Clearwater walleyes

[Guest]

Just wondering if anyone is finding any walleyes out of clearwater this winter? Not looking for specific spots, just general info. Would it be better now to fish the deep humps (25 - 35 feet)or has it been better on the bottom edges of a shallow hump. thanks in advance

[Bobberboy]

There still active. 20 to 24 ft, inside turns. Jigs and minnow heads.

[Guest]

is it more of a first light/last light bite or have they been biting better after dark

[Blaze]

Fished a 27-29' inside turn overnight Sat - not a single fish from 5pm til 8am, then the dinky perch moved in.

[hydro]

While I'm sure some will disagree with me here, Clearwater has never produced any significant numbers of fish for me at night. By far my best success has been the hour around dusk, with the morning hours a distant second. outside of those two magic hours I have better things to do.

[crothmeier]

i spent quite a few nights out there a few winters ago in a spot i found after extensive hole drilling that put out nice numbers of walleyes throughtout the ice season. I stayed overnight on the weekends and caught fish at all hours of the night. However things change from year to year and that spot did not produce a year later.

[Guest]

croth,

what type of structure were you on?

[Bobberboy]

I'm always home by 6 pm or by 9 am.

[crothmeier]

an inside turn, went from 24 up to 10. on the deeper side of 24 it dropped down to 46. Ha my house was in 24 and there was a guy spearing 25' away from me in 11' ! that lake is like an underground mountain range.

[hydro]

Unfortunately in this case that pretty much describes any breakline on this lake. The trick is finding the ones where the fish are that day. You can easily set your house so that one hole is in 15' and the other end of the house is 20' and one hole will produce firsh while the other blanks.

[Rick G]

Yep gota love/hate clearwaters walleye population.

[fishinmajishin]

Bobberboy and Hydro keep the same Clearwater walleye hours I do. Don't limit yourself to 24'. I've done well in 30+. I don't know which is consistently better, am or pm. I've had luck at both.

[Guest]

is it more of a jigging spoon and minnow head/tail bite or do the deadsticks typically work better? Do you find crappies in these same spots here? Thanks

[hydro]

I get much more activity on the jigging spoon/minnow head than on the minnow/bobber rig. Crappies are often nearby but not on the structure slopes where I have been targeting the walleyes.

[fishinmajishin]

I usually resort to a smaller jig/ whole fathead. Even larger crappie minnows. Lite rod and 4 or 6 lb test. I don't stay in one spot long enough to watch a bobber. Move move move. I like to get out a little early and punch a bunch of holes off an inside/outside turn, then hole hop. The nice thing about Clearwater is that you can always find a spot to yourself, no matter how many people are out. May not get to fish alone on your first or second choice locations, but there are only about a zillion more areas that are similar.

[fishgutz77]

I agree move, move, and then move. I to have had better luck in the 24-32 fow range with a harder bottom like sand or rubble. buckshot spoons and minnow heads. be ready to lose a few to nortons though.

[BartmanMN]

an inside turn, went from 24 up to 10. on the deeper side of 24 it dropped down to 46. Ha my house was in 24 and there was a guy spearing 25' away from me in 11' ! that lake is like an underground mountain range.

\

Wow, you are not kidding. I just looked at the lake map and it is nuts. You were right on when you called it an underground mountain range.

[crothmeier]

yeah there's wicked structure in there. The spot i was on was gravel/rubble. my house was in 24 and i had tip-ups scattered out to 42'. i've pulled walleyes in 42' of water at 10:00 am on a sunny day. some days they'd bite other days they's swim by.

Its a vicious circle.

I also tried a tiny bay I'd never seen anyone fish. It was pretty much surrounded by reeds, but the map said it was deeper. We put the camera down and it was loaded with sunnies/crappies/pike. We went back the next day and they were gone.

I agree with the move move move. some days you'll be on them, some days you wont!

[Bobberboy]

I believe the bay your refering to is Glendale. A great Crappie spot.

[Rick G]

Was on the west side today on the east end of the island. I was after gills and got enough for a meal ( yum yum) and it seemed like every one around me was after walleyes.

[Guest]

how deep were most of these people set up for the walleyes?

[Rick G]

I got fish from 6-18ft and marked them as deep as thirty. The people set up for the eyes varied from 10-30 ft. I think bjs was tellin people thats where the walleyes were at.

[LakeTahoe]

Went out yesterday, MLK day, I drilled a zillion holes, moved all day with the sled and portable and FINALLY found a limit of 14-17.5in walleyes. After all day on the ice, I can tell you one thing... 22 ft was the ONLY depth that provided me any action. I'll definitely be back. Good Luck.

[fishinmajishin]

Sounds like a good day to me. There's guys on Mille Lacs now that would be proud of that. So when you say "finally" did you get your fish after 3 -4 pm?

[DaveZman14q]

move move move is the key. too bad all my buddies just drill themselves one hole, set up the house, then drink a case of beer. leaves me stuck to about an acre of water!

[Slideout]

What is the ice thickness on Clearwater? Possibly moving the house there this weekend. Dont know where to go, but going to try it out. thanks,

[hydro]

I had about 18" on Sunday. The lake is rutted and drifted with plugged up roads. Pretty tough going pulling a house if you want to get off the roads.

[Slideout]

Might try it out. stay tuned....

[LakeTahoe]

Caught 3 SMALL ones from 8 to 8:30am, nice one at 10am, another nice one around noon, and 12-3pm nothing, then picked my evening spot based on the results of the day, caught 6 walleye (1 small) from 3:30 to 5:30, and packed up at 6pm... Nice to the end the day on a strong note.