NIGHT PATROL WALLEYES

(author's note: I chose to run this blog early in the season because it takes time to find spots like this, and to gear up for the opportunity. If you are able to find a spot like this, trust me, you will treasure it.)

Once Halloween has passed, a new cold-weather creature comes out at night – and this one stalks big walleyes. You’ll spot this stalker at river mouths, at the deep end of piers, along rocky shorelines, on jetties, and most places where deeper water on the Great Lakes swings in close enough to shore that it can be reached with a rod and reel rig capable distance casting. Sometimes clad in chest waders, and at other times in coveralls paired with long hip boots, this walleye killer often shows mercy, releasing big fish as soon as they are reeled in.

These are the fearless members of the night patrol: anglers who have learned that big glass-eyes make a shoreward run during the late-fall season just as they do during the spring. Intercept these active fish, and you’ll get a bunch of great new stories to tell around the campfire.

I’ve got a pair of Jim Grandt rods ( www.grandtrods.com) that have proven their worth in this situation many times. The model XLH70, six-foot, six-inch spinning rod coupled with a “long-cast” style (extended spool) reel spooled with twenty-pound test Cortland Spectron line is a classic. Equally well suited to this task is the seven-foot model C-10 “All American Pro Series” medium/heavy action casting rod, a low-profile casting reel and the same line.

Pair these rods with three and one-half inch to five inch minnow-imitating lures, four inch soft plastic grubs or shad imitators on three-eights ounce jigheads, or one-half ounce Lewis Rat-L-Trap lures (especially the “glow” models), and you are basically ready to go. Tie on a strong snap to help in changing lures without having to re-tie.

Finding a productive spot may take a little detective work. Experienced night patrol members are likely to be tight-lipped about their favorite destinations. Friends that have been doing this in Michigan for many years wear dark colors, avoid using lights (when fishing from shore), and don’t even talk much while casting. You can find potentially good spots by consulting detailed topographic maps, asking discreetly at bait shops, and simply keeping your eyes open and ears on “high alert” for clues.

I once found a couple good places by noticing that nearby motels always had angler’s trucks and/or boats in their parking lots during the day, but the same lots had only tourist’s cars in them at night. The night patrol members were obviously fishing after dark and sleeping during the day! In another area of the Great Lakes, I knew a waitress at a local diner who revealed some information from overheard conversations at breakfast tables.

And how long does this big fish bonanza last? Well… I’ve seen boats catching big walleyes as long as open water allows it, often mid-December. The anglers casting from shore seem to get results through November on the upper Great Lakes.

This type of fishing will probably never become main-stream. It requires too much effort, cutting back on sleep, dressing for cold weather, fishing under sometimes uncomfortable conditions, not being able to find any friends willing to brave the elements, and related challenges. I’ll tell you this much however, enjoy one memorable night patrol trip for big marble-eyes with sagging bellies stuffed with smelt and other oily forage, and you’ll be hooked!