Suspending 'eyes?

[bmc]

How many of you guys target 'eyes that are suspending out in deep water in the mid-water column areas? I just recently talked to a local CO who told me people were catching 'eyes during the day on a very clear lake, suspended about 20' down in 60-70' of water. I haven't had a chance to get out and give it a shot, but hope to next week. Anyone else ever experience this? Let's hear it, what are you using, what time of day, water clarity, windy or calm days?

Brian

[CNY Tim]

I don't know if walleyes behave this way all the time but on a lake ice fishing in crystal clear water we have caught walleyes 12-15' off the bottom in 29' of water in the middle of the day. If there concentrated on your fish finder I would try vertical jigging with blue heddon sonars or rainbow trout forage minnows. This lake I am talking about has a lot zebra mussels that's why the water is so clear... I don't know if this helps you at all but blue, purple and brown are my favorite colors for walleyes in clear water.

[schr0563]

I have caught my fair share of fish over 50-70 feet of water pulling crankbaits that only run 10-20 feet down. Generally speaking most of these fish are large. 24-30 inch fish are the norm. A good way to do this is to spread your lines out with a couple of inline boards, put the rods in rod holders, and then sitback and cruise around the lake. You will have a huge advantage if you can locate suspended schools of baitfish with your electronics and then work that area repeatedly.

[markkstanley]

Summertime means thermocline in most lakes. Walleyes and cool water baitfish will hold just above it. It's the coolest water with enough oxygen. That's why you will find these fish suspended. In metro lakes such as Minnetonka which don't have ciscos etc the walleyes will hang out at the thermocline close to breaklines and move up to the weed flats to feed. In Minnetonka the thermocline sets up around 25 to 30ft down. Turn the sensitivity on your depthfinder to max and you can easily see it. I look for walleyes on secondary breaks around 30ft down during the day. They will come up and hit cranks running 20ft or so (sometimes even less) or you can run a bait rig right at them. These fish are not in full feeding mode so you need to trigger bites which is why I lean towards cranks. They may be holding a ways out from the flats but they will be right on top of the thermocline. Need to do a little searching which is why Schr0563 approach is the way to go. Planers let you cover more water.

[Tonka Boy]

I've also pulled crank baits as schr0563 said. The two main things are keying in on schools of baitfish, as well as always knowing where your lure is running (depth). If you have a GPS life is much easier...plot your course and mark waypoints whenever you find something.

This is not the easiest technique to grasp. It takes lots of practice and patience. You really have to fine tune things. When you do get it down the rewards are well worth it though. That's where you'll find the trophies!

[Willy]

I've just started to do some of it. I just longline the baits back though. I'll troll over 16-28 ft. of water about 12-14 ft. down here in southern MN. Second fish I caught was 29". Starting to have some belief in it now.

Planers would probably be more efficient though.

[Bassboy1645]

ive seen this suitation before. southern MN lakes are relitvely shallow but the guy who won our last tournament was longlining cranks out about 100' beind the boat. 30 feet deep main lake basin and the eyes were down about 10 - 15'. he got the only fish that nite on german which was a 6lb and a half ounce walleye. Ive also noticed this suspending fish on my sonar but have been unable to connect with any of them. i have to agree though planners would prolly work better.

[PikeTipper]

What time of day are you having the most luck for those of you that have had success?

[Bagley]

If you are going to get into trolling it is almost a must that you buy the "Trollers Bible". It has dive curves for over 250 baits. It tells you how deep you are at whatever distance behind the boat. This book takes a lot of the guess work out of trolling.

Bagley

[Northlander]

Brian if your going to start trolling for suspended eyes here is a list that will get ya started.

2 Off Shore trolling boards

some snap weights or chain weights to get baits down quicker and with less line out

A copy of Precision Trolling (Trollers Bible)

A BIG Stickbait Box cuzz you will find you fill it quickly ( Mine holds 96 sticks and I can now probably fill 2 of them)

Some 7.5 to 8.5" Trooling rods with some Diawa Sealine 27 linecounter reels. Linecounters are a must!

Good rod holders for the boat

Quality swivels and snap swivels

10# mono or equivelant Power Pro (Dive charts are based on 10# mono)

I warn you once you catch a few fish this way its very addicting and your wife will not enjoy all the trips to your favorite stores for more sticks/cranks

If you want to try it out come down to the big lake and maybe you I and BD110 can go out for a day.

[bmc]

Hey Steve,

I'm pretty much all situated for suspended fishing, only things I need to invest in is a planer board or two and more crankbaits. Man I wish we could fish 2 lines here in Minnesota. Thanks for the offer, once the kids get back to school, I'll have lots of free time mid-week. In Sept. do the 'eyeballs start back into the St. Louis? We should plan for a Sept. trip.

Brian

[DuluthGuy]

BMC,

Ok, boards are nice but, what if you don't have them? Long line 150'+ out some shallow cranks/stickbaits. What sticks? Assuming 2 rods, I’d go with a shad rap and a thunderstick (etc.). When you start using boards then go with shallow baits on the boards and deep behind the boat. That way, when you get a hit on the board, you can crank it in over the deeper lures. Fish on clear water can be spooky, so long lines if behind the boat. Now, a walleye is a walleye, is a walleye -so, they will hit the bright lures however, start with bait matching plain colors. I would first find what style running lure they prefer, before opting for switching to flashy colors.

I just trolled a cold, clear, deep lake for eyes. I used a rod with fireline (14#) and one with a 3-segment leadcore. I put one silver/blue deep thunderstick (fireline) and a #9 blue deep shad rap (3-seg lead) on them. I worked 20’ depths on a shoreline dropping into deeper holes with a zigzag pattern. I pulled up 4 Eyes, 1 big SM Bass and 1 Pike in 2 hours. Pike was 32” the bigger Eye’s were 23” & 25”. I have never tried trolling stickbaits on this lake before, however, had confidence in my lures and color selection, being as Cisco’s and perch are the main forage.

Get the trolling bible, go have fun!

B2