Walleyes that follow, but don’t bite, tips?

The past 2 weeks I’ve found a couple of holes that hold large numbers of Walleyes, but the problem is, most if not all of the fish will follow the bait upto the boat, but not bite it. I’m using large jerk baits (X-Raps/Yozuri minnows, Husky Jerks, etc) I’ve gone through every color of the rainbow and still nothing makes them bite, just follow.

What should I be doing to trigger a bite? Downsize? faster/slower retrieve? More eradic action?

This has been frustrating because there’s been some really big fish following me up and I get all excited for nothing when they turn and head back down to the depths.

You try pitching a jig/bait back at ’em???

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You try pitching a jig/bait back at ’em???

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Haven’t tried that yet, I’m a bass fisherman, so Walleye tactics are new to me, seeing these large fish has got me excited to fish Walleyes more now though…

I would say first try stopping the bait at some point in the retieve. If that doesn’t work, speed up your retrieve as fast as they will follow and then bring the bait to a dead stop. I think half the time they just run into it and you can hook them.

try the slowest and most natural bait that u have. that’s what we do in muskie fishing when we have followers is either that or choose a bait with an erratic action. or throw a muskie bait at em that might work.

I’m probably over simplifying, but you might have found an area where fish hang out when they’re in a neutral mood. I like the live bait idea. In general, try presentations that wouldd trigger neutral-negative fish like slow, small, live bait stuff. If that doesn’t work, try dialing up your presentation towards the opposite extreme (big, fast, erractic, noisy). You gotta figure out what presentation trips their trigger.

I have had this happen alot the last few weeks. When they follow it up like that i just think they are not as active. What i usually do then is go to something smaller. Smaller rapala or even a small twister. That seems to work for me. A few days ago i had about a 25 incher follow mine up to the surface and then dart away.

What might also help is trying a slower retrieve. This is a little tough with a rapala cuz you can only go so slow. But with a little twister you can really slow down. I have caught some nice walleyes the last few weeks when i have went to something smaller and slowed it down. Hope this helps out.

Maybe these walleyes think there muskies.
Giv-em the ole figure 8!

On the serious side, another thing to try is an intermediate retrieve with a suspending crank bait.
Reel several turns, stop…wait…repeat. Don’t be afraid to wait 20 to 30 seconds before repeating.

Awesome tips guys, I’ll try them out this weekend! Due to the wind, I wasn’t able to drag a leech/spinner rig through the area..

They’ll do this on wingdams during the summer sometimes. Typically when I see this I’ll try to vary my casting presentation as much as possible. Try to pause a suspending bait, but don’t limit it to just that. I’ve found that sometimes changing angles as you’re reeling in is too much for them to resist. Half way back, move your rod tip to the other side of the boat.

Sometimes, you have to burn a bait through too. When you’re burning through, you’re trying to entice a reaction bite. Sometimes that’s what it takes.

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Maybe these walleyes think there muskies.
Giv-em the ole figure 8!

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Hey Joel! On a guide trip I saw Dustin do a figure 8 and catch a following walleye and I’ve done it once myself too.
Those walleyes are toothy and torpedo shaped too!

have had that happen alot on the st. croix try twitching a husky jerk work eradicly with pauses or switch to a 1/8th oz blade bait for a slow fall bringing it off bottom maybe a foot or so.

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Maybe these walleyes think there muskies.
Giv-em the ole figure 8!

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Hey Joel! On a guide trip I saw Dustin do a figure 8 and catch a following walleye and I’ve done it once myself too.
Those walleyes are toothy and torpedo shaped too!

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I’ve been fishing a long time but gotta admit, I’ve never seen a walleye caught on a figure 8. Now if I can just remember that trick when the time comes…

I’ve had some success landing a few chasers by changing the angle & speed of the retrieve. Just imgaine YOU are the bait fish out on a leisure swim and this big toothy critter is closing rapidly on your tail. It’s quite apparent you’re not as fast as him in the 100 yard dash and there is no cover in sight. Whatta ya going to do to try and escape?

I don’t know if this will help, but walleyes exhibit a couple of behaviors that most fisherman aren’t aware of. One is called chinning. That is when they are not particularly hungry but they still exhibit a somewhat agressive behavior. They will swim up to the bait and lay their chin on the bait. Many times you will feel the light tick, set the hook and catch them under the chin. I have seen videos of this behavior. The other is when walleyes will swim up behind a bait trying to recognize what it is by the WAKE SIGNATURE. The vibrations and pressures that are given off by the swimming motion of the bait. Sometimes everything has to be right for them to strike. There must be something about your offering that just isn’t right. There is enough there to get their attention and get them to follow but not enough to trigger them. They have to be covinced in some way that what your offering is prey. Then they will commit. Good luck!

Sounds like a lot of good ideas so far. There are times in the summer that when Im burning in a crank baits once its off the spot I want to fish Ill make sure and pause it once or twice before pulling it from the water. SOmetimes its just really burning them in and bounce the rod tip or snap it a time or to.

Try something completely different. Jig/bait, hair jig, Jig/plastic. Blade baits have been working well for me lately. Ill throw them last in a spot and try to work them real slow. Picked up 4 fish the other night doing this in one spot after exhaust several other options.

Lots of good ideas, not sure if anyone has said this but with muskies, leave them alone and come back when light conditions are different or some other condition has changed.
Another thing to try would be to add some scent to your Raps… Even just a tiny piece of crawler on the back hook doesnt affect the action too much but might be enough to put them over the edge. Just ideas good luck