Winter walleye

[270Flat]

Winter Walleye below McNary.
I’m itching to do something this weekend. I’ve been laid up for seven week recovering from surgery and my usual winter Roosevelt trip didn’t happen for trout. Looking for a few pointers to catch some eater fish? We do well post spawn but never been out this time of the year. Jig, trolling plugs, worm harness?
I’ll just be a lump on the boat for a while until I can get moving again a bit better.
Thanks!

[dilleytech]

All three of those techniques will work. Best February fishing I have done was with plugs. But I wonder if the river too turbid for good fishing right now.

[pickardjw]

270Flat - if you want or need an extra hand on the boat let me know. Just moved to Pendleton and I'm interesting in learning about the fishery below McNary. Don't have my boat down here yet, but I have my rods and a small amount of walleye tackle.

[abhold87]

Curious to know when everyone’s annual start date is to fish for spring walleye. I always feel I start to late and miss out on a lot of good jig fishing.

[huntandjeep]

Curious to know when everyone’s annual start date is to fish for spring walleye. I always feel I start to late and miss out on a lot of good jig fishing.

End of February

[270Flat]

Well we made it out last week and fished bottom walkers with crawlers around .9-1.1 mph. 40-65 ft of water. We ended up with 6 in the boat and a few misses. Nice eater fish 18”-19” males.

I convinced my buddy to take his boat just cause I’m still on crutches and too much work for me to launch mine.

[MeepDog]

I went out yesterday to my usual haunts on the Columbia and wasnt marking fish. No hits on blades or crawler harnesses so they havent shown up to my spot yet.

[pianoman9701]

Can you catch them from the shore and if so, what do you use? Do you need a steel leader?

[Jonathan_S]

Can you catch them from the shore and if so, what do you use? Do you need a steel leader?

I've had some big walleye break off and teeth may have been a contributing factor. But their teeth are well gapped and I don't find that sawing occurs.

Shore fishing is hit and miss but some of my best days were from the shore.

[mcrawfordaf]

Can you catch them from the shore and if so, what do you use? Do you need a steel leader?

Come spring time we catch loads of em from the shore using suspending jerkbaits, no steel leader.

[abhold87]

I agree I haven’t had any issues like I thought I would with their teeth. I had figured I would loose plenty of fish from the line being cut. My first experience with catching them was jerkbaits in the shallows while wading in some gravel flats as it got dark in the early summer.

[pianoman9701]

Can you catch them from the shore and if so, what do you use? Do you need a steel leader?

Come spring time we catch loads of em from the shore using suspending jerkbaits, no steel leader.

And do you just let them float or bring them down to a specific depth? Any scent?

[Skillet]

Curious to know when everyone’s annual start date is to fish for spring walleye. I always feel I start to late and miss out on a lot of good jig fishing.

End of February

Trophy watch typically starts today.  State record (and first walleye over 20# caught anywhere in the world for 20+ years) was caught on Feb 28. 

Good luck to everybody with finding the fat girls 

[Skillet]

Can you catch them from the shore and if so, what do you use? Do you need a steel leader?

You thinking about fishing on your neighborhood John?  I've never fished down that way, but have had fair success fishing the rip rap dams in the central basin with casting a jig and fat crawler, and slowly hopping it back to the shore.

April and early May is primetime for that kind of action, IMHO.  Casting cranks too. Especially fishing through the night around full moons.  Walleye are major nighttime feeders, and aggressive when light is low. That also means wind-whipped shorelines where the mud gets stirred up during the day.  That can be a great crankbait bite situation if the bait is there.
 

[pianoman9701]

Thanks buddy. Maybe you and I should discuss this over some apple juice and a fattie.