Daylight Walleye

[reason162]

Never seen a walleye in person, want to check off this bucket list fish...

This time of year, do they tend to suspend or are they tighter to bottom?

Not asking for any locations or even lake info, I expect nothing but skunkfests until I put my time in!

[NJ219bands]

Jig the bottom at the Lambertville wing dam and Fireman’s Eddy. I caught 77 walleyes to 7 lb 12 oz in the fall at the Duck Island power plant on jigs many years ago.

[Mikey topaz]

Deep and close to the bottom now, then shallow come spring..
They can be caught multiple different ways, now is a good time if you don’t mind the cold. Try bouncing jigs, and throwing plastic shads.

[ScowardNJ]

The walleyes move around depending on the season and water temps. This time of the year with the cold water they are usually deeper. We get em anywhere from 20' to 50'. Rocky/gravelly structure is key. They are on the rocks and gravel along any point, drop off, or boulder field.
Switch between casting and vertical jigging to see what they want that day. W7 and W9 jigging raps and blade baits like thinfishers and binskies are great for vertical jigging and casting. Casting and bouncing plastics along the bottom on 3/8 to 1 oz. jigs is good also. Find a rocky drop off and pound the bottom working the entire piece from top to bottom. Bottom contact is essential. Put your time in and you will find em. Good luck man!

[bulletbob]

By nature, walleyes are bottom oriented, and thats where they will typically be. Rocky bottom.. They eat Sculpins, Darters, Crayfish, Madtoms, Stonecats, Hellgrammites. stuff like that, especially in rivers and streams.. They are usually around rocky bottom unless the water being fished doesn't have many rocky areas, and then you look for drop offs, deeper weed lines and such. One exception is big lakes with Alewives.. Then they act like most other predators, and spend a lot of their time suspended following the large schools of bait..

In the rivers this time of year, I would jig with plastics. they hit hair jigs as well, and nothing is better than a hair jig with a live minnow if casting from shore.

I would go before first light, and fish until about 8, maybe 9 am, or start around 4 in the afternoon and into the dark.. They will hit anytime, but in 30 years of Walleye fishing, 95% of the fish I have caught were hooked before 7:30 am in the morning, or in the hour before dusk into twilight just before dark, depending on time of year.. In winter, time of day is somewhat less important, as the sunlight does not penetrate into the water as deeply, due to the angle of the sun.. Still, mid day is the worst time to target them...

They aren't hard to catch when you find them, which as with any fishing is the biggest problem.. In my 37 years in NJ until 1991, they basically only existed in the delaware river. Today there are a lot more options in waters to catch them, thanks to NJ's excellent DEC... bob

[reason162]

Thanks guys!

I'll stick to relatively deep bottom structure to start. Packing jig heads + plastics, lipless, blade baits...hoping for a weather window to launch the yak next week.

[thmyorke1]

Great advice in this thread thanks!

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by reason162

Thanks guys!

I'll stick to relatively deep bottom structure to start. Packing jig heads + plastics, lipless, blade baits...hoping for a weather window to launch the yak next week.

Any place to get a dozen minnows?.. they are sure fire on a jig head when the water gets real cold... Gulp is good too.. 3 inch shiner looking ones.
btw, big Walleyes WILL hit small jigs,, the trick is using the least amount of weight to stay near bottom, without hanging in the rocks constantly.. The heavier the jig, the more it will hang.. Bring a LOT of jig heads.. You will lose plenty if you are fishing right.. I typically bring at least 2 rigged rods, often 3,,
i can't comment on NJ walleyes , but up here, they often have a real short bite window..They hit left and right at say 6.30 AM, and totally shut off by 7 AM.. Seen it a thousand times... bob

[reason162]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

the trick is using the least amount of weight to stay near bottom, without hanging in the rocks constantly..

Thanks Bob!

I don't do live bait...but getting light jigs down deep is something I'm pretty familiar with. I'll have 3 setups with me, will probably spend a lot of my time graphing...if I connect with anything it'd be a bonus. You guy gave me some solid background to start, much appreciated!

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by reason162

Thanks Bob!

I don't do live bait...but getting light jigs down deep is something I'm pretty familiar with. I'll have 3 setups with me, will probably spend a lot of my time graphing...if I connect with anything it'd be a bonus. You guy gave me some solid background to start, much appreciated!

I have caught big walleyes on 1/8 oz jigs.. bring some real small stuff along.. One more thing..
My uncanny success , NEVER fails, outfishes everything else always, year after year, classified Top shelf double secret probation lure of all times is>
Plain old Mr Twister in Chartreuse.. The same type you find in those $.8.99 kids Rod/Rell/Tackle Box Lure combo kits..
They have out caught everything else for me in the past 29 years of walleyes fishing by probably 10-1 or close to it.. 2 - 3 - 4 nch doesn't matter..

Also have had very good luck with silver/black FinS or Sluggos in 3- 4 inch, when I can find them.. caught a LOT of walleyes on both those lures over the decades with 1/8 to 1/4 oz jig heads.. let us know how you make out..

btw, the only better eating fish i have had from fresh water is yellow perch.. Walleyes are really good eating, and very easy to fillet, if you are a fish eater... bob