Walleye Fishing

Fishing is a sport that most people have tried at least once in their lives. It seems that no matter where you live there is some type of fishing available; whether it is freshwater, deep sea, stream or pond. The techniques that are used vary greatly, as well as the equipment that is needed. The equipment and techniques depend upon the species that is being fished. My husband and I do a great deal of freshwater fishing. I love the action of fishing for pan fish and bass, but you cannot beat walleye fishing for the great tasting fillets.

There are many people that do not like walleye fishing because it does take practice to learn the techniques and the techniques vary from lake to lake as well as the time of the year. The walleye is available in larger lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and in Canadian waters. They can get up to nine pounds, but the best eating walleye is in the pound and a half to four pound range. Their fillets are white and flaky and very mild tasting. They are delicious baked, grilled, fried or poached. The main reason people go walleye fishing is for the great tasting fillets.

Walleye fishing is very popular on the lake where we live. In fact it is called the walleye capital of Minnesota. We are located in the central part of the state so we are only a ninety minute drive from the metropolitan area. This means that there are many people fishing on the lake year round. For walleye fishing you needed to fish close to the bottom. Depending on the weather patterns they tend to bite best in the early mornings and at sunset. Early in the season they tend to feed at night so night fishing is when most of the large fish are caught. In the spring of the year when the fish are spawning they feed so heavily during the night that the department of natural resources has ban fishing from ten o’clock at night until six o’clock in the morning for the first three weeks of the season. This is done in an effort to keep some of the larger fish in the lake for breeding. The walleye fishing season runs from the second week of May until the middle of February. The walleye tend to follow the bait fish, so where ever there are schools of bait fish the chances of hooking a walleye are good. They will bite on both live and artificial baits. In the early season we seem to catch more on plain hooks with leeches and later in the season we use minnows on colored lead head jigs. No matter how you catch them they taste wonderful. Walleye fishing provides a great treat for the family.