Fishing Forum

It's kind of humorous to me just how frustrating a Walleye can be and yet there are still those that willingly choose to target these fish. I just may need some therapy because like the song "house of the Rising Sun" Walleye have been a ruin of many poor boy and God I know I am one.

I fished Starvation 2 weeks ago and killed them and like every other human being started to get a little cocky. Well, the change a couple weeks can make is quite remarkable for I was schooled on Starvation yesterday and if not for my stubborn resolve would of had a tough day.

I launched around 5:20 AM water temp 64.9 degrees, the morning had the feel of fall with the different sounds and smells that Mother Nature provides us. With the realization that I only have around five days of fishing left on Starvation this year made me kind of for I love nothing more than fishing Starvation for finicky Walleye, I am just a glutton for punishment.

My master plan was to troll cranks using an in line planner board and totally killem while this method did produce my biggest fish of the day I definitely didn't killem. I would like to at least tell you this fish was a 30 ish pig and a wallhanger, I can't because this fish only pushed my tape to 18 inches. When the sun had fully cleared the horizon I decided to bottom bounce a Lindy Rigg with a 4 oz walking sinker and a slow death hook tipped with a crawler or a gulp leech in 35 to 40 fow. I probably dedicated the better part of two hours only catching one 16 in her that was foul hooked that I immediately released. Now I am no choirboy but after watching a few episodes of Hooked on Utah I felt I needed to.

Only having one fish in my basket when 11 AM came I was remembering a post of this past week when I was bragging to Pat that when the forecasted wind came up on Starvation that I should have my limit. Well that would have meant that I had my limit by 9 ish because that's when Mother Nature showed up and it blew and blew until I left around 3:30 PM. From around 11 to 3:30 PM me being desperate to catch fish i jumped from break to break all over RG hoping to scare up a limit of Eyes. Right about that time I met up with a fellow BFTer his name was Rhino. (I hope I got the spelling right). Rhino and his fellow fishing companion only had caught two small eyes and he brought to my attention the previous evenings FULLMOON and he asked if that might of had an effect on our tough fishing. I fish when I can and have not payed attention to the moon phase much, but after this being brought to my attention may have to start. After we went our separate ways I started hitting breaks that went from 14 to 25 fow and while I could not find large concentrations of fish i was picking up an eye each spot while suffering through a bunch of 6 inch smb. Now don't get excited for those smb enthusiasts I myself like to catch smb but not when I am totally enthralled on catching a tough bite limit of Eyes. From 11 AM to 3:30 PM I caught around 9 eyes all coming on a neon Mooneye 1/4 jig tipped with either a crawler or a gulp leech.

I had expectations of trying several different tactics and I did try a few but maybe I am just a jig fisherman because thats what I ended doing the majority of the time and also how I caught the majority of my fish. I expect that I will continue to try different tactics for Walleye but I expect a 1/4 neon Mooneye jig will not be far from hand.

I ended my day keeping a 10 fish limit of Eyes releasing one that was foul hooked and one that was only 9 inches long. I also caught a 20 inch chunk Rainbow and a bunch of sub 10 inch smb.

Starvation the wind mistress made me work my tale off but I guess I am more stubborn than she. My Biggest take on the day is I need to start paying more attention to the Moon phase and my little Johnson that could is a game changer. In years past I would have been blown off Starvation by 9 AM but with my addition of a gas motor on my toon I can easily fish through the wind. Don't get me wrong it still was not the most pleasant day out on the water but it was still possible where before it was just not feasible to be out on the water.
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[#0000FF]Any of us who have ever been served humble pie on Starvation can relate to your experience. Congrats for sticking it out, changing it up and scratching out a limit. Lesser wallieholics woulda bagged it earlier.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I have spent a lot of hours on that fickle lake, fishing for those persnickety wallies. And I have tried all the new fad lures and techniques...and a few new things of my own. But through it all I have probably caught far more fish...of all species and all sizes...on the tried and true jig and crawler. It just works.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]When the going gets tough, the tough go bananas.
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Pat, how much do keep an eye on the moon phase? Because of my previous few trips to Starvation RG I know the fish are there so I am of a mind that the full moon adversely affected yesterdays bite. What I would like to hear from you is that I am beIng a little paranoid and that other factors were to blame.
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Boy does that bring memories. Once I had 3 hours in 24 of light wind. The rest of two days was 20 to 40 mph wind. Destroyed several tents.
Where did you find shelter to fish out of the wind. Usually a south west wind crossing the lake.
Has the wind persisted for long? I think the moon can be dealt with not that wind.
I intend on going in about 3 weeks or so. I'll check the moon.
Thanks I enjoyed your write up, very help full.
Hope to see you then. What does your ride look like?
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[#0000FF]I have fished too long...in too many places...to downplay the role of moon phase on some species on some waters at some times of the year. But I gotta admit I have had both good and bad fishing during the full moon phase. However, that is usually during the warmer months of the year when some predators tend to feed more actively at night anyway and during a full moon they do often chow down at night and ignore anglers during the day. But a lot of that is dependent upon food availability.
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[#0000FF]During colder times of the year...or when the water is not very clear...or when there is simply not a lot of available food (day or night)...fishing can be good during the day even when the moon is full. The fish may have been actively hunting for food all night but if they are still hungry in the morning the early worm gets the fish.
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[#0000FF]There are several walleye ponds in Utah that have wallie followers...such as Starvation, Willard, Deer Creek and Yuba (at times). Myself and a few others I know have experienced the "full moon in June"... a prime time for night time walleyes. But it can be good during the full moons the rest of the year...until colder waters drive the fish deeper.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]The only thing definite I can say about Starvation is that there are no definite rules. Sure, there are some tried and true guidelines...for depths, locations, lures, baits and techniques...but as we all find out at some point, every trip is a new trip and you gotta first find them and then fool them. Those two things don't always go together. But it sure is fun trying, even if it does make ya wanna jump off your tackle box at times.
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I tried to find a place out of the wind but where the wind was not as bad I found no fish so I ended up fishing where I typically do braving the wind. After 9 AM the wind did nothing but increase without any breaks. From the looks of how boat fisherman were getting tossed around I think my toon braved the wind well. The fellow BFTer that I ran into had a very nice Lund and they were not getting tossed around too much. I attached a picture of my toon and hope to see you out on Starvation.
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Pat, that is not the answer I was looking for but I think it is pretty accurate. I will tell you I am not sure what the cause of my recent hair loss is, my teenagers or Walleye but you can see which one i capitalized and guess for yourself.
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In the perfect world we should be able to go out and use whatever tactics we want for Walleye and go home with a limit. Well if you haven't guessed this world is not perfect and Walleye well let us just say Walleye should have been mentioned in anything written by Sigmund Freud when referring to a mental adversary.

When I try to think of the reason that I have chosen to be ONE OF THOSE GUYS to chase Walleye I may come off sounding like a snob. Its not that I think other fish are inferior but I do think Walleye are a little bit better for several reasons. While anything that they lack as a fighting fish they more than make up for that by being one of the finest eating fish that swim. They also challenge a fisherman to be at his best and always be learning. Have you ever wondered why when you speak to novice fisherman many say they have never caught a Walleye. I believe this is the very point that makes them so speacial is they have the ability to be invisible to a novice fisherman.
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"Have you ever wondered why when you speak to novice fisherman many say they have never caught a Walleye"

[#0000FF]I have made the claim on this forum many times that there are probably more walleye caught "on accident" than intentionally. Can't count the number of times members have reported catching their first walleye while fishing for other fish. After taking it home and eating it they are hooked and start chasing walleye...only to never be rewarded again.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Over the years there have been lotsa times I have been fishing with others who have caught a walleye while fishing for the other guys. Been that, done there myself a lot of times. Sometimes when folks ask how to catch a walleye I suggest that they go fishing for other species and just let it happen...if it is meant to be.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I ain't too proud to admit that I have been humbled while specifically targeting walleye. But I have also had some bananner days while applying all that I think I know and everything goes together right. Those days are all too few, but they help maintain hope through the leaner periods.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]You mentioned that your two biggest frustrations these days are your kids and walleyes. You could probably apply the old saying: "Insanity is hereditary...you get it from your kids." Maybe "if you really wanna go wacko, fish for walleyes."[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]One of the guys on the board...who shall remain nameless for this example...recently admitted that he doesn't fish solely for the good days...but for those times when it gets really tough and nobody else is scoring. That forces him to really refine his skills and scratch out a pattern that will put fish on his line. Each walleye thus netted becomes worth many times what the easy ones are.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Yeah. I can synthesize with that. But I gotta admit I really like it when limits come easy too.
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Thanks for a great report! It was fun reading and brought back memories of trips I've had. I have onely seen a handful of walleye limit days and I have to say none of them was easy or quick. At least you have seen it sometimes.

Keep up the good work and the reports!
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Randy, I had never caught a walleye until I got my first boat here in Utah. Then, as Pat has so accurately described, it was by accident. Was slow trolling rat-l-traps around Willard. Line went tight, drag clicked out about 10 or 15 yards, then nothing. Figured I had been snagged, so brought that line in. As it got closer to the boat, I noticed something kinda just "surfing" on the end of my line. At the boat and into the net a walleye about 18", nice and fat. Was a good dinner that night.
Tried a few times after that to "TARGET" walleye, never, ever, have caught one since when I was looking for them specifically. But have caught several up on the upper Bear river above Benson, a couple out of Utah lake while trolling for white bass on the way to a catfish area, more by accident at Willard, and earlier this year a pretty nice one out of the Bear River in the Bird Refuge on a large chunk of cut carp.
So, do I actively target "eyes" ? Nope. For me that's a sure way to get skunked. But I do appreciate the ones that volunteer randomly to jump into my net from the end of a line set up for something else. [laugh]

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Sorry to be a pain in the keister, but I don't see the required registration numbers on your motorized 'toon. A ticket would be more expensive than the registration, probably.
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TC, I cant help myself but I do feel great when I catch a limit of Eyes. I have heard that the Bear has some good eyes I may have to give a try and probably get skunked. For now my go to Walleye waters are DC, and Starvation but I plan on adding a couple more in the spring. I think I will break down and pay the Ute Tribal fee and start fishing Lake Boram (Midview Reservoir) and I would like to add Willard to waters that I frequent. Midview from what I have heard has big Walleye and is good fishing early in the year. Then there is Willard and I will just become another frustrated fisherman targeting Walleye on that complex water.
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I have a registration, I will say my numbers are not visible but I paid my $52. My registration is on my boat but when I had to change my pontoons because of a early season catastrophe I have failed to put my numbers on my new one. I think I should probably get that done. I do have my 2020 sticker that is visible, heck I have 2 because they gave me the wrong one the first time.
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Good. I was just trying to save you some official grief. Carry on, sir.
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I was surprised that my toon cost the same to license as any other boat, but $52 is fine for the amount of time that I spend on the water. I do know that I have friends that dont get a chance to go as much as I do and they complain about it. I reply to them is to fish more because its the best therapy I know for a human being.
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