De Pere Walleye

[P&YBuck1]

Thanks for the good information Bucky!

[Bowhunting Brian]

jig during the day and crank baits at night. once DePere peters out, I head north too. I have not caught a walleye under 22" north and it's big slobs come easy once you hit the right day. catching 28" and bigger is like shooting fish in a barrel on the right day. I fish in waders under the railroad trestle. hint hint.

[Bowhunting Brian]

jig during the day and crank baits at night. once DePere peters out, I head north too. I have not caught a walleye under 22" north and it's big slobs come easy once you hit the right day. catching 28" and bigger is like shooting fish in a barrel on the right day. I fish in waders under the railroad trestle. hint hint.

[365buckin]

I live about 2 hours east of De Pere.

Um, 2 hours east of De Pere would put you in Lake Michigan.

Just sayin'

Thats my super sneaky way of not saying where I live....or typing east instead of west.

[365buckin]

jig during the day and crank baits at night. once DePere peters out, I head north too. I have not caught a walleye under 22" north and it's big slobs come easy once you hit the right day. catching 28" and bigger is like shooting fish in a barrel on the right day. I fish in waders under the railroad trestle. hint hint.

Any specific colors, weights on the jig heads, brands/colors on the cranks? Minnows or leeches?

[365buckin]

My buddy has a 3 day weekend April 18, 19, 20. With those dates, what would be the best spot to go? Menominee, Pestigo, Oconto, etc. What ramp or launch do you guys recommend?

[bigwoodsmn]

Do guys jig Northland Whistlers during the day? How about the B-Fishn Moxi Ringle Worms? They must hit the same stuff as the big girls up on Rainy River...

[Bowhunting Brian]

jig during the day and crank baits at night. once DePere peters out, I head north too. I have not caught a walleye under 22" north and it's big slobs come easy once you hit the right day. catching 28" and bigger is like shooting fish in a barrel on the right day. I fish in waders under the railroad trestle. hint hint.

Any specific colors, weights on the jig heads, brands/colors on the cranks? Minnows or leeches?

when the run is on, they smash pretty much everything. we just use 1/4 oz round heads with minnows or twister tails. my favorite has always been orange. bright colors work well. one year we ran out of the 4 lbs of minnows we bought and just used the twisters and it didn't matter. we still hammered them. you just have to be there on the right day and it's awesome. one thing we do sometimes is use fly rods. the current can be fast and the thinner line you have the easier it is to get your jig to the bottom. we tape an open faced reel on the rod with electrical tape and fish like an open faced rod (since the fly rod has the reel seat in the back). we were using 4 lb gama (yes only 4 lb,) they don't make it anymore but it's a copolymer line and it seemed stronger than the rating. anyway, the long whippy fly rod takes all the abuse from the fish so the line won't brake. we were catching 26" to 28" on only 4 lb test. it was a blast.

[Bucky]

My buddy has a 3 day weekend April 18, 19, 20. With those dates, what would be the best spot to go? Menominee, Pestigo, Oconto, etc. What ramp or launch do you guys recommend?

Ask me 2-3 days before those dates... I will tell you where I would go. The timing is slightly different every year

[Bucky]

Do guys jig Northland Whistlers during the day? How about the B-Fishn Moxi Ringle Worms? They must hit the same stuff as the big girls up on Rainy River...

The Ringle worms work... I have a buddy that never buys a minnow all season. Gulp with the right weight jig heard works well too... most of the bigger fish come after dark and shallow. The cool thing about fishing shallow at dark is you can see the fish! Giant 10lbs walleyes swim right past you in the shallow waters! It is something everyone should try at least once. If I'm shore fishing in waders I prefer to fish Menominee = more room to roam and the water is usually much clearer than De Pere. The most efficient way to catch the BIG ones without snagging them though is trolling IMO

Best night I ever had trolling we caught 26 walleyes over 25"s!

[seeds]

I also never buy minnows all season....DePere? You can fish downstream from the crowd and never have to deal with another boat. There's guys shorefishing and sometimes in the dark you have to watch for "3 setlines from shore". I don't think the minnow-soakers are releasing many...

Farther north you can go downstream from the RR trestle and find a spot to yourself. If you do find a good spot you can catch fish alone,eat some of your lunch when other fishermen pass by....I prefer the anchor-and-cast of the "further north" over the vertical jigging of the Fox but the Fox is easy and it won't eat your prop. "Farther north" eats props. One of JG's shows filmed there did not show his well-known guide limping upstream with a damaged lower unit. I'd damaged two different props on that same rock over the years.

I will never again join the circus up by the dam in DePere. I do not have the temperament...Once - When I finally found a spot I could cast - in one direction only - unobstructed,I managed a few dozen casts before someone else dropped anchor upstream and drifted downstream cutting me off from any available spot to cast. It was deliberate... I could have touched his boat as he drifted past...When I pulled anchor to discuss the situation with him,I got a "xxxx-you,I fish here all the time"...It took all my willpower to leave without (censored)...several years later,I'm still angry...Someone's going to get killed there some day and he'll probably deserve it.

There's peace and quiet and fish downstream....and farther north.

[Hodag Hunter]

I've fished DePere many times with the old man when growing up........ I now live in rhinelander. He doesn't fish there any more either.....folks retired semi time at their cabin.

I could barely stand it 25-30 years ago would be in a straight jacket now.

I can't stand fishing near someone. Now if I see 3 or more trailers at a landing I move to the next lake.

I'm getting grouchy the older I get. :)

Fishing by others and trolling in a zoo sucks for me. I don't care what size the fish are.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[P&YBuck1]

What is the Ringle lures you guys refer to? Where do you get these? Any colors you prefer over others?

Was at Voyager Park that past weekend. My son and I did not catch anything but we saw two guys catch smaller walleyes between 19-2 inch range. My son's friend was there earlier in the week and said the fish were packed thick, so were the fishermen. His friend snagged a big fish in the 28-inch plus range fish which he had to release, tough for a young kid, but exciting.

Note, even though my son and I caught no fish, we did enjoy the show put on by the local geese. There is a peninsula of woods in Voyager Park which hikers and fisherman travel which is home to the nests of the geese. It was simply hilarious watching the geese attack these people. The geese had a concerted effort to try and scare away the humans. Very entertaining... since the fish were not cooperative.

[Bucky]

Run is not over FYI

[P&YBuck1]

Darn nice fish Bucky...