Walleyes In Clear Water

Hey guys, this weekend I will be heading out to a lake in western wisconsin to try for some walleys. The water is ultra clear and I was wondering what some tips are for catching fish in clear water, and what are your guys favorite lures to use? Jigs? Spoons? Thanks

Welcome to IDO.

Maybe a better question on a clear water lake is “when the favorite time to fish is”? Could be a night bite.

Right. I was thinking try the early morning bite as well and then the late afternoon/ night bite.

Jake,

I have a cabin on a NW WI lake with a Seechi disk reading of over 20 ft since 1970 I can count on 1 hand how many walleye I have caught on jigging spoons or jigging raps. Not to say that it can’t be done. Depending on clarity it has always been a stealth bite light line and only prime days windy very cloudy snowing for maybe a morning bite till 8 am or afternoon starting at 3pm otherwise it has always been over at sunup or just starting at sundown. Then relocate during day for northerns.
I have caught hundreds of walleyes day and night all over the midwest on trips using spoons and jiggin raps but they have never been in crystal clear water. Then dead stick or tip ups always get the majority of fish
Mwal

I am with mwal, There a lake my buddies and I hit once a year for a reunion type fishing trip… very clear watching perch hit our waxies in 25 ft of water. Went and fished a nice spot where a river comes in and theres three sunken island in a triangle. I could sit there and litterally see ole white tips staring at my jiggin spoons! tried everything and he just sat there. None of us have ever caught anything in that clear water on the jigs. But out tip ups with light line and small hooks were dynomite come low light hours!!

Maybe try some tip ups with sucker minnows in shallow water/ weed edges towards and into dark.

What’s worked for me on our lake (very clear, 17′ – 33′ Secchi) for the sunrise/sunset bite is to find the weed line, which is roughly 20 FOW, and go out about 10′ – 30′ beyond, depending on depth change. Large chrome Swedish pimple tipped with a head & pounding the bottom has worked well. Shiner on the tip-up 3″- 10″ from bottom/bare hook. A camera would be very helpful as well. They can be extremely finicky in clear water & I’ve found that interested Eyes quite often prefer their meal lying on flat the bottom “twitching”. Once it’s dark, I move into the heavy weeds in 5′ FOW. Fatheads on both bobber & tip-up. Caught many nice Eyes, all female’s & 24″+ between 9pm – 2am this way. I don’t bother fishing fishing for Eyes during the day anymore, if the sun is out, but have caught a couple on tip-ups while going for Pike in deep water. Good luck.