]

I mostly icefish walleyes with tipups but would like to jig more this year. I would like any tips on specific jigging techniques with the different style of jigs please.

[TackleBoxMike]

Thanks to all the fisherman sharing walleye ice fishing idea's and your tactics. I'll be trying some of the tip-ups idea's at lake. I'm woundering how the tip-up will work at night for some of those night eyes?

Lets keep our feet on the Ice !!!!

TackleBoxMike

[Mike Walerak]

Quote:

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I'm woundering how the tip-up will work at night for some of those night eyes?

TackleBoxMike

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I use them at night all the time. They sell buzzer systems and lights that turn on when the flags go up. They are a must if you are not withing 10 feet of our tipups or sitting in your shack.

mw

[Gus]

Mike,

Those beepers are great! Nothing get's your heart pounding like Beep Beep Beep Beep!

[Dave B]

How about drifting jigs on the Mississippi while weaving between ice bergs?

[ATM]

Mike, must be nice to be able to use four lines, my wife is from wilmot SD I love hitting some of the smaller sloughs in NE SD. Adam

[icehousebob]

Mike, I've used the beepers and lights for night tip-ups and they work good. But if you are looking for a low buck set-up just get some flouresent tape. Double a strip around the rod just below the flag. When you set up the tip-up hide this behind some snow so it can't be seen. Then every so often, sweep the area with the tip-ups with your flashlight. The tape will stick out like a sore thumb when a flag goes up.

[Bob Clausen]

This may sound really "hokey", but I thought the manufactured tip-up warnings were greatly over-priced. I bought a $9 wireless doorbell system with two buttons and made my own warning system. Set the tip-ups outside the house and bring the bell unit inside. It works great and my fishing buddies get a real kick out of hearing the doorbell ring.

[Mike Walerak]

Wow,

I really like the door bell idea! Is it possible to put more than 2 tipups on a ringer. Are these battery powered? Sounds cheeper than the setup I use now.

mw

[Bob Clausen]

The ringer uses AA batteries - the push buttons use the garage door opener type. I'm sure you can get extra buttons since they only make a limited number of codes. Mine are three years old so maybe, by now they have programable ones. Your friends will get a kick out of them and they are much less irritating that the loud "store-bought" ones.

Words to my wife: If they didn't want me to take it apart, they wouldn't put it together with screws or rivets.

[deeky]

Someone recomended a floater with something like a lindy weight to hold it down. That way they can pull without feeling the resistance of the weight, but my question is taking up the slack when setting the hook. You have to pull the weight up off the bottom before getting a good pull on the hook. What do you think?

[TackleBoxMike]

Thanks to all the Ice Fisherman replying to the post. I got to say I really like that door bell idea used for a alarm. I looking forword to trying that idea. I woundering how good the hook sets are when fishing for walleyes on tip ups ?

Thank you

TackleBoxMike

[Farley]

Nothing better than good, old fashioned, hand over hand walleye fishing. I use a frabill round insulated tip up every time I go out for walleyes. Good way to cover a bigger area. And I love bringing those eyes up hand over hand rather than reeling, that's how I learned to walleye fish, with the ol' jiggle stick and rattle reels. (tip ups came later on in life)

[freighttrain50]

good call Farley,

i may still be a young buck but that is how i was brought up as a kid. aint nothing like fishing with jiggle sticks, i love um, you dont have to worry about the bobber stop movin on ya and spring bobbers show everything. as for walleyes i like to put a tip up out with a fathead or soemtimes a shiner and i then i use just a slip bobber rig in the house with a smaller jig and a anything from a crappie minnow to a shiner, sometimes wally will go nuts for a crappie minnow. have also had craps come through suspended and all you gotta do is bring it up to um and wham, you got action. as for spoons, i havent used them and might be missing out on some action and was wondering which ones you would recommend. am willing to try some new stuff.