Night Time Revisited

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I've blogged but that is only because I haven't had anything interesting to say...until now.

Last year I had great success catching walleye at night during the fall. I found what I thought was a pattern and decided to see if it would hold true this year. A pattern is only good if it holds true from year to year. To understand this pattern, lets review some history about Boysen reservoir.

Boysen Reservoir has been known by Wyoming anglers as a hot spot for walleye since the 1970's. In fact, the last time Boysen was stocked with walleye was late in the 70's. All the walleye being caught today are a self sustaining population. It is amazing to me that there is a fishery that has that kind of quality from year to year and yet it is not stocked. There are very few reservoirs that can boast that.

Since you have a self sustaining population of a predatory fish, one would think that they would have a pattern. Well, that would be a good assumption. Not only do they have a pattern, but it is very predictable during certain times of year.

People look at the pictures of the walleye that I catch and say, "Wow, where did you catch those?" Then they ask, "How do you keep finding those trophy fish?" Well, it is as easy as following the food. If you know what walleye want to eat and where that food will be, then you will catch them. I attribute it to knowing what they want, it is definitely not luck.

Walleye are predatory and like to eat smaller fish. They follow the food all year long, no matter what. Once you know where the food is, there the walleye will be also. Good stuff right?

Now I am guessing that you want to know my secret to where to find them on Boysen. Well, that's not going to happen today, sorry.

I will tell you what I did to catch them though. I used old reliable, my Smithwick Rogue. That lure must have the perfect rattle or something. I was able to catch all but one of my walleye on the Rogue. I have caught 6 fish 27" and over with it. So, take a hint, go out and buy this lure. Here is the link: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_37008____SearchResults

Make sure you buy the Threadfin shad. It is the color that has given me all the success. You can't go wrong with this bait, it is effective and it only costs $5.00 each. Just buy one!

Once you have your bait and know where to go, cast the lure out and work it slow/with pauses. If you do that, you will catch more fish. That is the bottom line! If you don't believe me, just look at the pictures. They work.

I had a few things working in my favor. I went fishing the night before the full moon, and the night before a cold front hit. The fish were in a biting mood. Last year, I went fishing on similar conditions and caught two 27" and one 30" walleye. So, the weather is always a factor. Make sure you do your homework before hitting the water. THIS IS KEY!!!

I have found that walleye will hold in less than two feet of water at night. So, don't be afraid to fish close to the bank. I often place my cast about 10' from the bank and work the bait parallel to the bank. If that doesn't work, cast further out until you find them.

Make sure you give this a try. Most people fish their whole lives for walleye and don't catch as many big fish as I have in the last two years. So, I must have figured something out.

Good luck out there and be safe!

Tigers

This last weekend I drove with Danny Kurttila to Utah in search of tiger muskies. You may ask, why would someone drive all the way to Utah to catch a tiger muskie. Simply because Wyoming only has one body of water with tigers and it has only a limited quantity.

So, we drove to Utah all night Friday night after work and fished Saturday and Sunday. I must admit, it was a little crazy staying up from 7:00 am on Friday till 2:00 pm on Saturday. The long hours paid off though.

We put in to the lake at 5:30 am and began to fish. I had a fish hit on my second cast and had another follow my lure to the boat only a couple casts later. I set the hook on that fish but didn't get a good hookup and he tore loose. At 6:30 Danny caught a nice 31" tiger. It was a really nice fish.

At 7:30 I hooked up with a nice 33" tiger and managed to land him. That was my first tiger ever, boy was I excited! A few casts later I caught a nice 34" tiger and he flat went crazy. It was all I could do to not have him tie me up in the trolling motor.

A few hours later I landed another 34" tiger and this fish should have cut my line. I had a 12" titanium leader on my line but he wrapped the line around his body and my 30 lb. superline was stuck in his teeth. Danny and I both thought he would break the line but somehow he didn't. I did have to re-tie though.

After that I had a lot more follows and hits but couldn't land any of them. We finally gave up and went to the hotel to rest up.

The next morning we got up at 3:45 and were on the water at 4:30. I caught a 17.5" largemouth bass right away and released him. Then the fish stopped biting until Danny caught one at 8:30 am. It was another really nice 31" tiger.

Almost five minutes after Danny caught his 31" tiger I caught a nice 34" Tiger in almost the same spot. The fish followed my bait to the boat and finally managed to hit the bait on his fourth swipe. Talk about an adrenaline rush!

We didn't catch any more fish after that but we had a great time. So, if you are wanting to catch a tiger muskie here in Wyoming, make sure you write the game and fish and let them know. Otherwise they won't stock them.

Good luck out there!

I'm Back

I haven't blogged in a long time and I apologize to my readers for that. My grandmother passed away last week and I have been really consumed with her illness for the past month or so.

I have been fishing since I last blogged and had some success. My father in law and I went to Bass Lake and caught some bass and yellow perch a few weeks ago. Jim caught two nice bass and I caught one nice bass and 2 small yellow perch. It wasn't exactly dynamite fishing but it was relaxing for me.



This weekend I plan to hit the water really hard and see if I can figure out what the walleye are doing. My plan is to explore some sunken islands and weed edges on Boysen. Hopefully I will come home with a few to replenish my supply. I cooked all my reserves for the family diner we had in honor of my grandmother last week.



I am really going to miss my grandmother. She was always an upbeat person and was super excited anytime I brought fish home. She didn't care if they were huge walleye or if they were tiny yellow perch. She was just excited because she knew that if I brought fish home, we would have a fish fry. I remember bringing home a bunch of bluegills and bluegill hybrids from Renner and she was elated. It took me two hours to clean them all but they tasted delicious. I will miss the look on her face and the sounds of excitement. But I'm at peace because I know that at least she won't have to suffer in the hospital anymore.



I hope you all get out and do some fishing here soon. Feel free to post any comments and please let me know how the fishing is turning out in the rest of the state. Be safe out there!

The Sweet Smell of Summer Walleye

I have been waiting all year and it is finally time. The early summer walleye bite is on! Now that the temperatures have come up, the walleye have spawned and the forage has moved into position. Everything is setup to make for a fantastic early season walleye extravaganza. Buckle your seat belts and get ready.

Now, since the bite is on you must get setup for success. The key in early season is to find the walleye and give them the appropriate presentation. I have found that early in the season walleye will typically hit bigger crawler harnesses, crankbaits and larger sized jigging spoons. I would troll with crawler harnesses to find the fish and use the other two options to absolutely kill the fish.

By this time of year, Wyoming anglers will be able to find walleye in the larger bays of the reservoirs and lakes. They will be from 10-25' of water depending on the time of day. Look for the walleye to be shallower in the morning and evening times and deeper during the daytime hours. Vegetation is growing in most reservoirs and the edges usually hold tons of walleye.

If you get a chance to go out on the water, make sure to target these fish and fill your dinner table with fantastic fish.

Be safe and good fishing.