When will the walleyes be in the main lake at Pepi

I am just curious when the main number of walleyes will reach the lake near Pepin. What does the water temp have to be before they start to trickle down into the main lake? And when they first arrive, what is the best presentation and where will they be? I am a teacher and don’t typically get out there too early because I also coach golf in the spring. This year I would like to start the quest earlier in the spring than I have in the past. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks and good luck to all.

I have done really well in the main lake along the rip rap in the Lake City area the first week in May. The water temps are usually in the mid to lower 50’s buy then.The middle part of May thru the month of June can be gang-busters on the lake. The best presentation for my boat is to troll small crank baits along the vast shoreline of Lake Pepin. The rocks can be dynamite at this time of year, but don’t forget about the sand!

There are walleyes in Pepin all year around as some fish will stay in Pepin and spawn in Pepin itself as there are spawning ground in the lake too. As the ice starts to melt from the head of the lake going down some lake fish will go down the lake along with the ice melting down the lake. There seems to be river fish, some lake fish that go up into the river to spawn, and also some reg. lake fish that spawn in the lake. Like Dustin said, the rip rap areas can be dynomite at times as the water warms quicker by rocks as rocks absorb heat and that means warmer water. And it also means baitfish so here comes hungry walleyes in after them. Thanks, Bill

Thanks for getting back to me on this topic. I started painting and tying bucktail hair jigs for the first time this winter. Am really anxious to catch my first fish on lures made by my hands. When do you think the earliest will be to catch any kind of fish on a hair jig presentation in the main body of the lake? I am most familiar with the lake around the village of Pepin and across the lake on the wingdams near and around Maple Springs. Love to jig fish rock piles and rip rap. Is April too early to have any fun with the jigs?

mustbefishing,

The time frame from the end of April thru the end of May is one of the best times to throw hair on pool 4 in my opinion.

Opinions vary dramatically so I’m sure you’ll get a few more responses on this one. This just happens to be one of the best times of the year for me on this kind of bait while pitching the shoreline rocks along the river or lake.

I have to agree with Dustin on that and also fall can be real good too once you have located fish and can work an area over real good. Thanks, Bill

Hair jigs work all year! Spring high water is a great time to use them though! Many a fish has fallen victim to hair this past winter.

Thanks again to all. I have been trying to make all sorts of colors and I am still in the process. Is it true that dark colors (blue, black, and purple) work the best in cold water conditions? Or, does each day/location dictate the best color no matter what the water temp? One other thing. I have tried to make different length hair. Will the shorter hair or longer hair work best in the spring? Will the eyes be down as far as Pepin or Maple Springs in April? Thanks again to you guys for your input.

You get a lot of short strikes on long hair jigs. Best to keep it short.

LK

Bill

Curious about the lake spawning… I’ve always thought with all the nice windswept rubble shoreline out there in that big lake, some walleye would spawn out there, but the DNR claims they’ve never had a single documented instance of lake spawning. Did you lay hands on some new info you’re not sharing with us?

Thanks again for your input guys. What length do you think is the limit on how long the hair should be? Does it matter, in your opinion, what color thread you use to tie? Should it match the hair? the head? or, can it be a different color all together?