Best Time of Day to Catch Big Walleyes: A Complete Guide

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Walleye are one of the most popular game fish in North America and a growing number of fishermen are heading out in search of this elusive fish every year. When fishing for walleye, location and timing are more important than bait. In this article, we will focus solely on the best times of day to catch walleye based on the season.

What is the best time of day to catch walleye? For most of the year, the low-light window 30 minutes before and after sunrise and before and after sunset are peak times to catch walleye. During the summer especially, the bite will continue through the night but really reach their peak around sunset and sunrise. I will go into greater detail when all time periods of the day could be optimal.

Walleye have specially designed eyes that work very well in very low-light conditions. Unlike other sight-oriented gamefish like perch, bass, pike, and bluegills, walleye are very capable of seeing in even the darkest of nights. Other gamefish rely heavily on full moon nights to even have a chance at finding prey.

Walleye have eyes which greatly absorb any available light allowing them to see prey that simply cannot see them. This adaptation gives walleye a distinct advantage over prey items such as yellow perch, minnows, shad, and shiners.

Although fishermen can catch walleye all day long, the bite really hits its peak right around sunrise and sunset when the light is very low. Just as most baitfishs’ eyes are starting to make out imagery around them, walleyes’ finely tuned vision puts them at a distinct tactical advantage over their prey during these windows of time.

Big walleye especially, are usually most active from sunset to sunrise with the dawn and dusk hours being the hottest. At night, walleye move into shallower water where they are actively feeding on sheltering prey.

During the way, walleye move much further offshore into deeper water. If you can only fish walleye during the day, you can have success, but you’ll need to fish out deep.

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Best Time of Day to Catch Walleye

General Walleye Feeding & Activity Tendencies

For much of the year, large walleye spend their days out in deeper water following schools of shad and smelt around.

It is not uncommon for fishermen to catch smaller walleye from docks or points where deeper water is a castable distance away. It is rare, however, for boatless anglers to catch big walleye during the day as they’ll simply be too far from shore.

The lone exception is when a school of bait moves within casting range. Also, during the day, walleye are pretty sluggish and are often full from a night of feeding. You can get some walleye to bite a lure during the day but it will be harder.

After sunset nears, large walleyes start to move into shallower water. About 30 minutes prior to sunset is when big walleye really start feeding. Smaller fish will begin hunkering down for the night under any cover they can find. Walleye are nighttime predators and are coming into the shallows to take advantage of this.

The eyes of walleyes allow them to see prey which cannot see them. Walleye will feed opportunistically from near sunset all throughout the night ending about 30-60 minutes after sunrise.

Do Walleye Bite at Night?

Walleye do much of their feeding at night. This means some of the very best walleye fishing occurs between sunset and sunrise.

Smaller walleye can be caught all day long but truly large walleye are caught most often throughout the night from dusk until dawn. Walleye have specialized eyes that enable them to use any available light sources to see in conditions most other fish cannot.

The night gives walleye a decided edge over bait such as yellow perch and shad which cannot see as well in the dark night. Studies by Kelso (1978), Prophet and colleagues (1989), McMahon & Evans (1992), and Ryder (2011) confirm that not only are walleye active at night but they also come into shallow water near shore.

Best Times of Day for Walleye: By Season

1. Spring
Best Times: Midday can be good out deep; Sunset & Sunrise are best

As water temperatures rise following the winter, walleye start to really become active chasing schools of bait.

Walleye still feed aggressively all winter-long but they will have lost some fat stores that now need replenishing. Walleye are also feeding now heavily to have their bodies at peak condition for the spawn.

Walleyes will spend much of the warmer daylight hours out deep off points and channels following schools of shad.

One thing to note about midday walleyes is not all of them will be willing to bite. Their heavy feeding times occur at night and many of them are just resting to let their food digest until night settles again.

Around an hour prior to sunset, walleye will start moving shallow. The bite really starts 30 minutes prior to sunset and will go all night long. Even though large walleye will feed all night long, their bites peak 30 minutes before and after dawn and dusk.

These “magic hours” as some walleye fishermen call them are when some of the biggest walleye are caught. If you can fish one of these two windows, you’ll greatly increase your chances of landing a trophy fish.

2. Summer
Best Times: Sunrise & Sunset are best; All nighttime hours will be good

Walleye can be caught during the day but you’ll need a boat to get out deep after them. Walleye will be hovering behind schools of bait down deep far from shore. If you can only fish during the day, you’ll need to fish deep.

The major issues with fishing for walleyes during the day is most fish will be too full to eat now. You can still elicit some reactionary or opportunistic bites but the action could be hit or miss.

Around an hour prior to sunset, walleye will start moving shallow. This is especially true during the summer months as water temperatures are warmer. The bite really starts 30 minutes prior to sunset and will go all night long.

Even though large walleye will feed all night long, their bites peak 30 minutes before and after dawn and dusk.

3. Fall
Best Times: Midday can be good out deep; Sunset & Sunrise are best

As water temperatures drop following summer, walleye start to really become active chasing schools of bait. Walleye still feed aggressively all summer-long but they will be ramping up their fat stores in preparation for the leaner winter.

Walleyes will spend much of the warmer daylight hours out deep off points and channels following schools of shad. One thing to note about midday walleyes is not all of them will be willing to bite. Their heavy feeding times occur at night and many of them are just resting to let their food digest until night settles again.

4. Winter
Best Times: Nighttime is really good; early-late afternoon can be good as well

Ice fishing for walleye can be very hot in the afternoon through the night. Follow the same guidelines as the other seasons as far as depth is concerned.

During the day, find deep channels. Ice fishing affords folks without boats the opportunity for trophy walleye during the daytime. But the best bite occurs in the late afternoon and persists all night long. This is when walleye are the most active feeding and truly trophy walleye can be caught.

What’s the Worst Time to Catch Walleye?

This will vary from lake to lake but from everything I’ve learned, late morning through 1:30 pm seems to be the slowest bite of the day. For bank fishermen without boats, most walleye will be too far from shore to reach.

Some smaller walleye may come within the outer limits of casting range though. During the day, walleye will be far from shore oftentimes down deep cruising behind schools of bait such as shiners and shad. For any daytime angler to have a shot at big walleyes, a boat is pretty much a requirement.

Yes, distance from shore is a big obstacle facing daytime walleye fishermen but even more importantly is walleye simply won’t be as hungry during the day.

Most big walleye will have bellies full of shad and yellow perch and simply won’t be hungry for another item. Are you in the mood for a cheeseburger an hour after Thanksgiving dinner?

The lone exception is a walleye that had a poor night hunting and is trying to fill his belly during the day. The reason walleye don’t feed as much during the day is that prey can see them coming and are much tougher to catch than they are at night when walleye have the vision advantage.

How do Walleye Move Throughout the Day

Walleye move from shallow water to deep water and back throughout the day guided by food and light conditions. You need to remember that when I say shallow, it is relative to where they normally are.

Shallow water for a walleye could be 10-15 feet of water. Walleye can often be found at 50+ feet of water following schools of bait. Walleye “shallow” is not the same thing as bass “shallow” which could be 2 feet of water.

Walleye spend much of their days in deep water far from shore. During this time they are loosely following schools of bait but mostly resting in cooler, more oxygenated water digesting from the night before.

Walleye will continue to move and roam throughout the day and as night nears, they will move into shallower water around boulders and weed edges to feed. They will remain medium-to-shallow water all night long until after sunrise.

Once 8 in the morning rolls around, walleye will again head back to deeper and cooler water to wait out the day. This is the general movement of big walleye throughout the day.

What Season are Walleye Most Active at Night?

Walleye will remain active at night all year long. This is their prime feeding time. A time when they have a distinct tactical advantage over their normal prey in that they can see in low or no light situations and their prey is relatively blind.

Sunset until sunrise is prime walleye time. That said, if I had to tell which season walleye are most active at night, I would say late summer into early fall.

The warmer temperatures mean an abundance of prey and many prey items will remain active into the night. This time frame is crucial for walleyes as they start to really ramp up feeding to put on pounds as they prepare for the learn late fall and winter months ahead.

You can catch big walleye all year long at night but I would argue late summer and early fall is the best time to stay on the water after sunset.

Final Thoughts

The best times of day to fish for large walleye is around dawn and dusk. In particular, 30 minutes before and after sunset and sunrise are peak times. That said, walleye will continue to feed all night long. On cloudy or windy mornings, walleye may feed up to an hour and a half after sunrise.

Walleye will move offshore during the day and remain there until around an hour before sunset at which point they’ll start heading in shallower again. This article is just a generality of walleye fishing. Storms, moon phases, and weather changes could cause some fluctuation but not too much.

Scientific Literature Referenced:

Kelso, J. R. (1978). Diel rhythm in activity of walleye, Stizostedion vitreum vitreum. Journal of Fish Biology, 12(6), 593-599. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1978.tb04206.x (via: Wiley)

McMahon, B. F., & Evans, R. M. (1992). Nocturnal Foraging in the American White Pelican. The Condor, 94(1), 101-109. doi:10.2307/1368800 (via: Oxford Academic)

Prophet, C. W., Brungardt, T. B., & Prophet, N. K. (1989). Diel Behavior and Seasonal Distribution of Walleye, Stizostedion vitreum Mitchill, in Marion Reservoir, Based on Ultrasonic Telemetry. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 5(2), 177-185. doi:10.1080/02705060.1989.9665227 (via: Taylor & Francis)

Ryder, R. A. (1977). Effects of Ambient Light Variations on Behavior of Yearling, Subadult, and Adult Walleyes (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum). Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 34(10), 1481-1491. doi:10.1139/f77-213 (via: NRC)

To learn the best barometric pressure for walleye, check out this article. Click here for a complete guide to the best weather for walleye fishing. Click here for a complete guide to crayfish as a walleye bait.