For the past several years I have wanted to travel to West Virginia and fish for the large female pre-spawn walleyes that stage in the New River downstream from Sandstone Falls. I was informed that this was not a numbers game, but if you put your time in and were patient you would have an opportunity to catch one of these large walleyes during the months of Jan.-March. After casting a variety of artificial baits that included jigs, tubes, and crankbaits it was a live shiner that enticed this nice 6 3/4 lb. walleye to take the bait. As predicted, the walleye fishing was not fast and furious, but with unseasonably warm weather and water temperatures rising rapidly into the mid and upper forties we were hopeful that the next three days of fishing would allow us the opportunity to catch some more big walleyes.
New River Pre-Spawn Walleyes
