This episode starts our 2014/15 season, and if you like Walleye fishing, then this episode’s for you!
Pete headed up to the White River Air Base in the Algoma region of Ontario. He was brought in as a hired gun by Dan and Brandi MacLachlan of White River Air. They are looking for different lakes to possibly open up for future outpost camps. This may be the ultimate gig: scouting a lake and shooting it for television.
Mid-spring was the season for this one, which typically puts the Walleye in the post-spawn mode. Luckily for Pete, this was a small lake, so the fish don’t take a long time to recover from the mating rigours and get back to regular open-water feeding modes.
After a short flight in with a Turbo Otter, Pete was in the boat and heading to an area that Dan had suggested. He could hear running water, but couldn’t see it. Just hearing it, however, was enough to start fishing right there. Incoming water is a great place to look for early season Walleye.
Pete said, “I took some time to scope the area with my fish finder. I could have just started casting, but I wanted to get a bit of the lay of the land.”
He started by throwing a suspending jerkbait—looking for active fish—but soon moved to a jig with some plastic and some meat. “I was here to scout for fish, I wasn’t going to play around with fast baits just because it’s fun. I needed to find fish, and a minnow is a perfect addition to a jig for that job.”
The plastic we are referring to is a 4” Yamamoto grub. Early in the year, Pete often breaks off the curly tail, leaving only the solid front of the grub on the hook.
“This serves a few purposes: first is colour; second is buoyancy; and last, the grub body stops the minnow from sliding forward on the hook,” says Pete. “Often it’s the little things that can make a difference.”
During this episode, Pete goes through all the details of what makes this body of water so great and shows a trick or two on how to vary up your presentation with the tried and true jig.
There are loads of beautiful big Walleye in this Algoma region show.
