How to catch walleye through the ice?

[Ice Maniac 12]

I have never tried for walleye period. But I am very interested in trying for them through the ice. What size hook, bait, leader, lb test, lures should I use to catch them. Also how deep should I fish. Im thinkin probably 20+ feet, about 1 foot off the bottom.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Greg

[jgeatz]

Most times fishing for walleyes the tackle used depends on the lake the the water clarity. Usually best rule of thumb is to use the smallest hook possible but still get to the bottem. Like say 20 feet I would use 1/4 ounce. Minnows are the best bait to use, I have found. I ussually run 8 lb test on my rod with no leader. Make sure your drag is set up so the big one don't brake off. Try to find some structure and move if you don't get bit. Sometimes it take a while to find them, especially if you are the only one on that lake going for them.

[Surface Tension]

Set up a rod or TipUp for your dead line. I use a #4 mustad and 10 lb mono for my eye TipUp. Your second line should be a rod for jigging. Theres a lot of jigging spoons out there and I'll cover one that I've been using, its the 1/8 oz Go Devils and I have been doing good with that. I like the drop and flutter that size and weight gives. Tip that with a chub head or tail. I keep the rise slow and let it free fall for eyes. Your hits will be a light tap, you would set the hook when you first feel that nudge, if your not on the ball you'll miss that opportunity to see a gleaming eye on the ice. As far as depth that depends on the lake. If I'm around for the night bite and I usually am, I'd rather be setup too shallow then too deep. Those eyes will be making their way into shallow water as the sun starts to dip. If your out in the deeper day time haunts your out of the game when the bite starts, like I say though it depends on the lake. Get next to some structure, either on the edge of a hole, weed line or rock pile, again it depends on the lake. You ask a big question and theres no way I can come close to giving the answer in one post. Other guys will jump in here and give you more ideas.

Good Luck in your adventures.

[Moose-Hunter]

Hey there Ice Maniac...

Welcome!! If you're looking for info on how to ice a few eyes, you came to the right place!! Surface Tension has got it pretty well nailed down. Just remember to be versatile. Be prepared to change with the fish. Let them tell you what they want... If your standard rigs don't produce, try downsizing. S.T. mentioned the 1/8oz Go-Devils.. GREAT choice!! But, at times, even that may be too much. Try a 1/16oz. or even a small panfish sized jig or lure. In fishing, you don't need to be BIG to be BAD. (Just so you know, BAD is GOOD in this case.. LOL!!)

For early ice, I start where I left off in the fall. It almost seems the fish will stick around for a while before going into a sort of a winter pattern. In my early days of ice fishing, I always started deep and went shallow... Now I do just the opposite. Like Surface Tension said, those eyes' will start cruising the feeding shallows at sundown looking for a meal. You might as well be there to give them what they're looking for...

Good luck, and Welcome to Fishing Minnesota!!

[gophish]

indeed you have come to the right place for help and i think most everybody on here as benefitted a lot. therefore, one way to help is to keep up with these forums. they will allow you to know whats happening as the year progresses.

get your self a vexilar or depth finder for sure. theya re going to help you find the breaks and edges you are looking for. fish correlate to edges. then take advantage of the fact that you can use multiple rods while ice fishing and change things up. find something that works. stick with it and experiment with you other lines. most of all, you gotta keep at it and get on the ice as much as possible.

[Ice Maniac 12]

Thanks guys. Im having trouble on the site. I posted this thread but i cannot find it in the ice fishing section. I have to search my name and then find it. Once i posted i clicked on ice fishing and my post was no where in site. Any way of helping me out?

[Surface Tension]

Ice Maniac 12, On the main Ice Fishing forum you'll see topics. If you don't see your topic look on the next page. Its located below the topics in the red band.

[gonefishin11]

Ice Maniac,

Another good way to find your thread is to click on the favorite thread link at the bottom. This will add the thread to your home page on this site and will allow you check it easily withouth having to search for it.

[Hillbillies]

Just a couple statements of the obvious then a good hint. Your line size, lure selection and fishing method should be the same thought process that you go through for any other species when venturing out. Try to find some good local info about the lake. Local bait shops are usually more than happy to tell you anything they know about area lakes as far as lure selection, water clarity, good spots to start, access info and such. Then I try to modify my approach from there depending on what that miserable mother nature has decided to throw at me this week. For instance, walleyes which your after, react greatly to light penetration. The light penetration is affected by water clarity, the way the ice formed on the lake, is it good clear ice or broken up and cloudy and snow cover. Those are some general things here's a couple lake type specific things that I try. On big lakes like Winnie the walleyes relate to main lake humps, bars and shorline points in the summer. In the winter I forget about the main lake humps and bars and concentrate on the big points. The fish will be there at some depth trying to follow the bait fish with larger concentrations on the down current side of the bar. Hopefully there at the same depth as the baitfish and mother nature has provided you with a good stretch of stable weather but that seems to never be the norm. Allot of times the fish are hungry but forced deeper along these bars by the light. Go out after them and move in shallower along the bar as evening progresses. On those salad bowl type lakes I study maps and look for quick depth changes that occur at a depth I think the fish will be at, adjusting for the light. The quick breaks seem to concentrate bait on lakes that for the most part have gradual slopes to the center of the lake. Hope this helps and good luck. Remember trying to tread ice water sucks so be safe!