what does any one have to say about utah lake is the walley run started or is it still a week or so away,i fished it last night from 4 to midnight no fish started at lindon and ended up at provo harbor lots of people but did not see any fish,
is it better to fish this lake during the day or at night and what color produces for jigs… thanks
**Sorry, no magic answers for any of your questions. **
The walleye have been actively spawning…someplace or another…for about two weeks…or longer. Most of the serious spawners go up tributaries and spawn in running water. That is why the current restrictions on fishing tributaries. Keeps the snagging activity down. Doesn’t eliminate it, but reduces it.
Plenty of walleyes spawn in open lake conditions, but only over wave washed rocks. Walleyes do not build nests. They are free-spawners. One female is usually accompanied by several lustful males as she spews her eggs randomly and all the males let 'er rip at the same time, hoping to win the fertilization lottery to pass on their genes.
The best the fish can hope for is enough agitation in the water to keep the fertilized eggs aerated until they hatch. If the eggs fall into the silt and mud, they will suffocate. Probably most of the eggs layed in the open lake never make it to toothyhood.
The point is, if you are “fishing the spawn” you should go out on the nastiest night and fish on a shoreline where the waves are piling in…or at least washing across a point. The bad news is that the visibility will not be good, since the water will be very murky…and the fish are really not in a feeding mode. Hate to say it but a lot of the walleyes taken during this time are not caught legally. They are “force fed” with large jig hooks.
A high percentage of the legally taken walleyes at this time of year are the smaller males. They are semi-wacko from the excitement of the spawn and will often attack a lure brought across their face. Sometimes they will even chase and bite a brightly colored lure. But, they are not really feeding. VERY FEW larger females are taken legally once the spawn begins. Their distended egg-laden stomachs will not hold anything else and the hormones are pushing them to spawn…not eat. Now, if you can time your fishing a couple of weeks ahead of the spawn…prespawn feeding time…or a month afterward…post spawn pandemonium…you can catch a lot of both males and females in a munching mood.
Best colors right now are not something to imitate a natural food. Go with bright colors or something easy to see in the dark or in murky water…or both. Solid black is good. Solid black and chartreuse or white…contrasting, highly visible combos…are both effective. During the daylight hours, and when there is some visibility in the water, use almost any dark color with a chartreuse tail. Dark blue, smoke, dark green, orange, purple…all with a chartreuse tail…all will work.
More important than color is presentation. You won’t catch them where they ain’t, and they ain’t in shallow sandy coves. They will be hanging in and around the same rocky nasty stuff over which they will be “courting” later. If you can find a slightly deeper channel, next to some prime spawning venue, you can sometimes score a few fish during the day. Otherwise, you can fish right through hundreds of inactive fish and never know they are there.
**Part of presentation is balancing the sizes of the hook, plastic bait and jig head. In the often shallow areas that are best for walleyes on Utah Lake this time of year, you may have to slow drag a large plastic in only two or three feet of water…over jig eating rocks. That’s why I custom pour a lot of 1/16 oz. jig heads on size 3/0 - 5/0 hooks, to allow me to fish 5" plastics very slowly, and not have to spend all of my time with “A piece of the rock”. Unfortunately, it is hard to find large hooks on small jig heads. Most guys have to settle for at least 1/8 or even 1/4 oz. heads to get the size hooks to balance the size of the plastic. That equates to lots of down time (retying) and lots of donations to the local tackle emporiums. **
**A big part of why people fish for walleyes right now is tradition. That is the way it has always been done. People get the impression that this is “the big run”. Actually, it is about the worst time to catch them legally. If one has the patience and the knowledge to wait for the spawn to be over, they can fish many spots around the lake…daytime or nighttime…with the positive expectation of some walleye fillets. And, the weather is usually a lot nicer and warmer in another month too. On most Utah walleye ponds, June is the “magic month”. **
**But, that being said, don’t let my rantings stop you from going fishing. There are some decent fish to be caught and someone might as well do it. Finding the fish is a combination of good guesswork, past experience and LUCK. **
Hope it all comes together for you.
Big Fish,
Now, did Tube Dude answer your question with his “rantings” or what??
Thanks TD for some good info!
I can attest to the fact that if they are in the spawn.. you’re just washin lures. So, Even if you locate them.. big deal! They got something else on their mind!
well TD pretty much summed it up for you. I also have some input for the walleye spawn at UL. I have fished the walleye spawn at UL for about 20 years, mostly at the bubble up and some at LB. and
I HAVE NEVER SNAGGED (landed) a walleye during the spawn, I had a monster hooked once in the back and she rolled over and she came off, and I’m glad she did. if you find them the males will bite off and on all day long with the best times being 10:00am to 1:00pm then again at sunset. chartruse being pretty much the best color, white is also a good choice. now that you have all this info, if you do catch that big hen, practice c.p.r. later chuck
really good info. Thank tube dude..
some of the big hens will hit but the ofering must stay in her face. so swimming a jig past just isnt it. sit it on the bottom and just jiggle the rod tip every 6 or 8 feet durring a retreive. i cant beleive i just shared that. i have caught sevral good one with this litle pause and wiggle aproach. think ill run down today and cruise the boat around and look for boils.
[;)]Uh oh…you just gave away the secret to catching all the mama eyes!
Yeah, but he didn’t tell about standing on your left leg and keeping your tongue hanging out the right side of your mouth. You shouldn’t divulge all that high tech stuff on a public forum.
dude. you left out eyes closed… thats my biggest secret! i jig with eyes closed invisioning the the bottom as i feel it threw he lumis or fenwick. o and a cigarette in mouth.
Ah yes. Sounds like something out of Star Wars. I can just picture Yoda teaching you all that stuff. See it I can.
Never knew Chuck’s nickname was Yoda. Make you a walleye knight he will. May the plastic be with you.
HE HAS TAUGHT ME ALOT OVER THE YRS. BUT THE EYES CLOSED I FIGURED OUT ONE NIGHT WHILE NIGHT FISHING DC. EYES WERE HURTING SO CLOSED THEM. AND LERNED A GREAT LESSON. ASK HIM HE WAS THERE. IT WAS THE SAME NIGHT HE CAUGHT HIS AVITAR EYE THAT I SUFFED FOR HIM. HE IS MOORE HANS SOLO TYPE. I DO LOVE YODA,S WISDOM IN THE MOVIES.
There is probably a lot to that closing the eyes technique…especially for night fishing. If you can’t watch your line (in the dark) you need to be extra aware of what you can feel. And, there is a lot to the subtle feel in walleye fishing. You have to be able to tell the difference between ticking your jig on a rock and the tick of teeth on it. Of course, when a big ol’ mama 'eye CHOMPS down on it, there is no mistaking that feeling…and the heavy head shakes after the bite. That’s what it’s all about. Doesn’t even matter if you get the net under them. If you have finessed the bite and hooked the fish, you have got it all. Everything else is just dinner.
Actually…it’s stand on your right leg, and hang your tongue out on the left side of your mouth. Then you also have to hold your pole above your head, and reel in that position! yeah…that’s it…
Nah. That’s for “wookies”…and maybe Jar Jar.
My brother-in-law and his buddies have been catching eyes in Utah lake for the past couple weeks, but they have been fishing the eyes there for 35 years and know how and where to catch them. They keep a pretty tite lip on the where and how part.