Walleye chop? Whatever makes walleye chomp

What is it about the walleye chop?

You hear a lot of fisherman say they like a chop on the water, and I'm one of them.

When I go through my pre-fishing trip plan in my head (if I have time), I decide where I am going to start looking for fish on my graph. The spots I look at first are those I know typically produce at that particular time of year - and spots that are getting hit by the wind and have been for a day or three.

Bait fish can really pile up if you get a consistent wind direction for a few days. We have long heard that wind breaks the surface of the water, making sunlight less penetrable for those sensitive walleye eyes. Not so sure about that one. I have done quite well on a flat, calm, sunny day in the past, so on calm days, make sure you don't just pull the plug before you try a few of your favorite spots.

If you don't have a wind, fish can be spooked quite easily. My thoughts are that when you fish in less than 15 feet on a lake that has decent water clarity, the fish will spook. Can you cast to them and catch them? Maybe.

Isn't fishing great? There are always so many ifs, ands, buts and maybes. I think that's part of the reason so many people love the sport.

The other morning, I was on Gull with the Folskas and there wasn't a whisper of wind for the first five hours of our six-hour trip, and we boated some awesome fish, including a 27.5-incher by Deano. Last year, I was out with the Folskas and we couldn't buy a walleye, and we probably had a great walleye chop and overcast skies. We ended up with a flurry of bass after I cracked out the worm rods and saved that trip.

The year before, we caught numerous walleyes but nothing over 14 inches. Goes to show that if you just fish you are going to have some good, great, bad and ugly trips.

WALLEYEDAN Eigen may be reached at (218) 839-5598, walleyedan@brainerd.com or www.walleyedan.com.