Spring Walleye Trip

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Larry Vaughan

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We normally come to Lake Powell in July and August and thanks to Wayne, I’ve always had great luck catching stripers, catfish and the occasional walleye. One of my coworkers always goes to Bullfrog in the spring and they normally catch 200+ walleye over a few days. Since we have accommodations at Wahweap I would like to know if anyone has suggestions for catching springtime walleye in the South part of the lake. Wayne?
Thanks!
Larry
 
Larry Vaughan said:
We normally come to Lake Powell in July and August and thanks to Wayne, I’ve always had great luck catching stripers, catfish and the occasional walleye. One of my coworkers always goes to Bullfrog in the spring and they normally catch 200+ walleye over a few days. Since we have accommodations at Wahweap I would like to know if anyone has suggestions for catching springtime walleye in the South part of the lake. Wayne?
Thanks!
Larry
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Walleye spawn in March (water temperature in the 50s) and are done by mid April. As the water warms with increasing temperatures they get really hungry and try to rebuild their body strength after going without food during spawning season. The warming water and increasing forage during May really triggers their need for food. They feed both night and day. Late in the summer with more forage and more habitat they switch back to their normal instincts and feed mainly at night.

The month of May is definitely walleye time. You can randomly catch walleye incidentally while fishing for other species in the southern lake but the numbers caught don't compare with the catch for the same amount of fishing time from Bullfrog to striper city. Fish populations always vary but walleye seem to be consistently more abundant in the northern lake. My catch rate for walleye in the spring is one fish on an average day and 5 fish on a really good day. That's really my fault because stripers always get in the way and I target them instead of walleye.

If you want to target walleye in the southern lake here are some tips:

Go early or stay late. Walleye have big eyes and do well in low light. I like the backs of rocky coves where there is a gentle slope. I toss my plastic jig to the top of the slope and then slowly work it down to deeper water. Walleye really like to ambush lures that are worked slowly along the bottom. I switch over to other species when the sun hits the water.

In the evening I look for coves with a flat sandy bottom. Again drag your plastic bait slowly along the bottom at 20-30 feet. Walleye are not schooling fish but they tend to hang out together in favored habitat. If you catch one walleye it is likely that more will be in the same area.

My best tip is trolling in treetops. This is only possible when the lake has an early rise and brush is covered during May. It is possible that an early runoff will cover brush allowing walleye to hang out in the tree line. If you ever find brush suspended 10 feet deep in the water, try trolling a 6-8 foot deep running crank bait over the tree tops. Walleye will park in a sheltered area and wait for dinner to swim by. Then they rush out, attack and return to the brushy hideout. When walleye are in this mode I put stripers in second place and just fish for walleye. It is an amazing experience!

Another trick is to look for a 20 foot deep cove where boat wakes or wind have muddied the water. Often that "mudline" is floating on the surface and the water below is still clear. This shaded water allows walleye to see well in darker water and feed throughout the day without putting their sun glasses on. You can troll across the mudline cove or drop jigs and work them slowly as indicated.

Good Luck on Walleye during May 2020!
 
I had a friend tell me he used to troll a bottom bouncer in the channel from Wahweap to Lone Rock and do very well. I tried it once and got nothing. Might do it again this year
 
Thank you so much Wayne. I appreciate your expertise and tips. May it is! I’ll post the results of the trip with the rest of the WW gang. Thanks again for all you do!
Larry Vaughan
 
Larry Vaughan said:
We normally come to Lake Powell in July and August and thanks to Wayne, I’ve always had great luck catching stripers, catfish and the occasional walleye. One of my coworkers always goes to Bullfrog in the spring and they normally catch 200+ walleye over a few days. Since we have accommodations at Wahweap I would like to know if anyone has suggestions for catching springtime walleye in the South part of the lake. Wayne?
Thanks!
Larry
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Bottom bouncer in 20 foot deep water in the shade, in or near broken rock piles works in the North lake, should be similar in the South, I suspect. But if your friends are catching 200+, do what they do! Good luck, sounds like a great trip on tap.
 
I've caught more walleye in the lower lake in Navajo Canyon and along the main lake shorelines both above and below Navajo on both sides of the lake. I've also caught quite a few of them in Gunsight. Like Wayne I've never particularly targeted them but have caught a fair number while bass fishing. I seemed to have caught more of them bouncing the bottom with soft plastic jigs and Texas-rigged and shaky head worms than with the drop shot setups I normally fish now. I've also caught a fair number on jigging spoons while striper fishing. I also caught a couple working a lipless crank bait UNDER a striper boil. I'm convinced walleyes position themselves around striper schools waiting for the crippled shad the stripers miss to flutter down to them. Smallmouth will do the same thing. Unfortunately I think there were more walleyes in the lower lake back in the 90s and early 2000s than there are now. Only two walleyes found their way into my boat last season.

I remember one trip many years ago when I used a Yamamoto Ika on a jig head with a live nightcrawler attached. That produced several nice 'eyes for me. I think you can up your chances on walleyes by adding a piece of nightcrawler to your jigs. :)

Ed Gerdemann
 
Thanks guys! I’ll see if I can get more information from my friend on his northern lake trips. We look forward to our spring walleye trip and will post our results.
Larry Vaughan
 
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