Early Season Ice Fishing For Walleye

So, you are interested in some early season walleye through the ice. Lucky for you, ice fishing for walleye is most productive early and late in the season. With the proper information and equipment, you'll be catching walleye in no time.

As the winter wears on, the oxygen levels in the water become lower. This causes the walleye to be less active and makes catching them very difficult. Some people say they are "hibernating" during this time. That is why fishing before and after they are "hibernating" is most productive.

The first step to be successful ice fishing for walleye, is being able to locate them. The best place to start off searching for walleye is where the open water anglers left off. If you can find structure such as rock shelves, drop offs, gravel humps or sand bars they are likely to hold walleye.

The larger the structure, the better. This means they will be more likely to hold walleye. Try jigging along the bottom of the drop off. Walleye tend to hold at the bottom, moving up and down to feed. Also try along the sides of humps in the deeper areas and at the bottom of rock shelves.

As the winter progresses, the lake loses most of its weed growth. If you can find any remaining greens in the lake, the walleye like to stay nearby. Try a spot around a weedbed that is still there. It will be one of the only ones in the lake, it doesn't give the walleye much choice!

An ice fishing flasher or fish finder makes this process significantly easier. It is pretty much impossible without one unless you fish the lake during the open water season and know the structure well.

When targeting walleye, you should switch spots every half hour at this time of year. The walleye are actively feeding, so if you have not caught one or two within half an hour, you should try your luck in a different spot. Walleye are schooling fish, so if you catch one, there are usually more nearby.

Don't forget to mark a spot when you start catching walleye. They often hold a lot of walleye throughout the winter season. Save the spot in a GPS, cell phone etc.

Now that you have located the walleye, it is time to start ice fishing. You will want to be using spoons in the 1/4-1/2oz sizes. Flashy colors that vibrate seem to catch more walleye. They allow the walleye to see and target the spoon easily. Mix up the colors to see what the walleye want.

Tipping the spoon with a scented, soft plastic minnow or grub also works great. They add scent and more action to your lure, and the walleye love it!

Drop your lure down to the bottom and crank up once or twice. Snap your rod up about a foot and follow the slack line back down with your rod tip. Watch your line carefully, you cannot always feel the walleye hit. If your line twitches or does not come back down all the way, set the hook! After jigging for a couple minutes at that depth, crank up twice and repeat higher in the water column. When walleye are active, they do not have a problem coming up higher in the water. By jigging like this, you are presenting your bait and various depths. Do this until your spoon is up near the surface.

An ice fishing flasher or fish finder also helps you to see where in the water column the fish are. This saves you time searching for the walleye and more time catching them throught the ice!

When ice fishing for walleye, you should use a medium action rod. This allows you to snap your lure up when jigging. This gives it the eratic action it needs. A light action rod will just pull the spoon up at the action will not be very good. This does make a big difference and significantlyhelps you attract the walleye.

With the proper information, right techniques and good ice fishing equipment , you will be catching walleye ice fishing in no time!

Have fun and good luck fishing!