A common misconception among walleye anglers is that walleye are a passive, tentative and finicky fish. Many anglers have this illusion and that impacts how they fish. Maybe they pull lindy rigs, slowly jig or simply hang a slipbobber near the weeds. While these are all highly effective presentations at the correct times, this does not mean walleye are a passive fish. The truth is that walleye are by nature a predator. Today, we take a look at the top forage options on their menu.
Yellow Perch
There are not many waterbodies you can find walleye and not yellow perch. Whether you are looking at the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, the Great Lakes or up into Canada it is rare to name a strong walleye fishery that does not have a population of resident yellow perch. Yellow perch can be found in shallow, fertile lakes, deep natural lakes, rivers and everything in between.
A big factor in a yellow perch’s life is submerged vegetation. Perch spawn by broadcasting eggs along submerged weeds, timber and other types of cover. The eggs cling to this cover and upon hatching, young-of-the-year perch seek cover in this vegetation. As perch age and grow, their location will still depend on where forage is. They may spend their time rooting through mud digging out insects, swimming amongst weed stalks or even suspending out over deep water feeding on insects and minnows.
Young-of-the-year perch are most susceptible to be prey for a walleye, but even in the first few years of their lives they are still on the menu. Growth rates can vary based on each individual waterbody, but even perch as large as 5 or 6 inches may be viewed as a meal to their hungry cousin.
Perch find themselves on the menu most often in the summer, as young-of-the-year fish are at desirable sizes and highly abundant following the spring spawn. Perch colored lures are a staple of the walleye tackle market for all the reasons listed above. You can emulate perch best using long, slender baits and mixing greens and oranges in your color presentation.
Gizzard Shad
Gizzard shad are another staple in the forage world that can be found in a wide variety of waterbodies. Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case are examples of two Missouri River reservoirs that are predominately a gizzard shad prey base. Shad can also be found in large natural lakes, the Great Lakes and other rivers and reservoirs.
Gizzard shad do not survive well in cold water, but a relatively low number of adults can produce an entire season’s worth of forage for even large reservoirs like Lake Sharpe and Francis Case in South Dakota. Walleye then gorge on the abundant 1-2 inch fish throughout summer and into fall. Gizzard shad are schooling fish and are frequent offenders of the “bait balls” anglers observe on their electronics.
Reservoirs that are driven by gizzard shad, such as Lake Sharpe and Francis Case, often experience an excellent spring bite as there is a minimal amount of forage (shad) in the system. As the shad become abundant in the summer months, the bite often becomes highly difficult as there is plenty of food in the system to keep walleyes full and happy. The bite will often pick up in the fall and can continue all winter long.
Another characteristic of a gizzard shad fueled fishery is slow growth rates. This is because walleyes only have a handful of months to prey on the shad in the system. This limited growing period often results in slower growth rates when compared to waterbodies that feature a year-round forage base, such as upstream neighbor, Lake Oahe.
Emulating a gizzard shad is easy as there are a wide variety of hard baits on the market designed to do just that. The Rapala Shad Rap, Berkley Flicker Shad and other baits featuring the word “shad” in their name are just a few examples. Anglers pulling bottom bouncers can also emulate shad by utilizing silver, white and other metallic colored Colorado blades.
Rainbow Smelt
As mentioned above, Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case feature a strong gizzard shad forage base, but their upstream neighbor Lake Oahe has different characteristics and thus different forage options. Sharpe and Francis Case are warmwater fisheries, but Lake Oahe can be characterized as a coldwater fishery. The large, deep and cold waters of Oahe are home to chinook and the newly introduced atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, burbot and most importantly both coldwater and warmwater forage options.
The poster child of these coldwater forage options is the rainbow smelt. In addition to Lake Oahe, rainbow smelt can be found in the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and other large, cool waters. By contrast of it’s downstream counterparts, Oahe relies on a strong rainbow smelt population to keep the walleyes full and healthy.
Similar to shad, smelt can be found in large schools. Oftentimes anglers will observe shad in the upper end of the water column, but smelt can be found all the way from top to bottom. They spend a great deal in the main basin and also unlike shad offer a year-round food source for walleyes. In turn, these walleyes enjoy a longer growing season and can reach sizes much larger faster than the fish that have only a limited forage base like the reservoirs below, which run off of gizzard shad.
Anglers can emulate rainbow smelt by deploying longer and more slender presentations. Baits that resemble minnows, such as a Rapala Husky Jerk, Berkley Flicker Minnow and other similar baits can all successfully emulate smelt.
Ciscoes/Lake Herring
Big fish eat big meals and ciscoes, or lake herring, are the perfect option to grow trophy caliber walleye. Ciscoes can be found in deep, cold waters where they can escape from the warmer waters found in shallow stretches.
In addition to rainbow smelt, Lake Oahe features a strong ciscoe population as well. These forage options produce one of the strongest trophy walleye fisheries in the Midwest and also help Lake Oahe regularly grow walleye over 14 pounds, with the next state record fish surely swimming in the system.
Anglers can emulate ciscoe with the same slender baits being used to emulate rainbow smelt, but do not be afraid to bump up the lure size. It is important to keep in mind these trophy caliber walleye are feeding on ciscoes that are 8-12 inches long. You may not get many bites, but the fish you catch are often going to be large.
Insects
Walleye are considered a piscivorous species, which means their diet primarily consists of other fish. That being said, insects can comprise a great deal of a walleye’s diet-especially in the highly fertile waterbodies of the Glacial Lakes region in the Dakotas. Waterbodies like Devils Lake and Bitter Lake may come to mind and these are good examples. Walleyes that live in these waters spend a great deal of time feeding on scuds, also called freshwater shrimp, as they drift helplessly through the water column, often closest to weeds or timber.
These highly fertile lakes are not the only situation walleye will be keying in on insects. One of the most common invertebrates, or insects, that is found in a walleye’s diet is mayflys. When mayfly hatch, they often comprise the vast majority of a walleye’s diet. This is for good reason, these walleye snacks are an easy meal as they fight their way off of the bottom. These mayfly also offer an excellent option when minnows and other prey fish are in short supply.
Anglers can combat walleyes gorging on mayfly by deploying hair jigs and other insect replicating baits. Anglers would be amazed by how many walleyes can be caught by fly-fishermen. Marabou jigs do an excellent job emulating insects, while bucktail style jigs do a better job resembling minnow species. Adding a small tube bait to a jig also can result in success. Many of the best walleye anglers during these situations actually think like a crappie angler, which leads them to often strong multi-species outings.
Other Walleye Specials
Young-of-the-year panfish also can be found on the walleye’s menu, particularly on warmwater fisheries of the midwest. These species include bluegill, crappie and other sunfish species. It is important to note fish often like to feed on prey that has the same body type as them. Walleyes prefer long, slender species while largemouth bass often revolve around bluegill as forage. Although there are several exceptions, expect fish such as walleye to key in on smaller panfish when this is their forage option. These young panfish can often be found seeking shelter in the weeds, so expect walleyes relating to these areas as well.
White bass are another species that offer an excellent forage base for walleye, especially young-of-the-year fish. Much like panfish, these white bass are a wider profile, but fish up to 3-5 inches can be found in a trophy walleye’s diet. Anglers fishing in the Glacial Lakes region of eastern South Dakota and on lakes like Devils Lake in North Dakota have noticed walleyes feasting on this abundant forage base.
Shiners is a broad term in the aquatic world, but often times when anglers use these terms in relation to forage they are referring to emerald shiners, spottail shiners and common shiners. Shiners are another slender forage base and often can fall into the “minnow” category. Species like emerald shiners enjoy spending time in warm waters, while spottail shiners will stay closer to structure along the bottom.
Gobies have emerged as a new dish available in the Great Lakes. Although these gobies have become a food source for walleye, it is important to note these are considered an invasive species and have several negative impacts on a fishery.
Serve the Right Meal
It would be an injustice to call a walleye anything other than a predator. The key to understanding and locating predators is to know their prey. Predators will always be where the prey are and understanding the forage base helps stack the odds in your favor. It is also important to note that forage options can vary over a relatively small geographic area.
A walleye living in the coldwater fishery of Lake Oahe may enjoy feeding on rainbow smelt, while a walleye living just below the dam in Lake Sharpe may be on a nearly exclusive gizzard shad diet. A two or three hour drive east can find walleyes in the Glacial Lakes region of eastern South Dakota keying on scuds or young-of-the-year white bass and perch. Once you understand what the predators are searching for, you can often expect a great day of fishing ahead. Good fishing!
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