Dear editor:
The adage to the characteristics of walleyes’ sensitivity to extreme light is definitely a myth as I have ecperienced great walleye fishing during this type of weather condition.
To the knowledge of most anglers on hot, sunny days, these fish are deep and generally feed at night.
When the fishing is tough, this is the reason most anglers use for an excuse, but not a good one because the deeper the fish, the easier they are to catch.
It is when they are shallow that the fish are harder to get; besides, who would run their boat in four feet of water or less.
Believe me, when fishing on real hot, bright sunny days, try casting light or floating lures or if you do not cast, work a planer board which can follow closer to the shore while the boat is out far enough not to spook the fish.
On one of the hottest sunny days last week while pre-fishing for bass, I stumbled onto another exceptional walleye catch by casting a Beatle-Spin with a blue and silver fleck double twister tail into a boulder-studded point. I caught a 23-inch walleye.
I caught five more in a row but they were too big to keep. Then I missed a couple of casts but came back with three straight; again, all too big to keep.
Forgot all about looking for bass and kept on fishing to see if maybe I could get my limit of four, which took the 23rd to get it.
The smallest walleye caught was 17.5 inches with the largest one measuring out at 31 inches; the rest ran about 22-25 inches.
This took around an hour of fabulous fishing under blue sky and 97 plus degrees in temperature.
So the theory of the pickeral sensitivity to bright sunshine and colder water can be thrown out the window. So the next time under the same weather condition and your luck is negative, give it a try. You won’t be sorry you did.
This brings up a point I cannot understand and that is live bait is used in all walleye tournaments when you can catch them on artificial lures probably easier than bass. There are many stories of anglers stressing if it would have been a walleye tournament, they would have won it hands down.
I only believe that you are a professional angler when you can out- fox the fish with artificial means, otherwise, you are an amateur if live bait is required.
Think about it and act accordingly. The satisfaction will be rewarding to say the least.
Signed,
Michael J. Baranowski
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
