Yes, I target walleyes through the ice in Nebraska. . .
http://neblandvm.outdoornebraska.gov/2013/02/nebraska-ice-fari/http://neblandvm.outdoornebraska.gov/2014/01/holiday-adventure-report/http://neblandvm.outdoornebraska.gov/2014/03/wrap/You are right, Nebraska has some great walleye fisheries. But, I do believe our walleyes are particularly hard to catch through the ice. I have ice-fished walleyes in other places and they are tougher here. I have some theories on that. . . .
The best habitats for walleyes are large bodies of water, large rivers, large natural lakes and large reservoirs. In Nebraska our best walleye fisheries are found in our large reservoirs. In those reservoirs the walleyes spend much of the year roaming open water preying on open-water baitfish like gizzard shad and in a few reservoirs, alewives. Both gizzard shad and alewives are extremely prolific in Nebraska reservoirs and provide an abundance of prey for walleyes and other predator fish. Those prey fish are especially abundant all summer long, and right into fall and winter. Gizzard shad and alewives, especially small gizzard shad and alewives, are not very tolerant of cold water. Once water temps. start to decline in the fall, those open-water baitfish move towards deeper water and as the water cools they become stressed. Stressed, dying and dead shad and alewives are present in abundance in Nebraska reservoirs from late fall through most of the winter. I believe the walleyes and other predator fish have an abundance of easy-to-capture prey during the winter and that makes them particularly hard to catch especially when they feed less during the winter.
However, there are times when they seem to be much more catchable and I believe there are still a few tricks to be learned about catching them through the ice even when they are full, fat, and happy.
Daryl Bauer
Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
[email protected]http://neblandvm.outdoornebraska.gov/category/barbs-and-backlashes/
