Balsam last night, Big Walleye and medium walleye

That is too bad about your lure. I use leaders with my crank baits because I find the big walleye muskie and pike on balsam eat my lures. So you were out on sturgeon in the dark in a kayak. Try and fish close to shore if you are going to be on the water after dark. The walleye are close to shore at night. Also it is a little safer because a boat can't see you at night. Please forgive me for being presumptuous, if you have all the safety gear you need. Water is getting cold now. I like to see people go home from work or play all in one piece. Stay Safe out there.

Nice haul.

I just noticed one of my hooks was broken in the picture. Did not see that when the picture was taken in the morning. Must have been one of the last fish caught when it broke. I am very shocked none of you guys saw that in the picture either.

I did see it CM. Was sure you were aware. Another thought was that you intentionally removed it since it seems to be the lowest one.

I do clip the middle hooks on my most used jerk baits. This is my most used with one less hook there is less chance to harm the walleye.

for next summer trolling I plan on switching out all my treble hooks for doubles. It was to hard to get the trebles out last year.

you have them dialed in . does the wind effect how close they come to shore , do you ever cast against the wind if your on shore, im in kayak so am out of wind due to cold spray and getting wetter than i have too.also do you hang up on bottom , or you just dont catch it.

In a boat or from shore, if it is a east wind or NE or SE I fish balsam from the east side. This way the wind comes from behind me in general. A bad north wind I also fish balsam but from a different area. If it is a west wind or NW or SW I fish sturgeon for the same reason. A strong south wind I will be on sturgeon as well. As for fishing on the bottom, some of my friends throw twister tails and drag/ jig the bottom for walleye. I prefer staying 6 inches to a foot from the bottom if I am throwing lures or using a slip bobber when I am very close to shore. Other than that, If I am in 4 to 8 feet of water I like to stay about 2 feet under the surface, sometimes 3 feet down depending if the walleye and crappie are not biting then I go deeper. This is what I do in the fall. In the summer my depth is deeper because the fish are hiding in the weeds more. In the spring I am shallow again, fish are hungry and will come up for the bait. IN THEORY LOL. On a very windy day my favourite place to be in a boat is right where the flat water near the shore starts to get waves. I would position the boat in the flat water and cast to where the waves start similar to fishing an eddy in a river. It is my opinion that the fish sit right on that line between rough water and calm water that is made by the shoreline wind break. This is just my opinion but it works for me. Depending on the wind the shoreline can make quite a gap of area to fish that line. I hope that made sense, I can see it in my head but it is hard to put in print.

ty for reply. i carry 3 lights in boat, and headlamp, fishing close to shore where its quiet from boats. i cut my middle treble off at the split ring ,i have small net and one hooks enough to get out at times. using a 41/2 inch minnow bait,3-6 ft depth slow n steady retrieve.