Can’t catch walleyes.

My family recently bought a place on Big Sandy Lake in Aitkin county MN and was disappointed in the small bass population as that is the fish I generally target. The lake is primarily a walleye lake with low bog stain clarity.I have been trying to target them for some time now. I only seem to catch a fish here and a fish there and nothing seems to be consistent. This weekend I fished almost all day to catch one 17incher on a spot as soon as I got there and then nothing else and then the next day I went to the same spot and instantly caught another 17incher and nothing else. I fish humps, points, rock and use plastics, bobbers, lindy Rigs, bottom bouncers, cranks and can never get on a really good bite. Any help and pointers would be much appreciated -Thanks

I haven’t been on Big Sandy since I was a kid…(was only there once)….but one thing I’ll never forget was casting a beetle spin along an edge of lily pads at high noon….and getting a limit of walleyes

Don’t overlook shallow weed edges. That dark water can keep walleyes shallow all summer….all day long.

Shad raps on the weed edges

In stained water, I always start shallow. Depending on the day that is. Yesterday it was hot and sunny and there was no wind. I managed to get on them in 32 feet of water but couldn’t get them to bite. Finally a slip bobber and a leech was the ticket. Trust your electronics, using side imaging to find open pockets in weed beds can be dynamite. If you struggle to stay on the weed line, make a pass over it and mark the edge of the weeds with your side imaging, then drop your troller and run your line of waypoints.

I would try running the weed line with a husky jerk at a fairly slow speed. I’d use a bottom bouncer a d a 4 or 5 foot leader to get it down to bottom. Something about that slow wobble just flat out works!

You could try another lake? Mille Lacs is ridiculous right now and Aitkin county is not that far away. As long as you have a big boat because it gets rough out there.

It sounds like you have found one spot. Once you find some more spots you’ll be dialed in. It’s not uncommon for me to catch one or two walleyes on each spot throughout the day. Some days I can catch several fish on the same rock pile but that’s not the norm.

Walleye lakes can be very different. I’ve struggled on Big Sandy also. Probably have to rethink how you are doing things, which can be frustrating. Also one of the biggest reasons / fears to buying a cabin I want to know the lake really well before committing to the body of water.

Hang in there… you will get some patterns figured out.

Thanks guys, definitely going to try fishing weeds a bit more. I know that I have caught a few trolling for pike on weeds and casting jerkbaits on weeds. And last week my brother caught some on a spinnerbait in a weedy bay so going to try some walleye tactics and see if I can’t get a few.

I bet a shallow shad rap behind a planer board along the weed edge would be killer

Dark lakes with weeds and almost all the predatory fish will relate to them. It might be tough during the day but low light hours you’ll get them on cranks on the outside edge. During the day don’t be afraid to find pockets and pitch plastics right into them.

I don’t know sandy well but my guess is the walleyes either spread out deep during the day or bury in right. That’s why you’ll get them on bass/pike baits sometimes. A lot of north metro lakes setup on this pattern, too.

Are there any specific things I should look for when fishing weeds? They surround almost all the shorelines on the lake, should I look for weeds that are near deep water? Off shore weeds? Weeds on islands?

I’d like for anything next to deep water or points. Always start on the wind blown side. I like to look for anything unique like pockets or isolated patches. A wind blown point with deep water next to it and weeds on top would be my number on spot.

I think deeper the better…a lot of times you can troll the tops if they are submerged. Pull raps or spinners over them and try to get as close to the weeds as possible.

I was just out at Sandy and we struggled too-What happens to me is I get a plan go out there and get one right away and think ‘aha!’ then I get nothing but pike for hours. #s are not that great in there so as others have said find a lake like lacs with good numbers and things will be better. (BTW the DNR reports sometimes get you thinking that the numbers are good because they have stocked so much or its on a par with other lakes in its class, has improved from the last report etc. You want to know that the adult count per net is 10 or more IMHO) Good luck.

Wanted to thank everyone who replied to this thread, this weekend I have been doing very well on Big Sandy and have finally put the pieces together and have even caught a few smallmouth doing it!

Jacob P wrote:

Wanted to thank everyone who replied to this thread, this weekend I have been doing very well on Big Sandy and have finally put the pieces together and have even caught a few smallmouth doing it!

Glad to hear you’ve been figuring them out! That’s why I enjoy walleye fishing, it’s always a challenge and keeps you on your toes!

Have been getting the walleyes on the weed edge. hard bottom areas, deeper contour. throwing a 4 and 6-inch swimbait, 3/8 head, around 8 ft deep, get bass ,go deeper for the walleye, same area. Fish fairly fast and move. find multiple spots. DK.

@catmando exactly what we are doing, when dark comes around we’re getting them on slip bobbers on the edge of the weeds

Glad you found them, give those swimbaits try, I am guessing you will average bigger fish, I use a bait caster 17 lb mono, med 7 ft rod. DK,

Caught some on swimbaits on Tuesday, am using them now with the cloud cover on a weed line trolling and am crushing them with pink authentx