Locating Walleye on Lake Gogebic

As large as Lake Gogebic is, it can be a bit mind boggling in trying to locate walleye on the lake. September and October are a few of the best months to fish for walleye. If you like to use cranks on the lake like I do successfully, don't despair, it's really not rocket science. Yes I said crank for walleye! Cranking for walleye in the fall is a technique very few fisherman use this time of the year on this lake. I've done it successfully year after year for the last 35 years. Many years ago I discovered the hierarchy of the lake's specie= walleye, small mouth bass and northern pike.

If you take a small section of the lake and break it down into a lake within a lake, finding walleye is much easier. Take a good look at the shore line as this will give you some clues as to where to fish. If you notice any kind of points, major or minor ones, checking out the contour is a must. Find some weed and a drop off near by and you'll find fish. The drop off doesn't have to be a big one as I've caught walleye and SM bass even in 2 ft of water. That's right I said 2 ft of water. There was always a nice drop off just outside of the weed edge usually even if only a few feet. The weed edges consist of a secondary and major weed lines each with nice drop offs near by.

On Lake Gogebic, the winds usually come straight down the lake from the north or from the south and disperse in all directions in the middle sections. Sometimes it seems as if the winds are actually coming from the west on the east side instead of the north or south. If the winds actually come from the east, forget it, don't bother, do something else. In the 38 years of fishing the lake, I've never caught much during an easterly wind. It's possible but tough. Looking at the chop and seeing what direction its coming from, start searching by cranking in and around 7.5 ft of water. That's my starting point anywhere on the lake. I'm always facing the wind. If you happen to catch a northern pike, don't fret. I know they can be a hazard on your line but they give you a great fight. The reason you should be grateful that you found some northerns, is that small mouth and walleyes are near by.

Aside from the great fight SM bass will give you, if this is the first fish caught, is that walleye are even closer now as they can be found in and around the same spots just a few yards more, ahead. Sometimes you need to go much further into the wind to a location where a drop off is by finding a major weed line. I've caught walleye, huge ones 19-24 inch in water under 3 feet in a minor weed line around the 500 club but there was always a drop off to 5-6+ft near by. This was an exception and sometimes they are a reality here on the lake depending on the circumstances of what's below the water. If it looks like a good spot irregardless of depth on your depth locator, it's worth checking out!

Mostly, I find Northerns in weedy coves where they are foraging left overs from SM and walleyes. So they are always the last ones in line and the closest to the shore, inside a minor weed bed. Altho in some major points like the one at the Lone Oak Resort, they can hang out in 4-6 ft in the weeds. They may even hang out in the weed bed just south of the point in 7-9 ft of water. It depends on which way the wind is blowing. It's an area still well worth checking out thoroughly. Second in line, facing the wind are the SM bass. They like to hang around somewhere between the secondary and major weed lines close to a drop off. Ahead of the pack just waiting to ambush anything resembling food hidden in the weeds near by a major drop off, are the walleye. So all you have to do to remember the order they hang out in weeds near a drop off facing the wind/incoming wave, irregardless of exceptions are; #1 walleye, #2 SM bass and #3 northerns and if you come across anything other than walleye on your cast, remember that walleyes are just a few more yards ahead.

Now you just have to find the right color to throw at them for consistency. I've even figured that one out. Maybe I will reveal that info in a future post. Give cranking in weeds a shot and Good Luck!

average size weed walleye

a days catch in the weeds

a respectful size SM bass found in the weeds with walleye a few yards near by

fishing Lake Gogebic

I've been fishing Lake Gogebic in the upper peninsula of Michigan going on now for 38 years. I've fished the Walleye Jamborees in September for many a year, from 1999 to 2008 and won my share of moneys. It doesn't matter what section of the lake I fish, the results are usually the same. You could say that I'm consistent as I usually catch more fish than most. Yes, probably more than the locals.

My method is much different than everyone else's from June to late September. I've fished the lake when it was snowing in September with 2-3 inches of snow on the ground and the consistency is still the same. I've fished it the same way when there were 2-3 foot waves and the winds were howling and caught plenty of fish. I've caught small mouth bass, northern, crappie and yes walleye to boot all using the same method.

Trolling or using live bait is okay if you're looking for onesies and twosies, but I like to get my limit when I'm fishing rather than getting bored quickly. Okay already then, so what do I do that's different? Well, I'm not going to tell you the entire story because next time I'm out there, everyone is going to be on my spots. But, I will tell you this; start tossing crank-baits and blade baits in weeds at 4-8 feet of water. The colors you're going to have to figure out yourselves and same goes for the contour and points.

Summer times, it's going to be a bit tougher to catch walleye because of the bright intense light conditions. I usually use a jig or a Lindy-rig with a crawler and work a little deeper, 8-12' with rocky or rubble bottom. Be sure to attach a small treble trailer hook to the crawler because walleye during summer bite very light and most of the time you won't feel it. Keep moving. There has been times where I've just fished deep 18-23' and let the wind move me in which ever direction it was blowing. I'll go back to my cranks later in the evening after 7:00 P.M and work the weeds until dark.

Use dark colors at night. They're easier for walleye to see in the tea stained water especially if the moon is out. I prefer black with a little white on it. I carry a white marker and add a couple of white dots just behind the eyes of the lure. I like sinking lures like Rapala's count downs and often carry several. Before going up to the U.P. I will usually paint a few of them black and leave a bit of white or light grey behind the eyes if I plan on fishing late. I prep them at home so that the paint has enough time to dry and the paint odors disappear. Before throwing them out in the water I might spray the lure with a fish scent if they still smell of paint.  Unless the moon is out, it gets pretty dark out there and seeing anything is difficult especially on a cloudy night. You need a spot light to move around with, other wise it's easy enough to get lost on the vast lake.

My buddy and I were out there last week and fished the lake from Wednesday to this weeks Monday and I got my daily limit every day, even after the cold front moved in cranking the weeds. Boat control is a must especially in wind. I like to keep moving rather than dropping an anchor. The method is much like fishing for Large Mouth Bass. I like using six and eight pound mono on a light rod. The lures are 3/8 and 1/2 oz. I let the lure sink for 5 seconds, use a steady retrieve and stopping for a second or two. Fish will often hit on the drop. I've even caught walleye right at the boat. I'm talking about keepers like 17-20 inch walleye and 4-51/2 lb bronze-backs. My buddy was using the same lures and color as I and I out fished him 2-1. He was using 10 lb braided line and later changed to 14 lb mono on a medium weight pole. He didn't want to lose his lures and the fish and was overly cautious. Let's face it, 14 lb mono on a medium rod is not going to give you the same lure action and feel as a 6 or 8lb mono will on a light weight rod and reel. As for losing many lures? Very seldom do I lose a lure because of the line weight. If I do, it's because the tie failed. I've made it a habit to re-tie often and especially after catching a fish.

By our last day on the lake, we've filleted more fish than we expected and frankly we just didn't feel like dealing with them any more. Not only that but our freezer couldn't handle any more fillets so we threw what we had in our live well (3 walleyes between 16"-18"), back to fight another day. I wanted to give them to another fisherman not as lucky as we were, but there weren't any other fishermen around.

Below are some pix to show you what your results could be.

a typical bronze-back

caught this giant crappie in the weed

a 41/2 and 51/2 lb bronze-backs

a typical days catch of a mix of walleye and small mouth bass

my fishing buddy and I holding a double limit