Outdoors Fishing Ice Fishing Walleye

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Ice Fishing WALLEYE!

ICE FISHING FOR WALLEYE!
By John A. Vance, Environmental Eng. Tech.,
& Outdoor Writer (member Outdoor Writers of Canada) All of the information here, including pictures is covered under copyright law by John A. Vance. Reproduction by any means is prohibited except with the express written permission of John A. Vance. Clubs wishing to use this in their newsletters for free may do so by contacting John A. Vance and getting written permission and inserting my name and www in the newsletter!

Ice fishing for walleye is perhaps the most favored of all winter ice fishing - yet more folk fish for and catch panfish than walleye, simply because more waters hold them - never-the-less WALLEYE are the most desired of ice fished fish! TRIKEfoldedhut
Walleye ice fishers would be wise to read up on crappie because these fine finned fish have similarities, and if both these fish co-exist in the water you're fishing, to be successful at one or the other, there's a good chance you'll catch both. Though, SIMPLY DUE TO THE SIZE OF THE LURE AND BAIT OFFERING, AND JIGGING ACTION, crappie fishers are far more likely to catch a walleye than a walleye angler is to catch a crappie!
Hard water walleye, like under ice crappie will be in the warmest water they can find - and that ain't any too warm once it's frozen over! And like crappie, they'll be in this warmer water as close to structure and feed as they can be. This may mean they are in water up to fifty feet deep, perhaps suspended, perhaps not. A fish finder makes your job immensely easier finding 'em, but nothing beats actual fishing any given hole at various depths as the final determining factor - that's fishin'!
Needless-to-say, this is a bit of an oversimplification, but owing to space - this is all we're going to deal with here - but in my book Ice Fishing Basics I go into great detail on all aspects of ice fishing than what's in this article - for more info - please buy my book!

ICE FISHING LURES AND BAIT FOR WALLEYE! As discussed in the crappie section, minnows are perhaps responsible for taking more fish than any other bait - and for sure so in regards to walleye. Personally though, I rarely use a plain minnow, and instead opt for using a minnow on an ice fishing jig which gives better action and sight appeal, especially necessary in stained water. If the water is clear and or the walleye are in a neutral or negative bite mode ( see ICE FISHING BASICS book) then I'll use a plain minnow - if fish are plentiful with a high population in the water I'm fishing.
More often you'll find me using an ice fishing jig with a live minnow tagged onto one of the hooks. For these 'tag on' minnows I like them to be about three inches long as the maximum, and if using only a minnow, perhaps a minnow up to four inches long as the maximum - walleye like most fish don't want a big piece of bait during ice fishing time! Indeed, with this in mind, I'll use as small a jig as I can for walleye - which depends too on water depth etc. OF COURSE these will be larger than what I use for crappie and other panfish - but not as large as what I'd use for pike or musky. I like jigs to weight roughly in at the eighth oz to quarter ounce range as my own rule of thumb. I like ice lures such as the Ice Fishing Rapala, Mr. Champ lures and it's 'take off' the Hex Wobbler, The ice fishing model of the William's and Miller Spoons and Swedish Pimples - the list could easily go on and on and on...
A tag ( two to three inches) of crawler is also fine... but in some areas you will have to find out if live bait can be used - so check with the fishing regs for the area you intend to fish first!

I like to use a hut for walleye fishing simply so as to get out of the elements!
I like a portable hut so I can hunt out fish and set up once I find fish. If weather's bad I set up hut, then return to it to
warm up and move hut to walleye once I locate them.

JIGGING ACTION
Don't overdo it when jigging for walleye when ice fishing. Walleye, like all fish are cold blooded and just aren't able to move as fast in ice water as in warmer months. If you find the walleye are suspended, you'll be wise to learn how to use a slip bobber rig for your fishing strategy ...

If you like what you've read here - you'll be well served by buying my Ice Fishing Basics book which goes into great detail on all the items here - and why!
ICE FISHING BASICS - THE BOOK!

- see blue side bar for much more ice fishing info - much fishing technique can be found in the Ice fishing jigs - 'how to' section!

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