Do walleye follow a lure and hit at the boat or right under the ice hole?
They follow far more than they hit. Sonar — a flasher on the ice, forward-facing sonar in open water — shows walleye rising off bottom to trail a jig for a long way, and most of them sink back without biting. The strikes that do come usually happen low: within a meter or two (3–6 ft) of bottom, on a pause, a slow lift, or the moment the bait is held still just above the fish. A last-second hit at the boat or the hole does happen — night casters get fish on a very short line, so swim the bait all the way in — but it is the exception. There is also a welfare reason not to coax deep fish upward: walleye brought up fast from 10 m+ (33 ft+) suffer barotrauma.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about How it strikes
- What does a walleye bite actually feel like?
- Why do walleye keep biting my minnow in half — and what is a stinger hook?
- How should I work a jig for walleye — snap it or drag it?
- How fast should I troll for walleye?
- Circle hook or octopus hook for live-bait walleye rigs?
- What does a walleye do once hooked, and how should I play it?
Same topic, other species
- If a crappie misses my jig, will it come back — and do they ever hit at the surface or under the hole? — Crappie
- Do largemouth jump, and why do they throw crankbaits and lipless baits so often? — Largemouth Bass
- What does a hooked muskie actually do — run, jump or dig in? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Will perch follow a jig up off bottom — even to the ice hole? — Yellow Perch
- What is the S-strike, and why should it change how I retrieve? — Northern Pike
- Why do smallmouth slash at my moving bait and miss? — Smallmouth Bass
- What is the difference between a sipping rise and a slashing rise? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)