[goggleye57]

I have never fished for walleyes much. They have stocked them in several lakes in my area- Pretty, Big Turkey, and Sylvan among others. How would I catch a few at this time of the year in one of those natural lakes?:idea: :help:

 

[bestshot]

Right now its so close to spawn time, the females (bigger of the species) would be very hard to catch.
Seems like each lake has a bait or pattern that works best. Depends on what species of bait they have in their home water. Around here, its perch & shad.

Early morning, or late evening hours, along stickups, rocks, points rip rap,try casting crankbaits up into the shallow water (1' to 3' deep) With a slow retrieve. Also try a jig tipped with a large minnow. Once the water gets op over 55 degrees, you might try worm or leech.
Wind blown sides of the lake work best. Shallow under water humps are good too.

There are many ways for catchin walleyes, these are just my favorite.
The best time is summer nights, casting crankbaits around rocky areas. I love the feel of a walleye smacking a crankbait on a bright moon light night.

#5 shad rap is my all time go to crankbait. Most long bodied cranks with rattles are good night time cranks. Thunder stick Jr is very good too.

Lots of walleye are caught by bass fisherman, and bass are caught by walleye fisherman. What's that tell ya ? :idea:

 

[goggleye57]

Well maybe I just ought to leave em alone for right now- when is the spawn over for walleyes?

 

[Piggyn]

I checked for info on these lakes over at indianawalleye.com. Here's what they had to say about summer walleye fishing at Sylvan in the summer:

Try trolling crank baits in the narrow area between the lake that is a no wake area. The rock area near SR9 is another place to find walleyes, along with bass, crappies, and perch.

Clear Lake is also supposed to be good for walleyes, although you'll probably have better luck after dark there.

 

[bestshot]

I would say the spawn should be over by the end of April. The big females take about a week or 2 after spawn before they get on a bite. So, around the first of May should be a good time for the northern natural lakes.

 

[goggleye57]

Piggyn and Bestshot thanks for the info - Lots of other stuff to fish for untill then

 

[gregm]

Sylvan

The Narrows (idle zone) is a very good bet for most fish on the lake. I has a good current flowing through there. While heading "uplake" from the dam (traveling southeast) there is a submerged island on your left. Fish all the way around that. Also hit the seawall on your right at the farthest point "uplake" in the narrows before it opens up.

The basin that has the GSP historical site has two deep holes (30 plus feet) that have flats surrounding them. Also a good bet.

If you want walleye's in Northern Indiana, though, I'd stick to the Saint Joe river.

 

[ccavacini]

Just saw your post about Walleye fishing.


I fish them different ways.

Most of the time I drift a 1/4-1/2 oz. jig tipped with a minnow or a nightcrawler. Sometimes I put a rubber tail on the jig in addition to the bait.

Try to find underwater humps close to deep water on your drifts...keep a marker or two in your boat and toss one if you get a strike...They'll school and where there's one there are others.

Sometimes I use a Lindy rig....basically a rig with a hook, leader, and a sliding weight--they're pre packaged, and you can't go wrong with them.

If they're not suspended, they are usually within one to two feet of the bottom.

At night, I troll a Rapala (usually, a jointed gold one) in about 8 feet of water...good way to pick up Walleye and other fish.
Let me know if you have any luck. This is dumbproof and you don't have to concentrate as much as you do when you're jig fishing.

 

[ChapstickCharlie]

Whoa, do stocked walleyes reproduce naturally? A certain percent or something?

 

[gregm]

I did an internship with the IN-DNR Fisheries when I was in college back in the early 90's. From what I was told by the Biologists, the only substantial natural walleye reproduction (from wild or stocked fish) takes place in the following:

Brookville Reservoir (where all walleye eggs come from)
Lake Maxincuckee (sp?)
Saint Joe River System
Kankakee River System
Tippicanoe River*
Lake Michigan
Clear Lake (limited)
(May include fish from the Wabash River)

Limited Reproduction also occurs in some other lakes, but not enough to sustain a fishery. This was prior to Summit Lake being stocked which may maintain some reproduction.

This does not count Sauger that reproduce farily well in certain stretches of larger IN rivers.

 

[bestshot]

Prairie creek too

 

[pigeonflier]

Oh yeah,,I like this oldie..Goggleye, when are we going to Bills?

 

[JL]

Goggleye, April of this year was my best month for walleye fishing. From early March through late April of this year, I caught more walleyes than all of my previous years combined. I mainly through lures that I would use to bass fish to get the majority of them (grubs, jerkbaits, spinners, etc.). As far as I'm concerned, the walleyes in inland lakes in our area are easiest to target during the early spring.

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[410]

Quail and I have been catching them on rattle-traps, nightcrawler rigs and jigs and twistertails.

 

[goggleye57]

Bills? did someone say beef :evilsmile

 

[410]

I think we all need to meet at Bill's sometime and have a meal and maybe fish up that way at the same time. I have heard alot about Bill's but never been there.

 

[Dean Weimer]

Beef.....It's what's for dinner!!!!!


Yeah, I've often wondered what it'd be like to fish 'eyes in early Spring here in NE Indiana on our lakes, and this past spring I found out. I've always fished the rivers here in the northern section of the state in early spring/late winter.
I was fortunate enough to be with the Great J.L. (a.k.a The Coach, The Unsmiling Fisherman) on a couple outings, and our lakes have great potential. I learned how to fish on the Canadian Shield lakes around Ely, Minnesota. Our lakes are a little different, but some of the same tactics can be applied here as well. Like J.L. said; a lot of bass baits are taking walleyes here in Indiana. We are all lucky to live in a time when the Walleye has become one of the most popular sport fish and the IDNR is stocking them in quite a few lakes/reservoirs all over the state. Out there somewhere is a monster walleye that could break the state record: 14 pounds 4 oz.
Anyone wanna bet that J.L. could be the man that catches this beast? I'll bet he doesn't smile in the picture either......