Walleye Records Rise and Fall

(Editor's note: This article is dated but contains interesting material and so we decided to run it. The current record walleye was caught in 1991 by Jeffery Tanner Provo River on the Provo River. It went 15 lb 9 oz, was 31 3/4" long and had a girt of 20 3/4" .)

Walleye records don't last long in Utah now days. Just ask Jon Ackerman. He had the state record for just over a month with a 13 pound, 6 ounce fish caught in Deer Creek Reservoir on the 24th of August.

Greg Jonas snatched the record on October 12, when he pulled a walleye out of Starvation which was two ounces bigger. Greg's record holds as we put this magazine to press, but it is highly probable that a bigger fish will be caught by the time the mailman gets this to your door. It's open season on the popular sport fish. Walleye are doing great in Utah's clear, cool waters. We should see lots of records set and broken during the next few years.

Greg put his boat in the water about 5:30 a.m. that Thursday morning. During the course of the day he and his buddies caught and released many fish — keeping 12. They kept three fish which were between 9 and 12 pounds, plus the monster which set the new record.

Greg said he knew the big one was a nice fish — he catches nice fish all of the time at Starvation. "He didn't fight much until he saw the boat, and I was surprised at how big he was." Still, Greg wasn't thinking record. It was several hours later before he decided to get the thing weighed. The fish probably lost three or four ounces between the time he pulled it out and finally got it on a scale.

Greg works at the Sports Warehouse in Sandy, where he has plenty of opportunity to talk fishing. He had a steady stream of photographers and wellwishers coming by all day Friday to see the fish.

The record walleye was the first fish the group caught that morning. Greg hooked into it while casting a crank bait parallel to the east shore, out about 15 or 20 feet into the lake. He was casting in front of his bass boat.

"I use erratic retrievals," he said." "Stop and go, speed up, slow down. In the daytime I retrieve faster than after dark."

"The big one hit right as the lure touched the water. I didn't have time to retrieve. It must have landed on him."

All of the big fish the group caught that day were taken during the first two hours of fishing — just before and after sunrise. They caught numerous smaller fish throughout the day.

"Walleye are aggressive right now," he said. "The water temperature is about 55 degrees — which is optimum. They are actively chasing lures."

"I'm mostly a warm-water fisherman," he said. "I did bass tournaments for about 15 years, but now I just don't have the time. Walleye are tough to catch. It took me a long time to learn, and sometimes I still get skunked."

Greg advises people who want to get into walleye fishing to spend time reading articles and books on the subject, and watching videos. "And put time in on the water learning techniques."

Videos he recommends include: "How To Catch Walleye," "Walleye Breakthrough," and "Secrets To Catching Walleye.