Daytime Walleyes

[woodyvt]

I agree with Shrek Re: Daytime Walleyes Reply #4 on: Dec 09, 2005, 06:12 PM

When we fish for walleys, yes the action slows during the day, but we still manage to catch them.  Since we fish for perch and northerns as well we keep pretty busy most of the day.

If fishing for just walleyes I would definately go at night when they are the most active.

[fishcrusher]

Its all true, eyes really do bite in the afternoon, all year long.  AS LONG as barometric pressure is correct.  When a front has moved in (this is in saskatchewan), don't even bother, two weeks ago this situation, saw 22 eyes on camera, not one taker.  theyd come in and come back when really ripping it, but just plain wouldn't.  on Dec 22, from 11:00 to 2:30 I caught 27 eyes- biggest was only 4 pounds though, but all in 15 feet of water.  Barometric was 101 steady.  Then 2 days later, at 11:30am my dad caught a 6.5lb eye in the same spot 15 fow.  But as to depths, generally fish 20+ fow, I try to get on slow tapers from 20-30 fow.  If they bite in shallower, theyv got to be deeper too.  Always try to have holes dug out before you move out, that way if bite slows down in morning, move out 5 fow, and so on, stay on as long as possible.  This uaually gets me to noon.
Fishcrusher

[Rockfish]

I catch 'em with some consistancy throughout the day although there do seem to be spurts of heightened activity from 9-11am and 1-3 pm.  I tend to fish deep in the 40-50 ft range during this and then move shallow in late afternoon to find them when they move shallow.

Rockfish

[Kolby]

I agree, the weather pattern really influences your success and productive depths.  "Nice" days with some sun and mild temps and I find fish coming in to 6-10 FOW for the first hour or two of the day, and they'll inhale untipped swimming lures.  Throw in a nasty cold snap, winds out of the north, and you see fish moving in later in the morning, the intense activity takes place out deeper, say 10 to 13 FOW, and you need to play with them using different presentations as not as many fish will commit after they start that rush up to your lure.  One thing that can help folks get on more mid day walleye action is to think laterally.  In other words, if you can't stay on your fish by moving deeper and deeper as the morning turns into afternoon, you can sometimes find they have moved laterally to a cup or area of sharper breaks cutting into the flat, and you may still find them at that last productive depth they were biting at earlier in the morning.  Maybe not true for really deep lakes, but it happens on quite a few shallower bodies of water, with not much deep structure to relate to during the day.

Kolby Kester
www.iawalleye.com

[Tip-UpTommer]

a 16 incher(had a cool looking blue colored tail) caught at 12:15 p.m today(Feb. 16) in 10 fow. also had a total of 7 flags (lost 3 eyes about 16 in at the hole) in the same depth between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Bottom line..... what depth to fish at what time of day depends entirely on the lake. all lakes are different and fish will do what they want no matter what the best fisherman can do. i do however think that walleyes feed more just before light and just before dark, at every lake that walleyes inhabit. Timing is ALMOST everything.

[adipose]

Its all true, eyes really do bite in the afternoon, all year long.  AS LONG as barometric pressure is correct.  When a front has moved in (this is in saskatchewan), don't even bother, two weeks ago this situation, saw 22 eyes on camera, not one taker.  theyd come in and come back when really ripping it, but just plain wouldn't.  on Dec 22, from 11:00 to 2:30 I caught 27 eyes- biggest was only 4 pounds though, but all in 15 feet of water.  Barometric was 101 steady.  Then 2 days later, at 11:30am my dad caught a 6.5lb eye in the same spot 15 fow.  But as to depths, generally fish 20+ fow, I try to get on slow tapers from 20-30 fow.  If they bite in shallower, theyv got to be deeper too.  Always try to have holes dug out before you move out, that way if bite slows down in morning, move out 5 fow, and so on, stay on as long as possible.  This uaually gets me to noon.
Fishcrusher

Its all true, eyes really do bite in the afternoon, all year long.  AS LONG as barometric pressure is correct.  When a front has moved in (this is in saskatchewan), don't even bother, two weeks ago this situation, saw 22 eyes on camera, not one taker.  theyd come in and come back when really ripping it, but just plain wouldn't.  on Dec 22, from 11:00 to 2:30 I caught 27 eyes- biggest was only 4 pounds though, but all in 15 feet of water.  Barometric was 101 steady.  Then 2 days later, at 11:30am my dad caught a 6.5lb eye in the same spot 15 fow.  But as to depths, generally fish 20+ fow, I try to get on slow tapers from 20-30 fow.  If they bite in shallower, theyv got to be deeper too.  Always try to have holes dug out before you move out, that way if bite slows down in morning, move out 5 fow, and so on, stay on as long as possible.  This uaually gets me to noon.
Fishcrusher

but your date was dec 22nd.and if you recall we had a stable weather system(s) around that time and you were still in early eye date/time.the walleye fishing would have been good all the way up to this date cause we had a run of stable weather then BOOM after xmas as the norm,we run into unstable weather up here in saskatchewan.It is this unstable weather that brings on the search and find walleye troubles.so crusher you are correct in what you say but just wanted to point out the fact that walleye fishing is normally good till early jan.depending on weather stability.then throw in other factors like lake types and excess food etc.man we gotta be thinkin all the time up here

[perchwisher]

I had a fluke day on chautauqua lake.Didnt do much in the morning one tap and then all the locals left and about noon i went hole hopping.I fished all there holes till i hit the mother load limited in one hour me and my buddy! 10 fish in one hour.It was hot!!!!Off point chautauqua!Best day i ever had.During the day i would say just stay mobile fish a hole 20 minutes and move till you hit them.They go somewhere during the day.