I don't catch big walleye. I caught one 27" fish and quite a few in the 24" to 26" range. So, I'm wondering what a 30" fish or bigger feels like. If you've caught one, please describe the fight.

Mine (31") was caught through the ice, so of little help for open water. Caught on a dead stick with bobber. When the fish hit, the bobber jumped up and almost out the hole before it dissapperaed VERY quickly beneath the ice. Largest open water is 28".

I was net guy for my buddies 32” a few years ago in the Bdub. Peeled line like a pike but after several minutes on the bottom, it was a barn door all the way up with little fight. Seeing that white belly come up is something I’ll never forget! Smooth landing/net job and KADOOOONK....in the Grumman aluminum it came. I doubt I’ll ever be a part of a Waldo that size again....

Bdubr: "I was net guy for my buddies 32” a few years ago in the Bdub. Peeled line like a pike but after several minutes on the bottom, it was a barn door all the way up with little fight. Seeing that white belly come up is something I’ll never forget! Smooth landing/net job and KADOOOONK....in the Grumman aluminum it came. I doubt I’ll ever be a part of a Waldo that size again.... "

Forgot to mention it was caught on a 1/4oz pink jog with minnow in about 20ft around dusk, early October. I forgot the name of the lake, though ;-)

My biggest was a 26” last year in Ontario. It thought it was a Pike because of the weight and fight. I have not seen a 30” Walleye sad to say. We did catch many Walleye in the 24-26” last week. I did see two 28” boated last week. One again in Ontario and another right off my dock in central Minnesota. Both released back to live another day. They both fought like a Pike. They both made several runs spinning line off the reel like a mad marlin.

The thing that I really picked up on was they both were nose down to the bottom. Most Walleye just come quietly to your net. They had to horse them up with the rod and reel in the loose line, horse and reel. My buddy and member here Pikehunter caught the 28”er last week and I was the net man.

Another thing I noticed was the huge size differences between the 26” I caught last year and the one he caught last week. His 28” one made my 26” look like a 98 lb weakling trying to complete on muscle beach. It was only two more inches but it was in another class. I can only dream what a 30” one will look like in my net next year.

It was his fish so I won’t post the picture, but we did lay it down on the seat and took a picture with a tape measure. A fabric tape measure that a seamstress uses works great for this. They are made of a canvas coated material. I hope my wife doesn’t look in my tackle box or I’ll have some explaining to do.

As someone who has been lucky enough to fish Mille Lacs and Lake of the Woods/Rainy River lots over the years, I've lost track of the 27 - 29" walleyes I've stumbled onto. The single 30" walleye I caught was hand over hand through the ice on December 23, 1983. First ice-fishing walleye I ever caught so nothing to compare it to at the time, but I knew it was big right away.
Fish big-fish water at prime time of day, moon, and season.

Bdubr: "I was net guy for my buddies 32” a few years ago in the Bdub. Peeled line like a pike but after several minutes on the bottom, it was a barn door all the way up with little fight. Seeing that white belly come up is something I’ll never forget! Smooth landing/net job and KADOOOONK....in the Grumman aluminum it came. I doubt I’ll ever be a part of a Waldo that size again.... "

You did a great job describing the fight!

Caught my 5 biggest Walleyes of my life last month during my brother and my trip in late May. 26.5", 27", 27", 28", 28.5". I just finished putting together the GoPro footage and just posted it. I can't imagine what a 30" would feel like. For those who say Walleye don't fight hard clearly have not caught big walleye.

Savage Voyageur: "My biggest was a 26” last year in Ontario. It thought it was a Pike because of the weight and fight. I have not seen a 30” Walleye sad to say. We did catch many Walleye in the 24-26” last week. I did see two 28” boated last week. One again in Ontario and another right off my dock in central Minnesota. Both released back to live another day. They both fought like a Pike. They both made several runs spinning line off the reel like a mad marlin.


The thing that I really picked up on was they both were nose down to the bottom. Most Walleye just come quietly to your net. They had to horse them up with the rod and reel in the loose line, horse and reel. My buddy and member here Pikehunter caught the 28”er last week and I was the net man.


Another thing I noticed was the huge size differences between the 26” I caught last year and the one he caught last week. His 28” one made my 26” look like a 98 lb weakling trying to complete on muscle beach. It was only two more inches but it was in another class. I can only dream what a 30” one will look like in my net next year.


It was his fish so I won’t post the picture, but we did lay it down on the seat and took a picture with a tape measure. A fabric tape measure that a seamstress uses works great for this. They are made of a canvas coated material. I hope my wife doesn’t look in my tackle box or I’ll have some explaining to do. "

"It was only two more inches but it was in another class."

I believe it. An inch is a big deal with big fish. Two inches is a doubly big deal.

Like Lundojam I’ve caught numerous 25 to 28 inch fish on Mille Lacs but my only 2 30 inches were caught on Northern Light Lake many years ago , one was on a blue silver rapala that fought like a beast with many runs , and the second was on a roadrunner that came up like it was drugged , no fight at all . The guy that I fished Mille Lacs with John Berquist used to drive a launch and has caught thousands of big walleyes but has only caught 1 over 30 inches on that Great Lake. He has caught numerous smallies over 5 pounds on that same lake .

I've caught five 30+ inch Walleyes, and many in the 27-29.5 inch range. There really isn't a lot of difference in the fight once they're that size.
However, as the water warms (early to mid July) the battle gets a lot harder than those caught in the cooler water of late May and mid June.

My wife got a 31-inch 'eye last August on Sag. She thought it was a snag at first. Not much fight; maybe one run, otherwise it just came up like a log. I got a 28-incher this last weekend... again, not much fight. But I did get two last year (in July) that were 27 inches that I thought were northerns before seeing that they were walleyes at the net; they peeled out the spool several times.

I have caught three over 30 inch. Two of the fish came from the same general area that has a great amount of current using slip bobber rigs. The first couple runs the fish made were quite impressive, but after that the fish just seem to hug the bottom and would give you that head shake every so often. The other fish was caught while crappie fishing using a 5 foot ultralight fiberglass pole, and 4 pound test line. That was a great fight. I prefer to get large fish to the canoe as quick as possible for the quick release, this battle took over 15 minutes.with the flimsy pole, 20 foot depth, and rough water, it was quite the challenge!

I have caught three over 30 inch. Two of the fish came from the same general area that has a great amount of current using slip bobber rigs. The first couple runs the fish made were quite impressive, but after that the fish just seem to hug the bottom and would give you that head shake every so often. The other fish was caught while crappie fishing using a 5 foot ultralight fiberglass pole, and 4 pound test line. That was a great fight. I prefer to get large fish to the canoe as quick as possible for the quick release, this battle took over 15 minutes.with the flimsy pole, 20 foot depth, and rough water, it was quite the challenge!

BWfishingfanatic12: "Caught my 5 biggest Walleyes of my life last month during my brother and my trip in late May. 26.5", 27", 27", 28", 28.5". I just finished putting together the GoPro footage and just posted it. I can't imagine what a 30" would feel like. For those who say Walleye don't fight hard clearly have not caught big walleye. "

Where can I see that video?

KarlBAndersen1: "

BWfishingfanatic12: "Caught my 5 biggest Walleyes of my life last month during my brother and my trip in late May. 26.5", 27", 27", 28", 28.5". I just finished putting together the GoPro footage and just posted it. I can't imagine what a 30" would feel like. For those who say Walleye don't fight hard clearly have not caught big walleye. "

Where can I see that video?"

I found it.

Correct me if I'm wrong: The fight of a 30" walleye is somewhere between a sack of taters and a runaway locomotive.

My only one was trolling a large rapala tail dancer in August, was just cruising along letting the wind push us and it hit like a ton of bricks...the canoe almost completely stopped. I thought for a second that I was snagged, but then felt a couple of powerful bounces.

It then just stays down for awhile, at first I just couldn’t move it, eventually I get it up off the bottom, but each time I make a little headway it just strips line and goes back down. My pole is doubled over the whole time. I tell my brother in law this is a big walleye and he laughs “how can ya tell?” I respond because it is staying down, a bass usually comes up right away and jumps or fights more at the boat, a big northern will usually make bigger runs and come up off the bottom. This thing is trying to stay deep the whole time.

The rest of the fight was just this constant pressure, rod bent over like it was going g to break, short runs stripping line. Finally got him to the canoe and it heads down again for a long run, but once again different than other fish, he just went straight down. He made me work for every single inch of line. When he finally surfaced and we saw how big he was, my brother in law said “that things looks prehistoric!”. The eyes were so big. I released it and he shot straight down again like a rocket. I just sat in the canoe for about 5 minutes wondering what just happened.

I have caught numerous 27-28 inches on Mille Lacs and not one of them put up a fight anything like this. They were fun, but just didn’t have the power. That might be a Mille Lacs thing. I have caught 25 inchers on Kabetogama that fought pretty hard, harder than bigger Mille Lacs fish. If I ever get a 30 incher on Kabby I cannot imagine what that fight will be.

T

This is my last one (2013).
I have 2 from a lake in NM and 1 from a lake in TX.
They come up slower and make a run or 2.
Nothing like a Northern or LT.

missmolly: "Correct me if I'm wrong: The fight of a 30" walleye is somewhere between a sack of taters and a runaway locomotive. "

That is the absolute truth, and funny !!!!

missmolly: "Correct me if I'm wrong: The fight of a 30" walleye is somewhere between a sack of taters and a runaway locomotive. "

That is the absolute truth, and funny !!!!

Just got a 27 this weekend and it took my drag screaming numerous times. Lots of anxiety and it definitely felt like a northern or bass with the tenacity, but then it would stop and let me get her up 10-15ft before peeling off again, which made me wonder if it was a big walter.

walllee: "

missmolly: "Correct me if I'm wrong: The fight of a 30" walleye is somewhere between a sack of taters and a runaway locomotive. "

That is the absolute truth, and funny !!!!"

I just wanted to demonstrate that I've learned from this thread. ;-)

I caught a 30" walleye in Manitoba a few years ago, it was like pulling a log into the boat. Exciting because I knew it was big, but not exciting because of the fight or anything. Big walleye don't seem to fight from other people in my boat who have landed 30"+.
Good time to mention my father-in-law's first walleye he ever caught was a 30" walleye on Boot in 8' of water on a 1/4oz pink jig.

AmarilloJim: "
This is my last one (2013).
I have 2 from a lake in NM and 1 from a lake in TX.
They come up slower and make a run or 2.
Nothing like a Northern or LT."

That fish has a huge belly, was it close to spawn? They don't have much fight in them that time of year. That same fish in the fall may give you a totally different fight. In Minnesota I notice May and June walleyes fight a lot less than late summer or fall ones in my opinion.

T

AmarilloJim: "
This is my last one (2013).
I have 2 from a lake in NM and 1 from a lake in TX.
They come up slower and make a run or 2.
Nothing like a Northern or LT."

Holy smokes, I get nervous just imagining looking over the side of the boat and seeing that beast!

The 31" I caught in Feb of 96' from Manitou Rapids on the Rainy River near Indus,MN.

I was trolling for lake trout when I hooked into this one back in 2003. It's hard to remember the fight, I remember thinking I had a big lake trout on :) Caught it on a big gold Rapala Husky Jerk on the first day of a 13 day trip in late May.

I've never caught a 30"+ walleye. Personal best for me is 26". When I was 16, four buddies, my dad, and I took a trip to the BWCA. We had a friendly daily wager on fishing. $1 from each person went to the person who caught the most fish on that day. We also would pay $1 to the guy who caught the biggest smallmouth, lake trout, pike, and walleye of the day. So if one guy was really on his game, he could net $5 in one day from each person.
So one night, about an hour before dusk, I went out with another friend and landed a 24 1/2" walleye (my biggest ever at that point). I was sure that I would be winning $1 from the other 5 guys for biggest walleye of the day. My buddy and I start paddling back towards camp with high hopes. As we are pulling up our canoe, we see another guy from our party land a 27" walleye (he was fishing on foot at our campsite). Needless to say, it was an awesome night of BWCA fishing.

I've been fortunate enough to catch 1/2 dozen from 29-31.5 in the BWCA/Quetico
over the years. I just returned from a trip where I caught 25 walleyes 24" or better including a 29.5. The biggest fish account well for themselves but I've found these older fish often don't have the fight a 25 -27" fish has.

I'm still looking for one that size :( I caught a 27 1/2 early June in Quetico. He hit a jig/tail combo in 5-6' of water vertical jigging. He almost took the rod out of my hand. I too thought it was a northern at first. In my experience larger walleyes hooked in shallow water want to get to deeper water ASAP. Those hooked in deeper water want to stay there and both fight accordingly. Hopefully that fish (and many others that I've released) are happy and still growing. The search continues. I think I'll try WCPP for three weeks shortly. I heard they have some nice ones up there :)

Safe travels.......Mike

A group of guys I go to the boundary waters with have now caught 5 walleyes over 30" with the biggest 31.5". Landing a 30" plus walleye in a canoe does make for a much better fight than landing one in a boat. In a boat, you can stand up and walk around to keep leverage on the fish. In a canoe, the fish at times seems to have the upper hand. Most of these fish have come from the same general area on the same lake over the course of 4 years. One fish of note: The one I caught I was fishing near my brother and nephew. I felt the usually tap tap tap of a classic walleye bite and set the hook into what I thought was a log. I knew it had to be a fish but for the first 5 seconds after setting the hook, nothing happened. Then it made a run and heavy head shakes. I told my canoe partner, "this is a really big fish." I then hear my brother tell his son, "If your uncle said that it is a big fish, it is going to be big, lets paddle closer." The best part of landing the fish was seeing the look on my nephews face...half disbelief and half amazed to see his first 30" walleye. I remember telling him, your day will come to get your own fish over 30", This past summer, he got his 30" walleye. To be honest, it is more fun to watch someone catch their first 30" walleye than it is to catch them once you have cracked the 30" club yourself.

Just a hair under 30 but one hell of a fight last week.

Similar to my previous description. Deep bull dogging, bend the pole so much thought it would break. Got him to the boat a few times then felt like he went all the way to the bottom again. Felt like he caught me for awhile not that I caught him :) just complete power.

Look at the girth! Built more like a laker than walleye, suspect he was fattening up on ciscoes.

I am going to second the late TGO, a summer or fall walleye is a completely different fight than a spring to June pre/post spawn walleye.

timatkn:

I am going to second the late TGO, a summer or fall walleye is a completely different fight than a spring to June pre/post spawn walleye.



"

Absolutely!!! My son and I recently ( July 11th-12th) got into some 21-23" Eyes in the Pine/Mcfarland areas and the amount of zip and zest in these fish was something I hadn't experienced in a long time as 90% of my trips are in May. It actually took my two days to figure out what I was doing wrong-- my drag was set a tad too high and I was losing fish in the first 5 seconds due to expecting the same kind of zip / zest I am used too in May. ( lost 10 red hooks - breaking at the knot in just over one day of fishing ) A slight adjustment in the drag and taking more time ( using rod to play them) and not horsing them paid off. Your statement (And TGO's) is totally correct imo.

timatkn: "Just a hair under 30 but one hell of a fight last week.


Similar to my previous description. Deep bull dogging, bend the pole so much thought it would break. Got him to the boat a few times then felt like he went all the way to the bottom again. Felt like he caught me for awhile not that I caught him :) just complete power.


Look at the girth! Built more like a laker than walleye, suspect he was fattening up on ciscoes.

I am going to second the late TGO, a summer or fall walleye is a completely different fight than a spring to June pre/post spawn walleye.



"

Well done, T! And well described too.

Never caught a 30 + during the summer; I did pull a 31 inch out of Lake Superior ice fishing 2 years ago; 8 - 10 feet of water. Watched the red line on the vexilar come up off the bottom and WHAM hit the jig. Pole bends over as I try to start reeling it in. Buddy in fish house pulls up his line and comes over to look over the hole and for help.

Pulls out the transducer, gets a look at the fish and after a lot of expletives and how big it looks in the water; the head finally comes through the hole and he grabs hold of the head....can throws it on the ice.

It was awesome. Got a couple pictures, and let it go back down. Had a replica made

Harv: "Never caught a 30 + during the summer; I did pull a 31 inch out of Lake Superior ice fishing 2 years ago; 8 - 10 feet of water. Watched the red line on the vexilar come up off the bottom and WHAM hit the jig. Pole bends over as I try to start reeling it in. Buddy in fish house pulls up his line and comes over to look over the hole and for help.


Pulls out the transducer, gets a look at the fish and after a lot of expletives and how big it looks in the water; the head finally comes through the hole and he grabs hold of the head....can throws it on the ice.


It was awesome. Got a couple pictures, and let it go back down. Had a replica made"

I love these fish stories of 30" walleyes. I get to catch them vicariously!