may/june/early july walleye tips

EARLY WALLEYE FISHING
NW Ontario Canada is the heartland of walleye country and Andy Myers Lodge on Eagle lake Ontario has one of the most diverse and dynamic fisheries in Canada.Nothing beats the traditional walleyes fishing found on the Canadian shield for scenery and level of experience, diversity of fishing opportunites,and great fishing for one of the tastiest fish in freshwater. Recently a study was done by the MNR that put Eagle Lake’s exploding walleye population in the top 10% of all NW Ontario’s walleye fisheries. On Eagle Lake you have everything from Canadian shield clear rocky structures to fertile dark weedy habitat and everything in between all within boating distance on any given day so regardless of time of the season,time of day,weather conditions,etc. and with Andy Myers Lodge’s location you will always be able to find active feeding walleyes. This diverse range of habitat,an immense forage base, and superior genetics supports all sizes and year classes of walleyes with huge numbers of tasty eaters,incredible numbers of slot and over fish, to trophy walleyes 28” -33” up and over 10-12”#s caught weekly . With slot limits of 18-23” in place for over 20 yrs protecting prime spawners and fishermen voluntarily releasing over slot trophy size walleyes in favor of reproductions the walleye population on Eagle Lake Ontario has exploded to levels not seen in over 20yrs years and with the past 5-8 years of consecutive excellent spawns and year classes the best is even yet to be coming. The future is indeed bright for walleye fishermen coming to Andy Myers Lodge and Eagle Lake Ontario.
Walleye season in Nw Ontario Canada opens the 3rd Sat. in May. Depending on ice out walleyes will be either spawning or just completed and numbers will be found near creek and river inlets,rocky shorelines and points,drowned wood cover,shallow reefs and sunken islands,sand bars,and newly emerging weed beds in bays and on flats typically in depths of 4-16’ though after cold fronts or cold nites that drop surface and shallow water temps don’t afraid to try deeper 14-24’ moving up shallower as water warms during the day. A key element is to look for warmer water temps and congregating minnows and shiners,young perch,and mud/sand/emerging weed areas that support bug larvae that walleyes seek out in the spring. If spawning has just completed the biggest females will drop deeper and or suspend for a spell recouping before moving back shallow to feed in ernest at generally 18-30’ and a big dace minnow on a lindy rig for the bottom huggers and crankbaits for the suspenders will put trophy walleyes in the boat. As spring emerges into early summer ,the bug hatches come and go,and the minnow hatches reach forageable size,cover matures and water temps reach high 60’s-70’s it evolves into a feeding frenzy and movements are a gradual progression of movement away from near spawning areas to more defined weed lines,caggage beds,rocky points and bars,etc. nearer deeper water but remember find food regardless of depth and feeding walleyes will be there through this period.
Spring and early summer walleye presentations include lite jigs in 1/16-1/8 oz tipped with live minnows and leeches ,plastics such as twisters and paddle tails, gulp minnows/flukes/ringworms. Cast to rocky points and bars,weed patches,cover, etc.and or when fish are shallow.Try vertical jigging when fishing steeper breaks and marking fish. Lite jigs can also be long lined and slowly trolled while snap jigging to cover more ground when searching for roaming schools of walleyes.In the clearer sections of Eagle lake popular colors are blue,black,silver or plain lead on sunny days,and give chartruse a try on darker days.In the darker water try chart,orange,and purple. Slip shot ,bullet weight,and lite slip sinker rigs with floro carbon leaders and colored hooks tipped with a lively minnow worked slowly either casting or slowly wind drifted or trolled with an electric will boat walleyes under the toughest of conditions.For covering bigger flats or structures to find walleyes spinner rigs in silver,chart.,and gold are a good choice. Canadian walleyes find the combination of the vibrating spinner and live bait hard to resist.Slowly longline troll with bullet weights or slip sinkers in less than 10- 12’ and bottom bouncers work well for walleyes deeper or off edges and weedlines. If the walleyes are using long shorelings, flats,bigger structures,or suspended and roaming crank baits like shad raps,flicker shads,tail dancers,rattling rouges,hornets,etc. will cover more ground quicker than any other presentation and a great way to fish aggressive fish. While numbers will be less some days typically the walleyes boated will avg. bigger size.Natural finishes in the clearer sections, firetigers,gold, and hotter colors in the darker waters are a rule of thumb. Tighter more subtle action when fishing is slower and wider more aggressive actions if the fish are slamming.
May, June,and early July are great times of the season to fish walleyes in Canada and it’s hard to beat a fresh shore lunch over an open camp fire on the shores of Eagle lake. It’s a Canadian tradition everyone has to try.