Fishing Lures - Walleye Fishing Lures, Walleye Habitat, Walleye Biology

The Walleye may not win too many beauty contests, but when it comes to a shore lunch, it plays second fiddle to no fish. Walleye flesh is not oily, has little fat, it freezes well, and is easy to clean. In fact with it's course scales for good gripping, it's one of the easiest fish to clean. In many areas, the Walleye is the favorite sport fish.

Recommended Walleye Fishing Lures

Crankbait Fishing Lures

Walleye Diver - a 4" deep running crankbait fishing lure

Walleye Slayer - a 3 1/2" medium running crankbait

Shad Classic - a 3 3/4" medium depth Crankbait

Injured Minnow - a 3 3/4" shallow running Crankbait

Soft Plastic Fishing Lures

3 1/2" Shad Grub - use with a jighead

3" Soft Plastic Leech - a bottom lure, work slowly

4"Disc Grub - impregnate with scent, use as a jig

Habitat : Walleye have a large distribution, and are common in larger lakes and rivers through northern U.S. and much of Canada. They live in a variety of lake and river types, and typically are bottom dwelling fish. Their eyes are very light sensitive, and clear lakes on bright days they certainly will go deep, while turbid or stained waters can see fish movement even on bright days. They tend to be inactive in deeper waters during the day, moving to shallow bars and bays as evening approaches. They loosely school, and finding one fish is a good reason to keep fishing in an area. In mid-summer, walleye tend to stay deep. In winter, they remain active and are a very popular species through the ice. Walleye are generally nocturnal, and are active. They will seek out their food, and take advantage of inactive, resting bait.

Biology : In the early spring, Walleye move to wind swept rocky shores, and inlet streams with gravel bottoms to spawn. Females are generally larger than males, and when spawning, several males usually milt the eggs at the same time as the female is laying them. Spawning lasts 1 night, and the eggs are left on their own after that time. The eggs will hatch in a varying amount of time depending on water temperature, anywhere from 7 to 26 days. Young Walleye are particularly immobile when young, and many species feed on the fry, including it's cousin the Yellow Perch. As Walleye are a prime predator of Perch, an overcatch of Walleye tends to lead to an abundance of Perch, which increases mortality on Walleye fry. Retaining a proper balance for these species is critical. Female Walleye grow faster and bigger than males. Lifespan is generally 7 years. The world record is 25 pounds.

Walleye Fishing Tips : In most bodies of water, dawn, dusk, and after dark are the best times to fish Walleye. There are a wide variety of ways to catch Walleye, including live bait like minnows and worms, spinners, crankbaits, and jigs. Generally the lure or bait is kept close to the bottom, and retrieved slowly. Walleye are deliberate eaters, and you need to ensure you don't pull the lure out of it's mouth by striking too early. In the spring, Walleye can be around their spawning areas post-spawn, and trolling in shallow water, or casting small jigs near shore can work well. Bright colors are best used in the spring. The smaller males tend to hang around more than the females. In the summer, Walleye go deeper, and hang around shoals and gravel bars. They also hang around the mouths of rivers, and drop offs. When a lake has a flat bottom, often weed beds are used to gain shelter from the sun. Fish can slow down in the summer, but can be caught with jigs, and trolling deep running crankbaits. In the summer, more natual colors are best, those immitating baitfish. In the fall, Walleye can become hard to catch, as they tend to suspend in big pools in rivers, and deeper areas in lakes. It is important to use a fish finder to determine the levels the suspended fish are at, then jigging or trolling crankbaits at the proper depth can be productive.




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Walleye and Walleye Fishing Lures