Best rod length and line weight for walleyes thru the ice

[bluegill63]

Ok guys I know nothing when it comes to fishing for eyes thru the ice and I really need to get my stuff ready for my trip. I have a couple 28 inch rods medium/light with 4 pound test tipped with 3 pound ice line would that be to light even with your drag set lightly? Do I need to change the line weight? Are my rods big enough? I thank you all for the advice on the lures I wrote them all down and started to buy and the wife is going what are you doing lol.


Gill

[iceintheveins]

I use about a 32", medium action frabill ultra ice graphite rod, with a shimano sahara 1000 spinning reel filled with 6 pound mono or fluoroclear. Walleyes don't fight all that hard, so six is as heavy as you need to go when using #3 or #5 jigging raps, or spoons up to 1/4 ounce. However, heavier line for bigger swimming lures when fishing in shallow water works better to give your swimming lure a better swimming action. Twelve pound fluoroclear or mono is best in that situation. Other than that, six pound all the way.

Tyler

[iceintheveins]

Actually I have landed a 10 pound and 7 pound walleye through the ice. In fact it was on back to back drops in the same evening. They took a little line off the drag on two runs and then came up pretty easily. Most all the walleyes I catch are 1 - 4 pounds.
Compaired to larger, more powerful predators like trout, walleyes don't put up a huge fight. But man I still love icing them. A three pound rainbow puts up twice the fight of a ten pound walleye.


Tyler

[eyedoktr]

Being that I don't fish in a shanty, I can use any length rod I choose. If I'm after small walleye (up to 5#) I generally use 4#-6# test on a 24" medium light rod. If I'm fishing Bay of Quinte walleye, I use 8# test on a 28" medium heavy rod.

[UnderCoverBrother]

bluegill63, 4lb. test will pull in most eater size walleyes say 15-17"s, but you get a hog 28-30" eye you would wish you have at least 6lb. test line. Those big eyes can and will sissor that 4lb. test a whole lost easier than 6lb. test! Trust me i'm still crying about the hog that just did that to me on 4lb.test! It was at least a 16lb. eye!

[iceintheveins]

I agree JW. They are hard to keep on the hook because they shake their heads and really thrash about under the hole and will swim right underneath the ice, and they tend to roll kind of like a lake trout.  Small Lake trout around here actually fight quite similiar to walleyes. They hit light and just spin and thrash on the way up to the hole, unlike pulling and making a run like greased lightning like a rainbow. They are hard to keep hooked too. I landed 9 lakers this weekend during two hard days of fishing but hooked 16. They just seem to spit the hooks a lot. Walleye are that way too. Sometimes they will almost stop fightingto try and create slack line. The bigger walleyes, 4 pounds or better, seem to enjoy swimming under the ice and shaking their heads. That will often throw the hook.

Tyler

[bluegill63]

Thank you all for responding I read all the of them and I am learing alot keep them coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Gill