Lodges
Anglers across the nation head north for the opportunity to stay in one of the many fishing lodges in Minnesota. Often, the overwhelming reason to stay in these lodges is the abundance of the Minnesota state fish, the highly-sought after Walleye. Walleyes are tough to catch but are well worth the effort due to their ability to put up a good fight and the way they taste when fried, baked, or broiled. Fishing lodge packages in Minnesota are often built around the ability of anglers to catch and bring home Walleye to share with their families.
What Do Walleye Eat?
Maybe a better question is do Walleye not eat? A Walleye is an opportunistic feeder and although they have their favorite foods, they have been known to eat everything from perch fry and trout, to other Walleye, leeches and frogs. In a perfect Walleye world, the deeper, cooler and heavily oxygenated waters of a lake will be teaming with bait fish that will offer a readily available snack for a Walleye anytime it desires to eat.
When Do You Catch Walleye?
Walleye feed most heavily during dawn and dusk when the light is low. Their eyes are nature-made to see in near-total darkness. On cloudy days in lakes where the water is clear, they will feed later in the morning, and earlier in the evening. Walleye are often believed to hang out on the bottom of a lake or river, but active fish will feed far above the bottom and are often discernible on electronics.
What Do You Use to Catch Walleye?
Although many a Bass fisherman has caught an accidental Walleye on a plastic worm or Bass Jig, Walleye are most susceptible be caught on live bait. A big, fat, juicy night crawler fished close to the bottom on a crawler harness or other similar spinner rig is a go-to-choice for Walleye anglers at many of the fishing lodges and resorts in Minnesota in the summer. In the spring of the year, almost every angler with a pole is using a jig and a minnow to entice Walleye, pitching the rigs into the shallow water and slowly bouncing them off the bottom back to the boat. In the fall, all bets are off and as long as Walleyes are present, nearly any presentation will catch fish from a jig and a leech, to hard bodied minnow baits.