The Walleye That Got Away

[MudCat08]

Yesterday came really close to finally catching a walleye, but lost it right at the boat as soon as we went for the net..
Have been trying to find walleye for the past year or so, and yesterday was the closest I have gotten to finally adding them to the fishing list haha.

The fish wasn't big and it bit on a texas rigged soft plastic lure meant for smallmouth bass. We fished the upper Delaware River in NY state.

We caught some smallmouth bass, a sunfish, and quite a few large fallfish during the float trip. We also lost another walleye. Other lures used included spinners, crankbaits, and grubs. Also saw what looked like at least a 19" Rainbow trout cruising lazily around. There were also suckers swimming around in spots.

Except the lost walleye, there were no keeper fish on this trip, but it was extremely fun and I can't wait to go back again when I get my own kayaks or boat! The elusive walleye will be caught this year!

[23cardinal]

Yesterday came really close to finally catching a walleye, but lost it right at the boat as soon as we went for the net..
Have been trying to find walleye for the past year or so, and yesterday was the closest I have gotten to finally adding them to the fishing list haha.

The fish wasn't big and it bit on a texas rigged soft plastic lure meant for smallmouth bass. We fished the upper Delaware River in NY state.

We caught some smallmouth bass, a sunfish, and quite a few large fallfish during the float trip. We also lost another walleye. Other lures used included spinners, crankbaits, and grubs. Also saw what looked like at least a 19" Rainbow trout cruising lazily around. There were also suckers swimming around in spots.

Except the lost walleye, there were no keeper fish on this trip, but it was extremely fun and I can't wait to go back again when I get my own kayaks or boat! The elusive walleye will be caught this year!

That walleye skunk must be contagious lol, I have it too. That's a good trip. Yea a friend pulled a 26in rainbow out in northern walpack a week or two ago. There are big uns still.
What were u floating down stream in?

[MudCat08]

We were floating down in an 11 ft aluminum paddle boat; i also took the opportunity to learn how to drive it with a trolling motor haha.
I saw tons of kayakers floating along with us and some were fishing. I'm definitely going back with my own kayak once i get it. Amazing place to be.

That's a massive rainbow especially since it's wild up there.
I think they should consider stocking the delaware there if they don't already, because a ton of fishing pressure and kept fish = dwindling resource. just a huge amount of chubs since no one ever wants to take them haha! Lots of guide boats in the river there.

It's all right, we will both get those walleye eventually, if we don't give up!

[Skunk City]

You remember the ones you lost more than the ones you land! Keep at it and you will scratch Walleye off your list sooner rather than later. Get out there at night, you'll have the river to yourself and the fish will be more eager to take your offering.

[23cardinal]

We were floating down in an 11 ft aluminum paddle boat; i also took the opportunity to learn how to drive it with a trolling motor haha.
I saw tons of kayakers floating along with us and some were fishing. I'm definitely going back with my own kayak once i get it. Amazing place to be.

That's a massive rainbow especially since it's wild up there.
I think they should consider stocking the delaware there if they don't already, because a ton of fishing pressure and kept fish = dwindling resource. just a huge amount of chubs since no one ever wants to take them haha! Lots of guide boats in the river there.

It's all right, we will both get those walleye eventually, if we don't give up!
Absolutely!
New York and Pa stock The Delaware above high point/matamoros, not sure if Pa still does till the bridge. This yr new York did like 4000 fish in the upper regions
NJ stocks lmb and others. Believe they alternate years for the deleware

[bulletbob]

walleyes in the rivers don't bite quite as well this time of year.. I catch a lot of Walleyes, but really don't target them much in July/Aug as you really need to fish at night ... As for daytime fishing,Oct gets things started, but my best month is usually Nov, sometimes into Dec, and then March through May.. Low light conditions are a must at any time of year for Walleyes.. If you don't want to fish in the dead of night thats fine, but I would be on the water before daylight until maybe 8 am, and then from about 6 PM until dark.. Walleyes simply don't like the combination of warm water and bright sunlight regardless of where they are found.. I always do well with a FinS or sluggo in silver black, kind of a shad color, bounced along bottom, on a 1/4 jig head.. Also have caught a lot of 'eyes on chartreuse twister tails or paddle tails, or plain bucktails in natural colors.. best bet is to use a plain bucktail with a minnow hooked through the lips.. You simply can't get a better lure than a bucktail/minnow combination... bob

[Bruce Litton]

Brings back Barryville memories! Couldn't get up there last summer and can't get up there this summer, but who knows, maybe next or the next. Lots of smallmouths, and every other trip or so--a small walleye, 16-19 inches. Once I caught four, but the river was on its way down after a flood--turbid water good for that.

[MudCat08]

Thank you for the advice guys. I will be focusing on the walleye more come October and November.

It took me two years and change to get a striped bass, I wonder how long it will take to find and catch a walleye now haha! I can't believe i was that close to landing one though.

[Chrisper4694]

when i first started fishing, it took me almost an entire season to catch a freaking pickerel...go figure, i think it's all mental haha. now i just want them to leave me the hell alone when i'm bass fishing haha.

[Fred E. Goose]

Well, the hardest part is finding them...the second hardest part is hooking them, and then the third hardest part is landing them :) So, you going 2 out of 3 aint bad! I've got the walleye skunk, but I'm starting to see them swim by and once in awhile even follow certain lures. We'll get 'em, MudCat...we will kick that skunk down the road! And all this effort will make it even more rewarding for us when we do!

[Bruce Litton]

From the third week in October on, we always seem to catch walleyes--and nice ones--in Lake Hopatcong. I suggest you go with live herring, make sure you have a topographic map, and fish as many as three lines from 25 to 40 feet deep. Just make sure to check the herring set deeper than 30, since turnover's not always complete by then. Use 3/4-ounce egg sinkers, a barrel swivel, and a four-foot leader. Hook herring through nostrils, and keep the bails open. Start early; you can rent at Dows...but you do need the boater's certificate, so I hope my advice is good for you. Otherwise, we catch them on Binsky bladebaits on the same drop-offs and depths, not necessarily vertical jigging, but by lift-drop right on bottom, and you do need to keep feel on the line and be quick, because they often hit on the drop. So quality braid is a must for this, as is a fast-action tip.

[MudCat08]

All the tips are greatly appreciated!

We did get a walleye today! Unfortunately I didn't catch it, a friend did, but i was glad somebody finally got one!
It was out of Pompton River of all places. I did hear rare reports of them being caught there but today confirmed it.
Only a 12"+ fish but a walleye is a walleye!
It was caught on a tiny jighead with a green curly tail grub.
Other fish from today's trip included nice scrappy Smallmouths, a solid largemouth, some smaller bass, sunfish, two crappies, and a decent yellow perch.

I'll keep trying the Delaware river though and maybe some other places in October - November, and I'll get em eventually.

[Skunk City]

All the tips are greatly appreciated!

We did get a walleye today! Unfortunately I didn't catch it, a friend did, but i was glad somebody finally got one!
It was out of Pompton River of all places. I did hear rare reports of them being caught there but today confirmed it.
Only a 12"+ fish but a walleye is a walleye!
It was caught on a tiny jighead with a green curly tail grub.
Other fish from today's trip included nice scrappy Smallmouths, a solid largemouth, some smaller bass, sunfish, two crappies, and a decent yellow perch.

I'll keep trying the Delaware river though and maybe some other places in October - November, and I'll get em eventually.

Wow, that's pretty cool! They are not supposed to be in there, wonder if he came from somewhere else or was accidentally mixed in with the stocked pike.

[MudCat08]

It may have washed down from Greenwood Lake or Monksville since all that water is connected. Maybe even the pompton river has a small breeding population of walleye, since that guy was fairly small. 2nd or 3rd year of life maybe.

[MudCat08]

So to continue the walleye hunt, here are the results of yet another trip to the Delaware.
Fished for walleye really hard during the day and night. Got my biggest fallfish to date at 17" and 1.5lbs, and some smallmouth bass (lost a good 2lb+ smallmouth) in the day with a boat.
http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu63/Newman_Vin/IMAG0252_zpspabg7qxk.jpg (http://s634.photobucket.com/user/Newman_Vin/media/IMAG0252_zpspabg7qxk.jpg.html)

At night I went to a likely spot and fished from the shore after dark and got some more PBs. Unfortunately not walleye but just as good I'd say!
I didn't even know trout could be caught at night but got an 18" male brown trout at 1.9 pounds and an 18.5" female brown trout at 2.1 pounds. Also got a rock bass at night too.

Someday I'll find that elusive walleye!

[Jigman13]

That's the biggest fallfish I've ever seen!!!

[Fred E. Goose]

Well, the hardest part is finding them...the second hardest part is hooking them, and then the third hardest part is landing them :) So, you going 2 out of 3 aint bad! I've got the walleye skunk, but I'm starting to see them swim by and once in awhile even follow certain lures. We'll get 'em, MudCat...we will kick that skunk down the road! And all this effort will make it even more rewarding for us when we do!

Just gotta keep at it. I posted the above on this thread the beginning of July. After I had the walleye skunk really shake my confidence, I fished other lakes and caught other fish and built my confidence back up. Just recently got the skunk out of my pocket and got my first one. Keep at it, read about and try different techniques (This site is a gold mine for information, but a google search and youtube videos are worth your time too). I'm hoping the fall feed brings your first one to the net :)

That fallfish is huge! I've foul hooked them while trout fishing streams and brooks with roostertails, but never actually caught one legit in the mouth like that. I called them White Suckers, is there a difference or is it 2 names for the same fish? Oh and is chub a 3rd name for the same fish or is that different too?

[MudCat08]

Just gotta keep at it. I posted the above on this thread the beginning of July. After I had the walleye skunk really shake my confidence, I fished other lakes and caught other fish and built my confidence back up. Just recently got the skunk out of my pocket and got my first one. Keep at it, read about and try different techniques (This site is a gold mine for information, but a google search and youtube videos are worth your time too). I'm hoping the fall feed brings your first one to the net :)

That fallfish is huge! I've foul hooked them while trout fishing streams and brooks with roostertails, but never actually caught one legit in the mouth like that. I called them White Suckers, is there a difference or is it 2 names for the same fish? Oh and is chub a 3rd name for the same fish or is that different too?

Yea i did read you post, looks like you beat me to it. One problem is that i live far from most walleye areas like the Delaware river so i cannot keep doing many trips if i have to drive 1.5-2+ hours one way just to have a possible shot at catching one. I keep at it whenever i can. I figure i can probably try at least 3 more times before December sets in. We'll see what luck brings, and i'll post results here. Nice work and patience to get your first!

White suckers are an actual sucker species, I've caught those too and they weigh heavier than fallfish/chubs. Also the sucker's mouth is downward pointed and smaller. A fallfish has a mouth that is wide and opens forward like a bass - probably the reason why they eat similar forage to bass. They eat any insect, other invertebrates, and minnows that swim by. I catch them on bait, flies, mister twister grubs, and on smaller rapala minnow lures.
Fallfish and chubs are two names for the same fish. There is also another species of chub called a creek chub that grows smaller and has a horizontal black stripe on its body. Caught those too.

I'll leave a photo of each - fallfish on left, sucker in middle and creek chub on right.

[Fred E. Goose]

I hear ya man. Swartswood and the Delaware are about 1.5 hours from me and Hopatcong and Greenwood are too large of lakes for my dinky little boat and trolling motor to handle. So I stuck with Monksville, even though I've heard time and again the chances of getting one there were slim to none.

Thanks for the education! The ones I was catching had the downward mouth. I see them all the time feeding on the bottom in a brook I sometimes hit up. I don't think I've ever caught a fallfish then.

[Jigman13]

It's all esox food in my mind!

[Chrisper4694]

You remember the ones you lost more than the ones you land! Keep at it and you will scratch Walleye off your list sooner rather than later. Get out there at night, you'll have the river to yourself and the fish will be more eager to take your offering.

BULL! as soon as i get home i erase my memory with the men in black thing if i lose a big fish!

[Chrisper4694]

I hear ya man. Swartswood and the Delaware are about 1.5 hours from me and Hopatcong and Greenwood are too large of lakes for my dinky little boat and trolling motor to handle. So I stuck with Monksville, even though I've heard time and again the chances of getting one there were slim to none.

Thanks for the education! The ones I was catching had the downward mouth. I see them all the time feeding on the bottom in a brook I sometimes hit up. I don't think I've ever caught a fallfish then.

i put my tin can 12ft jon boat with electric in hopatcong all the time (just not day time in summer). check the weather and it's all good, put the boat in near the area you want to fish and you'll never have to cross it either.

[MudCat08]

BULL! as soon as i get home i erase my memory with the men in black thing if i lose a big fish!

haha

I just got a pair of kayaks so I'll be giving lakes and reservoirs a shot at some point.