walleye bite

[dajumboman]

the lake that i usually fish for eyes has a bite that last for about 20 minutes right before dark and nothing as soon as it gets dark.. where do they go? i know they feed in the dark so they must be active some where.. we usually pick our fish up in about 12-15 fow.. do they move into lets say less than 10 foot chaising bait, or do they suspend? thaanks alot

[Houghton laker]

We have the same problem on houghton lake....morning bite then nothing till dusk.....imbetween you may find a stragler.....but your better off switching over to Gills! I have often wondered the same thing...one of these next trips up to houghton we plan on fishing well into the night to see if another evening bite starts up!!

[hoffie1]

Try shallow water after dark.As for H.L. we used to fish it all nite(years ago)into the morning with some luck on the eyes.We have never pulled a limit at nite.

hoffie

[dajumboman]

i have an underwater camera and i see lots of bait fish on the bottom, i think they may be smelt but not sure :confused: how shallow should we go after dark? thanks alot guys

[Houghton laker]

Yea Hoffie....I have heard of mixed results...so plan on trying our luck......that was exactly what I was thinking hoffie...fishing the shallow edge of the drop-off...with a few people we could cover the deep section and shallow and move accordingly!

[wally-eye]

dajumboman. If you are talking about the lake you fished the other day, where I got that big eye they move in REAL shallow the darker/later it gets. Have got them in 4 fow at midnight.

Usually there are bands of 8 to 10 fish schools moving constantly in that lake. You won't see the big schools in that lake. The holes close to shore you probably walked over are fished after dark. Usually I have 6 holes opened from deep to shallow and then hop from deep to shallow every half hour or so the darker it gets. The other day I was just to lazy to move everything. If your going out there again let me know and I'll show you some tips. However I probably won't be out again till at least Friday.:gaga:



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Fish long and hard.

[dajumboman]

yea me and my buddies have to drive from muskegon we plan on fishing sat if the ice holds and maybe could make it up friday after school if all goes well.. what is your favorite way to get them eyes. we use sweedish pimples and jigging raps mainly.. thanks alot

[WALLEYEvision]

90% of the walleyes I've caught well after dark came on tip-ups set in less than 10' of water. Infact my biggest walleye caught through the ice (5 #er) was caught on a tip-up on Hamlin Lake in 6' of water. I've also had simlar success with walleyes on Lake Mitchell.

I set my tip-ups on the outside edge of wedbeds and I prefer to use a 3-4" spottail or golden shiner for bait. I also use a 2' leader of 8# clear mono and a #8 treble hook.

[Banditto]

I 2nd the vote for golden shiners after dark. For some reason they prefer goldens compared to blue or greys.

[wally-eye]

Both of those baits are what I use, usually with 3 or so small perch minnows attached. Some days I will have a second pole in the shanty just dead sticking a live bigger minnow under a big bobber as close to bottom as you can get without getting into the weeds. Get as many that way as any. I'll be there Friday afternoon unless the ice is shot from the rain and warmer weather we are supposed to get Wednesday.

Usually I try to stay to midnight. Start about where we were maybe a little farther out and then starting about 5PM start moving 75 feet or so closer to shore. Usually end up at midnight 50 feet from shore or closer and most of the time I have the best luck in that shallow water. Although there are extremely wary when their that shallow. That shallow I usually tone down the action on the bait. Just little jiggles and not a lot of jerking. Last year I got a bigger one than I had the other day in 4 fow. What a trip. Ran like crazy. Pole was in the hole up to the reel.

Like I said "IF" there is good ice I will be there Friday afternoon and more than likely Saturday. I'm old and arthritic and retired so i will have to check my schedule first.:lol:

[Houghton laker]

Can't remember ever seeing Golden shinners up at houghton lake?? Mostly all greys or Blues..... I will have to put a order in to the local baitshop......either that or bring some up from here!

[dajumboman]

yea hopefully i'll see you up there on sat, and would probley stay out later and try to fish shallower to pick up a few more eyes. supposed to be really cold on friday so we may be ok. o btw how big was the eye you caught that night? my buddy got a 6 pounder earlier this year..

[Banditto]

HL'r. It's funny out by my cottage (30 miles directly east of HL but a 50 minute drive) the saying goes "goldens are worth their weight in gold." Once the bait shop owners knew we were interested in using goldens they started selling them. They cost a little more than blues, greys, or suckers but sometimes not by much. When they are scarce you'll see some bait shops charge $1 each but last time I was up I bought 4 dozen for $6 a dozen and she gave me way over. And they last in my bubbler bucket for weeks with the bubblers going. But they do die quicker than suckers just as an example.

They have a higher back than blue or grey.

[wally-eye]

Right close to 24 in. and over 5 lb by a bathroom scale. Only bad thing when I cleaned it found that it was full of eggs already.......Really don't like doing that.

Several last year that were bigger than that.