Walleye Search-Few LM

[TwinSprings]

Needed to get my boat out so late afternoon I headed to Holiday Island to launch  and then headed upstream past Beaver. I’m on a quest for Walleye and decided to try jigging and a NR. No success on the Walleye but about 20 minutes before sunset I managed to pick up 5 smaller Largemouth on a Binks jig in near 5 consecutive drops of the jig. These fish were right on the bottom in about 20ft of water near the drop-off to the deeper channel. Water temp at surface was 54 and there was a good current flowing out of Beaver. Caught these off the mouth of the big creek just west of Beaver. The current pushed me off the spot pretty quick and it was about to get dark so I decided to come back the next day and hit them again. There was likely a few more fish to catch here and they were hitting that spoon hard.

  My question is, what depth are you typically finding the walleye at the upper end of the lake this time of year? I’m new to this lake and appreciate any advice.  
 

 

[dan hufferd]

I have caught several under feeding bass.

If you kind of make a short cast out away from the mob of feeding fish, let it fall below where you think the bass are, then work it like a wounded minnow under the school it works pretty good sometimes.

I pick it up one good jump, let it die, then a couple of short weak hops, then a bigger jump, that kind of thing.

My uncle caught a couple in 50 ish feet of water the other day. I think he said 5 keeper bass, 1 keeper walleye, 3 shorts, something like that.

At night they get shallow.

[Quillback]

Randy can give you some advice on the upper end, he probably hasn't seen this, I'll tag him.  @rps

[rps]

From now until February 1, a minnow tipped light color jig (think Road Runner) .in the 1/8 to 3/16 size fished like you described for the Binks. Put the hook point in the mouth and through the floor of the mouth. Turn it and bring it back in through the gills. Stays on better that way and I think it helps make it less likely to hang.

After Feb 1,  it will be jerk bait time. Concentrate on low light times.

PM me and I will suggest two locations.

[Guest]

walleye are like any other predator fish, and there has to be enough food to support or sustain them.  i've caught several walleye this fall and winter from shell knob to kimberling city.  just as the bass are, they are in areas with a tremendous food source.  in the daytime, they do like to stay on the bottom, where bass many times are suspended.  as far as how deep you might catch one is probably as deep as you see the shad if they are bottom related.  

i can tell you that there are many walleye in some of the areas that i have been fishing because the signature differently that bass do.  if one really wanted to target walleye this time of the year, i think time would be better spent further down stream for a bit.  as we get back to getting longer days and the walleye begin more to think about spawning, they will quickly migrate in bigger numbers the upper end, where you are fishing.  many years ago, i went up below beaver dam at night in late january,  and we fished jerk baits.  i knew nothing about walleye fishing but my buddy was a northern transplant, and we caught the crap out of them.  just about froze to death too, and it was a full moon.  so, moon phase, amount of daylight are all triggering mechanisms for all game fish migrations.  many of those mid-lake walleye end up up where you are fishing or up the kings river when the time is right.

i've caught numerous big walleye in the run around at the mouth of the kings (on the kings river side).  the ones that i catch is just because a got a spoon or swimmer in front of them while bass fishing.  i am sure that if one geared up better, there could be many caught there, but that is dependent of if there is lots of bait there.  wherever you are going to target them, for there to be any numbers, there also has to be enough food.  food source is always the key.

and there you have an opinion from just a fisherman, but not a walleye expert.

bo  

[TwinSprings]

Thanks for the input to all. I plan on fishing the upper area hard later in February when the fish are moving.