Found them, now what?

[OTIS]

OK, I found the walleye.  Between 8 am and 9 am I watched over two dozzen on the aqua-vu, not one would hit.  I tried just about every lure mentioned on this site, with and without bait, minnows and mousies, and still nothing.  The majority of them stopped to look at my offerings, several even nosed it but none would bite.  So what do you do when they just won't cooperate?

[fishingking]

DO you pull the bait away from them? Also ive found the wallye that come up look and then leave sometimes will hit if you violently shake the bait very fast (but dont jerk it) and lift slowly while doing this can trigger them  to hit. I think It has something to do with the vibrations that trigger em.

Just keep experimenting and you'll figure it out eventually. Walleye are a hard species to catch

[IceGeek]

get used to it.....somedays they'll slam the rod, other days you can't get them to hit anything....some days when they are really negative, try a really small perch or crappie sized jig with a few spikes or waxies on it....

[OTIS]

Thanks guys.  I had one rod rigged with a small Hali and a couple mousies, it got some looks but no pike.  I tried the shake and lift, but once the lure got an inch or so above the fish's head they would swim off.  I had a couple come in while I was jigging, and once I stopped and held it still they took off like their tail was on fire.  I'll keep trying, any tips are appreciated.

[Ashnohgrimbatul]

Sometimes you can entice a strike by slowly lifting your bait a couple feet above the fish and holding it in place.  Some days though, I haven't been able to figure out how to make them bite either.

[grumpymoe]

now that you know they are there in numbers...makes you wonder just how many days you've encountered the same thing and didnt know it until now.....spotted eyes in shallow last winter quite afew times....swimming slowly by.....nothing would make them hit......just the wrong time of the day....Grump

[OTIS]

It's nice having the aqua-vu, for years we thought the majority of fish on the graph were perch.  There were two walleye for every perch that went by.

[coldbum]

well now that I have the vex.. I can see clearly what is next

I think IceGeek was thinking smaller like a marmooska or something with a couple spikes
I have caught a few on smelt flies when they are finickey

[OTIS]

That's my plan.  Sunday evening I'm going back and I'll set up my two tip-up's and set one rod up with something small like a marmooska, and the other up with a spoon and see what happens.

How do perch eye's work for walleye?

[grumpymoe]

How do perch eye's work for walleye?

.....very good.....just as well as walleye eyes....Grump

[IceTroll]

Try a small swimming jig tipped with a little piece of minnow, like a swimming rapala.

[fishingking]

Gotta catch a Walleye first to use a Walleye eye lol. I recently spent about 8 hours  during primetime walleye bite to finnally get one keeper through the hole they are very very tough. They love to bump the bait with theirs noses but deffiently have lock jaw or something.   They gotta feed sometime or they wouldnt grow and something has gotta work 4 when they are finicky just dont know what

good luck 2 u

fk

[fishuhalik]

I use to fish for pike through a spear hole on Winnibigoshish Lake in northern MN, and would often see huge schools of eyes move by the hole.  I'd try everything I knew that worked for 'eyes, and could usually pick up a couple, but nothing too special. Lots of these fish were big, too.  I saw one that scared me!  Anyways, I finally figured out that when they were in a really neutral mood, a tiny (#12-14) jig tipped w/ the smallest crappie minnow in the bucket worked wonders.  I don't know what the deal was, but the fish I saw were never in a good biting mood.  Maybe since I was seeing them in shallow water (8-10') they had already fed or something.   

[Cargo]

Otis,
       I know one thing for sure, if you can come up with the answer you could make MILLOINS $$$$$$$$$$$$$

[ICE LUNATIC]

Thats what makes them so hard to catch there is always a variance in there appitite!

[jf5]

Only thing I could add is to try and clip the tail of your minnow on your tip up. Sometimes the slow bait will get the eyes to hit!