Has anyone around here ever had much walleye fishing in the winter for eyes. I havent had much luck in the past, just a very slow presentation has given me a few small ones. But I was wondering if people have any suggestions on some presentations I could use below the dams this winter. I know I need to make the switch over to ice fishing, but I still love open water and the river too much!
Pray for a warm winter so that the river stays open all year long! That’s my best advice. I caught the biggest northern of my life on New Year’s day 2006 from the open water of the Cedar. Also caught walleyes all winter long last year. I’ve never had much luck below the dams during the winter, but if I was to try I’d go with a 3 way and a short 2′ leader and a big minnow. I don’t think anything that moves too fast gets bit during the winter. Try some scent too, that helps more in the winter than any other time. If you find the honey hole, don’t abuse it. 
Do you just fish off the bank wherever there is open water then? Also, when you say big minnows, u mean ring finger size or bigger? I would love to get into some northerns as well, how big was the one you caught last year? Do you fish the shell rock much?
Yes I just fish from the bank in the winter. The northern was all of 20 pounds. I travel pretty light so I didn’t have a scale, but it was long and girthy. Still out there as far as I know. I usually use a ring finger size minnow. I’m sure bigger would be worth a try too, I just have a hard time keeping them alive and I usually have to walk a fer piece most of the time. I hit the Shellrock once in a while usually at the dam in Shellrock or up at the state park. There are a lot of eyes in the Shellrock.
I don’t fish the faster water right in a dam area, i’ve found that the slower water down river aways where it calms down is better. I fish the same areas that i fish in the warmer months, like slower or calm water next to deeper faster water. Depth isn’t neccessarily a big diffrence compared to the speed of the water because i’ve gotten most my hits in 3′ to 6′ of water. I avoid faster water because its never produced like slower or calm water next to faster water. I fish this cut and i fish it slow with a small jig, 3/32nds to 1/8th and the biggest minnow i can find to slow the fall. I work the jig slow, quite a bit slower than summer water and i have better luck when its tipped with a minnow, i’ve got most of my hits within 16″ off the bottom in the cedar, iowa and wapsi. I’ve had better luck on the wapsi and iowa through the winter than the cedar. Thay have almost always hit it on the fall when it gets close to the bottom just befor hitting it. I use a small boat and get positioned on the upper end of the cut or breakline and cast down into the cut, let it hit bottom and just let it sit for a few seconds then work it back slow always making contact with the bottom when the jig falls. Sometimes they hammer it hard and almost always hit it good and solid.
This is some really good advice guys, glad we have people like this on this forum. Makes me want to hit the cedar this winter!
Work slow water, as deep as you can find. Anything low flow with more than 4 FOW makes a wintering hole on the Cedar, good rule of thumb is if you can’t hold the bottom pitchin’ with a 3/16 the water’s too fast. Another thing that demands consideration is how spooky those fish are when the water’s crystal clear. You have to be as quiet as humanly possible to ensure that you don’t run the fish out of the wintering hole, I’m even conscious about how hard I let my anchor fall. Don’t be afraid to work plastic either, I rarely buy fatheads this time of year. The best part of the whole deal is that it’s going to be fifty degrees tomorrow and those fish are still biting, so go out and get ’em!
I’m glad I found this thread after I fished all day today. Since just before Thanksgiving I have logged over 30 hours of time on the Cedar and Wapsi looking for walleyes and have yet to catch 1 keeper. I found a hole full of smaller males but I refuse to keep 13″ Walleyes. I just want a couple of 15 – 18″ to have a meal once this winter. I have traditionally done very little fall walleye fishing so I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but I have plenty of success during the spring and summer. I really want to target fall and winter walleyes since I usually get terrible spring fever by the middle of February. The posts thus far have been great and I think I need to find slower water. The problem I am experiencing is that the holes I fished the last two springs, have since filled in. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
If your not getting them in the holes try shallower water from 3′ to 6′ next to faster water and fish the very bottom, you might loose a few more jigs but thats where there at and persistance pays off when they do hit. If you have a little deeper water try floating a minnow under a jig for crappies too, thier in the holes this time of year or very shallow in 1′ or 2′ of water soaking up the sun, a few degrees diffrence from the warming from the sun in a open back water area will hold crappies in shallow water.
fishinhawk, i would just try to keep moving and, you’re right, find some slower water. they are not in the mood to fight the current much this time of year. They will still move into swift shallows to feed periodically but just because you find deep water does not mean they will be there. You need to find those runs w/ 4-8 ft depths where there’s little to no flow – being near deeper and shallower water is key. I know this sounds a little general but just keep movinig and you’ll find them. Try fishing a few spots that you think are unlikely spots too. You might be suprised. Good luck. There’s definitely a great bite going on right now so don’t hang it up yet.
Well, I just got back from another day without any results. Fished from 10:30 – 4:00 without a bite. Found 1 hole with a ton of carp. I followed the Wapsi from around Calamus to just beyond Dewitt. There were few places to fish from since most of the land next to the river was privately owned. Yesterday I went from Central City to Olin. So in two days I have traveled most of the Wapsi around me with no success. I really love this river and have great success during most of the year, but right now I just can’t get anything going. It is really frustrating, but fishing is my passion so I never really “hang it up.” With all the searching I’ve been doing the actual amount of time fishing the last two days has been relatively short. My biggest problem right now is finding any accessable water that isn’t moving 100 miles an hour. I need to get my boat!
A small boat with a small motor, gas or electric is what i use. The water looks alot diffrent from the viewpoint being on the water than it does on shore. Like someone said befor that dropping the anchor has to be quiet also, a hard bottom and an anchor thats not coated rings like a bell. I’ve got a 100′ anchor rope in mine and i position myself above a deeper cut next to faster water and let the rope out until im in position just above the cut. I fish that area and then just let out the rope to the next spot 50′ down the cut. When i do have to move i then go down the cut farther. If you keep working these places you’ll eventually run into where they are holding but be as quiet as possible.
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