# How the heck do you catch a walleye??



## FlashyDude1000 (Mar 5, 2005)

Alright... I live near Grand Lake St. Mary's and i'v been there about 5-6 times so far this season... and everytime i go everybody says man the Walleye are really biteing below the spillway... so i go there and always come up empty... i never have the guts to ask anybody what they used to catch'em... so i'm askin here... whats the best lures, baits, tactics to catch this type of fish??


----------



## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

One good lure would be a small lead head jig tipped with a monnow in about any color with Chartreuse being a favorite.


----------



## ShakeDown (Apr 5, 2004)

I've never fished Grand Lake, or any spillway before for that matter. From what I've read on the site, it does seem like the typical goto baits for spillway eyes are usually either jig/tails, or suspending cranks like husky jerks and rogues.


----------



## Reel Lady (Jul 4, 2004)

Hi Flashydude  I see that you are a new member to OGF....Welcome to the _best_ Ohio Fishing Resource that one could ever hope to find. 
I'm not really a "Walleye" person, but I do pay attention to what I read and hear regarding any species of fish. 
I know that walleye like deeper water. This time of year, I think that live bait will out perform artificial. Maybe try vertical presentation with a jig tipped with a minnow or worm? Or a vertical jigging spoon? I know that out on Lake Erie that trolling with Erie Deeries work great. But this time of year, because the water is so cold, you want to offer them an easy meal, not something that they will chase. So basically, it needs to be presented right in front of their faces  As the water warms, they will get more and more active and go into their Prespawn feeding mode. 
I hope this helped, and like I said, I really don't target Walleye and my advice is not based on experience, it's just fragments of what I have read or heard. 
Good Luck to you!
Reel Lady (Marcia)


----------



## FlashyDude1000 (Mar 5, 2005)

awesome! good stuff! alright gotta nother question then... this doesn't really envolve walleye, but just fishing in general... am I more likely to get a bite with a jig tipped with a maggot or worm rather then just hook and worm??


----------



## Reel Lady (Jul 4, 2004)

All you have to do is _"Think like a fish"_ 
and everything will be okay...;-)


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

FlashyDude1000,
Welcome to the site. You came to the right place to get answers. Unfortunately I am not familiar enough with St. Mary's to be the one to answer completely. I don't want to sound picky but I know you mentioned "walleye" and I am not sure whether there are actually walleye in St. Mary or not but I am pretty sure there are saugeyes. I know they look very, very similar but the tactics for targeting them cam vary somewhat. Saugeye tend to stick much closer to the bottom in most cases than do the walleye. Therefore, you will want to be fishing on or very near the bottom with whatever lures/bait you choose. If you do some searches for spillway saugeyes I am sure you will find some tips.

Good luck to you.


----------



## JIG (Nov 2, 2004)

hey guy! I like if u think like one u catch one! FUNNY!  My mother tells me that!  I like the jig minnow combo as much as the next guy. Sometimes its worms and sometimes minnows and such. All great stuff! But sometimes the flash off a jig and spinner will work. The wire barb prevents hang ups and controls fall. Tip it small for sent only.Got to be willing to try new things with-out the snags!


----------



## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

At this time of year use a jig/trailer combo with some taste io it like worm or minnow and a taste not the whole thing LOL... That is a start plus as stated stay in contact with the bottom and you can't go wrong...
Don't get stuck doing one thing adjust till you find what works for you GOOD LCUK


----------



## Hooch (Apr 14, 2004)

I heard that Grand Lake St. Marys was one of the few inland lakes stocked with Walleyes. I'm not sure of the other lakes, but Grand Lake was one of them.
-Hooch-


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Hooch said:


> I heard that Grand Lake St. Marys was one of the few inland lakes stocked with Walleyes. I'm not sure of the other lakes, but Grand Lake was one of them.
> -Hooch-


 I did not realize that Grand Lake was one of the lakes. I believe a couple of the other ones are Berlin and CJ Brown.


----------



## Net (Apr 10, 2004)

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Fishing/freport/Prospects_d5_05.htm#grandlakestmarys


----------



## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

THANKS Terry nice link that I have never viewed before...


----------



## Procraftboats21 (Apr 6, 2004)

mosquito and milton are stocked with walleyes as well


----------



## tank68 (Mar 31, 2005)

In Crawford county the released they released alot of the saugeye last spring and in the fall they were around 8in. or so. Just to let y'all know


----------



## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

so is Ladue Res


----------



## bubbahunter (Apr 6, 2004)

Ok maybe i should pay more attention to things going on around here.since i live 10min fron the spillway maybe i can help.i have picked them up on 1/8oz jig heads color of your choice,i tie 2 jig heads on about 12" apart and slow roll the bottom has worked well for me.heres a few that i got out of there.If you want to hit it one evening let me know and i`ll go with ya.

Bub


----------



## Spidey2721 (Apr 6, 2005)

Ok here is a question for you all. At a local res here in Lima we used to troll erie deries tipped with night crawler. Only caught cats. Does this mean that we may need to go deeper? Or are we too deep?

later,
jay


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

It is hard to tell the exact anser in your situation. It could just be that the catfish were hungrier when you were there. I have had day when the catfish outnumber the 'eyes. You mentioned that you may have not been deep enough and by that I am assuming you with the lure and not the actual water depth. One thing I often try to do with 'eyes is work the bottom. If I run worm harnesses I try to make contact with the bottom with a bottom bouncer to ensure that I am working my harness right near the bottom. Even beyond that pay attention to the makeup of the worm harness because different material will have different bouyancy. If your harnesses have styrofoam floating bead along with the plastic beads then that harness will ride higher in the water than one without the foam floats. Do some experimenting to find out the right one. We go to Canada every summer and I find that we do fine with the floating harnesses early in the morning but as the sun gets higher the non floating style will far outperform the floating style.


----------



## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

> harnesses have styrofoam floating bead


Like to know where you get those?? I could use them now and then when I want to stay above the weeds or what have you but have never seen any anywhere... ever...


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I bought several of them at Wal Mart but I am not sure what the brand is. I will try to take a look at them tonight if I think about it. I tried to find them on the Cabelas web site and like you said they are not that easy to find.


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I was thinking they were Lindy rigs and I found the floats on the Bass Pro Shops site.











If you were making your own harnesses these would work great. One or two of these give just enough lift to the harness to make the difference. The harnesses that I had were 24" with two float along with a couple of beads.


----------

