A Typical walleye outing

[IceHawk]

I thought I would share a few tips on how a typical day on the ice go's for me when chaseing eyes.

First off I start by looking for lakes with a healthy walleye population. Once a good lake is decided upon I then get a lake map and look at structure (weeds,rock-piles,break-lines,weedlines etc) and see how they are laid out in the lake.

I then check out the water-clarity if its a stained lake there's a good chance most of the action will take place during the day to low light periods. If the water is clear then I opt for fishing areas during low-light periods and into the evening. The water clarity usally tells me what to use for lures. I am a fan of spoons (Go-Devils,pimples,weasels etc) in stained to dirty water. In clear water I opt for better search lures such as Rapalas,chubby-darter,nilsmasters etc. Not to say that they wont work in reverse situations but I feel that by following these simple methods your odds will increase.

I then determine what time of the ice season we are in early,mid-season,late season etc. Another thing I look for is how much snow,how thick the ice is and how green the weeds etc. This usally will tell me how the oxeygen levels are and how aggressive the eye's should be.

During first ice(early-ice)the fish have alot of oxeygen. The walleyes will be aggressive. For lures I opt for bigger baits such as larger spoons,rapalas,etc. I also feel bigger minnows on set-rigs, tipups will take the bulk of the fish.

Midseason- the time frame we are in now. Alot of your typical hot spots have been fished hard already. The ice is getting thicker, snow deeper and the amount of sunlight allowed through the ice is becomeing less and less. The oxeygen levels are depleteing and the eyes are becomeing more sluggish. Look for new areas that haven't been fished hard (isolated rock piles, humps etc) and the odds of catching a few are increased. For lures this time off year I usally down-size smaller spoons,rapalas etc. I also put small minnows on tip-ups deadlines etc.

Late season: Alot of our season is gone or over but areas like Lake of the Woods can host tremendous late season fishing. This is the time-period when daylight hours are longer. The sunlight is stronger and longer. The snow starts melting,the water starts flowing into holes etc. The oxyegen levels really increase and once again the walleye fishing can be fast and furious.

Good luck on your search!!!!

[Corey Bechtold]

Good Stuff IceHawk!

Now go get em'!!!

Corey Bechtold

[P.DONA]

Thanks for the tips!! We haven't even had any really safe ice in Ct yet. Can't wait!!!!!!

[Matt Johnson]

Good read IceHawk!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson