Spring Walleye:

Spring walleye fishing begins the third Saturday in May on the Clearwater-Pipestone Chain of Lakes. The post spawn walleye are active and generally easier to locate during the spring. When surface temperatures approach 50 degrees with warming trends, shallow to medium depths less than 30 feet will be your best bet. Look for the walleye in bays, on points, flats and other shoreline structure near bay entrances.

Walleye are also more comfortable in the shallows because the angles of the sun are still low enough to make light levels tolerable. Walleye will be active and feeding in the warmer shallower water the majority of the day; this is where baitfish and insect larvae are most plentiful. There is less forage because the current year's bait crop is unavailable; they are feeding on last year's crop which has been drastically reduced from predation.

Walleye prefer minnows during this time period. Once the walleye are located, 1/8-1/4 oz jigs tipped with a live minnow works best for catching walleye during the early season. Depending on structure and water depth; present your jig by casting with a slow retrieve, vertical jigging or a slow troll or drift. Orange, yellow, chartreuse, light green and pink jigs are my favorite jig colors, these are the lure colors walleye see best.

Other fishing techniques that work well with live bait include a slip sinker or slip bobber rig and trolling with spinner rigs. Hammered gold, silver or brass blades in the smaller sizes usually are best to use in our clearer lakes when fishing with spinner rigs.

If there is a strong warming trend, another presentation is casting artificial lures to shallow structure such as rock and boulder strewn shorelines or in shallow bays with deeper water nearby. The Rapala Husky Jerk is a good lure to select, keep in mind walleyes are targeting at least year old forage such as perch and shiners. A good choice in size is the 4" HJ10 in firetiger, perch, silver, or gold. Slow, erratic retrieves work best, the walleyes metabolism is still low and they will not make long charges to capture bait.

A few years back, in May of 2005, our first year as new owners of Little Moose Lodge; I was fishing with a friend who owned the lodge back in the 70's. We were in a bay on Pipestone Lake fishing for smallmouth bass and by coincidence spotted a school of about a dozen walleye all in the five pound range in 8 feet of water. We backed our boat away but remained within casting distance; we caught and released a half dozen walleye using Rapala Husky Jerks. It was around 11:00 am with bright skies and calm water, obviously the light intensity at that time of year did not affect them enough to stop feeding.

Summer Walleye:

Many anglers consider summer to be less than prime time for Ontario walleye fishing. This is not the case with Canadian Shield waters, here on the Clearwater-Pipestone Chain of lakes, summer is as good as it gets! June can produce some great fishing, but it can also be sporadic, especially in the early part when the weather can change dramatically from to day to day.

The summer weather is usually the best and most consistent of the year. From the last part of June through to early September fishing patterns are identifiable and productive. The system is at peak production, forage hatches have long since happened, the water temperatures are the most equal of any time of year.

Walleyes have many options available, and if you know these choices then you are ahead of the game. Summer walleye utilize much of the water column, you will find them shallow, others will be at 15-30 foot depths and than there are deep walleye. The deep suspended walleye are a bit out of their temperature comfort zone; the benefit though is a steady diet of ciscoes.

I can definitely say that most of my best fishing has occurred during the summer period. Again it depends on the conditions but when you find the dusk and dawn walleye bite on Clearwater Lake, it can get crazy. The non-stop action when jigging with live bait over a feeding school of walleye will keep anyone's interest. Most walleye are in the 1-3 pound range, but there is always a good chance of catching that Ontario trophy walleye!

During the summer days, our South Lakes are definitely the most consistent in producing good catches of walleye. The stained water has a lot of structure and healthy weed growth. When there is a walleye chop, jig fishing for weed walleyes in shallow cabbage flats can be extremely rewarding. When we guide this is one of the best situations we could ask for, it makes our job very easy, although precision boat control is required for good success.

Last summer we took a day off and our family went to West Jackfish Lake, the last lake of the South Lakes on the Clearwater-Pipestone lake chain. We left about 9:00 am and were fishing a half hour later. The next 1-1/2 hours we tried several spots where I guide our guests with very little action. The bright sky with scattered clouds and a light chop should produce enough walleye at least for a shore lunch. Finally we hooked into a nice eater size walleye in 6 feet of water. We figure that we caught and released about 75 walleye from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm; of course we kept a few for a delicious walleye shore lunch. All these fish were caught in 4 - 6 feet of water amongst the cabbage weed and lily pads; the best action was when the clouds periodically covered the sun. Persistence paid off, summer fish have a high metabolism and are usually feeding somewhere, you just have to find where.

Bottom bouncing with spinner rigs is another excellent technique to be used in the summertime, night crawlers or leeches work well. This is one of the best methods to quickly locate feeding walleye. My first preference is to use a worm harness with two size 6 hooks, size 2 to 4 blades in hammered gold with chartreuse beads on a 3-6' snell. Snell length is determined by water clarity and the mood of the walleye, aggressive walleye you can use a shorter length. I'll use the rig on shorelines, humps, and flats, the rig works best for medium to deeper fish.

Trolling and casting artificial lures is best used along weedlines, rocky shorelines and off shore shallow reefs. Work a variety of baits for this presentation such as Husky Jerks, Storm Thundersticks, and Shad Raps. These same lures in deep diving models will work for the suspended walleye that are deep feeding on the ciscoes in our deeper lakes such as Clearwater and Pipestone Lake. To get to the deep water walleye you might have to add weight to your crankbait using a drop-sinker on a three-way swivel at least 10 feet ahead of the lure. Try different sizes and colors, the fish will let you know what they want. These are bigger fish presentations so don't expect to catch numbers as you would with a live bait presentation.

Fishing deep water during summer has its drawbacks. Most walleye taken from deep water will not survive even if released immediately; it cannot adjust its airbladder to the change in pressure. This is especially true during the hot summer months.

Fall Walleye:

This is one of my favorite times of year for Ontario walleye fishing, the leaves begin to change and there are no bugs or hot and humid days to contend with. Walleyes feed heavily in the fall to fatten-up for the upcoming winter, locate the forage and you have found the walleyes. As water temperatures start to drop, the walleye move to areas that they typically frequented during the spring months; the shallows is the baitfish habitat at this time of year.

Ciscoes are fall spawners, when this forage moves into the shallow vegetation and bulrush beds to spawn in the fall, the summer time suspended walleyes follow right along. A great way to catch the walleyes on top of the bulrush beds is to work the pockets in this vegetation with a bobber and minnow setup.

When the weed beds start to die off, the baitfish will move and so will the walleye. As the water gets colder, the walleye tend to move to the deeper waters around underwater structures such as humps and points. Walleye metabolism is starting to slow down with the dropping water temperature, they don't want to chase bait expending their energy, and they want large bait.

Just like the other seasons, jigging can be a tough tactic to beat during the fall as it presents your offering to the fish where most will be found - on or near the bottom. Tipping your jig with a minnow works best; select the largest and liveliest minnows. Walleyes are gorging on perch, ciscoes or a number of other "large" baitfish at this time, so it makes sense to give them a big meal to eat. Due to the large bait and short bites, adding a stinger will help increase your catch ratio.

Some of the best walleye fishing I experience each year is in September when the walleye are schooled tight on breaking structure depths of 20-30 feet. You can really hammer them, like 15-20 eyes' per hour, sometimes throughout the entire day. Other times the bite won't last long or the school moves, you need to be versatile and try different locations, they will be feeding somewhere; you just need to find them.

Bottom bouncing spinner rigs with a jumbo leech is another good method at this time of year; it also locates fish quickly and efficiently. Troll along any breaks or flats that might hold fish, paying close attention to your electronics for signs of schools of baitfish or walleye.

The fall seems to be the time of year most Ontario trophy walleyes are caught. There is a reason for this; most trophy walleye caught during the fall are normally females. The female is looking to eat a large quantity of food to nourish her developing eggs.

I use three basic presentations whether it be spring, summer, or fall. They are jigs, rigs, and to a lesser extent, crankbaits. Utilizing these methods, I can fish shallow, medium and deep. I realize there are a lot of other fishing techniques; these are the methods and presentations that have produced the best results for me and many of our Little Moose Lodge guests on the Clearwater-Pipestone Chain of Lakes.

Recommended Rods and Reels for Walleye Fishing:

Jig Fishing- 6' to 6-1/2' light or medium-light spinning rod/reel combo with 6-8lb line

A sensitive, fast-action rod is a must for jig fishing. It helps you feel the lightest tap and gives a good immediate hook set, preventing the fish from spitting the jig before you respond. Walleyes are line shy, especially in clear water. Use a clear fishing line such as Vanish fluorocarbon.

Live Bait Fishing- 6-1/2' to 7-1/2' light spinning rod/reel combo with 8-10lb line

A medium action rod works well for lindy rig fishing and other similar techniques. Use a clear abrasion resistant line, a lot of the fishing is in the rocks.

Casting/Trolling- 6' to 7-1/2' medium bait-casting rod/reel combo with 8-14lb line

For casting a fast action longer rod produces better distance and accuracy compared to a shorter rod. Braided line such as Power Pro works well, although a fluorocarbon leader is a good idea if fishing in clear water.

Lures and Tackle