Scrappy walleye

Smelt are back and they are eating good.

I too have had numerous conversations about how they are fighting this year.   I've often questioned why is it that walleye in lakes and in Canada fight twice as hard as the ones in Oahe.  But this year, I've seen it happen twice this year where the guy catching the fish is thinking its a Northern Pike.  The fish is running wild and its heavy, back and fourth, a few times.   The second time I stayed ready on the net and both times they were 23" walleye.  Even the little 12" fish are fighting hard this year.  They feel like a keeper for about 5 seconds.

Alot of the fish we have caught on oahe have been in 8fow or less so I'm thinking this may have alot to do with the way the fish run and jerk around so much.  Usually we have a fish up to the boat in a few seconds and I imagine the fish isn't played out quite yet.  Almost every decent fish weve caught from shallow water this summer has made one or two line peeling runs at the boat.  I talked to a friend in Akaska who said he had a walleye actually jump 2 feet out of the water like a smallmouth.  Not sure if this was true or more of a fabricated baitshop story, but even if it was exaggerated I wouldn't doubt that the fish at least broke water and fought like hell. 

I've fished this reservoir for 35 years and never remember fish fighting like they have this year.  In that time many have come out of shallow water.  The first time I caught a walleye out of a diffeerent body of water was a shock, because it followed my lure back to the boat and hit it right at the boat, then it ran and faught like a bass.  Then after talking to guys that go to Canada, they say that the walleye fight real hard up there.  Even the guys that fish Devils Lake say the same.  I don't know about comming out of the water but I believe it could happen.

 After fishing today I will have to agree that the fish are not just fighting harder because they're coming from shallow water.  Im sure thats part of it but it certainly isn't the only reason.  Three of the fish we caught sunday put up unbelievable battles, and we were fishing in 15-20fow.  One fish got to the boat and then took off and peeled about 10 feet of line.  The fish didn't really dive down either, he swam out to the side like a bass.  We also caught another fish that slipped 5-6 feet of line as the rod was in the rod holder.  The rod was a seven ft rod with a trolling reel and the drag certainly wasn't loose.  The fish turned out to be a 17 inch walleye.  Lastly we had a nice walleye run and act so wild that he actually broke the 10lb test leader.  The fish was a nice one, probably 22 or 23 inches, but it still seemed crazy that he would break that heavy mono.

What area are you guys fishing lately, Mobridge, Pollack, somewhere else?

TT

Somewhere else, I would recomend Polock, cant go wrong there

I've noticed that they seem to fight harder in warm water. Friday I doubled and while I was fighting one the other ran away from the boat towards deep water so hard that he was just about to the surface (tight drag). The post bout the walleye jumping out of the water. I don't know, but there are no walleye in Alaska.

There are few fish in Akaska also, except for in peoples freezers and on the wall. Just kidding, you must have misread the post to say Alaska instead of Akaska.

My bad Kaptain. Saturday night happy hour I guess.