fishing walleye

Question
hi i fish in nyc reservoirs for eyes . how do you catch them in the muddy murcky water? the res. turns red after a good rain.any help would be good . thank you

Answer
Hi Mark,

I don't have any experience with NYC reservoirs, but I can comment on walleyes in off-color waters.  Here in Wisconsin we have a lot of lakes that are tanic stained and almost looks like rootbeer.  It can be so dark that if you are standing in this water up to your knees, you can't see your feet!

A couple things that I notice on these lakes is that: 1. the walleyes can be very shallow (4'-6'), even on sunny days  2.Sound is the key.  Although it is known as a bass bait, I have caught a lot of stained water walleyes on gold Rat-L-Traps.  For more traditional presentations, crawler harnesses with #3 or #4 red, gold, or copper colorado blades are very good dark warter choices.  The vibration of the blades helps the walleyes key into the bait.  Purple is also a good dark water color if you are picking out jigs, plastic tails, or blades.  I have found that in reddish or rootbeer stained waters the reds, purples, coppers and golds are much better than bright yellows or fire-tiger type patterns.  Those yellow or chartreuse colors work better in green or algae stained waters.

Bottom line, don't be afraid to get a little noisy with those dark water "Eyes".