General info on Marble Eyes

[coldsteel]

hey guys i am from NH and we dont have a huge population of eye here, the best time for us like most im sure is in the spring when the river is up and they hit the spawning grounds. The part of the state that i fish is a good 2 hr haul to get to so i only get to fish eyes maybe a dozen times a yr. last year was the first year i really started to fish for them seriously instead of the landlocked salmon that our state "loves" well me i am more of a pike and eye guy. I have a question as far as jiggin i am going to try the fish for eyes at night in a couple weeks from dusk until atleast past first bite in the morning around 7am ish. My jiggin rod set up is a 28: medium action rod with a blackmax bait caster reel on it i have i believe 20lb power pro and i was going to tie a 8-10lb leader. I am going to pick up some PK lures aswell to try my luck any suggestions on colors also should i use a spring bobber when jigging with the medium action rod because of the lite bite they some times have or will they hammer on a jig? One more question and now i know it varies from state to state or water body to water body but have you guys found a bait they generally prefer tip up suckers, red fins, pond shiners i just wanna try and give myself the best shot possible at getting my first eye through the ice especially if it is going to be an all nighter. Sorry for all of the questions and i appreciate any of the tips you seasoned vets may have for me, thanks guys

[Skipper]

Loaded question..

In short, no spring bobbers are needed. 8-10 lb leader is WAY TO COARSE though. I have no doubt that it will effect the bite. For line, I use 4lb mono on a spinning reel.

As far as bait and lure, buckshot spoons and macho minnows with a minnow head are usually a pretty safe bet.

[coldsteel]

Loaded question..

In short, no spring bobbers are needed. 8-10 lb leader is WAY TO COARSE though. I have no doubt that it will effect the bite. For line, I use 4lb mono on a spinning reel.

As far as bait and lure, buckshot spoons and macho minnows with a minnow head are usually a pretty safe bet.

so basically you are saying i could use my same rod i use to jig crappie it is a light action rod it is shorter and just use 4 lb test? thanks for the reply i know sometimes we are tight lipped as fisherman especially when it comes to eyes

[coldsteel]

oh ya skipp how is eye fishing through the ice at night is it similar to open water for them? I have read mixed reviews

[cousin eddie]

Unless you are expecting consistent encounters with 4+ fish, I think you will be fine with the 4 lb test.   I wouldn't go over 6 lb but that's just me.  I use a light to medium light action rod a reel with a good, smooth drag.  Play the fish accordingly and enjoy the battle.  If I'm fishing "trophy" water where 6+ lb'ers are a possibility, I switch to a braid line like suffix ice or power pro and add a barrel swivel with a 18-24" 6-10 lb fluorocarbon leader and bump up to a longer, medium power rod.  If you are looking for a "do-all" type walleye rig I would go with a 26-28" light action rod, quality reel, and 6 lb mono or fluorocarbon.  If you insist on braid, I wouldn't go more than 10lb breaking strength in the power pro.  I actually run the 8-1 power pro on most of my walleye rods, summer and winter.

Night bites depend on a lot of factors, most important in my opinion is water clarity (but not always the case).  Seems like the more clear the water = the more a night bite exists.  On almost every body of water, that 1-2 hour window at dusk and dawn usually produces the best action, and even at that, some lakes have a better morning bite than evening bite, or vice-versa.

[coldsteel]

thanks for the input cousin eddie that was really in depth, the body of water i am fishing is a set back of a river where the possibility of 6+ lbers is there so I think I will go with a 6-8lb test leader, and from the sounds of things it is the general consensus to use a spining combo oppossed to a baitcaster set-up, so i may use one of my shimano sienna's and buy another spinning rod for jigging and go that route. thanks again for all the info it is much appreciated.

[Skipper]

so basically you are saying i could use my same rod i use to jig crappie it is a light action rod it is shorter and just use 4 lb test?

No, a big eye will SCHOOL you if you use a light action crappie rod. You are on the right track with the 28'' M rod. My favorite walleye setup is a 28'' M action St. Croix Premier with a Sedona 500 on it. You have time for a little experiment? I would like to show you something that might change the way you rig and maybe even catch you more fish all around...

Find that crappie rod, that 28 in M action walleye rod, bring them in your kitchen, and put them on the counter. Find some things in your fridge that are sold by weight like bacon or butter. Anything will work, food is just pre measured and packaged to make it easy. Find 3lbs of whatever and put it in a shopping bag. Thread the line through your crappie rod and tie it to the bag. Try and pick up the bag without overloading your rod... can you even do it? I doubt you can.... If you can't pick up three lbs, 4lb test could even be considered overkill for that rod. Now try it with the M action rod... Maybe you can lift the bag, maybe you can't... 4lb test would be about ideal for that rod. No sense using line tougher than the rest of your setup.

Unless you are expecting consistent encounters with 4+ fish, I think you will be fine with the 4 lb test.   

   

I can handle 28-30 inch fish on light line, those are like 8-10lb fish! I have a pretty good track record with it too. I use 4lb in the winter, and 6lb in the summer. I will use 10lb fluro leaders when trolling in the summer, but that is MAX and only because the line gets beat up on the rocks so bad. The absolute number one mistake for walleye is over tackling or using too coarse of gear. You just won't catch the larger fish, they just won't eat it. The guys I see who are insistent on using unnecessarily heavy lines and over kill hooks top out with about 20 inch fish in waters that produce much larger fish. 

Now... go put 8lbs of stuff in the bag and see how that feels hanging from your rod.

Night bites depend on a lot of factors, most important in my opinion is water clarity (but not always the case).  Seems like the more clear the water = the more a night bite exists.  On almost every body of water, that 1-2 hour window at dusk and dawn usually produces the best action, and even at that, some lakes have a better morning bite than evening bite, or vice-versa.

Bingo... We call that 1-2 hour window "prime time".

 

[coldsteel]

thanks for the input, i ended up ordering another shimano sienna I already have one for open water and like it so i decided to get one for a jiggin set up and I am going to get another medium action rod just for a spinning set up, instead of using my bait caster set up that i already have for jigging. I order a few flutterfish aswell, I already am loaded up with jigs and such from jigging for them in the spring time. thanks for all of the advice guys hopefully i can put it to good use