Ice fishing walleye

I thought I might get early headstart on this one. I know its probably 1-2 month away from ice fishing season. However, I wanted to fish at Barton cove. Its no secret at all. But do anyone has tips or advice how to target them?

I have jigging rods and tipups. No electronics. Any tips or where I should begin at?

I'm in the exact same situation as you. Got rods, tip ups, no electronics, and want to catch a walleye. I've heard about Barton too- I'd guess chubs, shiners, or nightcrawlers as bait.

I'll also be watching this thread closely

I have caught a number of walleye up to 5 lbs. through the ice at Barton's Cove in the past. Without exception, all were caught early in the morning on shiners. After 8:00 am or so it seems to shut right down. I know another guy who has had success at night. I can't bring myself to stay out that late though and prefer mornings. In the winter I don't understand how the fish can even tell the difference between night and day, especially if there is snow cover but they seem to be able to. So, go early would be my advice. Be careful if you head out of the cove towards the actual river. It can be very dangerous. Good luck.

What sort of success rate do you usually have? Like do you usually catch a fish?

Never caught a walleye, and seeing that Barton's is a 3.5 hour drive from my house...

Maybe an overnight trip is in order.

yea we are in the same boat. 2- 2.5.

TeamTrout - I haven't fished there in several years now. I used to live in Montague and fished Barton Cove often, both through the ice and in my boat. Walleye can be a very finicky and difficult fish to catch in Massachusetts. There were some mornings we caught 5 or 6 fish, some days 1 or 2 but more often did not catch any. Walleye, at least in my experience, are much more likely to be caught in low light conditions. I can only recall seeing one caught during the day while we were kayaking in the lower part of the River. Other than that all of the fish I have caught have been very early morning or late at night (during open water season). The very best night I ever experienced was at 9:30 one evening just before a severe rainstorm moved in. We were catching them on almost every cast for about an hour then it shut off. I caught my largest that night and got a state pin for it (they are delicious by the way)! Anyway, my advice would be to fish very early or very late if you are targeting walleye. The good thing about the Connecticut River and Barton Cove is that there are so many different species of fish in there and you could catch anything from a striper to a sturgeon. Good Luck.