Those that catch the most and biggest walleye fish have one word of advice “Walleye fish go deep. To catch Walleye successfully fish deep and deeper”. Just how big those Walleye are fish, where are the Walleye located and hiding, and lastly how far deep in the water and with what tackle?
To begin with what is a reasonable size of Walleye that you should reasonably expect to land on a fishing trip either with your fishing buddies and friends or your kids?
You may have heard of monster weighting 10 – 11 pounds however generally most of the Walleye fish caught by reasonable fisherman and sports anglers run in the ranges of 1 to 3 pounds weight. Which tackle is best for these size fish? You may need heavier tackle from time to time, or wished for it, if you catch those elusive really giant fish. However most get by well fishing light for Walleye with “medium tackle”. On top of that your fight to land that or those Walleye fish will be a lot more fun, challenging and extended in time durations. If you are after heavy Walleye and want to play it safe with lighter tackle then use a good, sturdy, heavy leader when setting up your tackle. Larger Walleye have good strong teeth. Your fishing monofilament line has a better chance of staying whole and intact with the use of a good leader. Otherwise that monster Walleye may well may off well off your line.
Fish as deep as you can for Walleye fish. Fish deep, look for drop-offs. If it is morning time – search out deep and deeper water that is shaded from the sun and sunlight. An experienced and discerning eye may spot the drop off, and ledges in the deep water. However nothing beats the ease of use, convenience, accuracy and thoroughness of a good electronic fish finder. Still if you are able to find a most competent experienced fisherman they may well prefer to do it the “old fashioned way”.
Walleye generally hug the bottom of the water only coming into the shallows at night, or on really overcast days. If you are fishing at night, which can often be the best and most productive Walleye fishing time ever – late at night or early am - that is from midnight to 3 am is when a good proportion of real trophy Walleye are caught and landed. This may well change and be afforded if a bright moon or cloudy water conditions prevail.
Walleye are not solitary fish but rather swim and congregate in schools. What this means is find one Walleye fish and you have found a whole major group or school of Walleye. Walleye fish like it deep and dark. They hug the bottom of Northern Canadian and Upper US lakes only coming into the shallows at night time or on heavily overcast days. Fish deep. Troll slowly over deep water either searching for drop offs and the ledges that indicate good drop off bottom positions ahead either with a fish finder or manually by site and conditions.
You will be rewarded by bigger and better Walleye fish counts as well as catches.
