Walleye

Spawning takes place in the spring, and during the night when the water temperature is between 45-50ºF. Most spawning occurs in lakes over boulder or gravel shoals. The males arrive first on the breeding ground, with the females arriving shortly after. The males show some pre-spawning display, primarily pursuing and circling. The female is attended by one or two smaller males. No nest is prepared: the eggs fall directly on the bottom, lodging in crevices or cracks. The eggs hatch approximately two weeks after being deposited. After hatching, growth is fairly rapid.

Young fry are not protected by their parent walleyes. The fry feed on zooplankton until reaching about eight inches in length (by the end of summer), and then they feed primarily on small fish. The following year, young walleyes reach their mature length of sixteen to eighteen inches.

When walleyes reach maturity, they become highly migratory. As soon as the lakes and rivers begin to warm and thaw in early spring, walleyes make spawning journeys from their winter holding areas. Some of these migrations will cover dozens of miles to headwater tributaries. Other spawning may occur along shallow rocky lake shores, but in either instance, spawning areas are less than five feet deep. The only proven natural reproduction of walleyes in Washington is in Roosevelt Lake and intermittently in Lake Umatilla (John Day Pool).

During spring spawning runs, walleyes stack up in headwater streams and below dams and are easy prey for anglers-in-the-know. Most of the famous walleye holes throughout the country are these types of waters.

After spawning, walleyes will return to the main lake or river, staying in the shallows throughout the spring and early summer until the waters warm, then moving to deep, cooler water during the day, returning to feed at dusk. During winter, it is generally thought that walleyes hold up in deep waters until the spawning urge strikes again, but little is actually known about the winter habits of this fish.

In the spring spawning season, look for walleyes during the day in deep holes directly above or below the shallow gravel spawning grounds. Walleyes are gentle biters, and this kind of fishing requires sensitive light spinning equipment and six-pound test line for casting small lures.

Hook a live three-inch minnow through both lips with a No. 4 or 6 hook and add enough slip shot weight to pull the bait to the bottom. Cast the minnow above a clear hole near a gravel bar where a feeder stream enters the river. Let the rig settle into the hole, and then slowly crawl the minnow along the bottom. Also try slow-moving bottom lures such as a small yellow plastic split-tail grub, a small jig with a hooked minnow, or a spinner placed a few inches above a baited hook. For any combination, remember to retrieve the rig slowly and sometimes let the hook rest still on the bottom.

For about two weeks following the spawning run, river walleyes congregate together in inactive schools. The fish move to their summer and fall feeding grounds, which are usually along a man-made rocky shoreline (rip rap) where the rocks enter in at least six feet of water and where another shelf drops into deeper, faster moving water. Cast or slowly troll small deep-diving crank baits parallel to the shoreline. Wing dams that trail into rivers should be fished the same way. Cast a jig right against a dam abutment, or fish eddies and clear areas where the current changes direction or speed.

Walleyes are difficult to find in lakes because the fish move into shallow feeding grounds at night, and then move into deeper water during daylight. To find walleyes, look for small schools of forage fish. Usually small yellow perch are the main dietary component, but walleyes also feed on available sucker fry, leeches, bloodworms, and insect larvae.

In early spring, lake walleyes are in water over gravel bars three to six feet deep. After spawning, the fish are inactive; the males remain in the shallows while the females move to deep water. In about two weeks time, the fish move to shallow waters and actively feed around submerged logs, rocks, weed beds, and anything else offering cover. In these covered areas, slowly fish live minnows (three to six inches in length) or a jig-and-minnow combination.

In the summer, the shallows are an active feeding ground at dawn and at night between eight and midnight. Quietly and slowly troll or cast a floater-diver (Rebel or Bang-O-Lure) over shallow bars near underwater drop-offs. Cast along the shore, but be careful not to spook the wary fish with a flashlight or excessive noise.

To find summer walleyes in large lakes, fish the bottom oxygenated thermocline layer at about twenty feet deep. Use a live minnow to determine at which depth the thermocline layer lies; if the minnow surfaces dead with its gills flared, the angler is fishing either too deep or too shallow. If the minnow is active along the rocky piles and bottom drop offs at twenty feet deep, continue to slowly fish the area.

On windy or cloudy days, wade in the shallows and cast a jig-and-minnow parallel to the shore in three or four feet of water. Let the waves move the jig as it is slowly reeled through the moving weeds. Other lures for the shallows are small, long thin crank baits crawled along the bottom weed beds, or slow-moving Flatfish and Rapalas lures.

To catch deep-water walleyes, slowly back troll a weighted jig-and-minnow combination or in warmer water also try a jig with a night crawler or leech, a plastic grub, empty jigs, minnows, night crawlers, crawfish tails, leeches, or a V-shaped cut of yellow perch belly (where it is legal). First let the rig sink to the bottom behind the boat, and then retrieve the line and lower the rod tip several inches from the water surface. Next, lift the rig a few inches off the bottom and move the boat back three feet, letting the bait swing slowly beneath and under the boat. Hold the rod still while the rig returns to its original position below the rod tip, and lower the rig to verify the correct bottom depth. Then lift the jig, move the boat another three feet, and repeat the process. Back trolling covers a lot of water and catches a lot of walleyes.

Walleyes move into deep water in the winter. Try fishing the rocky points or sunken islands in at least twenty feet of water, or try steep drop offs near deep water and nearby shallow gravel bars. Hook a six-inch minnow through both lips and slowly drop the bait to the bottom, letting the minnow adjust to the change in pressure. If a walleye strikes the minnow at thirty feet, try fishing the same depth to catch other fish in the school. If no more fish take the bait, try a different depth in the same area around any bottom structure or weed beds If the school isn't spooked by the initial hooked walleye, then others can be caught from the same school before moving on.

The best walleye anglers study the lakes and rivers they plan to fish, noting the locations of underwater drop offs, sloping weed beds, sunken islands, shallow gravel bars, depressions, etc. Record the weather conditions and water conditions for each walleye catch to learn the habits of local walleye populations. Walleyes are easy fish to catch when found, and an appetizing reward for the time spent finding them.

Jigs, spinners, spoons or natural bait all work well to catch walleye in certain situations. Remembering these basic facts will help you find success: Walleye tend to congregate in schools; when you catch one it is likely there are others in the same spot or vicinity. Except on rare occasions, walleye are found on the bottom of the lake, so the odds are with you if you keep your bait on or near the bottom. They are usually found near or on a sandbar or physical feature which provides a good feeding area in proximity to deeper waters. The primary food of walleye is fish. Your bait should resemble a bait fish in some manner and be slow moving. Walleye feed primarily in late evening, at night or in the very early morning.

Whatever bait or lure is used, it's important to fish very slowly. Some anglers even troll in reverse (when it is safe to do so) to get their speed down to what a walleye will chase. Once a walleye is caught, continue fishing the same area. Where there is one there will usually be more. Also make note of the bottom or "structure" and look for fish in similar habitat.