How to catch that 6 to 9 pound walleye when the other fishermen on the lake or river, in the same area are not catching anything. The owner of the lodge where we were staying took us out fishing because no one was catching any walleye on this particular week in July.
So in rule to prove to us and the rest of the cry babies at the lodge that there really was walleye in this lake, I went fishing with my collaborator and I the next break of the day.
First he said, bring 24 or 2 dozen nightcrawlers, as that would be the only bait we will use. That July week was fairly warm, 70’s and 80’s mundane with not much wind and lots of sun. keen weather if you wanted to get a tan, but not too good for walleye fishing.
We already knew that fishing for walleye in the middle of summertime was not expiration to be easy. When the lodge owner asked us to get that many nightcrawlers we were a little surprised. But we figured he knew what he was doing and to not ask any questions.
The iii of us met at the Boat where the 18 foot aluminum boat with the 50 horse outboard was. We met at 6 am. Not as early as we thought, but he had early obligations.
As we left the dock he said let’s look where everyone else is and join them. He already knew where they were. I thought that was interesting because if they were not catching anything why would we go to the same area?
We started to get ready for some slow trolling. He said pick out the most lively nightcrawlers and hook them up through the nose. That was very important. We wanted them to be lively and stretched out while we were trolling.
This was a large body of water with lots of room to fish. We picked the area in the middle of all the other fishermen and started to troll in just about 20-22 feet of water. We fished at another(a) depths in order to site? the walleye. I had been on Mille Lacs in Minnesota and caught many a walleye but not mid summer.
Walleye fishing with nightcrawlers can be very tricky while trolling. If you troll too fast you may lose your nightcrawler. So we trolled slowly and waited for something to nibble. The lodge owner started to catch walleye while we sat there without a bite, or so we thought. We were most likely getting bites we just didn’t know it.
The lodge said you may not be bet the bite because it’s like pulling your bait through molasses. When you feel that kind of bite then set the hook he said. The walleye were biting so lightly my partner and I could barely distinguish when to set the hook. But when we did control the feel we started to catch walleye.
That morning we caught 17 walleye in the mental strain of 2 to 4 pounds and tossed another dozen back with the largest walleye weighing in at 8.5 pounds! Of course we didn’t catch the big one the lodge owner did. What a day of fishing that turned out to be!
When we got back to the cabin, we showed off our catch of the day to the other lodge guests. Everyone was astounded and confused. They didn’t catch much of anything to brag about. Our vacation at the cabin had turned out to be amazing. Our Guide was awesome, and we loved being outdoors.
So, when you are walleye fishing with nightcrawlers and they are hard to catch, remember to feel for the “molasses” bite. The walleye are biting lightly and workings their way to the hook by slowing sucking in the nightcrawler, that’s when you set the hook! Good walleye fishing!