Walleye on the fly?
I am planning on fishing for walleye when the season opens next week here in upstate NY on the Susquehanna River. I have never fished for them on the fly.
Years ago however I did cacth them on white jigs while floating downriver. I was thinking of fishing for them on white and yellow clousers. Am I on the right track?
Any suggestions?
Thank you
Ed
" Fishermen, hunters, wood choppers, and others,
spending their lives in the fields and woods,
in a peculiar sense a part of Nature themselves,
are often in a more favorable mood for observing her,
in the intervals of their pursuits,
than philosophers or poets even,
who approach her with expectation."
Henry David Thoreau
Yes, you're on the right track! Clousers are THE fly for walleyes IMNSHO...
I've taken them earleir on in the season, as you'll be fishing. Good time! They do best at this time of the year here in MN towards early evening.
Five p.m. or so...Stand out in the river a little, casting parallel to shore. They come in to feed on minnows etc towards evening. You'll "know" it's a walleye by their very quick, sharp hit!
Good luck.
Jeremy.
Seems like white works well in our rivers for walleye. Clousers are excellent. White Gill Busters tied with zonker strips. White Bunnies. Main key seems to be scratching the gravel so I use a forward weighted line and a very short leader, maybe a foot to 18 inches depending on water clarity. My favorite sites are below inlet streams coming into the main river. Right now we have very high water so our fishing isn't the best.. My experience shows walleye are a wholly different fish on a fly than with the jig fishing from a boat. Better fighters. Harder hitters. JGW
Up here in Manitoba, Canada, I have had success ffing for them at river mouths and close to the head of rapids in spring and early summer. Closer to dusk, things usually get better. A pattern that has worked for me has olive over yellow crystal flash, yellow estaz body and an orange marabou throat and tail. Think of a perch at Mardi Gras! ..TIM
I have had suprising success with crayfish patterns.
What Tim said about timing is true.
I have tied another 'fly' I call a leech and Jig that imitates a black leech tied on a pink jig head that the b**t fishers use. Again another suprise result.
Thank you all for your help.
I headed out on opening day with great hope and anticipation. I got a flat tire before reaching the river and then by the time I got it patched etc., the rain started. A total wash out.
Today I got in some fishing. No walleye but I did land (and release) a smallmouth that I caught on one of my new walleye flies.
I will persist.
Thanks again
Ed
" Fishermen, hunters, wood choppers, and others,
spending their lives in the fields and woods,
in a peculiar sense a part of Nature themselves,
are often in a more favorable mood for observing her,
in the intervals of their pursuits,
than philosophers or poets even,
who approach her with expectation."
Henry David Thoreau
Ed,
I now what they say about not having sense to come in outa the rain an' all but...
....If you have a raincoat, most of my most productive days have been in the rain. Of course, depending on where you live, at this time of the season it could be wiser to stay warm...
Just an FYI.
Walleyes ALWAYS bite better on the drearier/overcast/drizzly days. By far...Unless you factor in wind and midlake rockpiles (which you don't swinging a fly rod.)
Jeremy......ahh, the memories....
[This message has been edited by Jeremy (edited 07 May 2006).]
As a follow-up to the rain thing, it's also true that walleye will tend to be in shallower on the windy side of a lake. Once I caught 'em in about five feet of water at mid-day, in August, along a windy shore where the water was a bit muddy...TIM
It was windy, cool, and I guess that I was a bit demoralized by the flat tire. Also, where I was going to fish is below a dam with a swift current and I was concerned that the rocks that I normally stand on could be slick from the rain and any mud that got tracked on them.
I'm planning to give fishing around dusk a try a couple of times later this week.
Ed
" Fishermen, hunters, wood choppers, and others,
spending their lives in the fields and woods,
in a peculiar sense a part of Nature themselves,
are often in a more favorable mood for observing her,
in the intervals of their pursuits,
than philosophers or poets even,
who approach her with expectation."
Henry David Thoreau
Well, I landed my first fly-fished walleye. I worked through more than a few of my recently tied special walleye flies. None of them produced. I was about to give up when I decided to tie on a fly that I tied a couple of years ago and never fished from what happened to be on my fly tying station at the time. It has four glass beads that are mostly clear but have a silver inside that reflects nicely. Red thread, bronze turkey marabou for the body and tail and two strands of pearl flashabou completed the fly. At 17 inches it wasn't a big walleye but that's ok. If the image doesn't show up below, you can view it at:
[url=http://www.edengelman.com/JPGONLY/walleye%20fly%20Number%201.jpg:bb379]http://www.edengelman.com/JPGONLY/walleye%20fly%20Number%201.jpg[/url:bb379]
" Fishermen, hunters, wood choppers, and others,
spending their lives in the fields and woods,
in a peculiar sense a part of Nature themselves,
are often in a more favorable mood for observing her,
in the intervals of their pursuits,
than philosophers or poets even,
who approach her with expectation."
Henry David Thoreau
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