08-14-2014, 08:49 PM
It does take some dedication, patience and experience though to get good at this...
I would personally consider it a waste to go out for 3 hours. You are gambling that you'll show up and there will be fish in front of you and eager to eat. If you are serious about night fishing for walleyes... give it more than 3 hours. Move around. You are going to need to cover a lot of water. You are going to snag a lot of lures. You are going to have to explore the lake. I'm not trying to make it sound hard - it really isn't that hard... but most people give night fishing a half hearted effort and it does require more than that.
Each trip you will learn something new about walleyes or night fishing... and eventually you'll get a nack for it and be able to slay them on a consistent basis. I've had a lot of nights where I don't get hit for 5-6 hours and then in the next couple hours I'll catch over 20 fish....
I've got all sorts of walleye tackle and gear and these days the only thing I will use is a 4-6" paddletail swimbait.. I am convinced these lures outproduce everything else. So don't waste your time with anything else until you get comfortable with those... you'll see what I mean. A 15" walleye will swallow a 6" swimbait... I kid you not.
And one more tip... don't miss out on the light change bite. You want to be at a good spot an hour before the sun goes down... I cringe every time I show up to the lake and the sun has already set. I don't know what it is, but the first hour or so before and after the sun either sets or rises... is money!!!
And I'll throw in one more tip just because I'm feeling generous. Walleyes take advantage of being able to see when their prey can't. That is why night fishing is so good. It's also why a wind blown shoreline is good during the day. When the water clouds up and is stained... the eyes know they can go in there and find prey that cannot see them coming... It is the same reason people usually do better for walleyes on cloudy days when fishing during the day... it makes the water a little darker and they can hunt prey down easier. So use this knowledge to your advantage. If there is a hot summer day without a cloud in the sky... my guess is the walleyes won't be feeding much during the day. That would be an excellent day to try night fishing. They sit around all day and then go nuts at night.
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I would personally consider it a waste to go out for 3 hours. You are gambling that you'll show up and there will be fish in front of you and eager to eat. If you are serious about night fishing for walleyes... give it more than 3 hours. Move around. You are going to need to cover a lot of water. You are going to snag a lot of lures. You are going to have to explore the lake. I'm not trying to make it sound hard - it really isn't that hard... but most people give night fishing a half hearted effort and it does require more than that.
Each trip you will learn something new about walleyes or night fishing... and eventually you'll get a nack for it and be able to slay them on a consistent basis. I've had a lot of nights where I don't get hit for 5-6 hours and then in the next couple hours I'll catch over 20 fish....
I've got all sorts of walleye tackle and gear and these days the only thing I will use is a 4-6" paddletail swimbait.. I am convinced these lures outproduce everything else. So don't waste your time with anything else until you get comfortable with those... you'll see what I mean. A 15" walleye will swallow a 6" swimbait... I kid you not.
And one more tip... don't miss out on the light change bite. You want to be at a good spot an hour before the sun goes down... I cringe every time I show up to the lake and the sun has already set. I don't know what it is, but the first hour or so before and after the sun either sets or rises... is money!!!
And I'll throw in one more tip just because I'm feeling generous. Walleyes take advantage of being able to see when their prey can't. That is why night fishing is so good. It's also why a wind blown shoreline is good during the day. When the water clouds up and is stained... the eyes know they can go in there and find prey that cannot see them coming... It is the same reason people usually do better for walleyes on cloudy days when fishing during the day... it makes the water a little darker and they can hunt prey down easier. So use this knowledge to your advantage. If there is a hot summer day without a cloud in the sky... my guess is the walleyes won't be feeding much during the day. That would be an excellent day to try night fishing. They sit around all day and then go nuts at night.
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