# Slow start to Walleye season for competitors.



## louisvillefisherman (Jun 9, 2012)

Every season is different and this year's walleye Spring bite has been no exception, just ask the competitors in the Ohio Walleye Federation.

Sunday marked the 3rd event in their schedule and was held at Pymatuning which straddles the OH/PA State line in the North East. It was the toughest bite yet this year with only 10 or so fish being brought to the weigh in station out of 54 expert fishermen. With 27 boats entered, 6 of them managed to wet the net with only 2 of them catching more than 1 fish. That is a tough bite.

The previous contest was at Berlin a couple weeks ago (May 7), and it was also void of the kinds of numbers these guys are used to putting on the board. 30 boats, 11 fish.

Totaling the last two trips out, OWF fielded 57 boats with 114 competent anglers and only around 21 fish to show for the combined efforts!

Compare that to the OWF season opener event this year at Mosquito on April 23rd where 38 boats (76 anglers) delivered 119 fish to the scales. Those are the kinds of bags these guys are used to hauling. Imagine the discouragement these guys (and gals?) are experiencing, and they pay to play!

So just remember when you are having a tough time pulling eyes to your boat, these guys live and breathe walleye and most have not caught a single keeper in 2 the last two trips out (18 hours of fishing) and at least 12 of these guys have yet to record a tourney catch all year.

So if you are struggling so far this year you are not alone. Better days are ahead. Keep fishing and be thankful walleye fishing is not your day job! (or at least not relying on it to pay the bills anyways).

Fish up!


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## BigDaddy300 (Nov 1, 2004)

louisvillefisherman said:


> Every season is different and this year's walleye Spring bite has been no exception, just ask the competitors in the Ohio Walleye Federation.
> 
> Sunday marked the 3rd event in their schedule and was held at Pymatuning which straddles the OH/PA State line in the North East. It was the toughest bite yet this year with only 10 or so fish being brought to the weigh in station out of 54 expert fishermen. With 27 boats entered, 6 of them managed to wet the net with only 2 of them catching more than 1 fish. That is a tough bite.
> 
> ...


Not to mention the hours prefishing


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

I just got back from milton after reading this ,I feel better now. one strike .in three hrs.


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## louisvillefisherman (Jun 9, 2012)

This is a quote from Robinson's Bait Shop Facebook page about the current walleye bite at Pyma (or lack thereof) and I think this applies to Berlin as well based on my own personal observations.

"We have had allot of comments about the walleye bite not being what it should be and about the lake being sooooo weedy. So, we asked about it. The answer we got was this: First, walleye are lazy fish. They will not go in search of food if they do not have to. There is an over abundant amount of bait fish in the lake right now. The walleye just aren't hungry - yet. If this is correct, we should have a later season round of fantastic walleye fishing once the over abundance of bait fish is depleted. A second opinion is that the cold week of rain we had caused the water temperature to cool off enough to cause the fish to become sluggish. In which case, the walleye bite should pick up very soon with the warming of the lake. A third opinion is that the walleye are in the weed beds and lily pads. You just have to fight through the foliage to get to them. Now for the "weeds". We have had two winters in a row without an extended period of ice on the lake. When we have ice, it is pitch black underneath and the weeds die back to the root. Without the ice, the plant life dies back some but not all of the way. So, when spring gets here, the weeds and lily pads have already gotten a head start."


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## Team Warrior (Sep 24, 2014)

louisvillefisherman said:


> This is a quote from Robinson's Bait Shop Facebook page about the current walleye bite at Pyma (or lack thereof) and I think this applies to Berlin as well based on my own personal observations.
> 
> "We have had allot of comments about the walleye bite not being what it should be and about the lake being sooooo weedy. So, we asked about it. The answer we got was this: First, walleye are lazy fish. They will not go in search of food if they do not have to. There is an over abundant amount of bait fish in the lake right now. The walleye just aren't hungry - yet. If this is correct, we should have a later season round of fantastic walleye fishing once the over abundance of bait fish is depleted. A second opinion is that the cold week of rain we had caused the water temperature to cool off enough to cause the fish to become sluggish. In which case, the walleye bite should pick up very soon with the warming of the lake. A third opinion is that the walleye are in the weed beds and lily pads. You just have to fight through the foliage to get to them. Now for the "weeds". We have had two winters in a row without an extended period of ice on the lake. When we have ice, it is pitch black underneath and the weeds die back to the root. Without the ice, the plant life dies back some but not all of the way. So, when spring gets here, the weeds and lily pads have already gotten a head start."



I can say I have been at everyone, and usually do good in these tournament, and im the first to tell you it has been TOUGH to say the least


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## Leighway (Oct 31, 2011)

We have fished all three as well, and Team Warrior is correct. The bite at mosquito was not great, but fish could be caught both trolling and jigging. The Berlin and Pymatuning bite was brutal. That being said, though the catch numbers are down, there are some real quality fish in these lakes.


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## snapper (Aug 18, 2011)

bountyhunter said:


> I just got back from milton after reading this ,I feel better now. one strike .in three hrs.


I was out today as well. I was all over the north end of the lake, where I'm more familiar. Absolutely nothing not even a bite. I went to the south side out in front of gazebo and drifted back to bridge and got one in 8' of water on jig and crawler. Last Thursday evening I got one keeper and 1 short casting jig and crawler in 10' on north end.


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## jmshar (Jul 9, 2011)

louisvillefisherman said:


> Every season is different and this year's walleye Spring bite has been no exception, just ask the competitors in the Ohio Walleye Federation.
> 
> Sunday marked the 3rd event in their schedule and was held at Pymatuning which straddles the OH/PA State line in the North East. It was the toughest bite yet this year with only 10 or so fish being brought to the weigh in station out of 54 expert fishermen. With 27 boats entered, 6 of them managed to wet the net with only 2 of them catching more than 1 fish. That is a tough bite.
> 
> ...


Couldn't agree with you more.. My son and I were out the other day and he did manage to pull a almost FO but the bite was slow and has been the entire spring.. It will only and should get better...


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## bowhunter1487 (Aug 13, 2014)

It's a much different lake than it was 20 years ago, before the walleye crashed, I know that much.

My 3 day trip to Pymy this year was zero, zero, then a 2 man limit of 19-24 inchers. All 3 days were suboptimal walleye weather in mid April. Honestly have no clue what the difference was the day we slammed them. The fish were fat, just an awesome grade of fish, like Erie walleyes, so it makes sense that it's due to an excess of bait. 

Regardless, it's definitely a different fishery than it was 20 years ago when easy limits of starving 15-17 inchers came easy. I don't get there often enough anymore to figure out the new patterns is part of the problem. The wood structure in the lake is rapidly deteriorating. Weeds in a lot of places they didn't used to be. Dragging jigs across the bottom isn't working anymore, I can say that much. We've had some good days trolling but it's tough...go broke losing gear, tons of boats to maneuver around. Much less stressful just to troll on the big pond.


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