Winter Walleyes

Times have changed, but not that much. Forward-facing sonar is presently making a mark on our sport; but we still have to catch them when we finally get over them, if, indeed, we can, as we also see (literally) just how fishing pressure changes fish attitude, usually for the worse, often making fish move away—so much so that anglers now are recalculating strategies to intercept walleyes by setting up strategically, minimizing noise and using sort of old-school stealth presentations to trigger fish. As it was, so it still is for winter walleyes. 

Of course, power fishing or what has been called “ice trolling” is still in play, perhaps the more so at early ice, when fish haven’t been bothered by anglers for as much as a month before 4 inches of ice again gets anglers back in the game. Run and gun, cutting lots of holes, now with live sonar allowing anglers to readily see fish location all around them.

We’ve covered that story with a most comprehensive look at the subject in this season’s Tactical Ice Fishing Guide: “Live Sonar Effects on Fish Beneath the Ice.” The information therein is the new industry standard on the topic. We acknowledge, though, that most ice anglers still aren’t part of that game because of the expense. At least for now. But in 1986, a host of anglers said the same thing about the regular sonar setups that we now take for granted. We’ll see.

We propose to rediscover the fundamentals of the parade that is getting walleyes to bite once you’re on them, whether getting on them is a matter of strategic interception of fish as they move along structural elements; or more aggressive strategies as first outlined by our articles on ice trolling; or aggressive strategies as more recently outlined by those using forward-facing sonar.

Pick up a copy of In-Fisherman at your local tackle shop, sporting goods store, magazine stand, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, or major book retailer!

More Inside This Issue:

Bass After Sundown: Night-Fishing Tactics and Trends

There are many reasons anglers choose to chase bass at night. Job and family schedules may make it more convenient to fish after dark. During summer in southern states, daytime temperatures can challenge concentration and stamina. In areas where human pop

Winter Protocol Smallmouths: Cold-Water Success North to South

The water feels like ice. After a long, time-consuming retrieve, a dark shadow appears under a suspending jerkbait sitting dead still 5 feet down. The shadow seems to rise an inch per minute. After a seemingly interminable wait, the smallmouth reaches the lure. The strike can barely be felt. The bass takes an instant to understand what happens next.

Ice Presentation Pike: Simple Systems for Early Ice

As soon as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of In-Fisherman, we might note on behalf of the topic at hand, that we were there at the beginning of the parade that is ice fishing for pike; or at least there at the beginning of much improved fishing for pike. The abandonment of rigging with giant hooks, including oddly shaped smelt hooks, in favor of what we termed quick-strike rigging, mostly with two small tandem trebles, forever changed the course of pike fishing.

Mindset Panfish: Dealing with Pressured Fish

“It's just me out here, and an old timer in a small wheelhouse,” I explained over the phone to an ice buddy who was to fish with me in a back bay a few Januarys ago. He was having a hard time locating us, not because my shelter was hard to find on this sprawling south-central Minnesota lake, but because that the location was so out of the ordinary. “Nope, it's not near that hump by the access or the south point; it's past that and in the back bay,” I explained. “Huh,” was about all I heard in response. I replied, “Don't worry, we can move if it's dead. I just moved here, and it doesn't seem like the old guy is getting any either; it's pretty quiet over there, too.”