Fishing Tips From the Pros

Walleyes at Night

By BOB IZUMI

Have you ever looked deep into the eyes of a Walleye? Compared to eyes of other fish, a walleye’s is a bit odd looking, kind of glassy like a marble. It gets even stranger at night, when they seem to glow. That’s because a walleye’s eye has a unique membrane, sort of like a cat’s eye, that allows them to capture every bit of available light and use it to see when other fish can’t. This explains why some of the very best walleye fishing happens at night.

Fishing for walleyes after dark is a little different than fishing for them during the day. Because they are actively feeding, nighttime walleyes are often on the move, chasing schools of baitfish. Instead of finding groups of fish stacked up in certain areas like you do during the day, at night walleyes hunt in loose packs and they will often be spread out over large flats, along drop-offs or weedlines, along old river channels and in some cases, roaming open water.

Because the fish are scattered and moving, you could spend hours casting or jigging over a flat or along some other large piece of structure before you finally find the fish. To me, that’s not the most efficient way to do things. Since I’d rather be catching fish than spending all night looking for them, I prefer to troll, at least until I’ve found some fish. Once I’ve found a group of active walleyes, I might stop and cast the area for a while to catch the most active fish. After I’ve caught the aggressive fish, or when the school moves off, I’ll go back to trolling until I locate another group of biters. It’s an efficient, high percentage way to cover water.

On relatively calm evenings, I like to use my bow-mounted Motorguide electric motor for trolling. Active walleyes will often move surprisingly shallow when they’re on the feed at night, and the noise from even a small outboard can sometimes spook the fish. I’ve also found that it’s easier to follow irregular weedlines and drop-offs with my electric motor. Although the fish are moving, they will still travel along structure breaks and nothing beats an electric for precise boat control. Of course if the water is choppy or if there’s a strong breeze, I’ll switch over to my gas engine.

I remember one night a few years ago when I was out with the Real Fishing crew taping a segment on nighttime walleye fishing. We had located a pack of big walleyes along a weedline and had been casting Wally Divers to catch some fish for the show. I had managed to catch several fish up to about nine pounds, before the bite slowed, and we decided to move to another weedline. The new spot wasn’t too far away so I fired out a long cast and flipped on the electric motor for the short run across some open water. Well, part way across this stretch of open water I got a hit. At first, I wasn’t planning to tape the fish, but when it started peeling drag I reconsidered! After a good struggle, I finally landed an enormous walleye that weighed a hair over 13 _ pounds! That fish was the highlight of the show.

The key to walleye fishing at night, whether you’re casting or trolling, is to make a slow presentation. That’s why my first choice for trolling is to use my electric motor. You can literally inch along without making any noise at all. That’s especially important at night when the walleyes will often be suspended just under the surface, or located in very shallow water. When I’m casting, I like to retrieve my bait as slowly as possible and still keep it working properly.

While I’m on the topic of baits, I’ve been on several trips where I’ve absolutely cleaned up on the walleyes by fishing crankbaits like Wally Divers or Wally Minnows with an ultra-slow, steady retrieve. Although walleyes have excellent night vision, you still want to make it as easy as possible for them to find your bait and a slow, steady retrieve with a big crankbait is definitely the way to go.

Slow cranking allows the lure to wobble widely, which in turn sends out a lot of vibration that walleyes can sense through their lateral line. A fast retrieve makes it tougher for walleyes to zero in on your bait and a twitchy, erratic retrieve can cause the fish to miss the bait altogether when it tries to strike. A stop and go retrieve can be good at times, but when you pause, you lose the vibration that comes from a big bait wobbling from side to side. That can actually fool a walleye into thinking the bait has fled the area or been eaten by another fish. In my experience over the years, I’ve found that there’s something about the slow, steady thump of a big crankbait that just turns walleyes on.

I’ve fished for walleyes all across Canada, at all times of the year, and night fishing is without a doubt, one of the top methods for catching trophy sized fish. If you like un-crowded conditions, fast action, and a real shot at catching the biggest walleye of your life, you owe it to yourself to give night fishing a try.

Bob Izumi is host of the Real Fishing Show, seen weekly on the Outdoor Life Network in Canada and the USA