Halloween and Monster Walleye

Marcel Tourdot, Pittsburgh Fishing Examiner
October 7, 2011 - Like this? Subscribe to get instant updates.

Walleye are widely regarded as one of North America’s most elusive freshwater game fish. Often referred to as marble eyes the walleye is a predator of the night. The sensitive nature of their eye sight forces them to spend the majority of their time at depths much greater than most other game fish. They inhabit these depths where little or no sunlight can reach to accentuate their remarkable eyesight and use the advantage to ambush their prey.

There is however a time of transition for walleyes and it is a time when they are more susceptible because they abandon their typical haunts. It is also a time when the largest of the species begin to feed with reckless abandon in the shallower depths of a river or lake system. That time of year is now and for the next 4 to 6 weeks an angler has the best chance to catch a trophy walleye.

Target gravel bars, shallow weed beds near drop off points, submerged weeds (typically only visible with electronic sonar), and areas downstream from dams. Since Pittsburgh is famous for its rivers (among other things), it is an ideal autumn spot for trophy class walleye.
Since the feeding frenzy that walleye undergo during this time of year is a response to the need to store up food reserves and energy to survive the coming winter months they are looking for large baitfish. It is best to cast jigs with shiners, or creek chubs, and minnow imitation crank baits to hook that monster walleye.