FISHING FOR GIANT GREAT LAKE WALLEYE

This early fall trip to the Great Lakes meant big walleye on the move. I started with a jig and minnow, but reaction baits took over fast, with a bucktail jig doing the real damage. Watch as I track giant fish across shifting structure, chasing the kind of early-season walleye every angler hopes to find. Video premieres today at 5:30pm, link below[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/v-waYa7D-tg[/YOUTUBE]

Well you had a great season chasing the monster walleye this year. I am sure you have helped some anglers in their quest to find and catch more walleye. Always nice to see someone willing to pass on some good tips to others that might struggle out on the water. Sometimes fishing can be frustrating just finding the fish, and then you still have to hook and net them. That walleye you caught with the active wound on it's side can happen from time to time. All fish get itchy for one reason or another. Parasites or some type of infection on or under the scales etc. The Quagga or Zebra mussels are not the root cause of the wounds on fish that look like that. Fish purposely rub themselves on rocks, logs, sand or anything abrasive to relieve the itchy sensation on their skin. Some fish like pike and muskie transfer infections/parasites to one another by rubbing against each other to relieve the itch. Some fish that are infected with a parasite/virus can develop worse visible symptoms. I have commented a few times on this topic when a member had brought it up, with a question on what causes these ugly wounds. Most fish recover from these unfortunate circumstances, but not all. That particular walleye you caught may have in fact rubbed itself purposely on the sandy bottom, where there was some mussels. The invasive Zebra And Quagga mussels have been in our lakes almost 40 years now, but are not primarily the cause of these wounds. Fish have been scratching/rubbing on any rough surface since before we were all in this country. That walleye you caught should heal up over the winter in the cold water, but if that water was warm it may be a different story. Anyway, looking forward to your next video from the boat, in the spring I guess. Stay safe. Here is an example of two fish that I caught with an issue. One has a parasite, the other has a virus caused by a parasite. Fish similar to this will probably shed their affliction and survive. But some scratch/rub themselves so much that the wound becomes infected and could kill the fish. The animal kingdom is a beautiful place, but many times cruel to itself. Not to mention the invasive species and pollution we placed into it.

That looked like a lot of hard work on a very long day. But, the rewards are incredible. Huron walleye sure are golden. Keep the videos coming.

Thanks for watching crappeeemannn! Yea it definitely makes sense, usually I get walleye with sores on them and those look like pretty obvious infections! This one looked like it was scraped all along its side! So definitely possible they do this sort of thing to provide relief from an infection/ parasite! The animal kingdom can definitely be a cruel place as you say. Just posted another video from early fall, have a bit of a backlog of unedited stuff just because its hard to find time with work and all! There will likely be just one more open water video going up this year from a late fall trip I did and that’ll be it for 2025 open water fishing!

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It can be tough on the great lakes! Very big, very old, very smart fish, add the ultra clear water to the mix and you really have to work for those bites. Definitely VERY rewarding though. Thank you for watching and will do!