Walleyedmike

Good stuff Bob! WM

Fished Devils Lake, ND last week. We caught hundreds of walleye. Many of them were little ten inchers, though. Had best success trolling bottom bouncers with spinner harnesses baited with leeches or crawlers along newly flooded roads and RR Tracks. My big fish went around four pounds. A buddy in my boat caught a six pounder, which is his personal best. We brought home possession limits of decent eaters for six guys, along with quite a few pike and white bass. Was a great rip, good weather, and good times. WM

You can say that again! Nice fish RPS! WM

You smoked me kwall (as usual). I was fishing mid lake doing many of the same presentations. Caught a lot of shorts. Heading for Devils Lake, ND next week, if you'd like I'll post reports from there! WM

Thanks for checking Gilly. No major flood problems here in Nebraska City yet. Had a big problem with a malware attack on my computers, so haven't been able to access the internet. Planning on heading back down to Stockton over the 4th. The trip will be an hour or so longer, which seems minor compared to many who have lost their homes to the floods. WM

Take a look at Minnowhooker's 6-9 fishing report. Powerdive has some info in that thread on catching boatloads of crappie. WM

I swear, that Rangerman could pull a keeper walleye out of a mudhole! Had a chance to chat with him on the phone Friday as he was pulling out. Look forward to meeting him on the lake someday. Also met kwall this weekend. He was such a nice guy I'd swear he was from Nebraska! My wife and I fished Saturday and Sunday. Tried trolling deep with leadcore like Rangerman suggested. Had limited success, but I was on a different part of the lake. Ended up keeping six walleye Saturday and one on Sunday, as well as some crappie and whites. Fished points in 15-20 feet of water most of the time. So, here's my take on the current Stockton walleye fishing. There are fish at various depths all over the lake. Use the method you have confidence in, and you will catch fish. But, don't be afraid to experiment with new techniques, you will still catch some walleye right now, and might find a new method that will be your go to technique. WM

I think normal pool level is about 867, Rangerman. So the lake is up about six feet. Still very fishable. Let us know how you do, my wife and I will be down on Friday morning. WM

In the past my local Orscheln's store sold game fish for stocking in the spring. I believe they also sell grass carp. I haven't noticed it in their ads this spring, but I haven't looked for them either. Might give your closest store a call. WM

I like pike just as much as walleye. There is a lotta meat on a decent sized pike. Litte more time consuming to remove the y-bone, but worth the effort, in my opinion. If Stockton still had pike in it I'd have no reason to go north to fish. WM

My boss fishes Flin Flon every year. They catch huge pike up there. One of these years, I'm gonna have to go with him. The 24 hour drive each way doesn't sound like much fun, though. I have no idea what lodge he uses there. WM

It does. A couple of things to think about when using the spot lock feature, the boat will spin around a bit until the bow is facing into the wind. If you are trolling along at any speed, the boat will naturally cruise past the spot you locked it on and the motor will spin you around and back to the spot. I try to be down to about zero speed and facing into the wind if it's possible, before I hit the spot lock. Saving a track works great. I have not used my terrova in any big wind yet, so I can't comment on that. WM

Welcome Uncle Josh. How I usually catch Stockton bass is trolling crankbaits on lead core, trolling bottom bouncers with a spinner harness or slow death rig and a crawler, and occasionally on a jig with a half crawler or gulp minnow. I wouldn't expect these methods to be very effective in winning any tournaments. Best of luck to you! WM

Sorry Gilly, I know nothing about compass based trolling motors. All I can tell ya' is that I usually experience a bit of buyers remorse anytime I blow a grand on some toy that I had to work my butt off to save for, and really didn't need. I've only had a few hours to run my Terrova w/i-pilot. No remorse on the purchase at all. Best of luck on your decision. WM

I'll try to remember to bring a lake map down and talk to kwall about the lake at the campground. Devils Lake is big water surrounded by plains. Winds can make the lake dangerous in a hurry. Always check weather reports before heading out. Great fishing hole, though. We stay at Lakeview Lodge, www.lakeviewlodgedl.com. I know you guys are smarter than me and often hire a guide for a day. I would look at Johnnie Candle http://www.johnniecandle.com/ I've been to a couple of seminars he has put on. He is a great guy and a great fisherman as well. We are leaving July 10th. WM

I have no idea what those cost Gilly, but I'd look at a Minnkota Terrova with I-pilot. The spot lock feature may hold you on your spot good enough, plus you have many other features available as well. Best of luck! WM

The most information I've found about the slow death technique can be found on www.thenextbite.com . It will take some time, but be sure to check out the "vidoes" tab for TNB vidoes and TNB past episodes. WM

Zac, you inspired me to tie a couple of rigs with some little willow blades. I have planned on making some of these all winter, but just didn't do it. Will be interesting to see if a little flash and vibration will add to the presentation. Thanks man. WM

I think your friend has a disease and needs help. You should have never taken him walleye fishing. Next time take him to a casino, or a strip club or a brothel. He'll be money ahead. Sounds like your friend likes to go big...I like that. What I meant was he could make a slow death rig for a couple of bucks, as opposed to spending ten bucks or more on a Rapala shad rap or some other crank bait. I get a little bit of a tear in my eyes every time I lose an expensive crank bait. If I lose a slow death rig it doesn't even bother me. However, I rarely lose them, the hook straightens out and pulls off of snags pretty easily. I just bend it back, throw on another crawler and get it back in the water. I always use #2 slow death hooks. Why? Because that's the first size I bought and I had success. I generally don't deviate from anything that works for me. Be sure to let us know if you guys see any difference in success between the #1 and #2 hooks. Also tell your buddy to buy 250 quality swivels to use on his rigs. I also use fluorocarbon line for my rigs, I've heard it doesn't break down like monofilament line from ultraviolet rays. Sorry about your friend's new disease. I can help with an intervention...for a price...I accept walleye fishing gear in lieu of money. WM

Are they a good investment??? Well, no (don't tell my wife this). The terrova with i-pilot is a way expensive trolling motor. I saved money for a year to get mine. But, I love it. Saving a track is awesome. I use the spot lock feature all the time, it works awesome. You can tell the speed of your boat from the remote, which is awesome. I haven't used it enough to try out many of the other features yet, but they will all be awesome, I'm sure. So to answer your question, good investment, probably not. But neither was my boat, my hundreds of crankbaits, my 3/4 ton tow rig, and on and on and on. Would I buy another one? You bet I would. For your boat, I would consider bumping up to an 80 pound terrova if you have the battery room. My boat is a 21' glass boat with an 80 lb terrova. Have gone five hours with plenty of battery to spare. Will see how it holds up for eight to ten hours at Devils Lake in July. Heck, it's only money buy one kwall...you deserve it! WM

Zach, I don't put any blade on my slow death rigs. PD is right (as usual), what you have should work fine. In fact like he said, use whatever method you have the most confidence in, add a crawler, get down 15-20' and have at it! As far as speed, I always use my trolling motor for the slow death presentation. I just got a Terrova with i-pilot, so speed control is real easy now. Best of luck Saturday! WM

Thanks for the report, Boobie. Hopefully it's still that hot in a couple of weeks when I can make it down. Your friend shouldn't have a large investment in fishing for walleye with slow death rigs. A bottom bouncer, a swivel, 4' of line and a hook. I even splurge and add a bead to the line in front of the hook. Maybe $2.00 invested in the whole presentation! WM

Two weeks ago, I had a lot of luck slow trolling slow death rigs (.9 mph or so) on secondary points in 15 feet of water. Since then, I've heard main lake points are the ticket. I usually use a 1 1/2 oz bouncer in water of that depth. I tie my leaders four feet long or so and put a bead on ahead of the hook (usually red or yellow). I've only been actively chasing walleye on Stockton for a couple of years, but I've never tried the Maze Creek area. I have had luck across the lake around the island and points near Masters, but haven't hit that area yet this year. Best of luck, but leave a few for me! WM

You got me there Huck, your walleye is bigger then any I have caught on Stockton (yet) (LOL). Not sure about the hillbilly mount, might save up and have a replica made, but your idea might be kinda cool of ot works out. I personally won't mount one until I finally get a ten pounder, and it will be a replica. Don't think I could bring myself to kill a ten pound walleye, would have to watch it swim away. WM

Thanks for the info kwall! WM