Walleye anglers will always recommend that if one wishes to have a good bite it is best to begin walleye fishing 2 hours before sunrise or after sunset.
Sometime, "the night time is the right time" for walleye.
I would recommend you to troll and cover some water to find walleye feeding at night. Prime night walleye locations include weedlines, large feeding flats, main lake points, narrows, wind-bashed shorelines, sunken islands and reefs and river inlet areas. In the spring, I prefer weedlines and wind bashed shorelines, while in mid to late summer I choose sunken islands and reefs. In the fall, current areas and shallow to steep shorelines, which have had daily wind and wave activity, can be hot spots for night walleye.
Night Walleye presentation
There are a variety of presentations that excel for night walleye including trolling and casting crankbaits, and using lighted bobbers with lively bait. In the spring, flat-line shallow diving, floating crankbaits that imitate minnow presentations. I like crankbaits such as the Rapala floating minnow, Husky Jerk, Storm Thunderstick, Storm Thin Fin, Smithwick Rogue and Berkley Frenzy. Troll these crankbaits along the weedline edges. Common spring depths are from 8 to 15 feet deep. Colors such as black and silver, blue and white, black and chrome, smoke, blue and orange, firetiger and watermelon can all produce good catches. A couple of small split shot several feet up the line can help get the lure down. Trolling speeds from 2 to 3.5 mph work well for walleye. By the mid to late summer period. Many night-feeding walleye are setting up on sunken islands and humps during the moonlit periods. Prime humps are between 10 and 20-feet in depth, and I’ll mark such positions into my GPS or use a marker buoy so I can find them again in the dark. Most night trolling is done between 12.00 p.m. and 4:30 a.m.
Locating night walleye
One of my favorite spots to look for nighttime walleye is near the entrances of a bay or harbor, especially if the entrance is narrow and there is at least seven to ten feet of water nearby. Night fishing is a special tool to catch bigger walleyes than during the day. Don’t underestimate the power of darkness to get these monsters on the move. But, most importantly if you are tired stay in bed that leaves more of these trophies for me.
Night Walleye
Spring Walleye spawn
Walleye video : Spring Spawn
Have a look at this walleye video, it's one of the few where we can see spring walleye during the spawn season. They are hanging there in less then 3 feet of water.
Follow the walleye
NEWS :: Walleye equipped with tiny transmitor
Sandusky River - Ohio
Unbelievable, this radio tagging project was started in 2006 in witch over 50 walleyes received internal radio transmitter implants. In 2007, the field crew was able to locate 18 of the 50 tagged walleyes.
The biologist objective is major: they would like to determine whether the declines in the walleye stock have been caused by the Fremont floodwall project, in witch a huge gravel-bottom oxbow was eliminated.
Here is a short portion of a complete article you can find on the Toladoblade:
"Water has been the lowest it's been all year and is at average level," said Bury. The temp was 51 this afternoon. Fish are spawning, but not all of them. Females close to state record size are being taken.
"I saw a 30 and a 31-inch fish Tuesday. Floating jigs in chartreuse are working, as well as 1/4 or 1/8-ounce lead. Anywhere between the bridges is producing fish. Not everyone caught a keeper, but some got limits. Still a lot of catch and release, as the water is still very muddy. The bite will pick up in a week or so."
Another great walleye article done by Steve Pollick.
Best Walleye Lure
Best walleye lures :: Rattlin' Rogue from Smithwick
The Rattlin' Rogue and its attractive rattles and wounded action will produce year-round result when trolling for walleye. The Smithwick Rattlin' Rogue stands alone among jerkbaits and is now available in 12 carefully selected colors.
The Walleye spawn is over and fish will be on the feed before they go to their summer location. This is the best time of the year to get a trophy walleye. Walleye seem to prefer long skinny baits sometimes reffered to as stickbaits :: Rattlin' Rogue. Fishing during low light periods should also improve your chances.
Rattlin' Rogue : Walleye spring fishing
Learn the spawning habits of the walleyes, and locate those areas, principally reefs, on maps. Males will be stacked on the reefs waiting for females to arrive. The places you’ll want to focus on are the deeper-water areas nearby where females stage before moving to the reefs and where they return afterward. Identify several likely spots. Walleyes are nomads. Plan to stay mobile when fishing for walleye. Once on the water, always look for bait fish on your sonar. No bait fish, no line out!
Another best walleye lure :: Storm Thin Fin
I've been using the Storm Thin for several years. As far as I could remember, I've been using this walleye lure for over 15 years. Over all those years, I 've found that the orange one has been providing the best fishing results. It's a great walleye lure to troll early in the spring while the walleyes are in shallow waters. Later in the summer, I would add some weight on the line to bring the Storm Thin fin even deeper, below the 15 feet. One of my best fishing friend is also using the orange Thin Fin with downrigger. At one time last summer, I've used the same Thin Fin for an entire week-end on a walleye fishing trip. The Storm Thin Fin is not that easy to find in store. I travel a lot in North America and there are very limited fishing shops where you could find this excellent walleye lure. I have no problem to find this lure in Canada, if you can't find it, drop me a comment on this post and I will see if I could help!
Universal best walleye lure :: Reef Runner Pink Lemonade
I like to call the Reef Runner my universal walleye fishing lure. This is a great lure to cast in shallow water but my best usage is for trolling for walleye. It's my favorite walleye lure that I will troll right behind the boat, within the next 20 feet behind the boat. Beleive me, you will be amaze to see how many trophy walleyes you will catch right behind the boat. Don't be surprise if you catch good size pike, musky and even lakers with this incredible walleye lure.
Have a look at the below picture, during a spring walleye fishing trip, I caught this 8 pounds lakers on a Pink lemonade reef Runner while trolling for walleye!
Spawning conditions
Walleye spawning water temperature
I’ve experienced that all walleyes do not spawn at the same time, some start early with the majority spawning during the ideal conditions and some will spawn extremely late in the spring, especially the younger females. The males arrive on the spawning beds first with the females following when the water conditions are ideal. Remember, males are always first in and last out!
Walleyes spawn in water from one foot to over 20 feet deep. . An abundance of broken rocks and gravel in water three to 10 feet deep will normally attract the largest concentrations of fish. Winning conditions for spawning activity are water temperature, rock or rubble shore lines. A spawning temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit will start the spawning action and 52 degrees is the top end of spawning temperature. Rock and rubble are a must structures for a successful hatch. To provide ideal spawning conditions the water temperature should warm slowly and constantly with no severe temperature swings or wave action during the gestation and hatching period.
The north and east shorelines are usually the areas where a majority of the walleyes spawn. While the fish do not know east from west or north from south, what makes these shore lines most desirable is the fact that the sun penetrates the north and east shore lines with the hottest sun of the day. Walleyes that spawn in natural lakes are often the last fish of the season to deposit their eggs. It usually takes a week or two longer for the sun to warm these large inland lakes to the magical 40 to 45 degree spawning temperature that walleyes prefer.
Michigan Walleye tournament
Walleye Tournament
Sinbads at the River Walleye Palooza 2008
May 3rd and 4th, 2008
Location :
Sindbads at the River
100 St. Clair Ave.
Detroit, MI
This Walleye tournament / derby will be held May 3rd and 4th. The entry is $100.00 per boat 2 anglers per boat. One American limit per day per team . Total combined weight for the two days will be added to determine the winning team. All fish weighed will be donated to the Banquet prepared by the Sindbads Chefs to follow the derby. Any left over fish will be donated to the Cappician Soup Kitchen.
Prizes to be anounced at the Captains meeting on Apr 30th at Sindbads. They are expecting to pay cash for first place and they hope to have enough participation to pay cash through 3rd place. They also have a Lake St. Clair Muskie trip to give away.
They are expecting to have 20 to 25 boats this year.
For more information or a registration form, please drop a line to Roger: swamphunter@msn.com
Quebec fishing tournament
NEWS :: Quebec Fishing Tournament from April 27th 2008 to November 1st, 2008
The Quebec Outfitters Federation (QOF) first ever fishing tournament
For their 60th anniversary, the QOF will have the largest fishing tournament that we ever had in Quebec. The fishing tournament will take place at the different outfitters that are members of the QOF, this represent over 350 outfitters!
Fishing tournament : more then 18 categories
The main 8 categories are subsidized into three sub-categories: Overall, the following fish categories will be included in the tournament: pike, walleye, bass, brook trout and the largest fish all species included. For this last category, I can easily predict that it will be a Sturgeon from the St-Lawrence river. Men, woman and kids under 18 will be able to compete in their own categories.
My preferred three categories
They have included three interesting fishing categories : my first fish, my best fishing story and my best fishing picture. I will definitively participate in the last two categories.
Over 40,000$ in prizes
Here is a quick overview of the different prizes:
- Category winner: a fishing trip in one of the member outfitter;
- Category winner : 500$ gift certificate at Sail / Lebaron sports store;
- Category winner : complete fly fishing kit from Latullipe sport store in Quebec City;
- Grand Prize : Yamaha G3 fishing boat V143T, trailer and a 15 HP outboard from Yamaha Canada
Catching Walleye
How to catch walleye?
Where is the best location to catch walleye : in the open, on structure, walleye deep, walleye shallow?
Visit any of the most popular walleye forums and you will find that every angler has his own answer about where to locate walleye. Here are some lake area where you should look for walleye:
- Walleyes in the weedline;
- Walleyes holding on rocky point;
- Walleyes suspended in open water;
- Walleyes lined up on a current break.
If you don't find walleye around structure, you will need to explore shallow water. The best way to fish shallow water is to use crankbait or spinner rig. Remember, the trolling technique is the best way to explore a large area of the lake quickly. Once the walleye are located, you can switch to vertical jigging! Remember that the best way to bring a lure over walleye in shallow water is to use a planer board.
As a walleye angler, you must be able catch walleye with any of the following techniques:- Vertical jigging;
- Horizontal fishing : crankbait & spinner rig;
- Horizontal fishing : using bottom bouncer and planer board;
- Horizontal fishing : troll with crankbait, rig and even slip-bobbers
Next time you will be fishing for walleye, think like a walleye!
Walleye Reel
Best Walleye Reels
Here are some key features that you should evaluate when you are looking for a walleye reel. With this first post on walleye reel, we will cover all the feature that you must look for a spinning reel that you could use for walleye jigging.
Line capacity
Line capacity is the key consideration in selecting the best walleye reel. If you are planning to use a spinning reel mainly for jigging, you won't probably need more then 125-yards. 125-yards, that's exactly the length of my preferred walleye fishing line spool : Berkley Fireline Crystal-Line 8 Lb test.
Gear ratio
The gear ratio will tell you how quickly the reel will retrieve line per revolution of your reel's crank. A lower ratio will provide more power when bringing fish from deeper depths. Higher gear ratio will be better when pulling fish from a short distance. Most of time I will jig for walleye in less then 25 feet, so I prefer a high gear ratio of 5.1:1.
The drag
The drag is also an important feature of a walleye fishing reel. You will need a drag that you can make tiny adjustments, regardless of the line you use, the drag has to be smooth and easy to adjust.
Spools
Two spools per reel is probably the ideal situation. You can get the two spools filled-up before your fishing trip and when you get to the lake, you won't have to fill them up at the last minute while everybody is reading to get on the lake.
Ball bearings
Ball bearings are used to help reels work more smoothly by supporting the different moving parts. I would say that in general, the more ball bearings, the smoother the reel works. Unfortunately, more ball bearing that are added, the reel cost goes up.
Left or right retriever
This feature should not be a problem since most of all spinning reel can be adapt for either hand. Make you know if you are a left or a right retriever before you get to the fishing shop!
If you are looking for a walleye reel that meets all those specifications, here is my favorite walleye spinning reel:
My Best Walleye Reel - Abu Garcia Cardinal C801
9 stainless steel ball Bearings
Right of left retriever
Gear ratio: 5.1:1
Line Capacity : 6 lb / 110-yards
Extreme durability
Market price: Less than 130$
Blue Walleye
Blue Walleye
General Description: Blue walleye look like regular yellow walleye except for the color. Blue walleye have a blue pigment in the mucous of the skin. To see the blue color, do a skin scraping with a knife from head to tail on the back above the lateral line and just below the dorsal fins.
The blue walleye (Sander vitreus glaucus) was a subspecies of the walleye that went extinct in the 1980s. The blue walleye used to be found in lake Erie and Ontario of the Great Lakes region of North America, including the inter-connecting Niagara River. The blue walleye is now considered extinct.
Walleye anglers are occasionally reporting blue walleye being caught from waters in the Great Lakes Basin. As of today, it seems that none of the bluish-coloured walleyes recently captured has been shown to be a true blue walleye.
I’ve read on Bluewalleye.com « that blue walleye of Canada are genetically different than the extinct "blue pike" of Lake Erie. They are albino for yellow color and have blue color in the mucous of their skin. The blue color forms on the dorsal (upper) part of the body and is particulary noticable in the two dorsal fins and the upper part of the tail. »
I was amazed also to read one of the research update from Dr. Wayne Schaefer : «It is possible that walleye in Canada use, as a sun screen, the very chemical which forms in their blood from exposure to too much sun. This conclusion is still only speculation but it is our best hypothesis.»
If you want more details about the true blue walleye, visit Dr, Wayne Schaefer Blue Walleye Blog. You will even find the following information: Blue Walleye paper 2007 and Blue Walleye sighting.
Walley in creamy orange sauce
Walleye recipe : Walleye in Creamy Orange Sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 lbs. walleye fillets
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 cup half-and-half or milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
Heat oven to 300. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan. In small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onion, flour, orange peel, salt and pepper. Blend in half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly, about 4 minutes. Set aside. Cut walleye fillets into serving-size pieces. Place in prepared pan. Pour sauce over walleye. Cover with foil. Bake until walleye flakes easily at thickest part, about 25 minutes.
Free Walleye pictures
Free walleye pictures
Great walleye pictures are a must every time I create a new post on my walleye fishing blog. My first source for free walleye pictures is my own pictures inventory. I've been fishing for walleye for years and I'm an amateur photographer. Once I've scanned my pictures, they are uploaded on one of the following websites:
One of the best resource for free walleye pictures are all the fishing forums that exist on the web. Each individual fishing forum as his own picture section. On a previous post, I've listed the best 50 fishing forums on the web. Image how many free walleye pictures you could find in a fishing forum that has over 25,000 registered members!
If you are curious about seeing some of the best free walleye fishing videos, I've recently created a walleye fishing videos on my blog and I'm adding new videos every week.
If you have quality walleye pictures, post them in one of the photo storage website and drop me a quick comment. I will use them in one of my future walleye post!
Online fishing games
My online fishing games review
During the long evening before fishing season, we all have time to spend playing online fishing games. In this post, I took the time to find the most popular online fishing games on the web and each of them has been briefly documented. With this online fishing games review, you will be able to quickly look at the most popular online fishing games currently available. Don't forget to leave you own comments regarding the games. Have fun playing those online fishing games!
Big mouth Bass 3d
A bad day on the lake always beats a good day at the office, so put your life on hold and join this online fishing game for a relaxing day of fishing. Choose the right bait, cast the perfect lure and reel those big boys in! If competition is what you're after, feel free to jump into a timed tournament.
Kenai River Run
Catch as many fish as you can in five minutes! Different lures will catch different sizes of fish. Be sure to experiment!
Bass Fishing Pro Online fishing game
Great Day Games bass master fishing game online is an enjoyable way to spend a few moments appreciating one of the more simple pleasures in life. When you play Bass Fishing Pro online it's just like a tournament, you'll hop into your virtual boat and see how many bass you can catch in 90 seconds.
Reel Fishing game
Hook, line and sinker fishing game
Saw Fish Lagoon
Survivor fishing
In order to eat you must live off the land. The river proves to be a great source of fish. Cast your pole and try to catch as many fish as possible in the allowed time.
Fishing Seasons
Fishing Season Online Fishing Game catch fish online with your virtual rod and reel and score points. The fishing season online fishing game has piranhas so be careful or you will loose points. fishing season online fishing game is simple to play just use the arrow up and down keys to move the hook up and down to catch the fish, gain as many fish as you can in one minute. The red and yellow fish score you points, the piranhas will cost you 10 points so don't catch them. How many fish can you catch in one minute? 
Super fishing
Fishing Licenses 2008
Detailed list of 2008 fishing licenses cost for all states and provinces
With the spring arrival, it's now time to renew our fishing license. I've been buying Quebec fishing licenses for the last 20 years an occasionally I had to buy Ontario's fishing license. Are we all paying the same price for a fishing license in North America? I've decided to take some time to gather all together the price of a fishing license for each state and province. There are different types of fishing licenses: resident, non-resident, one-day, 7 days or senior. For the benefice of this article, we will compare annual resident fishing licenses cost.
- Alabama annual freshwater fishing license : 12.00$
- Alaska sport fishing license : 24.00$
- Arizona general fishing license, Class A : 23.50$
- Arkansas fisheries conservation license + trout permit: 15.50$
- California sport fishing : 38.85$
- Colorado annual fishing license : 26.00$
- Connecticut inland fishing license : 20.00$
- Delaware fishing license : 8.00$
- District of Columbia fishing license : 10.00$
- Florida freshwater fishing license : 17.00$
- Georgia regular fishing license + trout permit : 14.00$
- Hawaii fishing license adult : 5.00$
- Idaho fishing license : 25.75$
- Illinois sport fishing license : 13.00$
- Indiana annual fishing license : 17.00$
- Iowa fishing license fees : 17.50$
- Kansas fishing license or permit : 20.15$
- Kentucky annual fishing license : 20.00$
- Louisiana basic fishing license : 9.50$
- Maine fishing license : 21.00$
- Maryland
- Massachusetts fishing license : 27.50$
- Michigan all species fishing license : 28.00$
- Minnesota angling individual license : 18.00$
- Mississippi sportman's license : 33.85$
- Missouri fishing permit : 12.00$
- Montana fishing license : 24.00$
- Nebraska annual fish permit : 26.00$
- Nevada regular fishing license : 29.00$
- New Hampshire annual fishing license : 35.00$
- New Jersey fishing license : 22.50$
- New Mexico annual fishing license : 25.00$
- New York fishing license : 19.00$
- North Carolina inland fishing basic : 15.00$
- North Dakota individual season fishing : 10.00$
- Ohio resident fishing license : 19.00$
- Oklahoma fishing license : 20.00$
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania fishing license : 22.70$
- Rhode Island fishing license : 18.00$
- South Carolina freshwater fishing license : 10.00$
- South Dakota fishing license : 25.00$
- Tennessee fishing license trout + natural bait : 27.00$
- Texas fresh water fishing package : 28.00$
- Utah fishing license : 26.00$
- Vermont fishing license : 20.00$
- Virginia freshwater fish statewide : 18.00$
- Washington fishing license : 21.90$
- West Virginia fishing license includes National Forest : 18.00$
- Wisconsin annual fishing license : 20.00$
- Wyoming fishing license : 19.00$
- Alberta sportfishing license : 25.66$
- British Columbia angling license : 36.00$
- Manitoba fishing license : 32.17$
- New Brunswick all species except salmon : 20.00$
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Northwest Territories season fishing license : 20.00$
- Nova Scotia fishing license : 25.32$
- Ontario sport fishing license : 29.45$
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec fishing license : 16.26$
- Saskatchewan fishing license : 29.72$
- YukonTerritories angling license : 15.00$
Walleye drifting Jigs
News: Walleye jigs used to win Walleye Circuit Tournament
Masters Walleye Circuit tournament : Illinois River March 29-30 2008
Mon and Son fishing team of Barb and Danny Plautz won the the Masters Walleye Circuit tournament on the Illinois River. This was the 22nd consecutive year that the Master Walleye Circuit has launched the fishing season in the walleye capital of the world : Spring Valley, Illinois.
They have used my preferred fishing technique to win this tournament: drift jigging! By drifting with their boat over a breakline in 14 to 16 feet of water, they successfully caught their walleye limit of 5 fish per day for a total of 27.19 pounds and claimed $25,450 in prize money.
- 1,600$ 1st place for the big fish: 4.48 pound walleye
- 500$ in contingency for using a mercury Motor
- First place prize money 23,350$
They were mainly fishing with 3/8-ounce jig and the best colors were black and orange with a dark-colored plastic trailer and of course the largest minnow they could find.
Where to locate spring walleye
By using high quality fish finder / sonar, they were able to identify the transition in between gravelly sand and softer sand and this is were the walleyes were settled.
This Master Walleye Circuit tournament was filmed for Venus Television and will air on Monday, April 28th at 10am and Wednesday, April 30th at 9:30am Eastern time.
Walleye Cooking
Walleye cooking : what are the different ways to cook a walleye?
Walleye is definitively one of the most tasteful fish. Walleye are at their best for a shore lunch but they can also be prepared different ways. Here are some basic walleye cooking methods:
Walleye under the broiler
Simply brush walleye fillets with butter and sprinkle with seasonings of your choice. On a lightly oiled pan place prepared walleye fillet. Broil until done.
Baked Walleye
Dip walleye fillets in melted butter, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Place walleye fillets into shallow baking pan. Place mushrooms and onions over the top of fish, then spoon any remaining butter mixture over that. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.
Walleye chowder
Walleye Chowder 1 lb diced walleye
1 medium onion chopped
1 large carrot thinly sliced
1 can cream corn
4 medium potatoes diced into small bite
4 slices of diced bacon
13 oz can cream
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic to taste
Cook veggies until just tender, add bacon and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cream and 1 can cream corn. Simmer mixture. Add walleye fillets and cook 10 more minutes stirring often at medium to low heat.
Deep Fried Walleye
Salt
Pepper
Flour
1 can of flat beer
Mix all ingredients together except flour to make a batter.
Dip walleye fillets in dry flour before dipping in batter.
Fry in deep fryer for five minutes
Make sure oil is hot before you start.
If those walleye cooking recipes are not enough, you will find below some of my wife's best recipes:
