Are You a Walleye Angler or Want to Be?

Cliff Speed · Dec 11, 2014

NCHillbilly, if I can work out a trip to NC, I would love to do that, thanks for the kind offer!

cashvalue, I will keep that in mind when the spring rolls around and I appreciate your advice. Let me know if you need a kayak fishing partner sometime. I haven't had much opportunity to fish with anyone in the year I've had mine.

jigman, from what I understand, the saugers haven't been doing as well in Watts Bar as they would like, so it would seem that they are actually replacing the saugers with walleye, as in they are going to stop stocking the saugers. I may have that wrong though, but that's how I understood it. My dad and his buddy have had some good catches up there lately. His friend's kid caught a five pound smallmouth while crappie fishing at night, and my dad caught a six pound hybrid a few months back while crappie fishing. Apparently there is just every kind of fish in the world in that lake. LOL. In the summer, if you go down to my dad's dock you will see huge carp zipping around. Since I got into carp fishing this year, I definitely want to try for some of those next year when the water warms up.

cracker dave, your idea does sound like a good one to me. Let me know if you need a fishing buddy! LOL. I'm glad you learned something, and I definitely have too. Most of all, it's a good feeling to know I am trying similar tactics to folks that have actually had some success and that I'm not just way off base in how I'm trying to do this. Now if I could just get on some fish that will bite!

Lindseys Grandpa · Dec 11, 2014

Good thread!
I know a heckuva lot more about catching walleyes now.I've always been a "meat" fisherman,and I've always heard and read that walleyes are tasty.

Thanks for the good info....sounds like a pontoon boat at night with a lot of lines out and a very slow drift would be a good start.

Dave we need to work on a spring trip up that way. Boats i got aplenty.

Klag · Dec 11, 2014

Cashvaluerecovery said:
Once the sun is on my skin I go on to yellow perch fishing.

Last time I took my kayak there (2 weeks ago) I caught a yellow perch on a jigging spoon while looking for walleye.

Same techniques for yellow perch or are they easier to catch? I wouldn't mind a few of those to tide me over while learning to catch walleye

Cashvaluerecovery · Dec 11, 2014

Klag said:
Last time I took my kayak there (2 weeks ago) I caught a yellow perch on a jigging spoon while looking for walleye.

Same techniques for yellow perch or are they easier to catch? I wouldn't mind a few of those to tide me over while learning to catch walleye

Haha good question and you will like the answer. Yellow perch, in my opinion, taste identically to walleye except the fillets arent anywhere near as thick. And yellow perch are on the exact opposite end of the attitude spectrum when it comes to eating. I rarely leave the lake without 15 to 20 of them and I never keep them under 11 inches. Ive caught a ton up to 14 inches and 2 that were 15 inches. As for making yellow perch bite? Put a piece of meat on a hook and make it visible enough for them to see it. I troll medium minnows 3 feet off the bottom with 5 beads and a colorado blade spinner above the hooked minnow. I use 3 ounces of lead and I peddle my kayak at a 2mph clip which is fast on a kayak and trust me, you arent going to out run a hungry perch. Finding them is a different story. Can be shallow or deep. 30 feet deep on a structureless river channel or 5 feet deep in some brush on the shore line. When you find one, I guarantee you there are quite a few more with it. Just need to hit the same spot. Some days I can find a school and literally just peddle in a circle for hours getting pull downs every time I go over the same spot.

Micropterus Salmoides · Dec 11, 2014

Fishing For Walleyes At Night Time.

1. Even though it’s dark, Stealth has to be taken to a whole new level at night because noise and commotion can be huge negative factors.

2. Use Planer Boards when trolling at night because boards provide Distance from the boat and Stealth.

3. The best searching and covering water technique at night is Trolling.

4. Concentrating on fish that are up scattered on Shallow Flats.

5. Fishing from Dusk to Midnight is the best time frame.

6. Noise is a factor, and so is too much Ambient Light.

7. Use Crankbaits to work the upper portion of the water column where they can be easily seen by walleyes, diving no deeper than 25 Percent of the total water column depth.

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180697

lampern · Dec 11, 2014

shakey gizzard said:
I'll add water temp. Walleye are a cold water fish! Makes you wonder why Sauger aren't stocked more in the south?

Saugeye (walleye x sauger cross) would make an excellent fish for Georgia waters.

Wonder if the DNR has ever looked at them?

crackerdave · Dec 12, 2014

Lindseys Grandpa said:
Dave we need to work on a spring trip up that way. Boats i got aplenty.

Sounds like the beginning of a plan,Tony!

Backlasher82 · Dec 12, 2014

lampern said:
Saugeye (walleye x sauger cross) would make an excellent fish for Georgia waters.

Wonder if the DNR has ever looked at them?

Interesting question. I used to talk on another board to a guy up North who caught them all the time. I got the impression they were much more aggressive than Walleye, it sounded like he was tearing them up. He said they were great tasting too.

You got me wondering if the GA DNR has considered them now.

Cashvaluerecovery · Dec 13, 2014

I will be on Burton tomorrow before sunrise and will update here if folks are interested. Nothing like being out of cell phone range, alone, in the pitch dark in below freezing temperatures in a kayak.

JJJSDAD · Dec 13, 2014

You need to invest in a SPOT or similar locator system.

Cashvaluerecovery · Dec 13, 2014

JJJSDAD said:
You need to invest in a SPOT or similar locator system.

Way ahead of ya my friend. Its called a wife and a lucrative insurance policy.

wncslim · Dec 14, 2014

Anywhere you have bluebacks you aren't going to have a vibrant reproducing walleye population. Ours in western NC....Glenville and Fontana isn't nearly what it used to be. Now is one of the best times of the year to target them because they are schooled up and eating. The worst thing is there just aren't as many as there once were. We are catching them now from 55 to 110 feet deep, middle of the day sometimes, they are like stripers, if you have a moon they feed at night and then again in the middle of the day. No moon and then its early and late. If you are set up to slow troll that's the easiest way or if it's not windy you can vertical jig them, but as always , finding them is the key so you have to cover water and use your electronics.

trckdrvr · Dec 14, 2014

Delicious.

Backlasher82 · Dec 14, 2014

Cashvaluerecovery said:
I will be on Burton tomorrow before sunrise and will update here if folks are interested. Nothing like being out of cell phone range, alone, in the pitch dark in below freezing temperatures in a kayak.

Burton has some of the best cell reception in Rabun county, that funky looking "tree" you see at mid-lake is a cell tower.

Rabun and Seed are a different story, terrible cell phone reception.

panfried0419 · Dec 14, 2014

Belton Bridge to Lula Bridge

308-MIKE · Dec 14, 2014

NE GA Pappy said:
http://www.georgiawildlife.org/site...e Fishing in Georgia_HQ-APPROVED_02.18.11.pdf

Simply drifting nightcrawlers slowly along the bottom
through the staging areas is the best way to catch pre-spawn walleye.

That is essentially how we caught them in lake erie. All you need is a pole, a hook, a spit shot and a nightcrawler. Hook the night crawler through the band, toss it over board. When it hits the bottom reel it up 2-3 times and wait. When you get a bite, open up the bail for a minute, allowing the walleye to take the bait without resistance. Start reeling slowly until the line is taught. If it's still on the line set the hook and reel it in. We almost always limited out, 6 per person back then. The best eating freshwater fish you'll find.

Click to expand...

Cashvaluerecovery · Dec 14, 2014

Caught 18 spots. No walleye or perch. Will post some pictures tomorrow. These spots were studs. Biggest weighed 6lb 2oz on my little digital hand held. 2 more just over 5lbs and several 3-4lbs. Most bit a 1/4oz spoon on points.

dragonfly · Dec 18, 2014

Klag said:
Hi Cliff

I took my kayak to Seed 2 weeks ago, only got bass. Went to Tugalo on Monday and only got yellow perch. I'd love to figure out the walleye game myself. Tugalo and Yonah are the lakes to hit it seems.

I would be very happy to catch a bunch of 12-14 in. yellow perch. They are as good eating as walleye. I have caught a few yellow perch in Rum creek res. many years ago when I fished out of my duck boat. Green jigs with yellow tail feathers.

On Lanier, I have caught some accidentally in 25-30 of water and around snags, brush about the same. Walleye do feed on perch, and I keep thinking they should be in the same vicinity.

I have also heard there is a small run of walleye up to the headwaters of Baldridge Cr.. Might be interesting. It is just a long haul to the north GA lakes from down here. I am going to try the Chestatee and the Hootch this spring. It looks like there should be a run up Wahoo Cr. or Little River as well.

What do you think?
DF

shakey gizzard · Dec 18, 2014

dragonfly said:
I would be very happy to catch a bunch of 12-14 in. yellow perch. They are as good eating as walleye. I have caught a few yellow perch in Rum creek res. many years ago when I fished out of my duck boat. Green jigs with yellow tail feathers.

On Lanier, I have caught some accidentally in 25-30 of water and around snags, brush about the same. Walleye do feed on perch, and I keep thinking they should be in the same vicinity.

I have also heard there is a small run of walleye up to the headwaters of Baldridge Cr.. Might be interesting. It is just a long haul to the north GA lakes from down here. I am going to try the Chestatee and the Hootch this spring. It looks like there should be a run up Wahoo Cr. or Little River as well.

What do you think?
DF

I'd stick to the Hooch run!

Cliff Speed · Dec 19, 2014

Dragonfly, as I said in another post, I have a friend who caught several walleyes from the Chestatee over the course of this last spring, so you should be good there and in the Hooch. I couldn't say about smaller creeks.

Are You a Walleye Angler or Want to Be?

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