Thread: The Walleye Channel

Please note that this is NOT my thread. It is for everyone to publish information and ask questions. There isn't always one right way to do things. Many people have years of experience and have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Here is part one of a two part series for you:

People like to catch fish. There is no question about that. Given all the information available, the majority of people will always take the easiest approach to catch the most fish.

I’m often asked why I hate jigging so much. The truth is that I don’t hate jigging in general, I hate everything that goes with it. Personally, I don’t think it takes a whole lot to be able to go out during certain times of year and catch limit numbers of fish. Simple equipment and the ability to follow the other 5000 boats to the promise land is all that it takes. Heck, if catching fish wasn’t so important you wouldn’t see 1000 post on other popular sites talking about how they caught a limit of fish in one drift in 25 minutes. Or they caught their third limit of fish this week. Keep in mind that these are the same people that, during an average day, couldn’t find a walleye in a fish shop.

I guess that I might fish for different reasons. Sure, I like to catch fish but I get more enjoyment out of finding them for myself. I don’t see success as the limit number of fish I can put in my boat in the quickest amount of time. I see success as the ability to go out to an area that I selected with no other boats in sight, put a plan of action together, and put fish in the boat. I take greater satisfaction in doing so when others are having a difficult time. Unlike jigging, trolling takes a considerable amount more skill and knowledge. Sure, you could follow the masses and go out and catch fish but, when the launch is empty, your cell phone gets zero reception, and you have no one else to rely on, these people tend to do very poorly.

Trolling is a lot like bow hunting to me. I enjoy the preparation of it. Scouting to find the one spot that I know I can ambush my unsuspecting prey. Paying attention to the wind, placing my stand in the perfect spot to avoid detection, and waiting until just the right time. Whether I decide to harvest an animal doesn’t mean the difference between success and failure. What it means is that my plan worked. I got my prey within archery range and could have taken the shot if I had wanted to. It was everything that went in to it that appeals to me. Not the harvest but the plan of attack.

The same can be said for trolling. Pouring over maps for countless hours. Looking at wind, weather, and wave reports. Studying currents from the last 72 hours. Guessing where the fish “Should” be, putting a plan together, and then going out and seeing if that plan produces results. That is the enjoyment I get out of it.

When I was younger we didn’t have fishing electronics. We had to rely on our knowledge of the area, previous successful locations, and times of year. Oftentimes we didn’t venture out to other bodies of water. This was primarily because it took so long to learn these bodies of water. This was during a time when people were pretty hush about their spots. They were hard to find and giving them away would often mean you had to spend your hard earned time trying to find another spot that might be half as productive. Now days, we have all these things at our fingertips. It isn’t hard to transition from one body of water to another and produce the same results. If you know a couple of basic things that is!

I know of one particular person that is a charter captain on Saginaw Bay. He is an excellent walleye fisherman on this body of water. Heck, he grew up there. Does that make him a great walleye fisherman? Unfortunately, he has shoe horned himself. On most days, he can produce limit numbers of fish in quick time. He relies on years of experience on this body of water in order to be successful for himself and his clients. Unfortunately, when his spots dry up, it becomes very difficult for him to locate fish in other areas. Take him out of Saginaw Bay and his success plummets. Why is that? Is he not as good of a fishermen as we think he is? Is he relying too much on the success of the past? Or does he simply not know what to do in order to be successful? Tune in for the next installment to find out the reason why. It will be sure to make you a better fisherman!

Originally Posted by wicklundrh

I see success as the ability to go out to an area that I selected with no other boats in sight, put a plan of action together, and put fish in the boat.

I see it as a FULL TUMMY...................

I know well about the jigging, and the hordes, highly concentrated runs of fish make it easy for some, and easier for those who can not travel as far or as often. Often those people posting are trying to "Fit In" so to speak. You can weed them out pretty quickly.

Monday was the first time I had ever been to the DR during a week day. Compared to a weekend, I would have thought that my boat had Cootie's or something, as not one was around for a long time. Makes me think of making a few changes, and going down during the week more then a weekend.

Another part of jigging, is watching other people, at least for me. Its not as fun with Walleye, but watching people @ Muskegon during the Salmon run is like a comedy show. Watched a guy in a Bass Boat hook into one, rotate his hips, and i thought to myself, He is going to try and pull that thing out like he does Bass, over some Lilly pads, like on TV. Sure enough, he rotated back the other way, loaded up that rod, and that King went the other way, and that rod went "SNAP"..... Another time, we heard a "SPLASH", then some cussing. Guess the guy wasn't ready, and the King Salmon snatched the entire rod out of his hands.....

I found it amusing. Still learning trolling, migrating some of my Salmon ideas into Walleye. Will see how it goes. If i pursue this more (Walleye) I am going to have to look to Thorn-Apple Lake or Muskegon, as they are closer than the Bay from my place by ALLOT.

OE