Fall 2005 Tonka wallyeyes

[markkstanley]

I got the roll of film developed. All these fish ranged from 27" to 29".

This is the fattest 27" walleye I have seen. Tipped scales at over 9lbs.

Had a few more this size but failed to bring camera along. One more shot at it this weekend and then I am headed strictly for the river till ice up.

[buzzsaw]

Nice fish! Lokks like you and matt have been doing well... surprise surprise.

[namtkd1]

I am impressed! Very nice walleyes! I haven't caught nearly as many this year. I bow to the master.

Nam

[BDR]

Good job Mark. Looks like you have been havin some fun out there.

[Ice9]

wow!

Let that fat fish stand as exhibit A: Tonka walleyes have a lot of forage to eat. No wonder they can be so picky.

ice

[tweedlap]

Kudos Mark! Thanks for sharing the pictures. It looks a lot dark and a lot chilly on most of the photos.

Thanks Again,

tweed

[markkstanley]

Yep Tonka Boy and I had some fun. Bite was a little off from last year's but the big girls are still there. Still no 30" eye so I've got some refining to do. Quite a few 28" and 29" out there so the 30+" fish are somewhere. Got out Weds night but no hits. Noticed skim ice on Tonka this morning in several bays. The fish are still there if you can get to them. I'll be on the Mississippi for the duration. Guessing ice up in two weeks and I'll be back after Tonka walleyes.

[Trucker Jim]

Mark,

Congrats on breaking the code of a tough lake. I used to fish Tonka quite a bit, but changed this year to Waconia's LMB. Used to fish early, early in the morning, always found the best bite to be just before predawn, but Tonka never gave em up easily. I remember you writing a post concerning open water planer board trolling, is that how you're catching these big girls now?

[Matt Johnson]

Nice fish Mark! Good work!

[markkstanley]

Now for the big puzzle. Where do these fish go in winter?? I can stay on them first ice but then the walleyes seem to disappear. I'm working on the puzzle and have mostly discovered a lot of spots/presentations that don't work. Matter of time.

[JustinJ]

Thanks for the great pics! Nice work!

[Ice9]

I think they do the same thing they do in the warm months--rove up against a good structure and glosh up four or five little perchies in about ten minutes of active feeding, then they laze around in deeper water until they get hungry again. If that fat football of a walleye didn't convince you...

I caught one really good walleye in the ice last year, one of those 27" pigs. I dropped a jig down, did somethign else for a minute, and came back to find my flasher lit up ten feet deep. I thought it was malfunctioning, then the mark cleared away gradually and there was my jig again. I started to reel up and a big mark zoomed onto the screen and blasted the jig on the rise. The big blob was bait, I guess, and the walleye picked off my jig as a stray from the school. That's the only way I can explain the short bite window on that lake. It's frustrating for three trips and blissful for one.

ice

[Snag]

Those are some nice fish in the pictures. I hope to ice a few if the ice is thick enough next week. My goal this winter is to catch a few walleyes in the middle of the day. I also need to find a little honey hole to put the perm.

[markkstanley]

Snag you are going to be moving that perm a lot if you want to get some nice walleyes. My best thru the ice was an 8lb fish but I am still figuring the west end ice season out. Schro56 or Ice9 are the experts on the east end of the lake. All I know is I have to move around to different structure almost daily in my area.

[Snag]

Mark I usually stick to Wayzata and then Browns as the season goes. I'll switch to crappies, sunnies and pike once the walleyes slow down in January. I did get my largest metro eye 8-9lbs last year fishing a rock pile on New Years day. Looks like hardly any wind the next couple of days. Should help to lock up the big bays.

[markkstanley]

Sounds like you have the same deal as me. Walleyes just disappear in early January so I go chase panfish. My big walleye came in the middle of the day in late January as I was tipup fishing for pike. I've pounded that spot for eyes since then and haven't caught one. Maybe this year I finally crack the code.