# Drifting for walleye at Pymatuning



## danpecc (May 30, 2005)

For several years my sons and I enjoyed what seemed like a perfect formula for Pymatuning walleyes -- drifting with crawlers on floating jig heads, along the bottom. We had several hot spots, all just northeast of Birch's Livery, about halfway between the west side of the lake and the center. The approach seemed deadly, especially on days when the drift was swift. 

So far this year, the same tactics have proven miserably ineffective, even on excellent drift days.

Can anyone suggest any other good locations for Pymatuning 'eyes?


----------



## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Could there be zebra mussells in there? If so you may have to fish the weeds in that area or go deeper during the day. The lake is a lot clearer than it use to be. Gotta change tactics.


----------



## Net (Apr 10, 2004)

Wish I knew the answer, danpecc. I always called that area the triangle...with the 3 points being Birchs, the Orchard Launch (PA), and the cabin beach. We scored a big goose egg there the week of July 4th. 

IMO, the remaining walleye seem to be forming smaller and smaller groups, with no undersized walleye taking their place. Yellow perch have clearly filled the void in the food chain. 

Chaunc, I hear what youre saying about the zebra mussels. The water did seem oddly clear given the large amount of rain they had the week before we arrived and the entire week we were there. But it was also strange to not find the well defined weed edges that Im accustomed to.


----------



## Guest (Jul 21, 2008)

there are fewer eyes in the lake these days. few smaller fish. are you aware of the problems the lake is having? the stockings just haven't taken in the last few years. a lot of the veterans have taking to deep water trolling, some with leadcore. weeds would definately be another choice. it's been a few years, but i always liked the west shoreline north of the causeway and the humps on the north end also. my buddy tells me the amish have still been hitting, so you may want to look for straw hats. mimic what they are doing.


----------



## marshal45 (Mar 8, 2007)

I fished there this past friday morning from 7am to 10 am and saturday from 6am to 10am and had in my opinion great success. We landed 13 walleye 5 of which were over 6lbs and the smallest was 22" and 2 fish ohio's. I was blown away as it seemed I was fishing lake erie with the sizes we pulled out. I had two monsters come off at the boat b/c they were too big for the net. Most were caught in 18 - 20 ' of water on hot n tots. Crayfish colors worked well but we also caught our fair share on light colors as well. I will be going back real soon.


----------



## k_redball (Jul 11, 2007)

wow marsal45, either we are missing something or you had a lucky day. Is there anything special you do??? And as size goes, ive havent caught a fish under 18in in pymatuning in about 4 years.


----------



## marshal45 (Mar 8, 2007)

It must have just been pure luck but things just seemed to be going right. I fished with 2 other guys and we could not believe it. We were well away from the pack of boats as I am not sure what they were fishing for. The fish were hugging the bottom and I noticed if you were too far off the bottom, you would miss them. It was a bit difficult as the depth changed quite frequently. The only thing I can say is thank you Leadcorebean a member on this site who took a lot of his time this year to show me the ropes and give me some good pointers. The fish were all over the lake as we marked them well and didnt catch them in one particular area.


----------



## mark34 (May 4, 2007)

I've fished mith Marshal45 before and I can verify what he said...IT MUST HAVE BEEN PURE LUCK!! Just kidding.


----------



## k_redball (Jul 11, 2007)

hey marshal, how far do you have to let out your line and what type of line do you use???Because I have trouble getting my hot n tots on the bottom and I think that could contribute to my lack of success!!


----------



## Guest (Jul 23, 2008)

k, two ways. leadcore or get yourself a precision trolling guide. it will tell you how far back for how deep and what weight plug you are pulling. the book makes it easy.


----------



## marshal45 (Mar 8, 2007)

rapman said it right. I use both methods.


----------



## wallytroller (Jul 24, 2008)

Early season it is jigging for me. After mid-june trolling hot-n-tots with leadcore works. 2 to 3 fisj a day is a good day on this lake anymore. But the size of these fish ar impressive.


----------



## leadcorebean (Jul 17, 2006)

hey marshal bet u cant pull 18 walleye in 4 hours with 3-5's beating u up!!! maybe some day ill take u to pymo and show u my real secret spots


----------



## marshal45 (Mar 8, 2007)

Leadcorebean, I am not going for carp at pymatuning I go after walleye. I thought your secret spots were for carp, LOL.


----------



## danpecc (May 30, 2005)

... but Saturday turned out to be pretty lousy. No walleye, no decent-size crappie and a bazillion perch. Oh, well. Drift fishing for walleye sure used to be fun. Maybe when they figure the population issue out, the good fishing will return. Sad to see such a beautiful lake lose its edge.


----------



## marshal45 (Mar 8, 2007)

danpecc, did you try crawler harnesses with a small egg sinker to get it down. Once it gets to the bottom just pump it in slowly ticking the bottom on the way down but making sure the blades are spinning. Look for the drop offs where it goes from 15' to 20 feet.


----------



## danpecc (May 30, 2005)

Marshal - Thanks for the response. I haven't been in this forum for a while. No, I've never tried harnesses with blades. But I will! I'll let you know how they fare.


----------



## true2plue (Jul 12, 2004)

Net said:


> Wish I knew the answer, danpecc. I always called that area the triangle...with the 3 points being Birchs, the Orchard Launch (PA), and the cabin beach. We scored a big goose egg there the week of July 4th.
> 
> IMO, the remaining walleye seem to be forming smaller and smaller groups, with no undersized walleye taking their place. Yellow perch have clearly filled the void in the food chain.
> 
> Chaunc, I hear what youre saying about the zebra mussels. The water did seem oddly clear given the large amount of rain they had the week before we arrived and the entire week we were there. But it was also strange to not find the well defined weed edges that Im accustomed to.


Growing up our family made several trips to Pymatuning throughout the year, and had great success catching eyes in the shallow weedbeds. I heard that the sailboaters were getting tired of their boats getting stuck in the weeds, so they put some weed killer sollution in the water on the PA. side. Bye bye weedbeds!! Any truth to this?


----------

