i thougtht eyes were the state fish...

[bgreen82]

i am always surprised to see that the walleye/perch forum has the least amount of activity out of all the "fish by species" forums. why is there so little to talk about in this one?

[PerchJerker]

Good question - let me know if you figure it out

For me, I do more panfishing than walleye fishing in the winter. I like fishing for perch and picking up walleyes that way, but I don't make too many winter trips where I specifically target walleyes. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not

[bgreen82]

it seems a lot alike in open water season though also.

[DonBo]

If I found a hot walleye spot, think I'd wanna tell you people?

[BobT]

While you are correct that the walleye is the state fish, it is not the most sought after fish in Minnesota. Maybe that's part of it.

Bob

[bigbucks]

I think there you have it. Walleye fishermen are especially secretive. They would tell you everytime they're on a hot bite, but it's always "pretty slow". Myself I haven't been on the ice yet, just cleaned the muzzle loader last night. I'm hoping to go Thursday night.

[Team Otter]

I think you are seeing a combination of tight lips and not that many people fishing for them.

[Scott M]

You are right, there is a shortage of posting going on here. Considering how nutso the state is about walleyes, it doesn't make sense. There is more walleye stocking and walleye management than any other species bar none. There is even legislation in place that dictates the state stock walleyes.

Part of it may be the trendy fashion of fishing for other species. Cats, Trophy Esocids, rough fish, panfish, bass...there are lots of people just learning about tips and techniques and asking lots of questions.

Guess somebody just needs to change that....

[hanson]

I just figure it isn't NASA techniques to catch them.

We were out fishing for "something others" on Saturday and accidentally caught 6 walleyes in the process, all 14-16" "eaters". Couldn't keep the darn things off our hooks which is usually the case when I'm not targeting them. When I am targeting them, its typically a different story which must mean I've got the wrong approach.

Sorry to poke fun at our state fish but I usually catch more of these things when I'm not after them. When I am after them... look out!

[delta hunter]

In my opinion there are not alot of people that are really into chasing the state fish for a couple of reason. It takes a certain bread of fisherman to be able to adapt and learn the ways of walleye fishng and second alot of people don't have the patience to fish for walleyes.

[Team Otter]

Patience? No wonder I leave the ice with so many holes in the lake.

[Fish&Fowl]

I guess I've always thought walleye was one of the easier species of fish to pattern and find, but maybe that's because walleyes are what I target most often. I will say that for me, they are hard to find in smaller, structureless lakes than on lakes like Rainy and LOW, but again I rarely fish small lakes and the ones I do fish I'm pretty unfamiliar with.

My goal is to learn more about fishing smaller lakes and trying to figure out the panfish that inhabit them.

[Bassboy1645]

DONT LET MY NAME FOOL YA!!! Walleyes are my life....very rarley do i target anything else when I fish summer or winter. I dont fish fall cuz deer are better the walleyes!

I started out for bass but thyre too easy...walleyes you need to think and thyre very wierd fish alway throwing a guy for a loop. they taste the best anyways so who wouldnt want walleyes?? But ice fishing How come everytime the word gets out that a walleye ite is on its like a small city out there?? Id disagree about ppl not chasing walleyes through the ice. Though seems like all the local famers in brainerd area are more about crappies and spearing pike..more eyes fo r me!!!

[PerchJerker]

Quote:

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I've always thought walleye was one of the easier species of fish to pattern and find .........on lakes like Rainy and LOW

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No offense intended here Fish&Fowl, but you've got it really good if most of your walleye fishing is on prime waters like Rainy and LOW. It gets much tougher on other bodies of water that don't have all that great structure and such great walleye populations, and it gets tougher when there's a lot more fishing pressure on a lot fewer good spots. Also, the lakes you mentioned are stained and have much better day time bites than some clearer lakes.

I love fishing the great walleye lakes on the Canadian Shield, where good days of fishing produce dozens of walleyes, or 50+ walleyes, or even those rare 100+ walleye days that you occasionally get on waters like Lac Seul.

I also like fishing some of the tougher waters, or fishing at the tougher times, when you really need to work for the fish and when boating 10 walleyes is a great day because most of the boats were lucky to catch 2 walleyes.

All I can say is I've fished in plenty of tournaments and gone on plenty of trips where walleyes were anything BUT easy to pattern and catch

[croixeyes]

Nail on the head Perchjerker.Most of the lakes in this state are a very tough daybite for Walleyes and I think most folks would prefer to target active fish such as Crappie Gills and Perch.Most of the time,Walleyes are dawn,dusk,and nocturnal feeders and those windows of opportunity are rather short.Eye hunters have no problem fishing these windows,but alot of others may not want to dedicate their time or leave a panfish bite to pursue eyes.

For those who live near pristine fisheries such as LOW,Rainy lake etc...where a good daybite exsists..were happy for ya signed....jealous.....

[Fish&Fowl]

Quote:

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No offense intended here Fish&Fowl, but you've got it really good if most of your walleye fishing is on prime waters like Rainy and LOW. It gets much tougher on other bodies of water that don't have all that great structure and such great walleye populations, and it gets tougher when there's a lot more fishing pressure on a lot fewer good spots. Also, the lakes you mentioned are stained and have much better day time bites than some clearer lakes.

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Believe me no offense taken to that! And trust me I realize how lucky I am to have grown up on and been able to fish such a great lake (Rainy) and incredible fishery.

And sure it's fun to get into a pile of fish that are all too big to keep now and then, but that certainly isn't the case all the time. You still have to do your homework, along with some trial-and-error and plenty of patience. Those are the days that when you finally do get on fish, it's a real reward.

That's why I mentioned how excited I am to try some of these little lakes down by Crookston at school. They are small, clear, and basically structure free, so this is going to be a time to toss out a lot of what I'm used to and try just about anything. The way I look at it, even if I'm doing things wrong I can use that to help better my chances for success the next time.

[Team Otter]

Quote:

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I also like fishing some of the tougher waters, or fishing at the tougher times, when you really need to work for the fish and when boating 10 walleyes is a great day because most of the boats were lucky to catch 2 walleyes.

All I can say is I've fished in plenty of tournaments and gone on plenty of trips where walleyes were anything BUT easy to pattern and catch

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BINGO!

[bigbucks]

Well said as well. I wanted to formulate a similar response, but my brain didn't want to work that hard at the time. I don't think I could have done it any better than that.

[Hammer Handle]

For me, walleye fishing is ok, but not as exciting as bass or northern fishing. When walleye fishing, you are out for a meal.

For action (and a meal, but not as tasty as walleye), you gor for pike and bass.

[bigbucks]

Different strokes for different folks obviously. To me it's okay to catch bass, but nothing I care if I ever do, especially large mouth. Northerns are a meat fish for me, they're fun to catch, but I seldom target them. Walleyes & crappies are pretty much it for me. All the rest are just bonuses & accidents.

[Hammer Handle]

That sounds just like my father-in-law. Fish walleye or get out!