Lake Michigan is one of the best places to go in the Midwest if you want to go walleye fishing. This lake is the perfect habitat for walleye because it offers many structures for them to thrive and grow. This lake is bordered by four separate states. They are Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. Therefore, when you fish for walleye in this lake you need to be familiar with the regulations set in place by each of these states. The rules for fishing may vary with each state because each of them control and set in place their own regulations and you wouldn't want to break any laws.
Lake Michigan ranks as the sixth largest lake found anywhere in the world and out of the Great Lakes it comes in as the third largest. Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that is entirely located within the boarders of the United States. It is 580 feet above sea level, 307 miles long, 118 miles wide and covers a surface area of 22,300 square miles. So now you can see why it is one of the largest lakes in the world.
Best Fishing Location and Bait to Use
The walleye will try to eat anything that it can get into its mouth but they do prefer smaller fish. They will also eat worms, crustaceans and insects. The best time to go fishing for walleye will be from late evening to early morning if you are after the larger trophy size fish. The walleye in Lake Michigan start their spawning season in the spring and they will usually begin migrating into the feeder streams during this time. However, this may not always be possible so the walleye that do not make it to these streams will seek out shoals, weeds and shallow bars for spawning.
A good place to fish for walleye in the early spring will be around the mouth of the Tacoosh, Days, Whitefish and Escanaba rivers where they begin flowing into the Little Bay de Noc. Shad Raps are recommended as bait during this time as they seem to produces some positive results. Crawler harnesses, small jigs, plastic worms, crankbaits and spoons work excellent for the walleye in this lake as well.
When fishing in the summer months the walleye will move out into the deeper water during the day. For this reason during the mornings and late evenings you should fish the shallow to medium deep waters for the best results.
In the winter months you will find that spoons, plastic worms and jigs still work well but you have to keep in mind that the walleye are less active when the water is cold. Make sure you move your bait in a slow manner to give the fish time to take the bait or they will simply ignore it.
Techniques for Catching Walleye in Lake Michigan
The technique that you use will mostly depend on when and where you go walleye fishing. Different seasons and times will affect how the walleye respond to your bait. During spawning season the walleye are the most aggressive and will be attracted to most any type of bait. The male walleye stay mostly in the shallow water and the spawning area but the females will venture out into the deeper water during the daytime hours.
