Walleye opener!

[Budweiser]

Frozen Shinners, 6lbs test, jigs, my ugly stick, shorelunch, and a bottle of Captain Morgan.

What else do I need for a successful fishing opener?

I think I gotter covered

[Geno]

An 18 YO hooker?

A place to fish?

This is a trick question............... right?

Good luck my man. :D

[Budweiser]

An 18 YO hooker?

A place to fish?

This is a trick question............... right?

Good luck my man. :D
got the place, don't need a hooker b/c my fiance` would get a little pissed about that whole deal. You know women are

[Budweiser]

Oh yeah, I love this weather cold, rainy lows in the upper 30's with rain. This should be a fun trip. At least the fishin' will be good.

[Nainoa]

Frozen Shinners, 6lbs test, jigs, my ugly stick, shorelunch, and a bottle of Captain Morgan.

What else do I need for a successful fishing opener?

I think I gotter covered

I'm also an Ugly Stick man...
(Though I don't get drunk and Boat or Drive... In honor of a friend of mine who lost her life doing so.)

***

See here's my list of stuff I'm taking out...


RODS
(Spinning) Light action Ugly Stick Rod with 6 pound Vanish, rigged up with a slip bobber rig.
(Spinning) Heavy Action Ugly Stick Rod with 10 pound Spiderwire, rigged for a 3 way rig.
(Bait Caster) Shimano Convervgence with Abu Garcia 6500, spooled with 50 pound spiderwire stealth (For Pike Fishing)

My Entire tackle Box... (Which has everything...)
My Motto is "There is no such thing as too much tackle!"

Flashlights, for any too dark dusk landings
Ropes anchors and other boat gear.
Spare Battery (Which turned out to be a 12V anyway BTW!)


CLOTHING
Long Johns
Fishing Jeans (Carpenters)
My utility Belt (I have a special "Fishing Belt" that holds a ton of stuff, just like Batman's Utility Belt!)
Underarmor under shirt
Fleece sweatshirt
Transpiration Coat
Carhart Arctic Gear Jacket
Grouse hunting socks
My New Hi-Tec Water Proof boots
Fleece hat
Camo-Cowboy hat.
Polarized Shades.
Ice Armor Gloves

Smith and Wesson Black Ops hunting knife
Leatherman & Surgical clamps

FOOD
I'm hosting a Ham Dinner with all my fishing buddys friday night, then slicing up the remainder for sandwhich meat, and then I'm going to take some Bean and Ham soup in the giant thermos.

Gallon of water, and 3 pounds of peanuts for High energy food, should round out our needs.

***
Bait:
Minnows
Leeches
Crawlers
Angler & Wax worms


***
Then I'm fishing 3 days straight...

Day One:
Current Forecast is Low of 40, and high of 61, with a 40% chance of rain. Mostly Cloudy

Somewhat close to home is a lake chain chain that emptys out into a small river... The bridge at the head, holds MANY walleye... I'm heading out early to try to get a spot at what is usually a very crowded place.
(Last year, everytime, two old F*ckers parked their 26 foot pontoon, on the sweetest spot, blocking half the bridge area... Then they just sat around half the time with no lines in the water. So my goal is to beat those two hunks of rotten pecker meat to the spot.)

If the bite is slow, dead, or I have to wait for someone to move to take their spot, I'm going to do some cat fishing, just to get some fish for the garden.

Day Two
Current Forecast is Low of 43, and high of 63, with a 20% chance of rain. Partly Cloudy

Going to a Gin Clear Lake that is an hour from my place... Going to try my hand with the spooky eyes... Then shift over to pike fishing, and hope I don't pull up a Musky. (Lot of Musky on those waters.)

Day Three Current Forecast is Low of 45, and high of 67, with a 10% chance of rain. Mostly Sunny

There's a lake near my house (9 Miles away) that I've had some luck on in the past, and now that I'm the captain of my own boat, I've found some spots, that have marked the fish stacked like Cord wood.

[Nainoa]

God I'm excited to get out there and catch a walleye...

I've been fishing a lot this year, and while I'm pulling in fish hand over fist everytime I go out, I'm getting sick of Pan fish and cats... I need to feel the tug of a real fish on the line...

Jumbo Perch and Catfish just aren't fulfilling enough...

It's like wanting to bang the hot chick, but having to settle for a handjob from her ugly sister.

[Budweiser]

Spare Battery (Which turned out to be a 12V anyway BTW!)



lol thats funny,

I also am bringing two rods, both are for jigging walleye. That's all we will be doing no trolling. And some warm clothes! It is 38 in Baudette right now!

[Nainoa]

lol thats funny,

I also am bringing two rods, both are for jigging walleye. That's all we will be doing no trolling. And some warm clothes! It is 38 in Baudette right now!


Yeah but today and Friday is the worst part of the system...

Compared to the last 5 MN openers this is going to be a friggin' tropical paradice this weekend!

***

Right now it's coldest in Northern MN and then Southern MN, isn't doing so hot either, because this low pressure system is doing and Echo hook...

By opener the Low should be stalled over Wisconsin... By Sunday it should be pushing all the cold air into Indiana/Ohio...

So really other than the occasional chance of a scattered sprinkle lowering the boom on us for an hour or two on Saturday, in the back side of that storm we should be pretty good...
At least pretty good compared to the last few openers...

Since 2001, the only opener that the weather wasn't "A Living Hell" was 2003... When it got up to 62 degrees, and muggy by noon... Then the cold front slammed in and dropped temps down into the low 50's, with horizontal rain.

I remember Opener 2002... I was out fishing at 8:00 am, on the Mississippi... I was so cold I was trembling... When I broke my line my hands were too numb and shaking to be able to tie the knot... So I had to take my rod back to the car, start it, and blast the heat to get feeling back into my hands in order to have the manual dexterity to be able to tie the old shank!

***

So 61 friggin' degrees with a slight chance of rain...

Pffft... I'll take that in a heart beat!

***

My biggest concern is the wind on Sunday... The lake I'll be on is 2500+ acres... Tons of Sunken Island... So I'd like to be able to anchor in less than gale force hell...

The lake appears to white cap at a 13 MPH sustained gust.

[Epihall]

could some of you walleye fishermen give me advice? I've never caught a walleye before. What are some good artificial/rigs to use to catch walleye. I don't have anything against using live bait, just that I don't like to use it and rather use artificial lures. Any specific colors, weights, types of baits?

[Nainoa]

could some of you walleye fishermen give me advice? I've never caught a walleye before. What are some good artificial/rigs to use to catch walleye. I don't have anything against using live bait, just that I don't like to use it and rather use artificial lures. Any specific colors, weights, types of baits?


Jesus man... That's like asking me to explain to you how to build a space shuttle out of old bicycle part, through e-mail!

LOL
;)

:D


Walleye are very fickle fish...

****

It's really going to depend... The first trick to catching a Walleye is finding the Walleye...

This time of year, where you are in the country is going to make a HUGE difference... As well as the type of lake you're fishing in...

Right now in MN... you want to find current coming out of a lake, with a gravel or rocky bottom... And fish the current area staging out of the Rip Rap into the lake... Walleye will be shallowish...

Unless of course it's cold, then they will drive deeper into the lake area off the staging befor they go into summer stage.

***

Live bait is going to be your best bet right now...

However, Crank baits aren't a bad idea either at this point... (In about 3-4 weeks Crankbaits and walleye go their seperate ways, and trolling is the only way you're picking up a waldo with a crank.)

If you're going to crank bait... Then I would look for shallow sandy or gravel flats that are just outside of weed beds, and I would cast cranks to the edge of those weed beds...

I've had some good luck with Spoons, perch colored shad raps and #3 Mepps spinners this time of year.

***

If a cold front slams down on you, and you happen to be in an area of clear water lakes (Such as one of the lakes I'm fishing this year.) Then I would find some structure, like a sunken island... Set up a heavier rig (8-pound test-ish... Vanish Transition) with a slip bobber... I would move through the depths from 8 to 20 feet, with crawler or a lip hooked minnow.

[Nainoa]

lol thats funny,

I also am bringing two rods, both are for jigging walleye. That's all we will be doing no trolling. And some warm clothes! It is 38 in Baudette right now!

So where are you going for Opener?

[Budweiser]

So where are you going for Opener?
Just got back from Wheelers point (Lake of the woods, end of the Rainy River) and we hammered the walleye! Mostly 14-16" but good eaters anyway, a few around 25" and even a few nice 30+"pike.

caught everything on 3/8 - 1 oz jig heads with stinger hooks and frozen shinners.

And a ton of beer.