Walleye – How I Caught a 10 Pounder

I caught my 10 pound walleye at Eagle Lake in Northwest Ontario. I was in a boat with my brother and nephew. It was late in the day 3 or 4 in the afternoon and we were trolling trying to pick up a northern or 2 before going in for dinner.

My brother hooked a small northern about 15 inches so he stops the boat gets it in and it is flopping all over with a lure hanging out of it's mouth and getting all tangled in a landing net. Well I got tired of waiting for him to get things right in the boat. He was asking me to help him and me being the good brother I am told him to handle it himself and started casting to the shore of the island we had been trolling around. The shore was a rock cliff that came out of the water about 5 and I cast to it and hit the cliff with the lure. I was using a 5 1/2 inch jointed orange Rapla with a gold belly. I am pretty sure the water went deep right at the cliff face. My second cast hit the cliff and I started cranking when all of a sudden the lure stopped dead after about 2 cranks, I thought at first I got snagged.

Since I thought I was snagged I pulled a little and it pulled back so I set the hook hard and the fight was on. Actually it was not what I would have expected from a 10 pound fish but it was a walleye and went to the bottom. I got it up and it flashed once and went right for the bottom again. Now my hyper brother was really freakin saying that's a walleye! that's a walleye and I am saying I know give me the net. Well he would not let me net it myself he said he had to do it so he netted it and as soon as we got it in the boat the hooks fell out.

I thought I stuck it good but I guess not. So that is pretty much my 10 pound walleye story. My brother was so intent on netting that fish because he had been going up there with my dad, uncle and cousins. Well my uncle caught a 12 pound walleye doing the same thing I was doing and even using the same lure but in blue and his brother my dad netted it for him. Then the next day my cousin caught an 11 1/2 pound walleye in just about the same spot with a blue 5 1/2 inch jointed Rapala and his brother did the net work for him.

I don't know what point I am trying to make here, this is just my story on how I caught a 10 pound walleye but I do have some thoughts since all three of us were fishing the same way with the same lures so to recap!

1. We were casting to a cliff face.

2. We were using big jointed lures. Both of their's were blue mine was orange.

So this is what I think, big walleye are loners. The smaller ones school but I think the truly big ones hang by themselves. I know those areas dropped deep right away but I would bet that baitfish hang tight to the cliff face that is under water. I think maybe the action of those jointed lures is something that the big walleyes can't refuse! I think those big walleye hang around the cliff faces for an easy meal and when that big lure comes by is either makes them mad and they go after it, or they go after it because it is invading their space.

I kind of see a pattern there. 3 people using the same kind of lure fishing the same way. I caught a 6 1/2 pound walleye in the Wisconsin river and it was the same thing thought I was snagged until I pulled and it pulled back. I caught that one with an orange and chartreuse jig tipped with a minnow.

When I fish for walleye I don't go throwing the big lure at them even though I caught a big one that way. I fish with jigs because I catch a lot more that way and it is more fun fishing that way. I have never hooked a 10 pounder on a jig but you never know. My biggest on a jig is 6 1/2lbs. and I have caught many very nice 3, 4, and 5 pounders jigging. I have also caught some nice smallies and northern when jigging for walleye, and once hooked a 37 inch musky. If you click the links below and go to my site you can check out some photo's.