This Fish’n Canada Show is a bizarre episode which sits on the heels of an even more bizarre episode. In the previous show, Angelo found what could be deemed the Ultimate Pike Feeding Frenzy. He located this fishing phenomenon along a shallow cut that separated two sections of Kabinakagami Lake in Ontario’s Algoma region. The Pike were up in the shallows, smashing and gorging on thousands upon thousands of minnows—more than he has ever seen in one location, he says.
“When Ang found this area with Stewart Agich of Agich’s Kaby Kabins,“ says Pete, “he couldn’t believe the amount of both baitfish and game fish here.”
Angelo turned his attention to the most prominent game fish, the Northern Pike. But Pete decided to set his sights on Walleye.
“With that much bait there, there’s definitely Walleye along with the Pike,” Ang confirmed.
“The Pike were ravaging the shallows,” Pete says. “So I figured the Walleye would be outside and away from most of that crazy daytime activity. The bottom of the adjacent channel is a great place to start.” (Incidentally, this is where Ang picked up a few Walleye while scouting for bigger Pike.)
SMASH IT OR LEAVE IT
Armed with hard, suspending jerkbaits and soft jerkbaits on jigheads, Pete proceeded to work the channel from end to end. And he caught Walleye after Walleye.
“It seemed that these were very channel-oriented Walleye with not much activity in the stretch between,” says Pete. “Maybe this was due to new baitfish moving in or an entrance/exit point.”
The biggest problem with fishing an area that is filled with both game fish and baitfish is trying to coax an already full predator into taking an artificial bait.
“By using a suspending jerkbait, I could literally pause it directly in front of the Walleye, giving them only two options: smash it or leave it,” says Pete. “And many times they smashed it!”
When the fish seemed to shy away from the jerkbait, Pete put a rather large 5” Yamamoto D Shad on a 3/8 ounce jig head and popped that through the fish-filled channel. “I figured I would give them an up-sized meal.”
By the end of the day, not only did Pete get a great Walleye show, but he encountered a couple of big Northern Pike as well—what a bonus!
