Selkirk Lake (Allegan Co.) 6-24-02 Woooooooooooo!!!!

[Rockman72]

I felt inspired to try for walleye, (one of my quests this year it to learn how to fish for them) so I went to Selkirk last night with my brother. (It should be noted that I know very very little about walleye fishing.) Normally we go there for bass, but I read on the DNR web-site that they stock the lake with walleye, so what the heck, lets give it a try.

We started a little before dark and trolled Rapalas. We caught several bass and even 1 crappie. And then it happened. At about 11:00pm I had a hit and the fight was on. Must be a bigger bass. I pulled it to the boat, got it in the net and then, to my complete and utter amazement, I caught a walleye!!! I was sooooo excited. My biggest ever stretching the tape to 19.75" (I've probably caught less than 10 walleye my whole life.)

We had several hits before this with no fish. Do walleye bite short sometimes? But after that walleye we only got 1 more hit. But it was lots of fun!!!

Rock (who has TONS to learn about walleye fishing)

[Gone Fishing]

Great job Rockman! To answer your question about Walleye hitting short. Heck yes they do and especially when jigging. When fishing crawler harnesses and you go to set the hook and they are not there, drop it right back to them. I have tricked many fish into a second strike that ended their life and filled the skillet.

[walleyeman830]

Gone Fishing hit the nail on the head with that answer, and here's another answer for ya, YER D@MN SKIPPY they do, If your trolling cranks and this happens slow her down a little this is what I do in the big lake if this is happening.

And by the way congrats on that eye.........

[knockoff64]

Good job on that Walleye. to catch a nice fish on your first 'Walleye trip' to that lake is great.

I would stick to Selkirk Lake for a few more trips and learn those fish until you can pattern them consistently. Then take that knowledge to other lakes. Keep that fryin' pan hot!:)

[Mike]

Cool Rockman! I leave for my annual walleye trip to Little Bay de Noc in a few weeks, but a post like that makes want to give it a try around home before then. Add some jointed Rapalas to your trolling arsenal. If your fishing in a weedy area, you can tell the instant they get fouled. I like 'em!

Mike

[The Whale]

Good job Rockman72 ! They're a blast, especially at night.

Mike, I'll second that tip on jointed Raps.


Whale :)

[Rockman72]

Thanks for the replies guys. (and the info)

I was wondering if my strategy was OK. I'm assuming that walleye go to the surface to feed at night, so I wasn't fishing very deep at all. I was using a Rapala Shad Rap #5 in blue gill, but I had a very short lead. I imagine that if I had a shallow diver, I could put it further in back of the boat and that could also help get more hits.

Selkirk is a weedy lake, I will have to get some shallow diver jointed.

If I go back during the day, I might try running some crawlers threw the deep area (gets to 35+ fow, but most of the lake is 10-20fow). I can't wait to catch some more. (I'll have to try Gun Lake soon as well)


Rock

[Mike]

The floating jointed Raps should dive about 3 or 4 feet when trolled. I'll have to check my book to be sure on that. Hard to go wrong with the perch pattern...

Mike