PRIME TIME WALLEYES AND THE SEARCH FOR PERCH - PART ONE

PRIME TIME WALLEYES AND THE SEARCH FOR PERCH
By: Ray Hansen

I like getting out well before sunrise on winter fishing trips when I’m fishing a lake that holds both walleyes and perch. I usually have a specific target for walleyes, but perch are more scattered and require more searching. In this article I’ll pass along some details about a plan I use to catch both species.

WALLEYES ON STRUCTURE

If walleyes are found in a lake, you can usually count on a “sunrise bite” at daybreak. In most cases this feeding spree occurs on well-defined structure such as drop-offs, river mouths, rock piles, on and near fish cribs, or other distinct bottom features. Accordingly, you should have some target selected and be set up there before the sun comes up.

ATTRACT SOME ATTENTION

If you fire up your locator and it shows larger marks up off bottom, you probably have some actively feeding fish on your spot. You can work a jigging spoon such as a Swedish Pimple tipped with a minnow head, a thin slice of minnow meat, or the tail of a shiner or fat-head to entice a bite. If I intend to use a whole live minnow, I normally rig a split shot and plain hook. A spoon is “flashier” than other rigs, and can be given more action through rod manipulation. I use only pieces of minnows on them since an entire minnow throws off the spoon’s action too much.

As an alternative, run a lure like the Jigging Rapala which has a horizontal orientation as opposed to the spoon’s more vertical shape. On certain mornings walleyes will respond better to one than the other. With two anglers, run both lures to find out if a preference exists.


RATTLE IN SOME ACTION

The early morning bite is almost always “short but sweet” and as the sun gets higher, the fish become less active. You can sometimes extend this bite for an extra half-hour or so by using a noisy lure with a sharp ripping motion at five minute intervals on your spot. I have a second rod set up with a one-quarter ounce Lewis Rat-L-Trap lure for this purpose. Lower it to bottom, rip it sharply upward about three feet for several cycles, then reel it in and watch your locator. If your actions pull in any fish, you’ll see them. Jig your spoon rig with a softer action to see if you can tempt another “biter” or two. After that, it’s time to look for some perch.

End of part one - check in tomorrow for part two
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008