Walleyes on flies!

[slipbob]

Did anybody else read the article in in-fishermen this month about pulling trout flies for river walleye on a 3 way rig?  It looked like an interesting way to catch walleye.  It makes sense because in many lakes walleyes gorge on insects and if you can match that up it could be deadly.  One lake I used to fish a lot the eyes would have their guts packed with bugs and you would see clouds of them on the graph and it appears they are the main forage at certain times of year. 

[JigAwhopper]

I tried using streamers on my local lake with an intermediate line on the 8wt.  Funny,  would get hits on stickbaits, but not even a sniff on streamers.  I'm still waiting for that 'huge' cicada hatch here in NJ,  then perhaps poppers could work at nite?? That would be a lot of fun!                  J

[TroutFishingBear]

At my walleye lake in the evening, there are a ton of fish jumping, so one time, instead of doing the standby and getting like 10 walleye in the last hour of fishing (arund sunset) I decided to put on a popper and see what the fish were.

sadly, they were mostly largemouth bass, along with a few smallmouth and big rainbow trout. It was fun, but still, the walleyes weren't hitting on the surface at all, and that disappointed me.

I'm sure a streamer would work because it imitates a baitfish.

[Cider]

I'm sure a streamer would work because it imitates a baitfish.

Although I have never tried this, I would recommend using an extremely fast sinking line (such as a type 6 by cortland) and tie on a black or olive wooly bugger conehead pattern that has a little crystal flash in it.  Either troll that or cast out and slowly strip it back in.

The wooly bugger pattern is a great imitation of a leech which we all know is a staple of the walleye diet.  A maribou muddler might work equally well.

Some of the cortland sinking lines come in smoke black or even clear so that the fish won't see it.

Use a fluorocarbon leader so that the eyes can't see that either.

If trolling, lead core or mono on a downrigger rod would work.  Use a medium action or noodle rod if downrigging.  The noodle rod would give you a nice tussle if you have trophy walleye waters to fish!

I would bet that this set up would produce some nice eyes!! 

I don't have any walleye lakes/ponds in my area or I would try it myself.

[buzzbomb]

I wanted to tie streamers that would approximate the yellow jigs the walleye were taking so well, and got my friend's kids to save me the heads off their broken Barbie dolls.  Barbie's hair has bounce, and flash, but it's pretty rude, you gotta admit.

[Mackdaddy21]

I think walleyes would probably be a rare exception to the fact that fly fishing can be a very effective way to catch most fish.
I just think you would have trouble casting far enough or getting flies deep enough for waldoes.
I have even read articles on fly fishing for catfish. That is one thing that works, according to the article. They say channel cats are easy to dupe with a flyrod presentation.
You might be able to catch some walleyes during the evening on flats with streamers though.

Tyler

[Cider]

SB - I am sure that application would be deadly as the walking sinker would give a wooly bugger all kinds of action and really make it look like a leech!

As I said before, a downrigger would be another way to get deep enough, but you wouldn't get the same action on the fly unless you used a dodger.

[buzzbomb]

I'll either use sinking line or a little splitshot at the start of my tippet and just drift in the canoe.  It's good in 5 -8 feet of water.  Any size to the streamer, or even using the splitshot makes casting a real pain so I found drifting the only way .

[Cider]

Buzzbomb - if you use cortland x-fast sinking (type 6) line it will get you 6 1/4 - 7 inches per second.  That is pretty fast and you can cover some deep water.  Use the 444 SL rocket taper (weight forward) for punching it into the wind when casting.  I also make sure it is a steady sink or density comp so that you don't get a belly/sag in the line while it descends.  This will give your fly the most possible natural presentation!

[Cider]

Hmmm...It looks like someone else thinks along these same lines:

Available from Cabelas

Leadeye Leech Flies

If you need to get down to suspended fish, or fish on the bottom, this leadeye leech is the perfect pattern. Pulsing action not only works on bass but about every other fresh water game fish as well. Crafted from top grade materials for excellent presentation and superb durability.  Sizes: 1/0, 4.  Colors: Black, Purple.

[Coldfeet]

Useing flys for Eyes is nothing new infact it was done way back when with a Fly called the Yellow Sally on Lake Erie back in the 30s and 40s. It was a bulky fly tied on a # 4 or #2 hook with Chaniel wound around the shank with 2 tail feathers and hackle wound at the head. it was either drifted by itself weighted like a 3 way rig or it was drifted or trolled behind  a Rapala weighted to get near the bottom. Sometimes you still can find these flys they did come in diffrent colors too White, Red, Yellow, and Black. And one thing also they still do work. I have a couple of these in my Tackle box but havent used them in years. Maybe its time to gve them a try again.
Cold Feet

[UPSTATE]

 Hey slipbob we use big streamers up here on the DEAD SEA  for the eyes and they love em