Smelt for walleye?

[Water Wolf]

I have had great luck fishing with smelt for pike but for some reason I have never caught walleye on them.
Most of the frozen smelt I find are usually 4-5 inches long, so that should not be a factor, or is it? Any theories?
Have any of you had luck for walleye with them?


WW

[grumpymoe]

Never caught walleye on a smelt of any size.....and believe me I have tried....for some reason they just wont hit them.....freshwater herring is another story.....but it pertains to soft...Grump

[coldbum]

I wonder how this pertains to a lake with Smelt as the predominant food source

I mean there are MILLIONS of those little buggers

or would the walleye in this particular lake likely search out the bluntnose minnows or other bait fish with much smaller populations.

The walleye fishery on this particular lake has declined seriously over the years, though there are some monsters caught yearly and there is still a fairly large visable spawning popluation in the spring.

anyone got some ideas?

[grumpymoe]

I wonder how this pertains to a lake with Smelt as the predominant food source

I mean there are MILLIONS of those little buggers

or would the walleye in this particular lake likely search out the bluntnose minnows or other bait fish with much smaller populations.

The walleye fishery on this particular lake has declined seriously over the years, though there are some monsters caught yearly and there is still a fairly large visable spawning popluation in the spring.

anyone got some ideas?

....its interesting to say the least....and although this is a softwater observation.....I am going to throw it in.....as a kid growing up by the lake, we would dipnet freshwater herring by the pailfull and just nail the walleye....they would actually rise to the surface on a bright sunlit day to whack a herring.....(these were the 4" size) running with the larger mature herring that we all know...some approaching the 12ish or more in size....no doubt they also feasted on these as well....so does anyone know why they are not caught on smelts??....or does some member out there actually catch eyes with them???......Great Topic....Grump

[Pasquatch]

Seems to make sense to me as why walleyes would not in general eat smelt. For the most part, smelt are more pelagic, and walleye tend to be structure and bottom oriented.

[grumpymoe]

Seems to make sense to me as why walleyes would not in general eat smelt. For the most part, smelt are more pelagic, and walleye tend to be structure and bottom oriented.

...very good point Wes.....but when I mentioned the eyes rising on a bright day....it was in fast water with depths around 35-40 FOW.....the run was within 50 yds where we dipnetted....so the eyes sticking to structure is sound....but obviously not the case in this....Grump

[coldbum]

no more input on this subject?

[ButchT]

I usually clean and eat the smelt, but I save the heads.  I have had a lot of success using smelt heads on jigging spoons (Swedish Pimples, Crippled Herring, Little Cleos, etc.).  I freeze excess heads in winter for use in the soft water season.

[OTIS]

The walleye fishery on this particular lake has declined seriously over the years, though there are some monsters caught yearly and there is still a fairly large visable spawning population in the spring.

Maybe the population hasn't declined as much as thought, but there is just such a large food source that the fish are hard to catch.

[GAMBELL]

Coldbum,
Is that lake you are talking about Conesus Lake? 

[Water Wolf]

I am glad some folks have had luck with smelt for walleye. The walleye I fish for has no smelt in the lake at all. I present it right in there face and they look at it but still will not touch them, I like to try the smallest ones for walleye 3-4 inches so the size should not be an issue, they eat minnow the same size.
Maybe walleye do not like oily baitfish.

WW

[grumpymoe]

Maybe walleye do not like oily baitfish

...right on the money.....Grump

[ICE LUNATIC]

I have never used smelt for the walleye's i have good luck with small icicles!

[qflies001]

Coldbum,
Is that lake you are talking about Conesus Lake? 

Smelt is a awsome bait there i seen lots of guys hammer northers on them

[johnnypike]

my 9 pound walleye on lake champlain had 3 smelt in his belly.  i think they would hit a live smelt before hitting a dead one. i dont get walleyes on dead emeralds or hunts either. i think its the live thing that gets em.

[perchwisher]

Ive tried them on a spinner and worm rig with out the worm.Caught alot of speephead on them but i never gave them a good chance maybe this year.

[nd.walleye]

Nothing like dragging up a good topic from the depths. I just wanted to give my 2cents - I live in ND and on the big lake the reason for our fishery declining so much is the smelt population being down at or over 90% from previous years. Smelt is the primary forage for walleye - I would agree with previous posters that its not a matter of smelt not working - but I've personally never caught an eye on any dead baits.

[putback]

I can take this back to the '80s on northern lake Champlain when the walleye were big and easy. We allways used live 3 to 5 inch suckers or chubs on tip ups, 15 tips per person, 10 fish limit. And you could count on limiting out. One year we trapped out our preferred bait and switched over to LIVE smelt caught in the same lake within a quarter mile of our fishing grounds. No takes except the odd northern, every thing but bait the same. Use a jig and rod right in the tipup string and catch walleye! Hard to believe. We did a test on two evenings. 3 guys, 30 tipups, found a few suckers and chubs. We baited the string randomly, suckers, chubs, and smelt. We caught walleye on the chubs and suckers, NOT ONE walleye on the smelt. I don't pretend to know the reason, but I was part of the test. Now the real puzzler. Couple years later we were about a mile south down the lake. Summer night fishing walleye from a boat, stationary, casting just under the surface. Walleye were taking silver/black rapala countdowns, and pukeing up smelt in the boat! Only explanation the state biologist could give us was we were ice fishing walleye in 6/8 ft of water and the smelt aren't normally in that shallow. Maybe, I could never get walleye to take crawlers or frozen/thawed cray fish through the ice either.

[sperrin]

Use live minnows for walleye on small jigs, just work your jig a couple inches off the bottom...works for me

[4cator]

No none for me

[perchman4]

In Lake Oahe in South Dakota, The walleye primarily eat smelt. If the smelt numbers are down than the walleyes numbers are down. If they are up then the walleyes numbers are up. My Dad used to use smelt all the time to catch walleyes, when he was a teenager in North Dakota. Here in northeastern South Dakota, I have tried it but can't get them to bite it though. I wonder why it worked for my dad when he lived in North Dakota but not me.

[sperrin]

I live and fish in Manitoba and this week I have had good luck fishing for walleye with frozen salted minows....there smaller then the frozen smelts you can buy and they seem to be more attracted to them...just my 2 cents 

[GAMBELL]

Seems to make sense to me as why walleyes would not in general eat smelt. For the most part, smelt are more pelagic, and walleye tend to be structure and bottom oriented.

Not always.  Some lakes with alewive and cisco populations, walleye will roam the open waters to find food.  One of my favorite lakes in WNY, the walleyes suspend on alewives over deep water 15 -25 down. 

[coltons dad]

saw one hit a smelt on one of the finger lakes suspended for trout. not too many walleye in this lake though. they stopped stocking it sadly. big old wally also.