The Elusive Hardwater Walleye

So this year I jumped into ice fishing pretty hard, Bought a Calm thermal shelter, FL-18, New rods tackle etc… at heart I have always been a river rat, growing up on both the St. Croix and Mississippi, my success in the rivers (open water) has always been fairly well no matter what species I targeted.

With that being said I can not seem to pull an eye from my hole for the life of me. Sure i could go to one of the big northern lakes and end this obsession but that seems like an easy out.

I have tried multiple baits, lures, depths etc. Part of the problem is I now live in the north metro and usually only get out after 5pm on the weekdays. Lakes I have targeted so far have been Coon (not to promising i know), Green (chisago), Independence, Medicine, West Rush, Forest (willows point). Are there any lakes within 1 hr of the north metro that anybody would suggest? I am not looking for honey holes or anything of that matter, more so a few tips or direction to learn about lake maps, walleye winter activity etc… I have navionics and usually look for 20 fow right next to deeper holes. Do you usually fish in the 20 fow range? I also have been looking for perch during the day and sitting on that spot till after dark hoping the eyes come rolling in. ANY info is appreciated, at this point id gladly end my season with a 8 inch metro walleye. Also i do understand that not all lakes are the same.

Last night on medicine I thought I was finally going to land my first eye in 24′ of water with a med golden shiner 6 inches off the bottom. I was jigging for crappies doing good when A huge red mark appeared on my flasher and all the other marks disappeared. I looked over at my bobber and too my surprise it was gone. I thought this was it, I grabbed my pole and set the hook. I felt the weight on the other end, almost like a log at first. I started to reel in this heavy beast when the head shakes started. I was excited, shaking, walleye fever was setting in. After multiple 15 yard runs every time i got this beast to the hole, I figured it was safe to remove one hand from the rod to turn up the brightness on my lantern. With the brightness turned up I could finally see down the hole, reeling up one final time my bobber appeared, then my split shot, THEN…. a Slimey 32 inch northern :-(.

If you drive fast you can make to Mille Lacs in about an hour. Reports out of the red door are 10-20 walleye a day. That should take care of your fix…

I’d quit lake hopping and start patterning “a” lake.

I’m in the same situation and decided that this year I wanted a decent metro walleye. I’ve done what Fishblood suggested and have been focusing on one lake, Nokomis, since it’s close to home. Have been out 3-4 times and have found the perch and crappies but no walleye. When out on Saturday I got a tip where folks have been catching them and will check that out this weekend. I think by patterning one lake you can narrow your focus rather than starting from scratch.

Sitting in one spot during the day for perch and then sitting in that same spot for prime time hoping a walleye comes by is not a good strategy if your not familiar with the lake or the species in pressured lakes. If you get to the lake at 5pm drill 10-15 holes along a break and spend a couple minutes in each hole, but keep moving… other wise with no pattern on such lake, you are just praying that you get bit. If you were mobile you would find good areas and eliminate other areas for down the road.

good luck

Thanks guys, I appreciate the responses. Looks like i’ll be picking my target lake and figuring out this patterning thing.

I’m not an expert by any means, but I’d focus on weed lines if I were absolutely just trying to catch a walleye. Find and area that looks fishy(points, inside turns, funneling areas, saddles, humps, etc.) and get out there before dark. Drill some holes from deep to shallow(until you get in the weeds) and setup for dusk just on the edge of the weeds.

Throw a tip up out with a shiner or something to cover a bit more water. If you aren’t marking fish then try a few holes deeper or a few holes shallower. If one spot doesn’t work out, try a different one next time.

Right now is a little closer to mid ice so the points will still produce but i would almost start fishing mid lake humps and other off shore structure.

I know for a fact there is Walleye in Forest and some good ones at that. My wife caught one there and my friend’s dad lands them all the time. In fact recently an ice fishing acquaintance pulled a 30 incher out of there. I have fished medicine quite a bit as well and have yet to pull one but have talked to people that have claimed they got them out of there.

go fish lake Minnetonka and or Waconia. those are big bodies of water you could spend a lifetime trying to figure out and both have big and abundant walleye populations. Shouldn’t be too far from where you are located, certainly within an hours drive. As for how to catch walleye on those lakes don’t ask me, ask someone who knows

You have picked good lakes, but I would recommend fishing shallower after 5 pm like 10-16 feet near weedlines and points or turns in the weed lines. Put out a tip up on the weed line and fish a line of holes along the weed line with a jigging spoon. Another tip would be to stay away from others. They don’t tend to like noise. If you can get out during the weekdays you will increase your odds.

Thank you all for the additional suggestions. I will start applying these suggestion to my hunt!

Hey watisituya,

I’ve lived in and fished this area my whole life and have had hit and miss results when targeting walleyes on these lakes. #1. (quick rant) Navionics app on your phone has TERRIBLE maps for some of the lakes, especially Independence. YOU HEAR THAT NAVIONICS, YOUR MAP IS GARBAGE. That being said, some are decent (like ‘tonka) though and can still be helpful as a general reference of what the lake PROBABLY looks like. You really just have to get out there and drill holes and measure for yourself to know for sure.

These lakes are typically pretty fertile and have heavy weed growth in the warmer months. Because of this, the Walleyes learn to live and feed in these weeds. If you can find green weeds + good walleye structure you will usually be in business. Being there at the right time of day is always key too. Sunset has been good for me lately.(5-6:30)

As far as depth goes, I’ve been getting them in about 15-10 fow as they move up out of deep water to feed on top of the humps or flats. I like to set up right at the top edge of the piece of structure. Lately a minnow on a plain hook as bee the ticket on Medicine. Not the most exciting way to fish them, but they’ve just been turning their nose up at anything more aggressive.

Hope that helps! I definitely haven’t been crushing them by any means. Just 1-3 or so per evening, but I like to see other people having fun and catching something!

All about the #s-Go to Mill Lacs. I would rather drive a little longer and spend less time sitting and hoping. Good Luck

3 eyes this am…. Thanks guys 2-15″ 1-17″

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Great job! Way to stick it out!

Great job-funny pic

So what did you do differently this time?

Focused on 1 body of water and moved around between multiple trips, Before i was so focused on looking at a map and picking 1 spot, if it didn’t produce id move onto a new lake, this time i utilized a tip up along with my pole to cover more ground (it was -10 when i got there)…. Got them in 30 fow right next to a Hump between 545 and 10am. Also I didn’t mention the few 8″ walleyes i caught along with numerous perch and a northern. All in all it was a good day. All eyes caught on the dead stick, Small shiners plain hook. Bite was still good when I left but I had to get home.