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Tonka Walleye Bite


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Any status on the Tonka Walleye bite yet. I haven't been out all year and fall is my time to escape. Been very quite but expect some of you guys have been testing the bite as patterns change.

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Need water temps mid to low 50s to get the bite going. I am fishing elsewhere this week but devoting next week to Tonka so I'll be posting something then.

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They are biting! Myself, friend and his boys got 19 the other day. Kept a few for the pan that night. finess is need though. vertical presentation with fathead and jig.

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They are biting! Myself, friend and his boys got 19 the other day. Kept a few for the pan that night. finess is need though. vertical presentation with fathead and jig.


I 2nd that

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TommyJ33:

I could certainly use some advice on Tonka. Not looking for any specific locations, but any info regarding where you're finding fish - structure (weedlines, rocks, etc), depth and presentation type would be very helpful and appreciated.

Thanks!!

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Sure Sawgrass!

as a disclaimer I can't guarentee the same results. cool.gif

I was fishing the deep water humps, 29-32 FOW seemed to be best this week. I believe sand/gravel bottom, as I got no snags. Vertical presentation, staight up and down with using a 3/8 to 1/4 oz jig (Chartruese, fire tiger, pink/white colors)tipped with fathead or a smaller redtail chub. Work slow just like jiggin when ice fishing. They aren't really hammering it as they kind of F around with it a little bit. Move around till you find em, as they seemed to be schooled up. you could also do well anchoring and slip bobbering the way they are acting. They are biting all afternoon long. but 4-5 o'clock was best.

I also am finding eyes on the edge of the milfoil in 15-17 FOW off of main lake structures (points and inside turns). Control drift staying within 5 feet of the foil "curtain". Again with Jig and minnow (3/8 oz). These weed oriented fish are biting later in the evening up to dark. I haven't been out in the morning as Duck hunting is getting in the way shocked.gif

Good luck.

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I have been catching a few small walleyes during the late afternoon and up until dusk, but absolute nothing after dark. Has anyone experienced the same?

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TommyJ33:

Much appreciated!! We'll give 'er a try and let you know how we do. Who is selling redtails around here?

Thanks!

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Quote:

I have been catching a few small walleyes during the late afternoon and up until dusk, but absolute nothing after dark. Has anyone experienced the same?


Yes, not on Tonka, but the same thing is happening where I've been fishing in the West Metro. I was wondering on Wed if they are going to the inside weedline in 2-5 ft of water. I'm going to give that a shot next time I'm out.

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Last night managed 4 but all ander 13", not at all what I expected from my spots. Same presentation, vertical with Fhead. Up and down. Caught all in 20-30' but the fish I marked out there were small. I was marked the better fish in 17 to 20 and then as usual, they worked there way up to the weedline at sunset and then gone. I marked the good fish I'm used to catching this time of year but they weren't going yet. This is what I've had a hard time with Tonka. For me the bite is that typical hour long turn on at sunset. If you mark fish you have to have confidence that they will turn on..... Any other lake I would hit them and if they didn't hit back I would move on. Tonka for me has been find the good structure and the fish and hope that they'll turn on in that magical hour. Sometimes they do and you feel like Al Lindner and other times they don't and you feel like a putz because you stayed on one or two spots all night. BTW for the guys that were fishing next to me last night in Wayz Bay, what's the follow up story about the Rookie??

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That's the right idea. The walleyes get right into whatever weeds are left. Try trolling or casting that shallow water with floating raps or husky jerks. Cranks provide a quick and easy way to cover a lot of water and the eyes can find them and just crush them. It is not unusual for walleyes to completely engulf a HJ12.

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Had similar results as CCow. One night they are there and the next poof. Caught everything but a walleye last night on a spot that had produced the night before. Only change I noted was water temp had gone up about 3degrees from day before.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Did anyone get out there this weekend?? I gave it a go for about 3 hours on Saturday early afternoon with no luck...stayed on the west end of the lake and only saw a couple other boats fishing.

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Is there any place that someone can fish from shore and catch a few walleye's on tonka?

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you can shore fish grays bay's channel. When i was driving by on saturday a couple people where trolling the channel at night. Dont know if they were having any luck or not but there were 3 boats doing it and looks like a good spot. i had a good day on sunday on tonka for eyes in about 25-30 feet. First time i have done well on that lake in the middle of the afternoon.

good luck

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wmn luv me guy, was that you out there on the shore with your 'whuppin stick' and the bucket of 3" craps the other night. will have to say hi next time i see you.

wink.gif

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3 inch crappies? I never get into slabs like that. most of my crappies and sunnies are under 2 and in the bucket they go

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I missed a couple of larger eye's on Monday, the first bent the jighook, and the second just spit it. Now to the real question, what is your trolling speed for Husky jerks, #12, Shad raps and the like this time of year. I have marked a ton of fish lately and cant seem to target them effectively. I am pretty sure they are the right kind but my boat trolls at about 2.3-2.8 mph. Seems like the huskys should move faster to get that vibration right. Any help would be appreciated! Fishless nights beat up the ego!

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There was a pro walleye guy out of Sturgeon Bay, Dale Stroschein, that was a really good troller. I remember him writing an article at home about trolling with the waves and trying to keep the boat in the 1.5 MPH range. He said the surge of the waves made the baits dart, then pause, then dart. I have never tried this, but it might be a good place to start. Our old boat used to troll too fast for salmon with the J-Plugs so we would tie two five gallon buckets to line and drag them behind the boat to slow us down. Not sure if you could do this or use a drift sock to slow you down to a slower speed. Good luck out there.

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Mine trolls at about 2.3 and I have to constantly get it down by taking it in and out of gear. Went out last night to the same spot I did well on sunday. My friend caught an 18 incher in the first 2 minutes then the wind seemed to pick up and I couldnt keep us on the spot and couldnt get my anchor to hold so tried for another hr but got nothing else. Before dusk they were about 25-30 then marked them at 15 when it was dark but couldnt get another one.

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I rigged two 26" drift socks from the mid cleats and tethered them to the rear cleats by running a rope through the middle of them. It dropped my speed from 2.8 to 2.0+/- and it steers almost perfectly. My problem is I should have gone to the 30" so I could get it down just a bit more. If you need two 26" sox to try it, I have them........

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Speed ranges from 1.5 to 2.2 mph. Vary it until you stick a fish and then try to stay on that speed. Other tricks besides drift socks are to drop your bow trolling motor and turn it sideways (generally worth .1 to .2 mph) and to tilt your big engine up. That can make for tricky steering but you'd be surprised how much it can slow you. I have also faced my trolling motor in the opposite direction on high speed. Right now 2 to 2.2 should work. As temps drop you will need to slow down more.

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anyone still having any luck? Was out on sunday, marked a ton but could not get them to bite. Might be winterizing the boat soon

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Quote:

anyone still having any luck? Was out on sunday, marked a ton but could not get them to bite. Might be winterizing the boat soon


You may want to reconsider.

Saturday night (10/21) resulted in 4 walleyes for three anglers.

Hillbiehle(FM'er) holding the first fish of the night, 23", he later landed a 20" also.

images007jq9.jpg

Yours truly holding a 24"

images021hx3.jpg

The story of the night though belonged to the kid, Mark (14). Now this young man caught his first walleye of his life Saturday night. I'm not sure if we still can wipe the smile off of his face. I don't think we have stopped smiling either. Let's just say Chris (Hillbiehle) and I were a little excited for him also. 28.5" of girthy walleye.

images012vo4.jpg

images014th4.jpg

images016wq9.jpg

All swimming to be caught another fall night when they are approaching that magical 30" mark.

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Great Fish! That 28" looks healthy, the fish that came out of Mille Lacs this year that were 28+ were very scrawny. Proof that there is plenty of Forage. I was out on Friday until 10:00 trolling HJ's and Floating Raps and had no luck. The HJ's were still running too deep for the weeds, any others I should try? Was trolling at around 1.5 with tandem 30" socks.

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HAppnhook,

The only thing we did different was the speed, closer to 1.7 to 1.9 for us. The weeds are a necessary evil, make sure they are green and try to just tick them or find the edge.

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I got out for the first time in a month last night. What a beautiful night to get out!

Started by trying something new - we anchored off a point in about 18 feet of water. Fatheads on a plain hook under a bobber, or on a jig slowly retrieved got us 7 walleyes between 11 and 19 inches.

The action was steady but around 7:15 we grew tired of the small fish and decided to troll for some bigger ones. Wally Divers and #9 Shad Raps at 14-15 feet of water.

First fish on a shad rap was 15 inches.

I caught the second fish, which came on a wally diver and was 25 inches long.

[image]walleye002nm1.jpg[/image]

My father caught the third one on a shad rap which was 26 inches.

[image]walleye004eq4.jpg[/image]

In the end we had a total of 10 walleyes, even missed a few more fish as well. Even though we didn't get any really big fish, we certainly had a great time. Now I can't wait to get out again!

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More great fish! I was going to go and but decided not to, big mistake!! With the weather about to change again I will be out tonight. Great Pics!

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
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