Throughout a winter’s day, the fish will range in depth from 20 to 50 feet. Walleyes in the tailraces tend to hug the bottom, so you should select lures that reach the river’s floor in a hurry.
Table of Contents
What is the best bait for ice fishing walleye?
- Leech flutter spoon.
- Northland whistler jig.
- Clam drop jig.
- Spoon baited with minnow head.
- Jig baited with live or dead minnow.
How do you target a walleye through the ice?
What depth should I ice fish for walleye?
The depth at which to ice fish for walleye depends on the time of day, and whether it’s early, late, or mid winter. At midwinter they are often found in 30-40 ft. deep water around noon, while towards evening they move into more shallow water of about 10-25 feet to feed on schooling bait fish during the night .
How do you rig ice fish for walleye?
What color lures do walleye like?
In clear water, the study found, walleye will strike white lures or almost any color. When the water is clouded by sediment, they are more likely to go for yellow or gold, and in green algae-laden waters, walleye eyes are best at seeing black.
How do you jig for walleye in the winter?
Does time of day matter for ice fishing?
The best time of day to ice fish is during the first couple of hours after sunrise, and for about 2 hours both before and after sunset. These are the times when most fish are heading to their feeding grounds, and when most species are active.
How far should walleye be from the bottom?
On clear lakes, bait placement can be 6 inches to 20 inches off the bottom, as the fish can better see the bait above them and come up to get it. Monofilament or fluorocarbon leaders are both good (though I’ve found that you have to re-tie more often with fluorocarbon as the knots fatigue more quickly than mono).
What kind of structure do walleye like in winter?
Generally speaking walleye will hold to the same structure as they would during fall months during early ice. Slight drop-offs, sandy or rocky flats, green weed beds, and hard structure anywhere from 8 to 15 feet deep are great places to start.
How do you catch walleye in cold water?
- Blade baits. Thin metal wobblers like B-Fish-N Tackle B3 Blades and Wolf Tackle Big Dudes have been staples for river walleye anglers for decades—they cast like a rocket and sink like a rock.
- Crankbaits.
- Ringworms and paddle tails.
- Bucktail jigs.
What kind of line do you use for ice fishing walleye?
What is the best depth for ice fishing?
In my experience, I’ve found that most of the best ice-fishing action comes in water from 3-to-20 feet deep. I like to set up my traps so that they cover a variety of depths. Areas with rock piles, weed beds, or dramatic contours are all good spots.
How long should an ice fishing leader be?
To get the maximum number of bites, the author recommends using a short fluorocarbon line as a leader at the terminal end. For panfish I recommend a high visibility main line made of monofilament and a zero visibility fluorocarbon leader about 24-inches in length.
What color is most visible to walleye?
Walleyes do have color vision that peaks in the orange-red-green portions of the spectrum. They see colors on both sides of each peak, but sensitivity declines. So they see wavelengths shorter than green and longer than orange-red, but not well. Overall, they see orange and red well, followed green and yellow.
What is the best jig for walleye?
Fire-Ball® Jigs are some of the best. They have a short-shank, wide-gap hook, and that’s really important this time of year. Early season walleyes usually prefer a smaller bait. With the Fire-Ball® Jig, you can put the hook in the minnow’s mouth and out the back of the minnow’s head.
What’s the best color jig to use for walleye?
With only a few exceptions, chartreuse and orange caught the most walleyes and saugers. This is consistent with the science that walleyes see in the red-orange-green portions of the color spectrum, being most sensitive to orange-red.
How do you catch walleye in January?
How do you catch walleye in February?
What size lures for ice fishing walleye?
A small minnow head or a few small maggots are still enough to draw perch and walleye in and not impair the flutter action. Personally, I have had better results with the smaller 1/16 and 1/8 ounce sizes, but when you’re fishing in a current, or fishing especially deep, the 5/16-ounce model produces better.
What water temp is best for walleye?
The optimum water temperature for walleye is 67 degrees with a low limit of 50 degrees and an upper limit of 76 degrees. Walleye also prefer low levels of light so in clear lakes they have a tendency to go deeper during the day and come in shallow at night to feed. Get to know the lakes you fish.
What do walleye eat in winter?
So you can catch them at just about any time in the winter. The kicker is that winter is a time when forage such as minnows and aquatic insects are at a low level. That means walleye have to be less choosy when they see a minnow or sucker.
What month is best for ice fishing?
March is the best month of the winter for ice-fishing in most of the Ice Belt, but anglers are never sure how the ice conditions will impact access to the lakes.
What is the best weather for ice fishing?
Cloudy days are preferred by most ice anglers. Light levels are more subdued and fish feed more actively throughout the day. Match the clouds with a falling barometer and you’ll hopefully have yourself a good day of fishing.
What are the best days to go ice fishing?
