Need Canada Walleye Tips

[Limit Out]

I have been to Canada the last 18 yrs in a row. Many of the previous posts contain some good information. We always fish primarily with nightcrawlers that we take in ourselves. As some said they cannot be packed in dirt but Bedding or similar material is OK. The lake we usually go to has only walleye and northern pike. When I take a new person I usually tell them to think crappie tackle for walleye and bass tackle for northern. Our most successful method, and I have tried them all, is a simple 3/8 oz painted head jig, a four inch curly tail grub in white, chartreuse, or pink (my favorite) and a piece of nightcrawler. Using a whole nightcrawler is a waste. We backtroll slowly and bounce the jig off the bottom. In a week's fishing an average day is 50 to more than 100 walleye per boat, per day (no fish story!). We go to a fly-in lake and it is loaded with fish. We went to a drive-to lake last year that was supposed to be great, but it was a great disappointment to us. We have been spoiled. Fly-ins are more expensive. The lake we go to is $975 US this year plus tax for 7 days and that includes nothing but a cabin, boat, and gasoline. We have to take everything from food to toliet paper. We normally always go the end of July. I have gone in June but it was the worst year we ever had.

Hope you have a great trip. The first time I went I was planning on a once in a lifetime trip now 18 yrs later I'm anxious to go again this coming summer. It gets in your blood, but it does spoil some of the fun when you come home and catch only a few fish.

[PRO V LE]

Sorry if I'm wrong, but I was talk'ing about crossing the border from the U.S. into Canada. I know the U.S. has planned the return trip in the future for Passports from Mexico also.
I also read that Canada would deny access if they run you're licsence (SP) and found things like DUI etc. on you're record.
This was in a fishing mag. maybe InFisherman that I read this.
I've been taking apart on the Canada side and dump'ed in the parking lot when the guy ask'ed how much Beer did we have and the wife said
"Oh just a few"
:o

[motalot]

I think ice is a commodity. How would you store your worms? I was thinking of burying them in a crate in a nice shady spot? Any suggestions?

Thanks for the tips they are all a great help

[Moose1am]

Back troll with live minnows. Drag the baits so that you can feel the bottom of the lake. Rocky area that have drop off and ledges or underwater humps are good spots to fish. I would hire one of the Indian Guides if you go and let them show you some good spots. Those guys know the lake like the back of their hands.

We went up to Eagle Lake in Ontario Canada. Dad caught some nice 6lb walleyes there. The owners of the resort told us where the Indian's fish and so we had a few good spots that were rocky outcrops that rose up out of deep water in the middle of the lake. Wish back then that we would have had handheld GPS and the new Side scanning Sonar units. But those spots that the owner told us and showed us were good spots for walleye. We also caught lots of big northern there at times.

By back trolling I mean using the 20 hp gas motor in reverse. Just don't run into any rocks while going backwards. We let the fishing lines out toward the bow of the boat until they just started to tick the lake bottom at the right depth. Water is pretty clear up on those Canadian SHIELD lakes.

Also use a wire leader and a special walleye spinner rig. It's basically a long wire with a red bead attached and a single small blade attached that spins around the wire leader. There is a swivel on the one end to avoid line twist and the hook is attached to the other end. We fished with live bait. Leaches work good as they will stay on longer. You can use live minnows as well.

Most of the walleyes we caught were in the 2 and 3 lb range. They are the best eating. And once you taste a shore cooked walleye fish sandwich you will never forget it. Best tasting fish I have ever eaten. Firm white flaky flesh that falls off the bones when it's done. And walleye are easily to fillet. They fillet very good with these new electric fillet knifes.
Regards,

Moose1am

[Limit Out]

We take our crawlers in a large styrofoam box, like the ones you get Omaha Steaks in. I'm sure a medium sized cooler of any kind would work fine. For the trip we put the worms in bedding material with a few layers of wet newspaper on top of it and then a couple of 1/2 gallon milk jugs with frozen water in them. Once we get to camp, refrigerators are available. If there is room in the fridge we set the box in the bottom. If there is not room, refreeze the bottles and keep them in the box. The camp we go to has free ice so ice in a ziplock bag will work but if the bag leaks, the bedding can get too wet. If you use the bags I would recommend double bagging. We usually take 500 crawlers for six to eight fisherman and have never run completely out in a week of fishing. We break off about a third or fourth of the crawler and put it on our jigs so they last a lot longer. You can usually catch more than one fish before having to rebait. As long as a small piece remains on the hook the fish will still bite it.

As far a burying a box I guess it would work if you have a shovel you can dig a hole in a rock with. There is not much soil over the rock and I'm not sure the camp would want you digging holes anyway.