5 Reasons You Aren’t Catching Big Walleyes

Time

They say timing is the key to life, while I won’t argue either way on that, I can tell you it really matters in fishing. The biggest fish are more susceptible in the cold-water periods. In the spring, the spawn, particularly the pre-spawn period, is where the trophy fish let down their guard. Inversely, in the fall during the cool down, big fish look to bulk up for winter and also can be much easier to target and catch.

While these periods can be weeks (if not months, depending on where you are), there are typically short, sweet spots that you need to look to target. The first full moon of the spring spawning season often triggers the largest females to move up and spawn. When the spawn starts, the last thing female walleye are thinking about is eating, so make sure to hit the water hard before this happens.

The time of day can matter just as much. While many of us think of the first and last light as being the prime periods, and they can be, but in the very cold waters of spring and fall, this often isn’t the case. Instead look at periods from ten till two when the sun is up and helps increase the surface temps slightly. This will bring up baitfish closer to the surface and often trigger better feeding patterns. On the opposite end of the spectrum, especially in clear and shallow bodies of water, nighttime can be the right time. Less hustle and bustle can mean a feeding frenzy, often in very shallow water.

Water conditions also play a role. When the lake is flat, it’s much easier for fish to see what is going on around them, and the increased light penetration often puts walleyes on high alert. Rainy or windy days that almost don’t seem like a lot of fun are usually the most productive ones. Fewer people fishing during these less-than-perfect weather days doesn’t hurt either.

Place

If you go to a gas station, don’t expect the sushi to be like what you would find in Chinatown. The same could be said for big walleye locations. A quick internet search can reveal patterns as to where big walleyes have been caught in the past. Not all lakes are capable of growing the trophy fish we are after.

A good rule of thumb, but not always true, is bigger lakes, bigger fish. On these larger lakes, make sure to know the migrations of these fish. Acoustic telemetry has taught Great Lakes anglers that the biggest walleyes make huge migrations each year. On my home body of water, Lake Erie, the majority of the big fish can be found in the extreme western basin in early spring, but weeks later, they’re often found a hundred miles down the lake.

While trying to stay on these migrating fish can seem like a needle in a haystack, one simple statement can put it in perspective. Fish don’t go far from the grocery store. When walleyes make these migrations, it is often to head out into the deeper basins where the water is cooler. The often-forgotten part of this is that the main reason they do it is to chase larger protein-filled meals such as smelt or ciscoes.

Stealth

Underwater cameras and live sonar have confirmed that walleyes are spooky. I have watched walleyes on an Aqua Vu camera scatter from the boat the second the boat lid closes down, even though the boat is in thirty-five feet of water. In more recent times, the same type of story has been seen on my Humminbird Mega Live sonar. This ruckus that the “little guys” may be just fine with typically isn’t kosher with the trophy-class fish.

When targeting the biggest fish, pay attention to the little things. Don’t run your boat over where you’ll be fishing. Use an electric trolling motor whenever possible. When trolling, don’t be afraid to run boards out farther than you would think you need to. The same goes for non-trolling applications; use as light of line as you can get away with and add fluorocarbon leaders. For decades, we vertical jigged to catch our walleyes, but the advent of forward-facing sonar has allowed us to see just how many walleyes scatter from beneath the boat. Don’t be afraid to cast or at least get the lure away from the boat, even when jigging.

Wrong Tool

Many anglers try to fish memories and force a narrative that we want onto the fish. This rarely, if ever, ends well. Instead, be open minded and use the best tool for the job. Just because you like to live bait rig doesn’t mean you should live and die by it.

On Lake Erie in the 80s, the weight-forward spinner wasn’t only the go-to lure presentation, but it was the only thing 99% of anglers used. As the lake’s water was cleaned due to a concentrated effort to reduce pollution, the walleyes responded by spreading out and becoming even more spooky. This is one of the main reasons that trolling became so popular in the 90s on Lake Erie. Don’t be the guy using a screwdriver when a wrench was what the job needed.

If a tactic such as large swimbaits or crankbaits is popular for big fish on your body of water, take the time to learn it instead of running from it. The online videos and resources we now have are incredible tools to learn new tactics quickly.

Execution

There are more than a few basketball franchises that would have a lot more banners hanging from their ceiling if they had just hit their free throws. Oddly, fishing is the same. How many videos can be found online involving a botched net job? Something as simple as having a long-handle net with a large hoop will do wonders for improving your landing percentage. Why thread the needle with a small net?

A quarter century of guiding has also allowed me to see that most anglers have watched way too many Bill Dance episodes. It is painful to watch a fishing fight resemble a Star Wars battle the way they flail their rod all over the place. Simply slowing down your reeling and not ripping the rod like you are tuna fishing will immediately decrease those fish lost at the back of or directly below the boat. I’ve personally seen a lot of big walleyes lost due to nothing other than a lack of patience.

There may be more than five things that have kept you from landing that walleye of a lifetime, but if you address these five, you’ll surely increase the number and size of walleyes you catch this season.