WALEYE TACTICS

[Fishdeer]

Hey I have a question ? Bobber fished for eyes alll the time ICE FISHING done pretty well for myself i usually fish a foot to 6 inches from bottom. Well my question is when i summer fish for walleyes using a bobber rig at night do i keep to the same close to the bottom or give me an idea what i should be doing , in the past ive tried to keep at least a foot or so of the bottom and have done pretty well , should i change my style , what works best for you guys, And how would I go about rigging with shinners i usually use fatheads. any ideas would be appreciated, thanks.

[ASMOLEY]

I would say try tight to bottom and work your way up. Walleyes are normally going to be found 0-2' off the bottom but occassionaly you will find them suspended higher. Bobber fishing is probably my least productive way of walleye fishing. You really limit the amount of area you can cover. Bobbers do come in handy if your fishing with a rocky or weedy bottom. On Mile Lacs you will see boats casing bobbers right up on the rocks with leeches and catch their fair share of fish but i still think jigging and lindy rigging are better options in most situations.

[Willy]

90% of the early spring walleye tournaments on Mille Lacs are won corking. It is effective if done right. Still, it can be boring sitting in one area.

[Team Otter]

I would continue to keep your presentation at least 6" off the bottom but also not be afraid to experiment at shallower depths in the water column. It is not uncommon to find fish roaming over 20'+ of water only a few feet below the surface. The best part about finding a school of suspended fish is that usually they are very hungry!

[james_walleye]

I do alot of bobber fishing, mostly at night or in the evenings and i do pretty well with it. In general i keep it 12-18" off bottom. Its a deadly tactic in the right situations.

[walleyeking#8]

I agree with you james walleye, I use this method of fishing quite often at night. Late evening and into the night escpecially early in the season, this method can produce some real nice fish that are not yet willing to chase a moving target. I have caught several fish in the 4 to 7 lb range using lighted bobbers. One thing I have found is some of the bigger fish come from the shallowest of water. 4 feet or less. I sometimes use a 1/16 ounce jig (canadian walleye jigs work well) and sometimes I use a gold kahle hook which seems to get better hook sets. I almost always hook the minnow in the dorsal fin. Not to deep that you damage the minnows mobility. If I am using leeches, I hook them in the middle of there body when I am slip bobber fishing. Same applies to a crawler. People who say this isn't the way to go, don't know how to fish slip bobbers. This can be the only way to catch walleyes at times. Like earlier said, many a tourneys are won with this presentation.

[james_walleye]

Hey king i usually use a gamagatzu red hook with a red bead above it and i usually hook the minnow below the dorsal too but if the fish dont seem too go real well i saw a couple times last year where hooking them through the lips pounded the fish while through the dorsal got nothing, give it a try sometime. I also double hook the leeches through the sucker end, keeps them from wrapping up on the hook. Nothing is more enjoyable than getting into walleyes at night with those lighted slips in my opinion. We also get a fair amount of bonus slabber crappies at night too.

[Bruce Mosher]

Slip Bobber fishing is very productive. I still use quite a bit of Glow jigs. I also put my bait about 8 to 13" off the bottom. I can cover more of an area being this far off the bottom in a wind. My jig can move over more terrain and not hang up on the bottom. I normally use a 1/16oz jig in moderate wind or a 1/8thoz jig in more wind. If it's really calm I'll use a plain hook with a split shot just over a foot above the hook. I really like the red glow or green glow jigs for night fishing. I poke a starter hole into the top of my Wave Buster Bobbers (they are sold on this site)and insert a thin Glow Stick that will last for approximately 8hrs of light. Nothing funner than watching a lighted bobber dip below the water line!! Set the HOOK!! Bruce Mosher

[riverrat56]

What are peoples favorite areas to fish slip bobbers at night? And why in these areas would it not work to cast a jig or drift with lindys and jigs?

Only time I've slip bobbered for eyes was on Mille Lacs and that was on the flats, it worked but it seemed to me that a presentation that covered more water would be more productive. Although we did catch a fair number of fish. I'm not sure how to apply that tactic around Southern MN on smaller lakes.

[james_walleye]

I do it the most on weedlines and on rocks and i do it for the most part at night. I like the idea on weedlines simply for the fact that i picture walleyes moving up and down the weedline looking for food and if your offering is sitting on the weedline in the strike zone at all times, any fish that passes by has the opportunity too snap it. I like it on rocks because of the snag factor, suspending your presentation a foot above the rocks keeps you out of the rocks. And too be totally honest, when i fish during the daylight i typically pound it hard, and when i decide too fish it night, its soooo relaxing and enjoyable too kick back and watch that light disappear. That and the fact that it has worked so well for me. Its usually the first thing i try at night, and i've really never had too revert too other presentations. Im sure in the same situations i fish bobbers that other presentations would work, but i've never had too go too them for the most part.

[BobT]

How effective have you found corking to be at night over weedbeds rather than just along the edge?

Seems that using a bobber to suspend a bait over the tops of weeds might work well too. At night the walleyes may not be too skiddish about cruising in this area.

Bob

[james_walleye]

I really have never done it over a weedbed before, only the edge. But i see your from Osakis and we were up there 3 years ago the week of memorial day and when we arrived at the baitshop and resort we were told the walleye bite was non-existent. We went through a pound and a half of leeches that week all night fishing bobbers on the rocks. The bait shop guy couldnt believe it when we returned for the last half pound of leeches. We got them good that week. Funny thing was there were nights when right at sunset there were 20 boats around us but by about 10:00 10:30 everyone had cleared out and we started too pound them then. I would say we caught about 15-20 every night. Some nights a few better than that. Biggest fish was 25". Alot of 16-18" fish. Give it a try on the rocks out there.

[RandyR]

A tactic I have used in the northeast corner of the state early season to mid-summer is to long line troll medium sized rapalas in the shallows near sunset. We used to use a gas outboard running at just above idle but now we use an electric trolling motor. You would think the electric motor would be better because it is quiet but we really haven't seen that much difference in catch rates. At least I don't have to smell the exhaust now. We have had tremendous success in 4 feet of water or less. The best colors have always been orange or chartreuse, the fish hit hard with this presentation. We have caught walleyes in the evening in the rocky lakes in that part of the state in less than 2 feet of water casting minnow style rapalas with a slow retrieve, just fast enough to dip below the surface. There is usually a distinct movement to the shallows as evening approaches in these lakes and we take advantage of it.