08-14-2014, 08:41 PM
[quote Watershadow]Same experience Monday night 9 - 12. Not too sure on these DC walleye stories. Been out early and late at DC, lots of tried and true tactics...appears to me the good walleye fishing there is a thing of the past.[/quote]
Any good walleye fisherman will tell you... sometimes you get skunked.
These are not trout... no offense... but walleye can be tough to find and even when you do find them, they might be full. Walleyes eat big meals and often times they only feed for a short period each day and then go dormant. Sometimes they turn on after midnight... it is really tough to pattern them sometimes.
If you were out on Monday from 9-12... what lures were you using? How deep were you fishing? Deer Creek is a big lake... did you move around much or fish one spot?
I do best at night with big paddle-tail swimbaits. 4-6" is what I prefer to use on a darter head. Cast it out and let it hit bottom then slowly retrieve it in... if you are snagging too much then don't let it sink to bottom... try letting it sink for 5 seconds and then retrieve in steady. Or 10 seconds. Mix it up until you get a fish and then go from there. Swimbaits work amazing for walleye but most people are not patient enough and give up after a short period of time fishing them. Don't give up. Don't go back to small lures. Keep throwing that 4-6" swimbait and you'll catch a lot of nice walleyes... there is no trick to it.
I also do really well at night on lipless baits. My favorite is the rippin rap in the largest size they make. Clackin' raps and rattling rapalas work well too... as do any of the other dozen or more popular lipless lures. Same story. Cast it out, let it hit bottom and then steady retrieve it in. Slower is usually better but you want the bait to work properly so there is such a thing as too slow.
I've caught walleyes with paddletail swimbaits and lipless lures year round, on over a dozen different lakes. It is the easiest and most effective way I have personally found to catch walleyes. I don't own a boat and do all of my fishing from shore. At night eyes come in shallow at raid the shorelines for prey... casting more or less parallel to the shoreline is usually the best bet...and wading out into the lake can help you cast a long the shore. I am not really good at anything in life but catching walleyes - I'm pretty darn good at that. Night time is the right time. Don't give up.
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Any good walleye fisherman will tell you... sometimes you get skunked.
These are not trout... no offense... but walleye can be tough to find and even when you do find them, they might be full. Walleyes eat big meals and often times they only feed for a short period each day and then go dormant. Sometimes they turn on after midnight... it is really tough to pattern them sometimes.
If you were out on Monday from 9-12... what lures were you using? How deep were you fishing? Deer Creek is a big lake... did you move around much or fish one spot?
I do best at night with big paddle-tail swimbaits. 4-6" is what I prefer to use on a darter head. Cast it out and let it hit bottom then slowly retrieve it in... if you are snagging too much then don't let it sink to bottom... try letting it sink for 5 seconds and then retrieve in steady. Or 10 seconds. Mix it up until you get a fish and then go from there. Swimbaits work amazing for walleye but most people are not patient enough and give up after a short period of time fishing them. Don't give up. Don't go back to small lures. Keep throwing that 4-6" swimbait and you'll catch a lot of nice walleyes... there is no trick to it.
I also do really well at night on lipless baits. My favorite is the rippin rap in the largest size they make. Clackin' raps and rattling rapalas work well too... as do any of the other dozen or more popular lipless lures. Same story. Cast it out, let it hit bottom and then steady retrieve it in. Slower is usually better but you want the bait to work properly so there is such a thing as too slow.
I've caught walleyes with paddletail swimbaits and lipless lures year round, on over a dozen different lakes. It is the easiest and most effective way I have personally found to catch walleyes. I don't own a boat and do all of my fishing from shore. At night eyes come in shallow at raid the shorelines for prey... casting more or less parallel to the shoreline is usually the best bet...and wading out into the lake can help you cast a long the shore. I am not really good at anything in life but catching walleyes - I'm pretty darn good at that. Night time is the right time. Don't give up.
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