A question to our friends in the States and Canada - any help would be greatly appreciated.

A mate of mine from NZ is going to Manitoba with his missus, as part of a break to Canada (going for 3 months). He's a keen fly man and has been sucking me for info on Northern pike on the fly, which is no problems.

But he asked me for any common knowledge on Walleye. All I know of Walleye is they are related to Zander and of course Zander take a fly readily on some UK waterways like Graftham. Apart from that I wouldn't have a clue!

My question is do Walleye readily take a fly? What would be your fly selection (I presumed maybe bait patterns)? Are they a good sporting fish in general?

Anyway thanks for your advise in advance.
Cheers,

Brent.

I fish walleye extensively in Minnesota and I make Canadian trips at least once a year. BTW, if your buddy is going to Manitoba, he'd better hurry if he wants to fish without being able to stand on the water. You guys have heard of "winter", right? I was just up in far northern Ontario 2 weeks ago and it was below 0 C every night, even in late Sept.

To answer your question, I have caught walleye on the fly and it is possible, but do they "readily" take a fly? My answer would be "no".

It's a question of productivity. While you certainly CAN catch walleye on the fly, it's a very low percentage game compared to the more conventional spin fishing tactics that are usually employed. Trolling, crankbaits, slip bobber rigs, drifting with jigs, etc.

In many (but not all) cases, the most productive walleye fishing is done close to the bottom in anywhere from 7 to 20 feet of water. So there's the first obvious problem, not that it can't be done, but getting a fly down to 20 feet is going to require sinking lines and all the faffing around that goes with that kind of deep fishing. I don't know about you, but I just don't like fishing sinking lines, it just takes the fun out of it.

Where walleyes can be caught on the fly with a reasonable effort is in instances where they stack up in faster moving water, weed beds, and in other places where they come shallower to feed. I've caught walleye on the fly rod in two places, both are near very fast flowing river inlets where the walleye move in to chase baitfish, so they are in about 5-7 feet of water. From there, I just used a floating line and weighted zonker, or put a couple of shot on the leader in front of a classic streamer like the Hornberg.

I did this only to say I'd done it and because I happened to have a fly rod stowed in my boat. The fishing was really good using small jigs and twister tails or small rubber shad immitations, so I thought what the heck?

But from a productivity standpoint, I was still outfished 4 to 1 by the guys that stuck to the conventional spinning gear. In other situations, it would simply not be possible to fish the fly.

Basically, the bottom line is it's something you do to say you've done it. It's not a very productive way to fish, and it gets tiring after a while even in ideal situations. In tough weather, wind, or where the fish are in deep water, it would be nearly impossible.

What I would say to your buddy is to keep a fly rod handy (happened to have a 7 wt, but whatever), but to use other higher-productivity methods to locate the fish. Once he's into some good fishing in a situation where it's possible to use the fly rod, switch over and see if you can get a few.

BTW, the walleye is the best eating fish on the planet bar none. One fillet done in the classic pan-fried-in-Shorelunch coating style will make a believe out of you.

Top Top Top Tip: Buy a bag of Zesty Spice Doritos, crush about 2 handfuls of them in a bag using a rolling pin. Coat in the usual Shorelunch style and fry. Unbelievable.

Grouse

Jesus Grouse that's a fantastic heads up! I've emailed him this info already. He's planning his trip with the better half next year and saving his dosh frantically! Dually noted on the temp front FG, as we only get down to @ 7/8 degrees centigrade in Auckland NZ and we're big softies at heart in the Pacific.

Not shy of using spinning gear either, sounds like great sport all round.
I've only made it as far as BC and that was on rugby tours but Manitoba is supposed to be breath taking from all accounts.

Wish I was going now! Then Ireland and recession ain't a good mix!

If you don't mind me asking are they a good fighting fish on spinning and fly gear?

Cheers,

Brent.

Great post by the Grouse. I agree with everything, though I've not fished for walleye with the fly. I grew up fishing for them with spinning gear, that's what worked, so I never really thought to try anything else.

They are terrific sport; would be heaps of fun on a fly rod I'd imagine. And as Grouse says, absolutely positively the world's tastiest fish. By miles. Rolled in bit of cornmeal, fried in garlic butter in the pan. Little squeeze of lemon over the top. Heaven.

I find Manitoba to be breathtaking not in the sense of mountains and grand scenery, but rather that it's hard to believe there's that much utterly uninhabited space left on earth. Northern Manitoba is incredibly remote and virtually unpopulated.

As far as a fighting fish, a walleye is good, but it's no Atlantic Salmon or steelhead. On a fly rod they're great because if you get into a 1.5-3 pound average fish, that's really good, not many places where you can catch wild fish that big on the fly in larger numbers.

It's probably worth noting that they aren't pushovers. A walleye is famous for being a light biting fish. At various lodges and fishing camps, I've noticed that beginners can have real trouble and get very frustrated while coming to terms with how to successfully set the hook.

BTW, Manitoba has some fantastic trophy brook trout action. You'll probably have heard of the Hudson Bay tributaries like God's River. A good buddy of mine has fished brook trout up there out of Gods Lake Lodge, an incredible experience, but so far in the middle of nowhere that you have to change planes at places that don't exist just to get the onward flight to get there. The Kiwis would be well schooled on the main tactic for the tributaries up there, it's almost exclusively fishing mouse patterns.

Grouse

Thanks again Grouse for the generous insight! As I head back home next year - if your ever down Auckland/North Island way with the Grouse family there's a fishing trip for you, just give us a PM.

Cheers,

Brent.

I have recently returned from a fly fishing trip for Muskie on the Chippewa river in Wisconsin. We caught quite a few Walleye on the fly even though we weren't fishing for them. I guess the guys that use spinners on there must catch a hatful. They were caught over deepwater, however they were hooked probably about 5-6 feet down which surprised me because the sun was beating down and the temperature was in the mid-80's most days. Olive green and white seemed to work particularly well fished on an intermediate line. Here's a picture of my ugly mug with one of them.

__________________
If you're a defender and he heads it that low you take his head off, it's as simple as that. - Roy Keane

I had a whole bunch of walleye on the fly one clousers one year on the Rio Grande in NM below a dam. It was a weird year, they were showing up in irrigation ditches. I was basically fishing a sinking line with a clouser (Olive and white) up and across then letting it sink and swing. I also nailed an absolute belter of a white bass on a red and white double bunny. Good times!

Campbell

I spent a bit of time chasing Z's at Grafham a few seasons ago - deal is get just above the bottom near structure ( if you can find it ) - the boils near the tower at Grafham also draw them in .

It is far more productive on the rudder as you get a flatter longer retrieve near the bottom .

Best flies pretty much incorporated a waggling tail - especially a yellow or white one - overall length around 4" / 5" Tandems good , action essential and don't use wire - they can see it and don't like it .

Odd punters on the lead are now having occasional good days at Rutland as the head of Z's builds . Always deep and sometimes very deep - reports of Black being ok as a colour action always essential .

And one oddity - friends of mine who fished them commercially on the Danube in the 80's have seen film of them basically attacking single baitfish from above and bumping them into the bottom a couple of times before actually taking them - the Danube boys always used some form of jig that fished upside down ( a 3" Yellow Mr Twister was favoured ) and they got most foul hooked around the lower jaw .

I've noticed with the fly there are usually a couple of 'bumps' before the proper take .

And I wholeheartedly agree with all comments about the taste ! The best Haddock in the Whole World - so that's lightly floured and fried in butter served with Petits Pois and Chips !( French Fries to our pals from North America .)

Bon appetit

Steve P

White is a good color for zander as well. And many others. Mt.Twister single tail twister in 4`` is spot on for those guys. However, twin tail twisters are not nearly as succesfull. All in all, same stuff as pike, although scaled down a bit as it generally hunts smaller fish than pike. BUT, for big zanders, small is relative. And i have seen small ones and had small ones attack huge baits ment for pike as well. But in general, lure/fly should be smaller than for the pike of the same size.

Zanders hunt at night, although there are waters where you can succesfully fish for them during the day as well. General rule is near the bottom, slow. As always, there is an exeption to every rule, so i have seen zanders attack lures that were pulled with speeds one would ask himself how on Earth could they catch up with it. The best thing is, to play with a bait if you are able to, do some pouses etc. But again.....you must find out what works in the water you are at.

One thing is very important, which was allready written by steveparton, that is location. Once you find them, they are yours. If you fish in the wrong spot, you shall blank, while somebody else shall have a blast.

And finally, although this is not fly fishing, using a piece of small fish, fished on the bottom is a great way of fishing for them. Normally you cut the head away, and crush, cut the fish to get as much flavour in water as possible. Even better trick is to freeze the fish as it shall burst its cells and again more flavour in water. Good memories indeed, not strong fighters, but beautifull fish.

Btw. if you would take it for the pot, beware of the hard spike in dorsal fin. Once a guy was cleaning a zander and i told him he should do it from the other side (he was descaling it with hand hoing towards the spike). He did not listen so i just waited for the inevitable. 5s later he was jumping around with bloody hand. And as said, a very tasty fish.

BlueOne