12-16-2014, 03:10 PM
[#0000FF]I have caught a lot of walleyes on the fly. Deer Creek, Utah Lake, Willard and Starvation are all good places to try.
As with most other species, the most difficult thing is to find active fish. Walleyes are hard to find and finding them is no guarantee of getting bit. They feed mostly during low light conditions on most lakes. But you can catch them all day long on Starvation...and on other lakes during certain times of the year. Best time for aggressively pursuing aggressive walleye is the post spawn period...from late April through about the first of June. That's when they are cruising shallow and looking for groceries to replace energy lost during the spawn.
Buggers, Clousers, streamers and even just large nymphs will get bit by walleyes. White is a universal color...followed closely by chartreuse and/or black. Purple is also a good color. When the water is cold and/or murky you will usually do better with high vis patterns. Black is always good. Chartreuse or white with hot red head or fibers is good too. Contrasting colors are better seen under those conditions.
In Utah Lake and Willard you will usually be fishing in shallow water...5-7 feet at Utah Lake and maybe 10 to 15 feet at Willard. At night that can even be much shallower. And at times they will feed in less than 3-5 feet near rocks or shoreline structure. So you can often use floating line...or a sink tip. 6 weight rigs are generally plenty heavy but if you are slinging big bushy flies a 7 or 8 weight might be better...especially if it is breezy (in Utah?)
There are a group of fly flingers who regularly fish Starvation...mostly for the rainbows...who also score some nice walleyes up to about 24 inches on the same flies and presentations. This past year a lot of them came on type 7 lines, dredging green or black leeches or buggers in over 20 feet of water. They started showing up in March and were still being caught in September. Walleyes often rely on small invertebrates as a part of their diet but are also in those areas to feed on the smaller fish that are there for the same tidbits.
I fish mostly plastics these days. But I probably catch more and bigger walleyes on small 1 1/2" lures than on the biggest stuff. There have been a lot of days in my tube when conditions suggested that I might do well with feathers instead of plastics.
Most of the walleyes you catch on flies will be under 20 inches. I prefer those for keeping and eating. But there will be plenty over twenty. And I know of one caught two years ago by a flyguy that was about 34 inches and 12 pounds. The fly was a size 6 white crystal bugger.
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As with most other species, the most difficult thing is to find active fish. Walleyes are hard to find and finding them is no guarantee of getting bit. They feed mostly during low light conditions on most lakes. But you can catch them all day long on Starvation...and on other lakes during certain times of the year. Best time for aggressively pursuing aggressive walleye is the post spawn period...from late April through about the first of June. That's when they are cruising shallow and looking for groceries to replace energy lost during the spawn.
Buggers, Clousers, streamers and even just large nymphs will get bit by walleyes. White is a universal color...followed closely by chartreuse and/or black. Purple is also a good color. When the water is cold and/or murky you will usually do better with high vis patterns. Black is always good. Chartreuse or white with hot red head or fibers is good too. Contrasting colors are better seen under those conditions.
In Utah Lake and Willard you will usually be fishing in shallow water...5-7 feet at Utah Lake and maybe 10 to 15 feet at Willard. At night that can even be much shallower. And at times they will feed in less than 3-5 feet near rocks or shoreline structure. So you can often use floating line...or a sink tip. 6 weight rigs are generally plenty heavy but if you are slinging big bushy flies a 7 or 8 weight might be better...especially if it is breezy (in Utah?)
There are a group of fly flingers who regularly fish Starvation...mostly for the rainbows...who also score some nice walleyes up to about 24 inches on the same flies and presentations. This past year a lot of them came on type 7 lines, dredging green or black leeches or buggers in over 20 feet of water. They started showing up in March and were still being caught in September. Walleyes often rely on small invertebrates as a part of their diet but are also in those areas to feed on the smaller fish that are there for the same tidbits.
I fish mostly plastics these days. But I probably catch more and bigger walleyes on small 1 1/2" lures than on the biggest stuff. There have been a lot of days in my tube when conditions suggested that I might do well with feathers instead of plastics.
Most of the walleyes you catch on flies will be under 20 inches. I prefer those for keeping and eating. But there will be plenty over twenty. And I know of one caught two years ago by a flyguy that was about 34 inches and 12 pounds. The fly was a size 6 white crystal bugger.
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