Limit of Walleyes? Don’t forget those other species before heading home
Chris Rehlinger
Mid-day largemouth bass bite
Chances are, if you are targeting walleyes in the spring, you are fishing somewhere in northern Wisconsin. Much of this area is part of the Ceded Territory that encompasses some 22,400 square miles and was ceded to the United States by the Lake Superior Chippewa Tribes in 1837 and 1842. Some special fisheries regulations occur in the Ceded Territory as a result of Chippewa off-reservation treaty rights as mandated by Federal Court rulings. There are waterways with more restrictive bag or length limits than others, so check for public notices posted at access points.
Most inland lakes and rivers within the Ceded Territory have a daily bag limit of three walleye. Generally speaking, waterways in this area have a standard regulation length for walleye and sauger ranging from 15" but less than 20.” One fish may be over 24." Length and bag limit differences can be found in the special regulations listed by each county. When targeting a particular species or catching them while fishing for another species, an angler can be lucky and have his or her limit in only a few casts.
Fishing does not need to end when the walleye and sauger limit is met because two more species exist in significant numbers on these same bodies of water. They make for great eating if properly stored on ice after catching and prior to cleaning. The two species are the largemouth bass and northern pike.
My father and I annually fish the Chippewa Flowage during May and have done so for over 30 years. Current Chippewa Flowage regulations allow for any length of largemouth bass caught to be kept. For cleaning purposes, we prefer them to be 14” and longer. We also have a self-imposed size limit for northern pike, which has no regulation size limit. We set a boat length of 22” to get the most northern pike fillets. In the past we have also targeted crappies and bluegills, but the large scale cleaning was labor intensive and time consuming. Gamefish cleaning is more efficient and extends the fishing day by not extending fish cleaning time into the late night.
Even though the Flowage has changed dramatically over the past 30 years, some of our original tactics remain productive. On this trip, we specifically do not use any live bait. Doing so eliminates the need to continuously tend to the bait or worry about running out of it. When focusing on walleyes, we use suspending- or countdown-type minnow stick baits. For fishing northern pike, we cast spoons that might even catch a two, one-man limit of walleyes, like it did last season. We tried this method under the newer trolling rules, but most of the fish were much smaller than desired. We determined that all-day casting produces better sized fish.
When fishing strictly for bass, we switch to top water popper/chugger type baits or a floating jointed minnow for an awesome pre-spawn bite of nest building or guarding bass. This aerial action is something to witness and can take place at any time of the day.
Expand your targeted species and become a fan of both bass and northern pike.
Wisconsinite Chris Rehlinger is a native of Neosho but has called Lake Wisconsin home since 1998 with his wife, Lori, and sons Maxwell and Lucas. He works in the engineering/construction management field but always has something regarding fishing or hunting on his mind.