Walleye fishing????

[north-bound]

i have been pan and pike fishing in a couple of small lakes for a couple of years now and a few of the locals have told me there were walleyes in the two lakes well i have yet to catch one or even seen one being caught:rolleyes:... except this past weekend i finally conected with a nice keeper a little over 17" so i guess they were right. both lakes are shallow lakes i beleive the deepest spot beteewn both lakes is 12 ft. both lakes are full of weeds but one of them is solid weeds. the one i caught this weekend was friday night casting a #2 mepps with a grub tail on it. well i casted the living crap out of it and every other mepps i had the rest of the weekend and no more walleyes. i am looking for some ideas on how to pull a few more walleyes out of there? i would like to troll some harnesses or even somes raps. what do you all think? thanks for any info in advance.

[Flash]

Not trying to hijack this thread - I am also looking for tips on trolling for walleye. Just specifically in very weedy lakes. How do you keep your lures from the weeds? If you're throwing a mepps #2 in weeds, did it have a single hook (vs a treble) and was the grub hooked weedless? I can't get more than a few yards in my normal lake without a lure collecting weeds. Certainly not hundreds of feet at 16-25' down. One reason I cast and retrieve, at least then I can pluck the weeds off.

[Walleyealx]

my best walleye experiences in very weedy lakes (such as houghton) have been simply drifting with crawler harness', using leeches or crawlers.

[north-bound]

i used a treble hook. as far as the grub tail goes i just pinched the tail off and put it on one of the hooks. the water depth where i caught the walleye was 5 ft. so to make sure i could get down in the weeds i put a small split shot on around 12" up from my mepps.

[chamookman]

Go right in the weeds and give them a try. A simple slip float rig with a Leech or Crawler pitched into in to small pockets and openings will produce, as well as pitching small (1/8 - 1/16oz.) weedless jigs (Northland Weed Weasel). A 1/16 black Weed Weasel tipped with a Leech, is My "go-to" technique when after weed Walleyes. For harnesses, a cone shaped type sinker that Bass fisherman use ahead of the harness (use the lightest possible) will help the harness to slither its way thru the weeds and not get hung up. Good luck - hope this helps. C-man

[JJ Mac]

Pitching jigs in weed opening pockets is a productive technique. This year I have been using a technique (ala: Mark Martin) which uses Northland mimic minnows rigs with spinners on them. Basically it's like a large beetle spin. When used with braided line, it allows you raise and lower your rod tip as you retrieve the jig just above the weedline. When you do get in the weeds a good jerk on the rod usually rips them through weed free. The braid also provides excellent sensitivity and also is nice insurance when you've got a big'en on down in the weeds.

Slip bobbering openings as described above is also a good technique.

Remember, as a walleye guy you're always looking for unique structure, so in a lake with mostly weeds, targeting weed breaks, dropoffs, and areas with some rocks mixed in...usually good spots to know. ;)

Oh, and don't forget to try out there at night trolling short leads and shallow runners off of planer boards if you can keep them above the weeds.

[north-bound]

thanks for all the info. i have never targeted walleyes in weeds so i was at a loss on where to start. thanks again for the info.

[On Target]

I 2nd the slip bobber and leech right on the edge of the weeds with the leech a foot or 2 off bottom. Anchoring both ends of the boat make it alot easier.

[sfw1960]

An 1/8 to 1/4 oz jig head with a 3" twister tail (Yel./ Wht./ or Chart.) cast & retrieved s l o w l y over the tops of weeds can be pretty deadly at times.
:)


Even the dreaded 1/8 oz beetle spin can do damage.

Let us know how you do!

[woodie slayer]

was wondering when someone would mention a slip bobber and leech.
that is the most deadly way to catch walleye in weeds.pitch as far from boat as possible and try and keep boat noise to a minimum.i like a #6 tru turn hook with a split shot about a foot up from the leech.fish about 6 inches above the weeds..don't fish the leech toooooooooo long with out changing it they like em fresh and lively.i anchor but do not stay in a area more than 15 minutes before moving a hundred feet or so. drifting with this method works but i've had better luck anchored.
good luck let me know how this works for you:fish:

[jiggineyes]

I would definetely go with the slip bobber and leech. I grew up in minnesota and almost exclusively fished a slip bobber or drifting a lindy rig with a leech. if you can find a good map and find humps or any gravel areas id hit those first!

[silkystud21]

I would love to try slip bobbering for eyes on the lake my families cottage is on as I think it would work well. However, there are way to many "bait stealer's" i.e. little gills, perch etc that would make it almost impossible to keep a leech on the hook long enough for the eyes to see it, unless I fished at night. Is there any way around this other than tryin a different technique?

[bombcast]

one way to not deal with bait robbers are minnows under slip floats. Buy a minnow jug, put it near shore in a clean sandy area with crushed saltine crackers.

3" lake shiners get wolfed.