Night Walleye fishing info for a newbie.

Hey guys,

Tried walleye fishing for the first time in the spring a buddy invited me to go night fishing for walleye in the kawarthas, in the rivers near the locks plans ended up falling throug but i fished it anyways and got one in the slot.

So I want to try again now in the fall, im not asking for exact locations etc. just some info as to what the fall pattern is so i can go hunting for the structure I need. I dont know really anything about Walleye so i dont know where to start. with a young family at home night fishing is perfect for me, can get lots of time in without disrupting family time.

I assume they are pushing into the rivers following baitfish? The one fish i caught must have been pure luck, got fed up with lures not working and just threw a crawler out with a split shot and let it drift...

Thanks,

Years and Years ago (10+) I use to have luck with minnows with a few split shots and had fairly good success. A drop shot setup with minnows works well too. Rivers and Dams in the kawarthas are a good place to be in the fall for eyes. The fish you caught was not by luck, your on the right path.

hope that helps.

All you need to know right here... From my experiences there is an evening bite and then another one that's starts later.. We have all been there when the evening bite stops and we wait but just seems to stop but this is where you need to hang in there ..patience is needed now and just wait awhile and it will pick up..
Here's a great article that should help you out.... Good luck....

http://www.markmartins.net/article13.html

great read! thanks

To throw a couple of suggestions your way, in the Kawartha's the primary baitfish for walleye are perch and emerald shiners. I've caught a lot of decent sized perch on soft plastics thrown under a slip float over large weedbeds and subsequently started throwing a yellow perch patterned shadow rap which helped me catch a few bass and musky from those same weedbeds. I like the suggestion made by the article to include a shad rap in the mix, as it's got a very tight wobble which seems to really turn fish on in cold weather.

Cheers, and good luck!

Attila

I'm a bass guy but I'll throw in my 2 cents lol.

I'd fish a deep weed edge with a jig head and a minnow

Night fishing for eyes are great. Eyes love night crawlers too. As long as the rock bass don't tax it from you... Your chance are good. Minnows also do well. I want to tell you my secret weapon... But I can't.

Also note that if you use live bait you might not feel the bite. Retrieve in slowly dragging bottom and you will feel the fish on. Walleye sometimes swim up to the bait and grab it and not move... So you might think you floated and tap a rock. It may not be the case.

Best method for night time eye's is to throw cranks,I fish eyes all season at night and crankbaits are the way to go. Huskey jerks #12 are very good, you may thinks that's big but big baits at night work. Also flicker shads #7, live target perch, flicker minnow #7, Shad Rap again #7, countdown Rapala, large original rapala, black and gold are my favorite for the originals. My favorite colour for the Huskey jerk is glass perch. I also like baits with an orange belly, fire tiger is a good colour as well.

Couple of other tips, get yourself a decent head lamp and a longer handle net, nothing worse then trying to land a walleye with a pen light stuck in your mouth and a short a## handled net hahahahah. One of the best tips I can give is use the solunar charts, at night the best times are during a major or minor activity time by far, it really does not matter what time these occur at as long as your throwing during these periods. I started using these a lot this season and it works, you can see the activity begin during the start of the period, small fish and bigger fish will rise chasing minnows where an hour before the area was dead.The full moon in Oct is the best night of the season so make sure you get out, and make sure your fishing the activity periods, a minor period is 1 hour long and a major is 2 hours long that's the difference between the 2, but those are the most likely times you will get fish.

Cast a minnow into shallow rocky shoals. Works like a charm.

Thanks for all the tips guys I always check the lake simcoe forum and almost forgot i made this thread. Planning to try my luck this weekend for a night or 2. Ill def be posting a report.

Thanks for the info, unfortunately ill likely be fishing from shore, going to bring my inflatable in case its flat and calm but not a fan of boating new water in the dark, (i do have all the lights needed) especially in a smaller craft. I think we're going to be finshing near the locks so another complication im not familar with that id rather not learn about in the dark!
Lots of good information about behavior and structure they relate to though.

Amazing info, my buddy is saying carolina rigs with minnows is the ticket, but id much rater be throwing cranks if possible, will def be bringing the cranks thanks for the suggestions alot bigger than i would have likely tried.

Got a good headlamp, but my long handled net decided to jump off the boat last week, and took the top half of one of my rods with it!! Its now relaxing at the bottom of the lake now .

I'll keep an eye on the tables, never used them before, I choose my fishing days by the "when I have time" tables so i cant be picky. Looks like my buddy might flake on me again tonight...but i already got this trip cleared with the boss so im going fishing somewhere!

) My "buddy'"s friend doesnt want to share his spot and wont let me come with so im searching for somewhere to try my luck solo tonite. Probably head to the same place as last time, grab some minnows and use the tips you guys gave me this time tho.

Must be a good spot or a not so good friend.

Must be a good spot or a not so good friend.

I'm going to go with the second. Went out still, threw everything I had at them, nothing was biting. Got a single rock bass on a minnow. Tried just a worm under a float and the rock bass wouldn't even come out to play so I called it a night. Not sure if this colder weather will be good or bad but I'm gonna give it another shot tonight.

Has anyone tried the rosedale canal joining balsam and cameron? Just seeing if the walleye move through there this time of year and if so any particulars about the area?


Regards,
Mark