Any Walleye In The Rivers Yet

[walleyefishing]

Are there any walleyes in the rivers yet.

[ddhlakebound]

I've been reading through all the posts in this forum (back to '06) trying to get a feel for "how early is too early". I'm chomping at the bit to get my kayak on the rivers and catch some fish.

I know it's gonna be slow this spring if this cold keeps up, but if we get a couple weeks of 30's/50's.....

So I guess the question is....what water temp will the walleye start running up the rivers? What temp range do they spawn at?

[Ham]

Last year about this time, it was starting on NFOW. it was a milder winter to be sure, but they were catching them weeks before I would have thought.

[fishinwrench]

Usually start hearing success stories around the first of March at Warsaw and Bagnell.

[Al Agnew]

I don't know about the walleye in those places. I do know that the native river walleye on the Black and Current leave their wintering pools and head toward spawning areas sometime in mid to late February. The serious winter walleye anglers on those rivers stop fishing around Feb. 20th, because the walleye are gone by then from the big, deep wintering pools.

[ddhlakebound]

All useful, thanks guys. I'm mostly fishing Stockton's tributaries (sac, little sac, turnback, son's, maze, googer)....

They're all pretty small in comparison to the NFOW or Current, or the big dams mentioned. So I'd imagine they'll warm up a bit quicker, and start a bit sooner. Or not?

Is there anywhere to monitor the temps of any of those rivers/creeks?, or do I have to drive down and stick a thermometer in the river?

[dennis boatman]

I live a few miles from the Hwy 215 bridge that crosses the Sac River...I'm thinking if this weather holds, by Feb. 24 or so it should start...that's when I'll start going almost every morning...weather permitting...

[jdmidwest]

Been itching to go, but the ramps are screwed. Water too low in the channel here to launch. One ramp has about 20' of gravel showning past the end of the concrete. The other has a sandbar.

Now should be the time. Late January and February on Pickwick was always good. The rivers around here seem to follow the same.

[dennis boatman]

Walleye go further up Sac River than most people think...I've caught them above BB Hwy. Many years ago I caught one just below Hwy. 13. Even caught a Northern Pike there...but that was long ago...

[ddhlakebound]

I know that all walleye don't spawn in the rivers, but of the ones that do, I've read that they won't travel far from their home territory (3-5) miles.

I've also read that walleye will run up "their" river until they reach an obstacle, covering many, many miles (60-100).

I think they just go where they're used to going (or where they came from), sometimes it's not far, sometimes it is.

I wouldn't be surprised to find them up against the back side of McDaniel lake at the beginning of the Little Sac during their spawning run, but that's only a mile or two up from where you've caught them Dennis.