Colorful personalities go a long way toward making fishing the grand sport it is, and one of the most colorful I ever ran across went by the name “Pappy”, “Wisconsin’s best dad-blamed walleye specialist,” — by his own admission. I’ll never forget him, for you see it was “Pappy” who first introduced me to the walleye, many memorable years ago.
I was firmly convinced that “Pappy” could think like a walleye, and once in a while on Saturday nights he even looked a bit like one.
The first thing he hammered into my noggin from his bag of walleye fishing tips was “there is water, and there is walleye water, no use wasting’ time in just water,” This sage bit of advice came about when I protested that he was passing by a lot of nice looking spots.
“Lad,” he would snort, “when you have fished walleyes enough years, you’ll learn to pass by the shallow, slow flowing spots and work on those deep, dropoff holes where the current is bringing food into them. Under banks, log jams, bridge abutments, pilings — those spots are home, sweet home to a river walleye.”
Another belief of “Pappy” was this. “Don’t try and see how many different rivers you can fish. Just work on one or two, but work hard and learn them like the palm of your hand. Know how the bottom falls away in each hole and chart every spot you catch a walleye. Better to know one stream well than a half dozen only fair.”
One day I complained, “Where the heck are all the big walleyes, these 1 & 1/2 to 3 pounders are nice, but where are all the lunkers, all caught out?”
“Caught out indeed,” growled Wisconsin’s “best.” “The big guys are feeding at night because we are in the full of the moon.”
“What’s the full of the moon got to do with it?” I queried. “Just this,” he said. “Ever see a crawfish shed its shell? Well, they just grow too big for it, it splits and they crawl out. And then they are soft because their new shell hasn’t had time to harden. In this soft stage they are like fried chicken to a walleye — and both of them know it.
“So, the full of the moon period allows the crawfish to grow 24 hours a day because they can see to feed at night. Because of this, more growth takes place, more shells split out and there is an abundance of soft craws.
“They crawl into the shallow flats for protection and there is why you’ll find the big walleyes feeding there at night.”
Fishermen being what they are, we tried the flats that night. Since that time, I never questioned “Pappy’s” walleye quotient. We handpicked seven that weighed 49 pounds, and every one came off the flats. We took them on white, floating-diving plugs that were quite visible in the moonlight.
Another pet trick of “Pappy’s” was to “whip the bridge,” as he put it. Every time we went under a bridge, he would cut the motor and ease out the anchor on the upstream side. “Now,” he would instruct, “whip the bridge with those plugs, every piling and cement abutment. Some days this is the only place you can find them.” And he proved this theory a number of times, so, never pass by a bridge without “whipping it.”
This lovable old character corroborated one pet walleye theory of mine, evolved while in his company. I noticed that one plug with a very fast, choppy action was doing all the business. In fact, most of our past successes had come on plugs with this type of action.
“Pappy,” I mused, “I’ve a theory, see what you think of it. These plugs with this sharp, choppy action must by nature throw off a lot more vibration than a spoon, or wobbling lure. And we have a very poor average with any lures but those with a choppy action. So, the high vibration qualities must allow the walleye to ‘feel’ it better.”
“Sounds logical from a walleye’s point of view,” he came back, “however, if you want to give your theory the acid test, try it on a black night. If a vibrating plug helps a walleye to find it better, then it should be the best producer at night, assuming the walleye will snap at the vibrating object.”
So, we fished at night, trying lures with a sharp, highly vibrating action against spoons, spinners and plugs with a smooth wobbling action. The results were more than 10 to 1 in favor of the vibrators. We habitually fished for walleyes on that theory, and it paid off handsomely through the years.
What about colors? “Pappy” believes and insists that “any color is good, just so it is yellow!” “And, don’t be a one plug fisherman,” he admonishes. “It’s okay to stick by the type of action you have faith in, but try lures with different shapes. Some days a short, stubby job gets ‘em; other days they want a long, slim one. Mix them up until you find the one they want.”
There you have tips from the old walleye master himself. Try them and you’ll see why his stringer seldom was empty.
Characteristics
The large, glassy eyes quickly identify the walleye, for no other fish has these. Also, the strong canine teeth and black blotch at the rear base of the front dorsal fin are distinctive features.
About the only fish the walleye could be confused with is the sauger, a nearby cousin which is darker, smaller in average size, has small eyes and does not have the characteristic black blotch at the dorsal base.
Although erroneously called walleyed pike, it is not a member of the pike family and is easily distinguished from them. The pike family includes the pickerel, northern pike, and muskellunge, all of which have a single dorsal fin set far back on the body, whereas the walleye has two dorsal fins in the middle of the back.
The walleye belongs, to the perch family, and unquestionably resembles the yellow perch in body conformation.
Body coloration varies but usually it is dark, mottled with yellow, forming indistinct slanting bars.
The average size varies from 2 to 5 pounds.
Other Names
Walleyed Pike, Walleyed Pickerel, Pikeperch, Dore, Blue Pike, Jack Salmon, Jackfish, Susquehanna Salmon, Walleyed Perch, Marble-eye, and Yellow Pike.
Range
Although originally limited to the Great Lakes Region, Canada and the Mississippi valley, successful artificial propagation has now established the fine fish in nearly every state except those in the far west and extreme south. It has done especially well in the TVA lakes and streams.
Habitat
In lakes the walleye is found around the rocky shores, in deep pockets and where sand or gravel bars extend out into the lake. In streams, look for it in the deeper, cleaner water; in deep pools, below dams or falls, and beneath bushes or overhanging ledges.
Foods
Small fish, crawfish, worms, insects and frogs make up most of the walleye’s diet.
Artificial Lures
The old standbys seem to have two main characteristics, a sharp wiggle and the ability to dive deeper than average plugs. Particularly desirable are lures which have a fast swimming action at a slow speed of retrieve. The foregoing applies to both spinning and casting.
Fly fishermen do a fair business with feathered minnows, fly-and-spinner combinations, small spoons, and a large variety of streamers and bass bugs.
Methods and Tackle
Baitcasting . . . Keep the outfit sporty, that is, light action rod, lightweight reel and 10 to 15 pound test line, for best returns. A 3-foot monofilament leader, next pound test lighter than your line, is recommended.
Some veterans prefer to troll slowly upstream, through every deep hole until a strike is obtained. Then the boat is anchored above the hole and deep-diving lures are cast below it and retrieved through it.
Another effective and enjoyable method is to drift downstream, casting against the shoreline cover with floating, diving plugs. When walleyes are feeding here, no finer fishing could be desired.
Casting below dams, at the base of rapids or fast runs, off gravel bars, and around bridge pilings are all good bets. Above all, keep the plug moving slowly and cover every nook and cranny in each likely hole, you never know where a whopper is waiting for your offering.
After dark, fishing over sand bars or mud flats, use a floating-diving lure, one that runs fairly shallow, in order to keep from snagging bottom so much. And on a moonlight night, remember to use all white!
Trolling . . . In addition to the plugs mentioned, another favored outfit consists of a June bug spinner with either a minnow or nightcrawler behind. This should be trolled through the deepest spots, slowly, just fast enough to make the spinner work. Here a slightly stiffer rod is recommended.
Fly fishing . . . Probably fewer walleyes are taken by this method than any other, but if you are a fly fisherman by all means take along a rod with sufficient backbone to keep the current from doing it harm. A 6-ounce rod is preferred, with a C level line and 6 to 10 pound leader. Slow trolling or drift fishing shorelines, using spinner-fly combinations, streamers, spoons, poppers at times, and feathered minnows will produce under normal circumstances. Live bait also can be used effectively.
Spinning . . . Any standard spinning rod, reel and 8 pound monofilament line, together with practically any good spinning lure will put you into enjoyable walleye company. Use the same tactics as for bait casting.
Still-fishing . . . This method unquestionably accounts for more walleyes than any other because more fishermen do it. Large minnows are the favored bait and each man has his pet spot, seldom returning empty handed.
Biological Tidbits
One of the first fish to delight the early season fisherman is the walleye. Right after the ice disappears, the walleyes start their upstream spawning runs.
The females, usually mature at about 5 years, roll and twist along a rocky shore, spewing eggs promiscuously, while a number of males (usually mature at 4 years) dash along behind her milting and fertilizing the eggs. That’s all there is to it! (Possibly accounting for the expression — “Poor fish.”)
The eggs are small, averaging 50,000 to 60,000 per female, and measure about 1/20th inch in diameter. Hatching takes about three weeks, with water temperature about 50 degrees F. The small fry live off the egg sac for some 10 days, then start gobbling up water fleas and other tiny organisms. Soon they eat larger things, and eventually even other small walleyes.
Here is an average northern lake growth rate: first year, 4 & 1/2 inches, 2nd, 8,6 inches; 3rd, 12 inches; 4th, 15 inches; 5th, 18.1 inches; 6th, 20.5 inches; and 9th, 26.7 inches. In longer growing climates, like Tennessee, growth is much more rapid.
Remember This
With the walleye it is not always a case of “being there the fastest and getting the most” but rather one of “being there the most.” Study their feeding times and make notes for next year’s reference. At times they feed at daybreak, sometimes at high noon, again throughout the day, and other times only at night, particularly during hot weather. Just be there when old marble-eye starts stuffing his gullet — and, you’re in!