Yo Grizz

[CrappieAngler]

I was checking out your site. VERY nice wallaye. I love to eat crappie and on occassion bass... but I have never found a fish that tastes as good as walleye. Whats your secret to harvest those huge walleye?
I used to live the near the Quad Cities in Iowa... and my dad introduced me to Striper and Walleye fishing. My biggest walleye was in the 6 pound range, with many 3-4 pound taken. Mostly on chartruese 1/8 oz. jig.
We used to fish the warm water discharges in the Miss. River near some grain elevators, when the shad were in. Striper and walleye would come in and we'd have great foshing for several hours until the cold just got to be too much (fishing in 0 degree weather is no fun after a few hours).

Unfortunately I don't think we have many walleye or at all here, seems the water doesn't get cold enough for their liking although I may be wrong as i'm about 3.5 hours West of the Miss. River.

I have an older son in Iowa still, and may go visit him this winter and maybe dosome walleye fishing, throw a guy a line so to speak. LOL!!!

[GRIZZ]

I agree, I don't think you have walleye there, but I wouldn't mind some of the crappies you have up here. They are as far south as hot springs for sure.

I fish for walleyes mainly between halloween and ice up when I used to fall crappie fish, but the crappie fishing went to pot in chautauqua. They are feeding for the winter and mainly at night in the shallows with floating minnow stickbaits. There is a lot more to it, but that pretty much sums it up. Learning walleye behavior is the main trick in finding them then. It can get pretty crazy when you nail it. I had a night with over 300 fish caught and released between 2 anglers, but that was 10 yrs ago and its not that good anymore, though we still get big fish like the ones in the pics. Another reason we never did that again is that its just too darn much work haulin in that many 6-10 lb fish in one night. :D Most of those except for the double 5 limit pics are from last years catch. I totaled between 150 - 200 for the season last fall. The limit was lowered to 3 fish last year.

[CrappieAngler]

True story. Ha Ha you'll get a kick out of this. I was born and raised southern. Then when I was 12, my dads job moved us up north to Iowa. Like I said we lived in a town on the banks on the Mississippi Rive, you could sling shot a decent sized rock over to the Illinois border.
Anyway, one April day it was cold as all get out, around 20 degrees and flurries were falling.
We set out to go fishing on the river. My dad had told me about the walleye and stripers, but failed to mention the teeth the walleye possess. So anyway, we're fishing with a chartreuse jig and we were hitting the stripers pretty good. And I caught this "fish". It was around 3 lbs. Before my dad could get a word out, I jammed my thumg into its mouth like you would a bass or crappie. What I had caught was a nice size walleye with razors in its jaw.
It tore my thumb wide open requiring stitches. LOL!!! That was a valueable life lesson to a 12 year old who just caught his 1st walleye ever. Up to that point I had never seen a walleye.
We fished those banks another 12 years together until he moved to Cali, and I left Iowa.
Ah the memories.

[GRIZZ]

Yikes, I've stopped a couple people from doing just that over the years.