Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species Tips for catching Walleye.

I finally catched my first walleye from our ponds. Walleyes have pretty up and down stripes. Walleyes are gold. Walleyes don't get their teeths until they get older. Lots of peoples don't know that. Walleyes are fun to catch. I fished for a long time so my brothers, TJ and Sunil, would be proud of me. I did not want them to be ashammedd of me. I was so happy to catch this Walleye. Walleyes eat minnows.

So you going to post a picture of that YP or not?!!!!


Let me guess. You did post a pic and my computer is just refusing to let me see the image...again!!

Sprk - that picture above is of a nice YP not a walleye. The walleye that length will be more slender, no stripes and the eye pupils will be much larger and glassy hollow looking. Numerous sharp small teeth will also be present on a WE that size. I find WE sometimes tricky to catch depending on season, presentation and number of WE/ac present.

I catch WE in Bill's pond every time he says I won't, or doesn't want me to....

Well Spark, I see you are bored stiff

JKB is right fellas', I know it's a YP. Just having some fun with my inability to connect with any WE today. Caught fish, but this solitary perch was as close as I got to my goal.


So saying the same thing over and over really doesn't convince everyone it's true?

Huh. How about that.

I'll bet you that both that striped fishie and the WE taste similar.

Bill, I think you bit harder than the YP. HA HA, you should stay up north where ya can think more clearly. Nice visit by the way.

Spark. Don't dismay; you very well might catch a walleye some day. And, I'll be following this great funny thread when you do.
After many, many , many years of trying to catch walleye, not very seriously and in marginal walleye habitat, I caught my very first. It was about 8" long and in the belly of a 4 pound NP! I'm counting it...

Totally counts, 4corners. Thanks for sharing!

I know you don't want to hear this, Sparkie, after having been subjected to the full rigor of the scientific method in another thread. But I'm going to say to you anyway.


This is what a previously healthy walleye looks like when it's been fed pellets in cold water.

Bravo! my friend, well played. I wish I had thought of that.

Dangit man! That was helpful! Lol lil more salt if you please


Pat W

Well done tony! Tell us more about angling that beauty.

You didn't have to let me off that easy TJ, what with me showing apparent disdain for all of your fine advice and all.... I'll try harder next time!

I'm assuming a female, but can't quite tell. Was she gravid? Did you check the vent for a crescent shape? Length? Rig, bait, etc?

I figured it for a larger male, (it wasn't swollen like I thought a female should be at this time of year?) but my experience is very limited. Didn't get any specs, just photo and release.

When I went to buy minnows, the only bait shop in town was closed. This put me in the curious position of having to set minnow traps to try and catch the very thing my management strategy is working to reduce. I was able to catch a few 1-1.5" fish, but of course they were bluegills, so less than ideal.

I fished them on the bottom, hung them beneath a float, tried every location I could imagine. Nothing. Went through all the bait trying to keep fresh, lively specimens on the hook. Nothing.

Then came the perch, while fishing a sunken tree. After that I switched gears and caught bluegills and a couple bass. No big fish, and no real numbers of fish....pretty unexceptional.

In truth, I wasn't surprised. I only added a handful of WE fingerlings last year, on a last minute, here-you-go, kind of thing. Even If they survived and escaped predation, they will be scarce.
I just need to stock adequately if I intend to have these fish. I will try and source some early spring.

For what it is worth, 4 years ago my wife and I stocked walleye in our 2 acre pond as a bonus fish. The pond had an established population of LMB, BG, and CC. I have found the growth rates to be very slow. The WE were six inches when stocked. The ones I caught and released this summer were right in the 16-18 inch range. Yours might not be big enough to catch yet.

That's a possibility, thanks Nebucks!

Nebucks experience mirrors mine - I stocked 3 12-13" fish in 2010 and at least one fish survived and thrived - caught her twice both times around 20" and almost 4# - she was doing very well. I have since stocked WE four times for a total of 200 fish ranging from 6-14" and growth has been very slow. Original 50 stockers are around 14-15" now 4 years later - adding around 2" annually. I think once their gape allows them to target 3-4" BG I'll see some fast growth, but most fish aren't there yet.

On another note of potential interest...late Fall I received a delivery of 10 G fhm to restock in the BG/YP pond I had drained, seined and nuked weeks earlier. I was holding them in cages so I could carefully hand sort small batches at a time and stock the pond. Early evening I was on the dock and the green monster turned on - crazy scene revealed. The swimming motion from the thousands of FHM in the cages had called in the predators. I had big HBCP lined up around the cages trying to figure out a way inside, I surmised. So, I started netting a few FHM and tossing them in front of the fish, hoping to illicit some strikes. The HBCP went wild, and soon a few YP and smaller SMB showed up and got into the action - but the HBCP were by far the most efficient and successful at plucking the FHM - which surprised me. I had minnows swimming everywhere getting hammered on the surface, against the dock floats, against the cages, beneath the dock - lots of fun. I kept tossing in handfuls of minnows, to keep the action going, probably giggling like a schoolboy. Then, in the shadowy margins of the monster light, I was able to catch a glimpse of something big that made a strike, then quickly headed back out away from the green glow. It must have been that original big mama WE - while I didn't see her head, I did get a great shot of her from the pectoral fins on down to the tail as she slowly swam away. First time she had been spotted in 2 years, and I'd guess she'd put on another couple inches and was very rotund - guessing 5# plus. It was a great moment - hope I can tempt her through the ice this Winter, if we ever get hard water again, that is.

Catching that girl through the ice would be an awesome achievement. Anticipating great things from Nebraska!

TJ, only thing missing is the jaws music.

Yes, excited for sure - never knew the effects cages full of FHM would achieve...I might keep doing it, my hatchery delivers 1800 fhm pondside for $20. Might as well just keep getting deliveries - even though they aren't doing much for the fishery long term, they are an entertaining distraction.

Don't dismiss soft plastics. I haven't used live bait for years now since Powerbait and Gulp came out. Their minnow-shaped bait has been real productive for me for walleye in either the 2" or 3" inch size, depending on the size of bait they're used to feeding. I always like a two-jig rig as well with the top jig a foot to 18" above the bottom one. I'd try small tubes as well. I know they're dynamite at times for sauger in late winter. I've also caught a lot of 'eyes on inline spinners like Rooster tails.

The Berkley baits can be a bit pricey, but they're dirt cheap at their outlet store--fishermensfactoryoutlet.

I love the Gulp Alive minnows in 1" for BG and YP. I do well with the emerald shiner coloration.

Hate that weird stuff that they're soaking in though...what an unusual odor.