Going to try for walleye this weekend starting with IBay

[LOSTFROMFLORIDA]

I have heard Ibay holds some good walleye if you can find them. Are there any other places in the Rochester area that might be good to start out? Oh yeah using stick baits and worm harnesses. 

[fbg14619]

Walleye in Ibay are hard to catch because there is so much boat traffic. Supposedly they bite

at dark and after dark. Have given them more than one try but have not had any sustained

success. They are a lot easier to catch at Honeoye lake.

[LOSTFROMFLORIDA]

Thanks might give that a try any particular part of the lake better than others? Also what is the prefered method? I am so used to trolling for salmon. I have never fished for walleye other than from the shore. 

[Sk8man]

Honeoye is turning over right now and  close to unfishable  with weeds, algae etc.. This was mentioned to me today by my son on the phone who lives right there. He said the kids can't even go in the water because of the algae bloom and all the floating gunk... not just usual weeds. Weed growth is at the top of the water in many places. Last year when it got like this the algae was pooled up at the south end near the launch ramp and it resembled green colored oil based paint being dumped in the water....it was that bad. I declined to launch my boat because of it.....it is truly that thick....and nasty.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Sk8man

[panfisher]

At Honeoye your best bet in midsummer might be trolling in and around the central portions of the lake down about 25ft. (near the bottom). Also the night bite close to shore; I mean casting from the shore back to the boat, working the shoreline while moving slowly. I like floating sticks like gold or silver rapalas (I really like the flatraps as they cast well....original floaters will work to). With the weeds either method might be a challenge, but with the sundown thru evening close to shore with floating sticks, u can pick them up working the bait slowly. Think bass. Chances are they (bass) will be more of a challenge as far as what gets to your bait than the weeds!.....win-win....

[LOSTFROMFLORIDA]

when trolling for walleye do you use riggers or dipseys? what kind of speed am i looking for?

[Sk8man]

Probably be best going to Oneida if it isn't too far for you. They've been still getting the eyes there recently.

[Steve.e]

Worm harnesses on botoom bouncers in the middle, unfortunately you will pick up a lot of panfish also, but they can be huge. another method is lead core on a short rod on the bottom with a 5 ft leader of 10 lb and a floating rapala. You can attach a small weight at end of the leadcore to help it get down quicker, using less line. Use a jerking motion, like jigging. Any change in tension felt, set hook hard. Can also hand fish the same method. This will eliminate most panfish interference. Drifting the bottom with large shiners is effective also for eyes and bass.

[justtracytrolling]

If the weeds are floating and under is clear id run riggers. The last week on Otisco has been tough with flat lines and core, but with riggers and sticks or harnesses you can at least keep two rods going. I use deep divers mostly and troll much faster than most with the warm water temps and that 25 ft down sounds right to me give or take a little. The weeds will tell you what's possible and go from there. Sk8man is spot on with Oneida. Its a much better lake for eyes unless you want the extra challenge. Otisco, Conesus, Ontario to name a few are notorious for hard to catch big eyes, but there are a few guys that do well. Let us know how you do and good luck!

justin

[scott111]

I started catching them last Monday night 7/29 Irondequoit Bay.  A few weeks later than usual, in my experience.  They are in very close to shore in 5 feet or less.  They start biting around 9pm.  I got 5 Monday night in about 30 minutes and they are usually quite large.  Medium size orange x-raps work best in my opinion.  They swim not too deep not too shallow.   I tried again Friday night and got 1 first cast at 9pm and had to quit.  In my experience for the last 4 years, they are in shallow for about a month consistently and then disappear until the next July.  Not sure why

Edited August 5, 2013 by scott111

[pro-fish-n-c]

That's pretty interesting. Are these fish resident to the bay or do they come in off the lake? They must be feeding on young of the year perch/bluegills or are there schools of baitfish being pushed into shore? Sounds similar to fall shore casting on lakes like Oneida.

[scott111]

I don't know where they come from as this is the only time and way I catch them in I-bay. One thing I noticed, there is an enormous amount if spawning activity (I think that's what is) in the evening from spring right into July. It starts with shad. Then something else for a month or so. You can see the splashing that goes on all night along the shore line during this time. Once it stops, I start catching walleye. Whether they are always there but too full to eat my lures, I do not know. I do know that I never catch any until the activity stops, which is usually early to mid July.

Also, I have caught walleye in the lake while trolling for spring brown trout. Perhaps they are lake o walleye that come into the bay during the summer

[scott111]

If you want to catch some, message me and I will tell you exactly where to put your boat

[scott111]

 

one from last night. typical fat and strong and mean

 

 

[justtracytrolling]

Nice fish!  Catching big walleyes casting at night happens on many lakes, but the difficulty usually lies in timing and it tends to be quite spot specific.  Sounds like you have a good setup, and great report.

justin

[pro-fish-n-c]

I agree, great report , thanks for the info. I'll look into the logistics of heading out there, more then an hour away for me. If I can make it Ill shoot you a message.

[justtracytrolling]

Yeah tough for me to give it a try, as I have my weekends fairly full but casting for big walleyes is tempting. Keep us posted...wouldn't take to many posts and id put it on the calendar for next year at the least.

justin

[fbg14619]

Scott thanks for that great report.!