Clear Water Fishing

[Walleye #1]

I am fishing on a lake right now that has ultra clear water. The fish seem to be a bit more spooky and the fishing has gotten difficult. Does anyone have any pointers on how to attack perch and walleyes in very clear water?? Presentations, lures, or anything that has worked for some of you in the past? I know the fish are there, you can see them with your own eyes or on the vexilar. Any thoughts for a curious fisherman?

Walleye #1

[FI Guide]

well if you can see the fish you are in the right area one presentation i like in clear water is deadsticking a minnow this has proved effective since there isnt any unnatural movement with the bait. Also try moving up and down in the water colum to find the more aggressive fish

[riverrat56]

Try anything small and not flashy on a deadstick, plain lightwire gold hooks would be good, use some lighter line or at least a florocarbon leader would help i would think. Otherwise try using small crappie jigs and crappie minnows, just jig very sparingly and when you do get a bit let them take it a bit longer due to the smaller hook, i have caught many walleyes on crappie sized jigs so it is very possible.

RR56

[FI Guide]

he is right try using smaller tackle i did this last week with very good success in fact i do catch more eyes with crappie minoows than i do with fatheads.

[Mike Walerak]

I am by no means and ice fishing expert but if I was in that situation, I would also go with the gold or red hook and crappie minnow. I would also make sure to target them at low light periods of the day (dusk and dawn and night). When night fishing I like to use much larger baits than I would during the day. Manytimes smaller sucker minnows or larger shiners are just the ticket.

Good luck,

mw

[buzbunni]

I don't have much experience with perch, but for the walters, I would definitely recommend getting the holes drilled and "setting up camp" far before the morning or dusk bite begins. I like to drill several holes around the area I am targeting so I can move if necessary, but without too much noise.

Usually on water like this(especially if it is a clear day/night and very little snow cover) the fish will be deeper than in a respective lake that is stained or dirty. However, they may still move quite shallow as the evening progresses(this has been my experience on the lakes I target).

All good recommendations regarding not being too flashy. I have no problem using a spoon or such, I just make sure it is a natural color such as gold or silver. Glow colors have not been effective at all for me in clear waters.

Downsize: I like to use a 1/16 or less type lure in these situations. I'll use this in up to 20-30 ft. of water if necessary.

Finally, experiment with the live bait offering if you are using it. On a recent outing of mine on a relatively clear lake, the only way the fish would bite(below a 1/16 gold spoon) was if I used a whole minnow, hooked thru the lips hanging down, and with the tail clipped to hinder it's liveliness.

[Jim W]

All great recommendations that you should take heed with.

One that might be left out is the bottom make up.

Those fish you are "seeing" might not be feeders as well.

You would be foolish to move far from where you are spotting those fish. To my point. If there is any herding going on or bottom make -up that would assist the walleye in gathering up dinner try setting up there.

For example: two under water points that have a contoured/ horseshoe or tie-down of water. Walleye like to herd their forage. Like most species, using as little energy to feed as possible.

SO in clear water drill holes at varied depths near the bottom of the "U" or horseshoe, including both deep water and shallow water. I believe the steeper the drop on both sides of the "U" the better.

Incorporate with the above and be consistent, you should increase your luck some....in a perfect world!lol

Keep the rods bendin'!!

Jim W

[32 degrees]

When I fish walleyes on lakes where you can see bottom in 15' or deeper and there are alot of perch present I would recommend a jigging rapala or jigging shad. Also jig up off the bottom 2-4 feet or even higher. You will be amazed at how hard these fish will hit. Definitely use perch patterns for these jigs.

[decoy]

Jim,

right on! I lived in Southern MN for 2 years. I fished a lake with a friend one ice season on a regular basis. It was a clear lake and we had this tactic to our advantage.

We would set up an hour before dusk on a shore line drop off. The water on the bank (which was actually a cliff) went from 2-16 feet in about 10 yards. The walleyes would start like clock work at dusk and school from deep to shallow, chasing bait fish, moving in a large school. We usually would set up on the deep end of the break 12-14feet.

It would go from nothing, to crazy action on a dime. I mean we had 4 bobber deadsticks in, and then suddenly all bobbers down. As soon as you put your line down again...it was gone again. The bite would last for roughly 25-35 minutes. Every time we fished this way I had a limit within a few minutes. It was unreal, predictable, action. Those were some fun times.

I advise trying this if you know a lake with this kind of structure!

[Mike Walerak]

I have fallen in the exact same situation recently. It turned out that the fish did'nt want anything still or shiny. The ticket was a simple fireball jig and a big fathead minnow jigged steadily. Nothing like sight fishing walleyes in 17 feet of water.

mw