I've never fished for walleye before but have been tossing around the idea of trying to get one on the fly. Seems like the spawn is the best time to try for them. I am curious why most of the reports for them come from Willard and Utah Lake. Doesn't Deer Creek have a good population of them? Are they harder to get at Deer Creek? Thanks,
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[cool][#0000ff]Walleye are good targets for flies. I have taken lots of them in both Willard and Utah Lake. Deer Creek is a different lake, but there are times and places you could fish them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Everybody gets excited about fishing walleye during the spawn, but that is probably only because the fish group up and are more visible. They do not bite as well, except for a few of the hyper little males. Bigger females are tougher to catch until after the spawn.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The post spawn period...May and June...are the best times to catch lots of walleyes almost everywhere. They are actively feeding and hit flies and lures well.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In Willard Bay, you can take walleyes on flies in close to the rocks, in water less than 10 feet deep. Same for Utah Lake. Early in the mornings you can hook them right next to shoreline reeds in very shallow water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In Deer Creek the walleyes usually stay deeper, but will come onto the flats at the upper end of the lake in June. Most folks drag a crawler on the bottom in about 15 feet of water, but if you wanted to dredge them up with a fast sinking line you might be able to entice a few on flies.[/#0000ff]
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TD,
Thanks for the info. Do you mainly fish for them with minnow type patterns? Do you mainly fish for them right on the bottom as well or are they ever suspended in the water column?
In terms of Deer Creek, is it mainly due to the depth of the lake relative to Utah Lake and Willard that makes the fishing different or do other factors like water temperature come into play?
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[cool][#0000ff]Fishing for walleyes with flies is not about "match the hatch". It is about getting them to either see or "feel" the fly, through their sensitive lateral lines. Big and bushy is better than streamlined and pretty.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am attaching some pics of bright and bushy patterns I use in murky waters for Willard and Utah Lake 'eyes. When the water is cold and/or murky, the hot colors or basic black show up best. Purple is a good color, especially with some red in it. Otherwise, it is hard to go wrong with all white or all chartreuse. Both of these colors with hot red heads are good in almost any walleye water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In shallow waters (less than 6-8 feet), you can do fine with a 6 weight rod throwing a sink tip line...or a slow sink. Try to get the fly near the bottom, with a stout level leader. You don't need more than about 4 feet of leader. Nothing fancy. Vary your retrieves. Sometimes a short strip wakes them up. Other times you need to use your rod to make slow steady lifts, and the fish will follow it up and smack it at mid depth. The old Henry's Lake lift can be a walleye and white bass fooler too.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I know a lot about the Deer Creek walleyes. I am probably one of the first anglers to ever catch them out of Deer Creek, starting back in the late 70's...before they were "officially" in there. But, I don't claim to know enough to figure them out all the time. They act much differently in Deer Creek than they do in Utah Lake or Willard. Since Deer Creek is more like the lakes they are used to in the upper midwest, they tend to act more like they are supposed to. In clearer and cooler water they stay deeper to avoid bright light and they are more "sight oriented" in their feeding. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]They also usually wait until dark to go into very shallow water. That would be the time to try fly flingin'. After dark. I know some walleye fans that use big crank baits in shallow water after dark, during the summer, and catch some bigguns.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I do not know of anyone who has actually caught a walleye on a fly in Deer Creek ON PURPOSE. I know two people who have caught small ones on big flies being deep trolled for browns.[/#0000ff]
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