# shore eye advice needed



## amorican

i'm aware this has probably been asked a million times, so if there's a thread to point me to, please lemme know.

but what's the deal on fishing from shore for walleye? i tried it a handful of times last year with a couple different color husky jerks and caught an eye, it was on the small side, but still, i got one. but it was a lot of time standing in the cold for one fish.

is it best to fish from the beach? from a breakwall? i can get to both. from the breakwall the water is anywhere from 0 to 20ft deep. i tried the other night (first attempt this year) and twice i musta pulled my HJ thru a school of bait fish, cuz i pulled in two shad....and they were jumping like mad. so there is some activity. what about live bait? crawlers under a bobber? would that work?

sorry, i'm asking a lot of questions here, but i've come home empty handed way too many times and i'm ready to hang it up with the night eyes idea. any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## Wannabitawerm

If you gotta ask, you wouldn't understand.

I fish from the rocks and sometimes piers. This year has had a slow start for the shore bite, but as the weather cools more, it should improve.

Be patient and just like deer hunting, if you don't put the time in, your chances decrease. Remember this, KEEP IT SLOW, slow retrieves are the key. Live bait has it's day, but if the shad are that thick, what are the chances of the fish catching your bait compared to the millions surrounding it. HJ's and the like create more vibration as well as a bigger profile, plus the color sometimes makes them look "different". It is the same reason a walleye hits a crawler harness. Most walleye never see a flashing worm, but it looks different. Keep at it, search the threads on here for more than my advise, (believe me, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer!) and if you need to, give it a rest for a little bit. Wait until the reports get a little more consistent.

Hope this helps.


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## BigMha

i agree...If you gotta ask, you wouldn't understand. it's sorta like the guy who fishes for steelhead without waders...you are limited to the areas you can fish. for me, since i don't have a boat, it's pretty much my only way to tie into a walleye. and it is called FISHING, not catching...sometimes you catch them sometimes you don't....i'd chill for a while, and wait for word that the fish are being caught regularly...right now, they aren't, and it's easy to say, "screw this", when you aren't catching anything....when i hear of anything, i'll post it.


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## I Fish

Don't just limit yourself to HJ's. try different stick baits, or even divers like a shad rap. I was out once, went bite-less for hours for 2 nights and tried everthing "conventional". Nobody around me caught a fish either, so I didn't feel quite as bad. Then this guy comes along, made 10 casts and landed 4 fish in a matter of minutes using a swim bait. Nobody in our party had one. But that was what made the difference, just a different bait. We had them the next night, and caught several limits. Put a HJ back on and didn't get a tap. Also, everybody says to twitch and stop, twitch and stop, but I've caught them on a slow steady retrieve, so slow, you can't feel the bait. The nice thing after dark is other people can't see what you are doing, so if you get them on a slow retrieve, nobody else knows it. I would try a shad rap from that breakwall.


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## amorican

apologies for resurrecting such an old thread but didn't make sense to start another for the exact same subject. can't believe how many years it's been but i'm getting back into this thing.

so my question is - when is a good time of night to try from shore? i not looking for a specific time, obviously - but, am i wasting my time going right after the sun goes down? the later, the better? any idea? 

thanks. i'm determined to understand these walleye!


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## OnTheFly

I know for saugeye on inland lakes I will be out anytime between sundown and sunup. I will hit anytime inbetween here. Dark is key, 11-2am is what I fish a lot.


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## amorican

OnTheFly said:


> I know for saugeye on inland lakes I will be out anytime between sundown and sunup. I will hit anytime inbetween here. Dark is key, 11-2am is what I fish a lot.


thanks for tip.


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## MadMax1

Did the first 2 of our fall shore casting season last night between 8-10pm! One of which was a 29" fatty - belly packed full of shad. We shine our head lamps into the surf, look for the reflection of the eyes, then cast to them. Both were perched up in 2' of water. Id recommend focusing where rivers / creeks empty into the lake.


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## Tinknocker1

do you guy's fish with your lights on all the time ? i have tried it both ways and it never seemed to matter caught fish with the light on and off


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## MadMax1

We'll just turn them on to scan the water every few minutes. I have noticed that it doesn't really throw the bite off though.... Seems somewhat odd for a light-sensitive fish, i'll take it!


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## Tinknocker1

MadMax a few years ago we had pretty much open water all winter i fished Christmas eve i left my light on and caught plenty of saugeyes i just kept the light on the rod tip pretty much .. we used to fish the over pass at Clendening on 799 and a guy would light the place up and we caught fish .... thanks for your reply


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## RiparianRanger

.


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## Tinknocker1

i haven't fished it for 10 or 12 years used to be easy to get to but it gets real crowded .......


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## RiparianRanger

.


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## Tinknocker1

i never tried fishing it through the day always fished it at night ..if you have a lake close to home with a good saugeye population my opinion fish it . one is just as good as the other this time of year ..unless your up for a road trip or just want a change of scenery by all means fish it ...


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## Capt. Crude

I fish shallow water for eyes, and we keep our head lamps off, unless netting.... With clear water especially, just my two cents. You can see those fish freak out as soon as they see that light... I recommend keeping darkness..


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## percidaeben

Amorican, go to the Central Ohio Forum right now and read the thread titled Rainy Night Bite Jerk's Limit! If your fishing inland lakes for eyes, this thread is full of fantastic information.


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## jason_0545

I fish a small inland all the time...I've heard of eyes being caught there....I've thown everything but the kitchen sink around 99 percent of this thing...And I was just short of calling everyone who saie they have caught or seen one a liar!...So when guy who isn't fishing come down the bank and says he has been seeing them...I tell him basically I've heard it before and i dont beleive it...be walks away and leaves...not 10 minutes later boom...17 inches on a half is redeye shad trap....my first ever!...try a trap...what's it gonna hurt? Lots of vibration and u can sling one a mile....I know some guys who throw 3\4 at the Huron pier...def don't give up...every dog has it's day...I cant promise u a fish if you go...no-one can...but here's one guarantee I will make you....you won't get one if you don't go....go outside the norm...I may get slayed on here for this by ppl who know way better then I do....so be it...good luck man


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