Backwater eddy???

[beaverlakeman]

been hittin the rivers really hard the last 5 days and the fishing has been very slow, caught the fisrt eye yesterday, got skunked the first 3 days.. anyways, the water has been warming up pretty quick. at the hickson dam earlier today i got a temp of 54 degrees. didnt get 1. did however see a 22incher pulled.
then i went to maple dam earlier this evening and was asking if anyone has caught anything and nobody said yes, i got a temp of 57-58 degrees, so i tried it for an hour or so and nothing..
so i tried a remote part of the cheyenne close to the maple, just walked the river quite a ways tossin a jig, and got a walleye about 18-20 inches, so i stayed there for a bit and ended up with a few nice eyes..

have the eyes already spawned and moved back to the rivers??
or is the spawn still gonna happen?

its wierd that i havent caught a eye at any of the dams i tried for the last 5 days, but i caught some in the main river..

any info about this you could share with me??

my email is [email protected] if you would rather tell me there..

these past 5 days are the first time i have ever fished a river for eyes, so i really dont quite know what im doing or where to do it at.lol..

id appreciate any info you could spare..
thanks in advance,
jeremy

[Guest]

Your observations and actions tell me your on your way to being a good "RiverRat" dar "Beaverlakeman".

I would have hit and run exactly like you done.

Spring flows like the river and change can come quickly, adapt and persevere Eh.

Temperature is a key factor as is water levels, this dictates where they will be. Pay close attention to shoreline content and other details, it will pay off over time.

Yesterday I spent half the day, starting in mid morning, flipping jigs from a boat into shallows. Yup, the wind made it tough. I had lots of bites, I think? The wind producing tons of line sweep making it tough to be on the ball with all the light bites and sneaky *** pick-ups of a spring walleye, no big thuds. I feed a lot of Goldeye in the process too. Caught more wind-burn and sun then anything else.

I suspected the walleye would run in the tribs early and mill around tell the temps hit 50-55, then wonder back to the channel. This may be what we are seeing now? Due to low water levels they will likely seek appropriate spawning habitat on the main rivers. After they get that out of their systems they will pop back to hunt again if the water levels are comfortable for them to do so.

First urges are reproduction in spring, then a pause, then eat-eat-eat. There are a lot of things that can influence when and where they do hunt. Be deliberate in eliminating areas and note what type of areas they are, this will allow you to fallow the bite and pattern the fish.

Your on the right path, yup-yup!

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 04-14-2003).]

[Jay R]

Thanks for the info gentelman,

I stopped by the Hickson Dam on Sunday and man what a crowd, this was mid-afternoon. Was there for a 1/2 hr or so and didn't see much happening, pretty slow. Also tried a spot further south from the dam on the main river under the bridge between Hickson and Comstock. Nothing doing their either other than loosing a few jigs. Thanks for the water temp info as I am a novice river rat myself, that was good info guys.

Eddy, Thank you for the directions to the Christine dam, my question is do you have to cross private property to get to the dam. The road you described near the restored farm house I am sure I found it but everything looked like it was posted. I have never seen so many no hunting trespassing signs in one small area before WOW. Thanks again for the info guys.

Jay

[beaverlakeman]

thank you for the info and reply eddy,..

even though the water has been warming very rapidly and eyes should have spawned in some parts, i dont think they have..
i think its still gonna happen.

they fishing has been slow, but i have not witnessed and females being caught yet. just very small males in the 10 inch range..

i think the best is yet to come in the next couple days, i could be wrong too.. like i said before, im no walleye river fishing by all means.. its alot harder to target them in rivers.. most walleyes spawn relitively the same in lakes due to the average lake being in the same temp range..
these rivers are way different, the red is about 55 degrees right now as the maple is almost 60..
that may not sound like much to most people but i do know that even 1 degree difference means the world to walleyes. hell even a half degree can put them into their spawning cycle..
I think i have kinda figured this river fishing out a little.
river fishing is kinda like bar hopin..
go from bar to bar till you find one that you like, same goes for river eyes, bounce from dam to dam or river to river till you find the bite..
i hope thats safe to say.lol...

anyways going back out sometime today till dark, i think imma go to maple dam, or hickson dam..
i think hickson is gonna turn on strong here either today or tomorrow..
only problem with that place is, is that unless you get there early you wont get a spot..

keep wettin the lines,
jeremy

[Guest]

To the South they have definitely begun spawning, or some have already spawned, others may not at all due to low water restricting access to prime spawning areas.

A bit farther North same deal, some have, some are waiting to go.

Here in the Fargo area and down stream a ways, they are staging for sure! I C&R 3 in the past few days that went 13.4, 11.3 and a sumo chubby 9.6. The 13 was kinda purdy Eh. The 9.6 had dropped her egg mass already, but very recently.

The big girls have been fond of the Millenium Rattlin Shads in Sour Apple, Shad, and Silver/Black. Them Rattlin Shads have treated me well the past two years.

The big size Sumo Sounder above, like them too Eh. Don't be shy about lure size. To these big girls, size matters.

Model: Rattlin Shad
Color: Sour Apple, Shad, or Black and Chrome

1/4 oz, 1/2 oz

The bigger two walleye were a bit green yet. They often take a while longer to get the egg mass ripe enough to drop due to the bulk of the cluster. With the water warming quickly they will soon be getting serious about dating.

Yup, da girls always get purdy'r at closing time...yup-yup.

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 04-15-2003).]