2 nice walleyes caught on bass spinner baits-need advice

Fish bass way more than I fish for Walter so my friend and I were chucking spinners on a rainy day he catches an 18” and I caught a 19(walleyes)-My fish really smacked my bait hard in a weedy bay would have sworn it was a pike. Do you think those fish would have been up and aggressive on a sunny day? Would their be a better way to target them? I’ve thought about swapping the skirt for a minnow plastic-bass seem to like ‘buggy’ Walter seems to like a minnow profile or stop overthinking, shut up and do what you did last time.

Just go fishing. Whatever bites, bites, be happy.

Dutchboy wrote:

Just go fishing. Whatever bites, bites, be happy.

Agreed!

I’ve caught walleye on topwaters, doesn’t mean all walleye will hit on top. Some just are more aggressive than most. You could have stumbled upon a school in a feeding frenzy, I would check it occasionally but wouldn’t dedicate my gameplan around it.

Do what you did last time, but with same conditions. See too many anglers, myself included at times tell themselves well last time out I murdered the fish on this color lure, at this time of day, with this certain front moving through with this kind of weather and now, I’m gonna do the same thing with opposite conditions. Not happening.

Use the knowledge you gain each trip to draw a bigger picture that gets filled on along the road.

Without knowing all the details, the eyes were active that day smacking spinnerbaits bc it was rainy conditions. Always done well with loud lures in rain. That’s not to say the eyes weren’t in that bay any other time, that’s a good indication that they may inhabit the area, but hiding out in the weeds not actively seeking out lunch.

Walleyes CAN hit like freighttrains and fight like dogs in the summer, cold water, yeah not so much.

I have done well trolling and casting spinnerbaits through the weeds for walleyes. I replace the skirt with a grub.

This was a 28 inch Walleye that smacked a big white Spinnerbait that had a big plastic trailer on the hook. Five feet of water, 11 AM, in the Cabbage weeds. So it can happen…..but I sure wouldn’t want to make my living catching Walleyes in 5 feet of water on Spinnerbaits in the middle of the day.

Here’s an excellent article written by Randy Weiland:

SR

OK, why doesn’t the link show up?

“https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/articles_1258565/”

There!

SR

Yep the boss caught a walleye in the weeds yesterday with a modified beetle-spin bass fishing. He was guiding a group that wanted action… they caught 8 different species yesterday, all on plastic, albeit he added the spinner to assist clients in being able to feel the bait, when it hit the bottom, then based on the feeling the spinner blade rotate how high to pull/snap it off the bottom.

I have used beetle-spins in the spring, removing the plastic and putting a fathead on the jig hook to target walleyes… wasn’t sure why we did, but we did and it worked…

As for the weeds, would consider doing so for walleyes at any time following the spawn, it seems to be the next place they move to in N. WI and they will stay there until the food source makes a switch, which is usually mayflies. Once the mayflies are gone, the food source may be right back in the weeds if they don’t move out to mainlake humps.

Mark

Like the idea of adding a grub to the safety pin spinner-‘just fish and be happy’
Well if I’m fishing for anything I’m happy-talking and overanalyzing is why we have this forum! Will look for the article by that Randy guy–thanks everyone

My brother once, many year ago made me eat crow with a white spinner bait.

95° day. Glass calm on winni. I mean flat! Calm.
200+yds off shore. 20fow. My little bro is chucking a white spinner bait…

Of course I tell him he won’t catch a walleye with that, here, on this day.. No way no how! Then he did. A 20″.

Unbelievable.

Told him to go ahead and throw that all weekend.. Luckily he lost it before he could muster up a second fish.

So, crazier stuff happens.

Walleyes will eat at any range of the water column, when that is what they want to do

Steve Root wrote:

OK, why doesn’t the link show up?

“https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/articles_1258565/”

There!

SR

Steve, I have learned the secret to posting a link on this forum. How’s this?

http://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/articles_1258565/

I shall now click on it and read Randys article.

Back in the day we did really well on Milly with beetle spins catching walleyes.
DT

Andy and Steve thanks for posting that artical; very informative.

Spinnerbaits work quite well for walleyes. I once had a pattern that lasted for nearly 5 days in which I was catching walleyes in 2-3 fow with white spinnerbaits casting to the edges and slightly into the reeds. Dead hot summer days, sunny, temps of 85 degrees. I was pre-fishing for a walleye tournament, was considering starting with this pattern until a cold-front moved in the day before the tourney, pattern was done.

So yes, spinnerbaits can work quite well!

I’ve been catching them pretty regularly on deep diving cranks, like DT-14’s. Guys have have jigged and Lindy rigged through known walleye spots on a lake up here. I will follow them through and nice walleyes out of the same spot. Kind of a head scratcher, but has happened a number of times in the heat of Summer.