# Walleye Help Requested



## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

I have been big into ice fishing for quite some time now, but have never gotten into the summer fishing until this year after buying a boat last fall.

I now have a camper with a friend on Devil's Lake and my Dad has a cabin on Lake Lida in Minnesota.

The Devil's Lake fishing has been going well so far--using slip bobbers in the trees, trolling bottom bouncers, and pitching cranks near the shore. All have been effective.

When I go to my Dad's place, however, all I've managed to catch are rock bass and smallmouth. Is there a big difference in technique from fishing Devil's Lake to the Minnesota Lakes. They certainly don't have all the deadheads to fish in and around. What should I be looking for?

In the winter time all we use are shinners, at Devil's Lake we have used nothing but leaches. How do you know when to use minnows, leaches or crawlers in the summertime. Do you buy all three and just do a trail-and-error?

Thanks in advance for any advise you are able to share.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

You are going to want to find transition zones, dropoffs for MN fishing. The fish also use the weeds a lot. I, personally don't enjoy slip bobber fishing , but to each his own. Use a lind rig and a shiner at the dropoffs, or a jig and a minnow combo. Usually clay point is the place to be right now on Lida. There are tons of dropoffs and lots of structure that will be good on that lake though.


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

djleye said:


> I, personally don't enjoy slip bobber fishing , but to each his own.


I agree, actually. Although it has been productive, it is kind of boring....much like ice fishing just watching the bobber.

I personally would rather pitch cranks, troll or drift. Something where I can have the pole in my hand and feel the bite.

I've heard that Lida is supposed to be a pretty good walleye lake but I haven't had much luck yet. My Dad doesn't fish at all. Looks like I should get a topo map of Lida, eh?

I've been fishing around the weeds at points and the bottom at these locations has been very rocky. Is this why I'm catching nothing but bass, should I be finding a different type of bottom or going deeper? I've been fishing in the 6-10 foot range on Lida, same as Devil's Lake. Do I need to go deeper in Minnesota?

Thanks again.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Deeper unless it is late evening. Work your way out from that depth until you graph/ catch fish. Start out at around 17-18 ft unless it is calm and sunny, then try even deeper. Lida used to be a lot better than it is now. There is a slot limit in place also in case you were unaware. Good Luck.


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## gunattic (Jan 9, 2005)

from what I've seen while snorkeling walleye are still around the 10' mark yet, maybe 12', and likely shallower not deeper. The water is still pretty cool, and cooled down this weekend so maybe that's why, although the 1st thermocline was close to maybe 18' or so... don't know because I wasn't wearing my dive computer, but just guessing from what I felt. If you can find a small area.. and I mean small like 10' or less in diameter, where the weeds are short but tall all around, it almost never fails that the walleye will be found there. Just an observation... and another observation.. there were still a few in the river (ottertail) in only 6-8 feet of water.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

One thing I learned about fishing busy MN lakes is traffic. The lake I grew up fishing in N. Becker county in MN was always good for the first month when the lakes were quiet. It's a shallow lake only getting to around 30' and it warms up fast. When the swarms of jet skis and party boats come out it can really slow things down and fishing is really good really early and really late when it's quiet...the daytime is always hit and miss.

Don't be afraid to fish in the dark. We've found that fish are really active at night when the lake is quiet and the shiners move shallow. We used to sit by the fire with lines out and there was always fish moving through. If fishing by boat, the fish easily spook from the boat so keep the lines away from the boat and run shallow running cranks or spinners as far back as possible. If you fish a busy lake and fishing is slow, don't be afraid to give it a try.


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