Metro Walleye Fishing

Seems to me that in the last couple years it is getting harder and harder to be able to fish walleyes in the metro without 10 boats surrounding you as soon as you drop the trolling motor! My theory is that people are lazy and don’t want to take the time to find their own fish or develope their own pattern. Lets face it, in the fall walleyes are a lot easier to catch this time of year and if you have half an idea of how to fish you should be able to hook up. Obviously my frustration level is high right now, but last night I was on a west metro lake and decided to pull up on a midlake hump and was quickly surrounded by 4-5 boats One of them had the nerve to get within 10 feet of my boat jigging to ask me how I was doing!! The spot was very small, maybe 15 square feet, definitely not enough room for 6 boats. Has anyone else had similar experiences lately? Bass fishing I usually never run into these problems in the metro. Thanks for letting me vent

That’s one of my pet peeves too. The reason you don’t find that with bass guys is because they are constantly moving with the trolling motor. That and the fact bass guys usually are prepared before they hit the water.

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The reason you don’t find that with bass guys is because they are constantly moving with the trolling motor. That and the fact bass guys usually are prepared before they hit the water

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And I thought it was because it’s sooo much easier to find and catch Bass

Very good point and I completely understand your frustration. Lazy and inconsiderate would be a more accurate description of what you were dealing with. If you ask them they will claim to have already known about the spot and say that they were planning on fishing there anyway. This may be true but if they know about that spot they must have others that they could fish since you were already fishing this one. I don’t know about you but i prefer not to fish in a crowd so i try new spots all the time and pass up old reliable ones if someone is already there. What you described hasn’t happened to me in quite a while but i have had several run ins with very inconsiderate people, mostly on lake minnetonka, in the past and it drives me nuts. I used to confront them but have lost some of my fire and i just move on to something different. most of the people that do this will not be able to figure out what you were fishing or be able to find it again(even with a gps) or be able to catch a fish there so next time you come out it should be waiting for you.

You must not fish tonka much. They do the same thing while bass fishing out there. Boy does it urine me off.

My Dad was a master angler in many ways. One thing he would try to do was keep a nice big old nasty bullhead, dogfish, sheephead, whatever in the boat. Then when one of those idiots pulled up and asked how he was doing, Dad would proudly display the dogfish and say “Great! This place is full of these things!!!”. Most of the time they’d quietly leave.

Rootski

It is sad that we all have to deal with this regardless of what species you fish for. However I can say that us bass guys are typically more courteous of spots I guess the only way to get rid of them is to buy a paintball gun

It’s just a fact of life if you fish in the metro area. Personaly, if someone is fishing a spot I know of, I’d rather not draw more attention to it by fishing right next to someone.

Also, the same thing happens to me while fishing for bass on Tonka, but what are ya going to do, stop fishing??? Yeah right.

The Best thing that happens when someone pulls up on one of your spots is to calmly catch a few in front of them and start laughing about how easy the fish are coming. When they struggle to get any they will end up leaving discouraged. That will show them.

Connor, this has nothing to do with species you are fishing, but courtesy of the other anglers. If you are on Tonka, you better plan to have company. It doesn’t matter where I fish on that lake, if I got a spot to myself, I will attract a boat or two by the time I’ve worked an area. Sadly it’s metro fishing.

Very true Kooty.

Even the cruisers on Tonka will run you over.

But for some odd reason, when hucking 4oz wood for muskies, most boats stand clear of me.

I troll a lot and I have had boats jump right in behind me not realizing I am longlining. My attitude now is if my spot(s) have boats on them it’s a good time to try some exploring. It’s just something you deal with. As the weather gets colder I eventually have the lake to myself for a few weeks. Except for Kooty and Gary anyway.

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The spot was very small, maybe 15 square feet

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lol, that’s pretty small, you boat is about 70-80sq ft.

Thats my point bud

Honestly, work those areas!!!! Even the small ones!!!!

People will come and go. Since you are on the “spot on the spot”, the others will come and not catch fish and leave. They won’t come back. Especially since YOU are catching fish and THEY are not!

Nothing is more humbling than watching another guy pound fish after fish in front of you, while you are on the “same spot” catching nothing…….