Got up at 300am and hit the ice at 5am this morn. Had 12 holes drilled cleaned and ready by 5:30 then waited. Had 1 hit at 7:13 and pulled up this 18 incher. Fished til 8:30 with no more hits so I headed home.
NICE!!!
End of story??
Okay, I’ll bite…who, what, where, when, how & why?
Great job buddy! Any walleye through the ice here in Utah is a trophy in my view!
Deer Creek in 20’ of water 6’’ off the bottom with a swimming lure n perch eye. Got to get up early a head of light, dill hole a good hour before, then be really quite. This is the first time I have tried for walleye throught the ice since the creek walleye crashed last. It took a lot of years fishing all night, reading walleye in sider and infisherman. If you have ever caught eyes right after the ice off in the spring that seems to be a possible spot to try. I also limit my ice eyes to full moon. It is a tough job cause they only bite for a short time maybe 15 or 20 min then they are done, so with such a short bit it is hard to pin point the spot let alone the spot on the spot. I have tried the evnening bite but its not as good as the morning. I would like to try it at Starvation but the drive is long way to go and my ice off search for spring walleye has been limited.
Nice job, looks nice and healthy too. I tried the night bite last week on DC with FULLMOONFISHN and didn’t do so well. We also did an overnighter at starvy last week, with no eyes on the deck. But we did get a couple early morning bites that were missed. You should definatly go to starvaton one time before the year is over. Last year by this time I had iced a dozen or so walleye there. Shoot
me a pm if you end up going, I might be able to put you in some good areas.
I might just do that. I did catch a 10’’ eye last time at starvy but I wasnt targeting them. I hit DC this morning but at 5am it was a bizzard. I went out by the island boat ramp there was 2 feet of snow on the ice and the water was dark, couldn’t even see the bottom of my ice hole. The eyes at DC are not what they used to be as far as numbers nor the perch. Starvation seems to be the hot spot.
Way to go Jeff, I would like to make another run to Starvation icefishing but it will probably be after ice off before I get back that way again.
Don’t be too harsh re: the supposed shortage of DC walleyes. I was with the DWR when they pulled their nets two consective days in mid-Oct, and had I not been there on the boat itself I wouldn’t have believed the #s as well as size that came up. I’m planning to fish it with a renewed vengeance this season.
Thanks for the followup with all the nitty and gritty.
Sound like ya done your homework, and came out early, came out prepped! What kind of lures/bait did you use? I’ve tried to read up on some of those same sources - got me out on Willard S.Marina one morn, but no luck for me. Granted - I hadn’t drilled a dozen holes either!!
Seems like a few lakes might be on the verge of shifting to a more favorable population of good sized fish. Still love to find some walleye - anywhere! Got my eye’s on some spring locales I need to target!
I was going to hit DC last year but was a tough year for me didn’t fish much. I like the night bite in march and april. Bidn’t realize DWR nets were that productive. Guess i’m a little rusty. Those DC eyes seem to taste the best.
Hey packfan, I would too but if I wait for a full moon the ice will be gone or unsafe I would imagine. If I head up I will let you know. I like swiming lures like raplala jiging shad and nils master jiging shad with a perch eye. Early ice there really aggressive hitting the lure just as it settles back into place. The hardest part is finding were they are going to move up to feed. There are proably a lot of places but compared to the whole lake the spots are very small at least thats what I have found.
I like to drill a lot of holes then hole hop when the bite is on. It helps to have a pardner to cover more area to find the sweet spot. They come and go so fast plus they spook easy. I’m not sure on willard my guess would be the inlet main lake pionts maybe. I have a power auger, really helps. It took years of fishing to find a bunch of walleye spots at DC and Starvy then about 4 years of hard searching throught the ice at DC.I don’t know but there’s some thing special about walleyes. I’ve caught walleye at willard but 12 in one day at willard is my best day and that was in a boat spinner rigging hit it on the right day.
I’ll keep ya posted on the Wiper Tourney in June.
Find the perch you find the eyes. Key on points especially inside turns. I especially key on what I can feeding ledges. Get a contour map of the bottom and look for wide spots along the point in about 20ft or maybe 30ft with a drop to deeper water nearby. Walleyes will continue to move up on that ledge all night. Sunrise and sunset are prime time but there will be feeding windows all day. Walleyes can be caught in daytime - they will be deeper in the same general area where they are at night. I have iced plenty of walleyes during the day in Minnesota and they won’t behave any different in UT. The larger walleyes travel in small groups and move along feeding ledges at night. During the day they will locate at the bottom of the break.
My favorite walleye jig is a 5/16 oz Custom Jigs and Spin Slender spoon. Nice wide flutter on way down. My next choice is a Lindy Rattle Flyer. For the big girls I have jigged the smallest sized Rapala Clankin Raps with success. This tactic works best with a second deadstick rod nearby, The rattle draws the fish in and if they aren’t that aggressive the deadstick can seal the deal. Just remember that walleye fishing is not typically a numbers game. I was happy with one fish a trip. Mo[reply][/reply]re than that was a bonus.
I just moved out here and am in the process of modifying my walleye tactics for DC. Can’t wait for open water. The walleye in my avatar wieighed 13 1/2lbs and I am trying to beat it.