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MID-WINTER
WALLEYES
By Bob Jensen
During this period of the ice-fishing season, walleyes can get a little
tough to catch for some folks. There are a couple of reasons for this
slowing in the action. The primary reason is that too many anglers
who have permanent icehouses have been sitting on the same spot for
too long. If you put a house on the ice in mid-December and leave
it on that spot until you take it off the ice for the year, there
is a very good chance that you're going to wear that spot out. Some
fish will come through every now and then and they'll bite, but the
walleyes that you have caught and kept aren't coming back, and the
walleyes that you have caught and released have probably become conditioned
to lure presentations. If you want to catch walleyes this time of
year, you need to get away from the concentrations of anglers.
This is the time of year when you're going to really appreciate an
auger that gets through the ice quickly, because, for the best chance
for success, you're going to need to pop a bunch of holes. The Jiffy
Stealth augers rip through the ice quickly, and they have D-Ice'r
Armor which prevents ice from building up on the auger.
You will also want a portable shelter to break the wind and to serve
as a transport sled for our gear. The Frabill Rangers are great to
fish from and will enable you to move quickly and efficiently.
The key is to get away from the crowds. Try some of the spots where
you caught walleyes during the fall. The best spots might get the
most anglers, but some secondary spots will still hold fish, but won't
attract as many anglers. Those are the spots we're looking for.
Pop a good number of holes around the area to be fished. Once you
have the holes drilled, it's time to start fishing.
A Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon is the favorite of many walleye chasers.
The fish seem to respond to this bait quickly if they are in the area.
Keep a close eye on your electronics. If no fish are seen in five
minutes, move to a different spot. If you see fish but they don't
take the bait, try a different color, size, or a faster motion on
the bait.
In the winter, walleyes will usually be close to the bottom. A powerful
sonar like the LX-1 and LX-3 from MarCum Technologies will reveal
these bottom huggers effectively. The LX-3 enables an angler to zoom
in on a particular window anywhere from the bottom to the surface.
This is the time of year when you need to be going after the fish,
not waiting for them to come to you. Start at one hole, work the others
until you get back to the hole where you started, and eventually you're
going to get bit. Now until the end of the ice-fishing season is the
perfect time to try this technique.
For more fish-catching information, visit fishingthemidwest.com
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