Where to fish for walleye?
Derek Bierman Friday, August 05, 2005 9:03 PM
We have had several questions about walleye fishing in late summer. Daniel has some ideas for you.
There are a few different reservoirs available for nice walleyes but from what I understand, most of the panhandle is going through a severe drought with many reservoirs suffering severe drawdown. My recommendation for walleyes would be Merrit Reservoir south of Valentine. A lot of nice fish in there, plenty of trophies. You are in a win win situation there. If the walleyes aren't biting, there are some refuge lakes where you can score some nice pike and outsize panfish. An internet search on a search engine such as Yahoo or Google for Merrit Reservoir should bring you up plenty of results for lodging etc and a quick search of the Nebraska Game and Parks will help you find out the necessary info on out of state fishing licenses as well as purchase prices.
2 Comments
re: Where to fish for walleye?
Northerns- Even under the ice Northerns love weed-edges and weedy flats areas that are near to deeper water. Targeting Northerns/Musky isn't too hard! Find a weedy bay, boteneltck , or flat and bait-up with either a dead sucker/shiner or live shiner. A good way to fish for N/M is to use tip-ups. Live minnows larger Rapala-minnow Jigs work well at times. Hint- Take a cue from spear-house guys and use a decoy to attract Northerns/Muskys to your bait. IE-Drill a hole 10-12FT from your fishing hole and dump a decoy about 4-6 FT under the ice. Northerns are curious fish and WILL come to investigate.Walleyes- A little tougher to target but easier than Bass.From personal experience, I have found that Walleye (even under the ice) like the early morning-late evening to feed,(evening being best ). Use minnows/small shiners. Walleye love sunken islands, rock piles with nearby vegatation, shelfs/drop-offs. A good idea is to go where you caught them in the fall and start your hunt there. Walleye love to feed on perch, so if you decide to use a Rapala-jig use perch color and tip it with a piece of minnow or leech. Bass- It's really tough to target Bass. I have caught a handful of Bass while chasing Bluegills under the ice. So, obviously, shallow-water, weedy, areas are a good place to start. Minnows/shiners would work. Hope this helps ya? Good luck!
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