[Bubba]

Ok, I know alot of you guys fish more for eyes/sauger than you do bass or anything. So what are some tips you could lend me? I've never really fished for these, never caught either one actually. I'd really like to be able to go a catch some when i'd like though....I know Norris is supposed to be a pretty good "eye" lake. How do they vary as far as areas you'll find them and what type of conditions they like? Also, what are some good baits/techniques to use when targeting them? Any tips you guys could offer would be great!

 

[RAPALA]

WILL I AM NOT AND EXPERT.THE BEST PLACE TO FIND EYES ON NORRIS RIGHT NOW TO ME IS UP IN THE RIVER FROM LONE MOUNTAIN UP.I ALWAYS TRY TO FINE ROCK BANKS.FROM 7 TO 10 FT DEEP.USE A JIG HEAD 1/4 TO 3/8 TIP WITH A MINNOW.WERE SOME PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKE THEY USE TO SMALL A MINNOW.USE LARGE MINNOW .GETTING BACK TO JIGHEADS ON CLINCH RIVER OR NORRIS WHAT SOME PEOPLE CALL IT.COLOR RED HEAD WITH DARK GREEN FEATHER,FLO.YELLOW WITH DARK GREEN FEATHER.THAT WILL GET YOU STARTED.TRY THE YELLOW FEATHERS WORK TO.IF WATER IS CLEAR TRY PINK HEADS &PINK.





ON DOUGLAS I HAVE CAUGHT SAUGER AND WALLEYE ON ABOUT EVERY COLOR MOST PEOPLE USE ORANGE HEAD & I HAVE SEEN THEM USE ALL KIND OF COLOR WITH ORANGE HEADS.BLUE IS A GOOD COLOR SOME TIMES.I TRY TO BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.I LOOK AT LIKE THIS LET SAY YOU HAVE 10 BOATS 2 PEOPLE IN EACH BOAT.FISHING THE SAME PLACE ALL ARE USING ORANGE.AFTER AWILE THE FISH GET USE TO SEEING THE SAME COLOR.I BELIEVE THEY BITE FOR A WHILE BUT THEY WILL SLOW DOWN. MOST OF THE TIME I USE 3/8/OR 1/4 SWIMMING JIG&WOBBLER JIG & LIVE BAIT JIG. ANOTHER THING I HAVE LEARN ABOUT BE READY TO MOVE.MOST OF THE TIME I TRY TO FISH WERE THEY ARE NOT LOT OF BOATS.LET SAY I WAS FISHING AND THEY WERE 3 BOATS WERE I WAS AT A BOAT CAME AND SAW ME CAUGHT A EYE.THEY WILL GO TELL THERE BUDDY'S.NOW YOU GOT 20 BOATS FISHING WERE YOU ARE. IN WALLEYE FISHING ALLWAYS HAVE ANOTHER PLACE TO GO.BECAUSE ALL THEY DONE WAS STOPPED THE FISH FROM BITING.

 

[Whopper]

Rapala has given you some great advice!

I'm no expert either but I'll jump in here, generally speaking walleye/sauger/saugeyes are group feeders and will hunt in packs so once you find them it's a mater of what they want to eat. They both are light sensitive and like current/current break areas, but most of all they are just like other fish they have to have forage present. Main forage for the most part are minnows, so anything that mimics them will catch them. Both also love night crawlers and leeches. If I had to go out on any given body of water with just two baits #1 would be jigs with twister tails or tube baits, #2 would be a worm harness tipped with a night crawler or leech. You can almost break the year down to two seasons, shallow gravel/hard bottom flats areas close to deep water during the cold weather low light conditions and deep water structure, points, rock piles, sunken islands and mid lake humps during warmer months with brighter conditions. The also like weeds if available and will be buried inside during bright days and use the edges during low light conditions. Main thing is they like cooler water, low light penetration and current and they are prolific feeders so once you find them they can be fairly easy to catch at times. Hope this helps



Good Luck in your search!

 

[otis44]

Up here on Laurel, they seem to inhabit alot of the same water the SM do, rocky banks, points etc. Another area where people do real well is the mouths of timbered coves/creeks. The walleye seem to relate to the timber real well. I usually only fish for them in the spring, chartreuse grub tipped w/minnow, split shot rig/w nightcrawler and some cranks. In April (here) they are fairly easy and fun to catch as they will hem the shad up on points and rock bluff walls and feed. It's almost like the hybrid/striper do on Cherokee in the Spring, just a scaled down version. When they feed like this a rogue or long a bomber is deadly.

 

[Bubba]

Wow, Thanks guys! Sounds like some great info! Me and my Bro are going out tomorrow and thought we may try to catch some of these toothy critters if we can find em'.



How do you fish those jigheads tipped with minnows typically? Do you just swim it, or kinda bottom bounce it, or what?

 

[otis44]

Bubba, here again i'm no expert on walleye fishing but how I fish the jig depends on where the fish are located. You can jig it, like a bass jig, tighline it, throw it under a bobber basically like the fnf or swim it. I probably do the best working it almost like a spoon. If you can locate the fish, put the dern thing right down amongst them and give it a little twitch ever now and then. If the fish are suspended near the bottom, the split shot rig is hard to beat with a nightcrawler. You can buy those made up walleye rigs (the name escapes me) for use with nightcrawlers, but when fishing in rocks I tend to lose alot of them, so I prefer the split shot rig. It doesn't seem to hang up as bad.

 

[RAPALA]

I DO IT 2 WAY .YOU VERTTCAL JIG PULL UP LET FALL,SECOND THROW TO THE BANK LIFT UP LET FALL.I TRY TO STAY ABOUT 15 TO 20 FT OFF THE BANK WHEN DRIFTING DOWN THE BANK, STARTING OUT YOU MAY HAVE GO IN CLOSER TO THE BANK OR MOVE OUT JUST A LITTLE.ANOTHER THING I HAVE LEARNED IF IT SUNNY.LOOK WERE THE SHADOW OF THE BANK GOES OUT IN THE WATER .FISH ALONG THE SHADOW THEY ARE SENITIVE TO LIGHT.OR IF THE WIND IS BLOWING SAY IN THE RIPPLES.SOME PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE WIND AND THEY STAY WERE THE WATER IS COM. MISTAKE.





HOPE THIS HELPS

 

[MTBROWNING]

Try a nightcrawler on a 1/8oz jighead ,put the crawler on like a exposed hook shakeyhead.Just fish it like a shakeyhead.

 

[Bubba]

Thanks guys, This helps alot. Hopefully we may be able to get on em' tomorrow. I'll be sure to post a report if we have anything worth reporting.

 

[Whopper]

Good Luck Bubba!



If you find they short strike a crawler try using a half or a third.



Take some pics please

 

[RAPALA]

OH! I FORGOT WHEN THEY ARE SHALLOW AND I CAN'T REACH THEM WITH A BOAT.I TROLL USING PLANNER BOARDS.BUT THAT A NOTHER SUBJECT WE WILL GET IN TO SOME OTHER TIME. WORM RIGS WORK TO.



RIGHT NOW JIGGING WITH FLY& MINNOW IS THE WAY I WOULD GO.

 

[Bubba]

Thanks. So are they gonna be more on the bottom right now, or will I need to look for them suspending or will it just vary?

 

[Stonewall]

Rapala, I have heard alot of people saying over the past few years that the river walleye numbers are way down on Norris. Through my own fishing for them recently during the spring runs I feel that is true. What do you think are the numbers down due the increase of Lake walleye?

 

[RAPALA]

BOTTOM! RIGHT NOW THEY ARE MOVING UP VERY SLOWLY WAITING ON THE WATER TO TO GET WARM ENUFF THE SPAWN.MOST OF THE TIME THE SPAWN TAKES PLACE AROUND MARCH OR APRIL.THE MALES COME UP FIRST THEN THE FEMALES.IF YOU REALLY WANT TO CAUGHT THE BIG FISH IT WILL BE AT NIGHT.BUT SOMETME DEARING THE DAY I HAVE CAUGHT 24 TO 25 IN FISH.BUT IT TO EARLY RIGHT NOW FOR ME TO PLUG UM OR TROLL AT KNIGHT.I START FISHING AT NIGHT SOME THE LAST OF FEB.THAT ME OTHERS MY START SOONER.





GOOD LUCK FILL-UP THE LIVE WELL BUT SAVE SOME FOR SEED!

 

[RAPALA]

I KNOW ABOVE 4 OR 5 YEARS AGO FISHING WAS REAL GOOD IN THE RIVER.TAKE NIGHT TIME WHEN I FISHS 7 OR 8 YEARS AGO THEY WERE NOT A WHOLE LET OF PEOPLE FISHING AT NIGHT.ABOUT 10 OCLOCK EVERY BODY WAS GONE TO THE HOUSE EXCEPT A FEW PEOPLE.NOW YOU GOT BOATS ARE LINED UP END TO END SIDE-WAY AND EVERY WAY.BUT MY THINKING THEY ARE STILL SOME IN THE RIVER.BUT THE WAY THEY HAVE LEFT THE RIVER UP FOR SEVERAL YEARS.AND THE WATER WARMING SOONER.I BELIEVE THEY HAVE BEEN SPAWNING SOONER.BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE FISHING PRESSURE.I BELIEVE THIS YEAR WITH THE WATER BEING DOWN MORE YOU WILL SEE MORE FISH CAUGHT.LIKE CLINCH RIVER I WAS USED TO FISHING LOW WATER.THEN YOU GO OVER THERE AND WERE THERE WAS 3 FT OF WATER NOW THERE IS 12 TO 15 FT. OF WATER THAT THROW ME FOR A LOOP. IT WAS JUST LIKE STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN.CLINCH RIVER WAS WERE I LEARNED HOW TO FISH FOR WALLEYE AND SAUGER.IF I DON'T CATCH ANY OVER THERE I LOVE JUST TO LOOK.





I DON'T BELIEVE THERE IS AS MANY BUT THERE STILL SOME THERE.

 

[SmallJawKilla]

Anybody catching them on South Holston right now?

 

[mistyriver1]

Some excellent advice here Bubba.



Only thing I'd add if you find there's a finicky bite and you're using minnows, throw a stinger hook on. Just a read an article on them in a fishing mag...might add a couple more in the boat.



Good luck

 

[wareagle]

Hey Bubba , I tie on a stinger hook at all times . This time of year they are not biting real good so, I don't want to take a chance on missing one #8 treble . Good luck