How hot before river walleye shutdown?

James and all.. thanks for sharing all your experience!! this is why this board is such a great place to learn….. hopefully some fisheries bioligist are tuned into this… might give them some research ideas……

I too have seen walleyes in shallow but dormant…. I KNOW they will sit there and just NOT feed, the only exception would be if something were to fall in their lap that they were convinced was food…….

when I worked for the DNR at Clear Lake Iowa we had large aquariums with various fish speicies in them…. I managed to be the one to get to feed them (well some would say HAD to feed them… but I was fascinated!!)…… anyway it was my job to acquire food and provide it to our fish……. it was interesting to see the different reactions that the different species had.. they WERE segregated so the only competition was intra-species….. not a suprise.. but if you tossed bait in the the white bass tank…. boom… instant feeding frenzy!!! if you tossed it into the crappie tank the hunt was on immediatly!….. the bass tank.. pretty much the same…. though not QUITE instant.. within a short period of time they were feeding…..

the northern tank…. now they were an enigma!…. sometimes there was no change what so ever.. they continued to just sit there…. othertimes you would see them start to yawn and “stretch” then in a move so fast you almost could not follow it.. they practically teleported to where their target was and scales flew everywhere!!! amazin how fast they move when they “strike”….. nothing else like it!!

but the walleyes…. now they were the funniest…. I could never quite figure them out…. they were almost never READY to go… they were motionless on the bottom of the tank…. and sometimes the minnows would actually hide around them like they were logs!! when I turned off the tank lights they would slowly start to “yawn” and stretch… then they would start to creep up on some bait… and just open their mouth and suck it in… kind of dissappointing to watch!! but I KNOW they can be MUCH more active and aggressive than that…!! Ive seen it… but most of the time they were “dormant” and you were not going to catch them…… did I ever angle for these fish? YES….. not with bait.. of course…. never did catch a walleye out of the tank….. they just did not get excited over plastics in that environment….. now white bass, crappies and bass on the other hand….. !! but the pike also were NOT interested…. they wanted only live food and would ignore ANYTHING else……

ok… geez Im boring you by now…..

thanks for the river temp posts.. and light posts….. great stuff…..

it looks like we can safely say….

1. Walleye dont move in response to temps (unless they are stressfully high!, then I predict they would)…

2. Walleye dont move in response to light penetration (though I would still guess if there was a shady spot in the area they might favor it?)

3. Dont be afraid to try very shallow for them…. (but I would think that light reducing factors would enhance their activity level!! waves, mud lines, clouds, rain, perhaps available shade)….

now questions…..

just what sort of shallow areas do you look for?

is it just simply rip rap?

is it a large shallow flat?

a small flat with deeper water close by,

is there current, or no current?

That’s one of the coolest posts you’ve ever made Rivereyes! Maybe it wouldn’t do much for a lot of guys, but I too would have been fascinated in seeing the actions and behaviors. Not much of a stretch………..I’m one of those guys that used own boas and pythons……………..feeding time was always an adventure!

Randy,

I fished pool 14 this week, today water temp was 81, and I landed several nice eyes and a 17″ sauger. The deepest fish was about 3-4 feet. I like to live bait fish this time of year on the wings, but with the Shad fly hatch going on, I opted for cranking the rocks and shore lines. Managed 11 fish, two over 20″, one 24″. Excellent day compared to what I expected.

Bye the way, do you ever fish the clam beds north of Albany? When wing dams slow, the fish seems to be active there right up until fall. Not heavy concentrations, but fishing can be quite good all summer.

Burn the honey-do list! ( I do know how that would work at my house, it would not be mine any more)!!!!!!

Rooster,

We did pretty good Saturday AM with a couple of smallmouth and a nice pike mixed in with the walleyes on wingdams. I haven’t fished the spot just north of Albany yet this year. But like you say, I usually don’t hit it until wingdams fade. All we have fished so far is cranks. I tried jigs last week and had slow action. No live bait yet either.

Randy,

Glad you mentioned the smallies. Have you noticed a dramatic upswing in the number of smallies here, or is it just me? I think I caught 3 smallies in my life until the last couple of years. Have “accidently” caught 10-15 in the last two years while walleye fishing. I suspected the increase may be due to cleaner, less polluted water. My father and uncles used to catch lots of smallies many years ago, but they faded fast in the early fiftys I guess. Interesting?!!?

Rooster,

Yes, I’ve noticed the same increase in smallmouth numbers here since about 97 or so. I’d like to think they are on a long term upswing due to the improved water quality. etc as you mention. But I remember having 4-5 good consecutive years back around 1979 or so, we thought the smallies were starting a comeback back then. However, they kinda seemed to disappear for about 15 years. Hopefully this time they stick around

Heard in the after hours of a walleye tourney, drinking whiskey and talking smart, someone had read an article relating to eyes and light penetration. Fish, while subjected to intense, first to go were carp, walleye were down the list. Prolly why we can crank em up in shallow……they are there for the food…..