Walleye following but no bite

[cny_mike]

Does this happen to anyone else? At night casting stick baits for walleye and frequently I see the glow of their eyes and they follow the lure right to the boat but no bite. I've tried mixing the retrieve speed, different lures, etc to no avail. I've tried YoZuri, shad raps, regular rapalas. Any suggestions on how I can trigger them to hit it?

[GAMBLER]

Shut the light off.  I had this same issue a couple years ago and found they did not like the light from my head lamp.  I shut it off and it made a difference. 

[Mdm25549]

Add a pause to retrieve as well if you haven't already. Found a lot of strikes come right after a pause

[cny_mike]

I've tried switching the headlamp from white to red, I'll try none at all next trip out. I've varied the retrieve but no pause. I'll try that too. Thanks for the ideas

[Rich D]

Turn the lamp off, also try a very slow retrieve, just breaking the surface of the water. On Oneida I had a very slow retrieve, a V wake on the surface and the eyes were pounding it!!! I was also using Xraps. Good Luck

Capt Rich

[Sk8man]

In addition to the above try spraying the lure with shad scent

[cny_mike]

Thanks for the additional tips. I'll report back after my next outing - soon I hope.

[justtracytrolling]

Absolutely no light and noise doesnt help either. I use floaters, suspenders, and sinking sticks and by slow rolling with and without pauses one of them will work. Boat position is the last big variable...sometimes being on the wrong side of the fish is the problem. Think about shadows and the best ambush for the fish....finding eyes at night with a light is far easier than catching them.

[cny_mike]

Getting rid of the lights doesn't let me see if there are any followers, however the bite picked up or the other tactics seemed to increase my catch somewhat.

Slow retrieve with pauses often triggers a strike. I tried some Berkley Gulp spray - on the very first cast it worked - too early to see if I is real or not. Subsequent use of the spray has been inconclusive.

It seems floaters are better than suspenders which are better than sinkers (or deep divers or countdowns). They always seem to strike very near the surface - even over 15 f.o.w.

Hopefully the ramps stay ice free for another week or two. Good luck to all the hardy fishermen still out.

[justtracytrolling]

The pause is often the key even with suspenders.  I havent seen a difference in catch rate with attractants,though im sure they have their place.  The flatter the water and brighter the night the harder it is to get eyes to commit with a floater assuming pressure is similar.  The distance you  can expect a walleye to move up to strike can vary dramatically depending on pressure....I work the column from top to bottom till i get on em and even then sometimes they get finicky after you catch a few and  you have to adjust.  Dont be afraid to try bigger sticks too...This type of fishing is especially good during the alewive spawn in may/june/july in lakes with alewives and walleye.  7+ pounders on top water in only a foot or 2 of water is as good a fight you can get with a walleye unless there's stong current! 

[Slimy Hooks]

Not a walleye guy but several times this past summer when the eyes were following and nipping lures but not getting hooked, a generous layer of ultra smelt smelly jelly turned those follows and nips into hard smashes and inhaled lures...was fishing four nights a week and rotating through areas and after a while they were getting finicky but the scent made a massive difference, like they never saw a lure before...

also had zero lights on and towels on my aluminum rowboat to not make noise...never had a problem with no lights, except when I didn't see Bosco in time and didn't turn them on quick enough, sorry Bob...only time I ever saw another fishermen during week nights...

[justtracytrolling]

That's exactly what happens when you start catching pretty good...all the nightly harassment starts to make the finicky....though I never faithfully used the smelly jelly in those circumstances.... I've trolled using it day after day, but I'll try it for that...thanks...hiding the boat more and making casts that don't keep landing "on" the fish also helps this

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[Slimy Hooks]

Much thanks to justtraceytrolling and Bosco!!! Never once fished for eyes at night, let alone in a boat, on a body of water where they are'nt easy to catch...

Very helpful, advice was given as to what I should be looking for and presentation patterns...caught only a couple my first week, within a month had a solid pattern that would yield 8-18 in the boat a night and lasted until I wasn't able to go anymore...thanks again guys!!!