Ice Fishing Season is Over, CountDown to Open Water.

This past weekend marked the end of the ice fishing season for most anglers. Ice condition is becoming dangerous, and the season for most species ends on the 31st of march.

This means we can now start counting the days til open water season begins again, I am psyched, this year promises to be the best yet, I will be spending much more time exploring the Montreal waters, finding new spots, tyring new gear, but most of all fishing for my favorite species, walleye.

May 13th is when it starts on Lac Saint Pierre. 45 days.

How Sonars and Fishfinders Work

LEI Extras published this excellent introduction to sonar technology. It explains everything one needs to know to make the right choice when shopping for a fishfinder.

Lake Champlain Ice Fishing

Check out this great shot sent to me by my good friend and fishing partner MikeWalleye. He went ice fishing for perch on Lake Champlain a few weeks ago, they spent the day trying to prevent themselves from dying of exposure, winds were raging and temperatures were the lowest they had been all season. No fish either. But what a nice shot!

Rapala Shad Rap Hardbait on Special

Rapala Shad Rap Hardbait

Bass Pro Shop is practically giving this stuff away. I like the SR-05 3 inch model, at $1.99 a piece, I'm ordering a few dozen. My favorite colors for this specific lure are firetiger, walleye and clown.

Quick Comparison of Walleye Fishing Outfitters

This is a comparison of what kinds of walleye fishing trips you can expect to get for the 2005 season in some of Quebec's walleye outfitters. Of course, these rates are what I found published on their respective websites, this information may change, and I may have made some mistakes. Do your homework, give them a call and fins out what it will cost you.

Some outfitters did not publish rates on a per night basis, but rather in packages.

The rates are all for 2005 season opening trips, all 4 night stays in european plan (you cook and supply the food). All prices are in canadian dollars.

Drive-In Walleye Trips

Pavillon de l'esturgeon     $100

Fontbrune     $140

Club Scott     $260

Menjo     $300

Barrage Gouin     $320

Auberge Gatineau     $360

Pourvoirie des 100 lacs     $360

Oasis du Gouin     $512

Wapoos Sibi     $540

Mekoos     $560


Fly In Walleye Trips

Lac du male     $595

lac boomerang      $490

Lac des mouettes     $490


HouseBoat Walleye Trips

Barrage Gouin     $520

Les Chalets Gouin      $390

Achimac     $235

Lake Huron Walleye Fishing

Lake Huron, Michigan, is well known for its salmon fisheries, but what about walleye fishing? Michigan's Saginaw Bay is without a doubt the best known walleye fishery on Lake Huron, and in fact it is one of the best in the US. It's no surprise that the PWT stops here every single year, Lake Huron's walleye fishing is among the world's best.

Best Months to fish Lake Huron Saginaw Bay
The locals will tell you if you're looking for the large ones, july and august are best. That is because big walleyes come into the bay to feed on the millions of perch and shiners. Great spots to find both the bait fish and their predators are Lake Huron's weedbeds and shallow reefs.

Best techniques
Walleye will go to the weeds to feed on unsuspecting minnows and perch. Best technique is vertical jig presentations with live minnows. Another top technique involves lead jigs and soft plastics ripped through the weeds. Last but not least, if you're vertical jigging, jiggin spoons work quite well at times.

However if you don't know where the wallye is holding at any given time, your best bet will be to cover lots of water trolling. Try using spinners and crank baits along the weed egdes.
If you need to go deep, use deep diving crankbaits 30-40 feet behind a planerboard.

Best Walleye Fishing Spots on Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay

• Fish the contours of the many Lake Huron islands, same applies to reefs surrounded by deep water.
• Tawas Bay (North) is awesome.
• The Kern-Weadock Hot Ponds (southwest) are great all year round.
• Saginaw River is a must, especially when a northeast wind is present.

Lake Huron Waleye Fishing Links

Saginaw Bay Walleye Club
Fishing Saginaw Bay
Michigan Walleye Tour
History of fishing in Saginaw Bay
Portrait of Walleye in Saginaw Bay
Saginaw Bay Studies
Walleye Fisheries Workers
Saginaw Bay Fishing Reports
Ice Fishing Lake Huron
Marine Information (weather)

Hot Tip: Use Red Hooks for Walleye Fishing

Red hooks are in.

Walleye anglers everywhere are switching to red hooks, from the big time tournament circuits right down to the small town angler. Why? First and foremost, recent scientific studies have demonstrated that walleyes can see red better than any other color. Red also signifies a bleeding prey. The buzz is red hooks will catch more walleye, so I figured I would take a moment to review different ways you can incorporate red hooks into your presentations.

JIGGING
Red lead jigs have been on the market forever, same goes for red soft plastics, but red hooks on jigs? I first used a red hook on a jig last spring, on Gouin Reservoir's Lac Du Male. There, my fishing buddy Mike "Walleye" and myself caught close to 100 good sized walleyes in 2 days, all on 1/4oz Matzuo Jigs with a red hook and a leech. Not only were these some of the sharpest hooks I have ever seen on a jig (out of the box), but they really did seem to outfish normal jigs - which we soon abandoned at the bottom of our tackle boxes. The rest of the summer's vertical jiggin was done with these same jigs. I am trying to find these jigs on the internet and can't find any trace of their existence. I still have a hundred of them or so, so I will try to take a picture soon and post it.

SPINNER RIGS
Gamakastu's new line of red hooked spinner rigs is just the thing you need to get those shy walleye to strike in the middle of the day. It features a firetiger pattern, which incidentally is the other most visible color to walleye.

CRANKBAITS
Replace your standard treble hooks with red hooks, if you can only change one of them, change the one closest to the head of your bait. If you're fishing in the right area, you will notice a difference. Remember to keep the exact same size hooks, otherwise you will interfere with the bait's natural movement and probably make it totally worthless in the water.


RED HOOK MANUFACTURERS
There are many hook manufacturers out there but only a select few make a quality product worth mentioning. Red hook manufacturers include:

Gamakatsu - possibly the best hooks money can buy. I have been using red Gamakatsu hooks for a few years now, but I never suspected that their color had something to do with the success I had with them. Guess I was wrong.

Matzuo - too bad their website is the worst corporate site I have ever seen - everything about it is wrong or broken. Their products however are really quite awesome.

Mustad - everyone knows the quality of these fine hooks, always the innovators, they have come up with a line of red hooks dubbed "Red Baitholder Ultra Point Hook", super sharp hooks that stay sharp longer than the competition.

Eagle Claw when a company has been making hooks for more than 80 years, you can trust them to deliver quality products for a reasonable price. They have a wide selection of red hooks in all shapes and sizes.

Daiichi - another company with a top notch product, they produce many different kinds of red "bleeding" hooks, many specifically designed for walleye.

Fiannly Check out Shaw Grisby's article "Why I Know Red Works "

I Love You WILD TV

So I was perusing my favorite quebec fishing site, quebecpeche.com, when I read this post by BigDen about a new TV station with a FULL lineup of fishing and hunting shows, 24-7, 365 days a year.

To get WILD TV you can visit this site and read their directions, they even provide emails for all cable and satellite providers.

http://www.wildtv.ca/howtoget.html

PLEASE if you live in Quebec, ask your cable or satellite provider to add this station to their line-up, I just asked Videotron, so did a few other people I know, please please please keep the ball rolling.

To ask videotron, use this email address: serviceclient@videotron.ca

Best Lure Colors for Clear Water

the picture and text above are taken from:

"Successful Walleye Fishing:

The complete hot-to guide for finding and catching walleyes year-round"

www.creativepub.com

If you fish walleye in lakes that are invaded by zebra mussels, you know how difficult it is to get the walleye to bite during the day. The water is so clear, they retreat to 30 feet or deeper yet, 40 even 50 feet of water for comfort. Walleye respond well to shiny lures, so leave the dull lures in the tackle box.

According to In-Fisherman Magazine (april-may 2005), other than shine, there are a few colors that will work better than others in conditions like these.

The most aggressive presentations are the easiest to see, if you need to make the walleye come to you from a distance, go with bright orange, red or green lures. For example, Cotton Cordell Fluorescent red/black, Firetiger patterns or Orange PowerBait soft plastics.

If the fish is biting relativeley well, stick to more neutral presentations such as perch patterns, gold, and pumpkinseed.

A subtle presentation for spooky fish would be blue, purple and smoke.

If you must remember just one thing, remember that walleye's eyes are very different from ours, and the colors they can see underwater are not the same, it doesn't matter that red is the first color to fade away for human eyes, the simple fact is that walleye will see bright orange, red and green better than any other color. Keep that in mind the next time you're having trouble getting ole marble eyes to bite and give those colors a try.

My Spring Walleye Calendar

Good news for walleye fishermen everywhere. This year will be a good one. At least that is what I have read here and there, and maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I can see my best season yet is about to begin.

I did a little bit of ice fishing this year, maybe 6 or 7 days in total, nothing much, just enough to get me interested in the sport, and to make me decide that next year I will own a power auger. Drilling through 36 inches of ice is fine once, twice, but when you like to move around like I do, it's just not possible.

So spring is upon us, and walleye season opens on May 13th for zone 8.

I will spend that day on Lac Saint Pierre and its islands, where some of the province's best walleye fishing occurs.

The following week, I will be fishing on Lac Saint Louis.

Then on June 18th is my first walleye trip of the year, out to Club Scott again.

Of course there will be many more in between days, but this is what my early season looks like so far.

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Best Walleye Lures

According to Professional Angler Patrick Campeau, these are some of the most prolific lure for walleye in the province, these must be in your arsenal if you're into walleye and fishing near Montreal. I can assure you I own a lot of just about each of these lures, in various colors and formats, and I would never go out without a good assortment of each.



Vertical Jigging
Gulp Minnow Grub on a Lead Jig

Berkley Power Grub on a Lead Jig

Rapala Balanced Jigging

Williams Ice Jigging

Power Bait Tournament Strenght 4¨minnow

Trolling
Crawler Harness with Night Crawler

Rapala Shad Rad RS

Frenzy Diver

Storm Thunderstick

Rocket Shad

Where to Buy Minnows near Montreal

People often ask where to find minnows in Montreal. Live minnows are allowed on the Saint Lawrence river, they are in my opinion the deadliest bait for walleye, but you have to know where to get them. I made a list of some of the stores who sell minnows in the greater Montreal area. I will keep updating this page as more providers are found.

In Montreal

B&L Sports
3146 Ste-Catherine est
Montréal
(514) 525-5354

Croisement de la Peche
253 100E Avenue,
Pointe-Aux-Trembles
(514) 498-4076

South Shore

Capitaine Pêcheur
1025 Barbeau Ville Sainte Catherine
(450) 632-1778

Private Residence
348 Rougemont
Longueuil
(450) 646-5690

Ste Hélène Bicycle & Sports
1283, rue Sainte-Hélène
Longueuil
(450) 674-4898

Mené - vers - Rondeau
219 Bouthillier Nord
St-Jean Sur Richelieu
(450) 346 8669

L M Sports
2554, avenue Sainte-Anne
Saint-Hyacinthe
(450) 773-0735

Relais Chasse et Pêche de Contrecoeur
5044 Ste Thérèse
Contrecoeur
(514) 587-5981


North Shore

Dagenais Sport
108 boul. Ste-rose
Laval
(450) 625-2322

Le paradis du pêcheur et du sportif
417 Grande Côte
St Eustache
(450) 623-3853

L'attirail
1354 chemain Oka
Oka
(450) 479-8020

Lauzon Ronald Enr
216, 2E Avenue,
L'île-Perrot
(514) 453-5018

Pourvoirie Roger Gladu
2435, rang St-Pierre
Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola
Toll-Free: 1-866-836-1317

Walleye Jigging Rods

Which rods are best for vertical jigging? There are many opinions on this topic, but I think most people would agree that if you will be spending any time vertical jigging for walleye, you will need a rod that will be an extension of your arm, one that will not be forgiving to delicate walleye bites.

In other words, you need a short, stiff rod, ideally a one piece medium-heavy rod, shorter than 6 feet. Also, and this is a personal preference, a spinning rod is better suited to jigging than a casting rod.

In Canada these rods are difficult to find. I heard from fellow anglers that in the US they are quite popular, but to be honest, looking at maufacturer catalogs as well as some of the popular tackle shops, it really appears as though it's not that popular at all in the US either. In fact I haven't found a single medium heavy rod under 6 feet long.

So which ones are the best bets? Here are a few 6 foot long rods that fit the profile. Be sure to fit them with a lightweight spinning reel, and with some fireline or some other braided wire.

BERKLEY SERIES ONE SOS601MH
A 6 foot long, medium-heavy, one piece rod designed for 1/4oz to 5/8 oz jigs and 6 pound test line (max 14). Features titanium guides and a Fuji reel seat.

SHIMANO CRUCIAL CRS-60MH
Another 6 footer medium heavy rod, with fast action tip, designed for 3/16oz jigs (max 5/8oz). This one piece rod features a Fuji seat and is made to work best with 8 pound test line (max 15).

ST-CROIX PS60MHF
Yet another 6 foot, one-piece, medium-heavy fast action spinning rod, this one is rated for bigger jigs, 3/8oz to 3/4oz, and for line 8 to 14 pound test. Use this one in rivers with current, or on windy days.

FENWICK GT60MH
1 piece rod, 6 feet long, good for 1/4oz to 1oz jigs, and 10-17 pound line. This specific model has 8 guides.

FENWICK HMXS60MH
Same as above, with 5 guides

FENWICK EGTS60MH
Same as above (5 guides) but this one can start with lighter 8 pound line.

QUANTUM AFFINITY AFS60MH
A fast action tip for 10-20 pound line, and 1/8-3/4oz jigs.

Falcon LowRider XG LFS-5-16
Another 6 foot medium heavy spinning rod, for 8-15 pound test line, and jigs as small as 3/16oz and as big as 1/2 ounce.

That about wraps it up, next time I talk about rods I will discuss the shortest jigging rods available, from 5'3" to 5'9" stiff spinning rods with some serious backbone.

Leeches for Walleye Fishing

One of the most popular live baits for walleye jigging is fast becoming the leech. I found out about fishing for walleye with leeches about 2 years ago when I was on a fishing trip at one of my favorite outfitters, Club Scott, who are located maybe 4 or 5 hours away from Montreal on the infamous road to Parent. That summer, I had hired Dany Morin to guide me and my friend Kristian.

We headed out to their best walleye lake, a long and narrow reservoir called Mitchinamecus. Dany took a few minutes to position the boat properly, dropped 2 anchors, and then he told us he had a special treat for us. He took out a small container with maybe 2 or 3 dozen lively leeches, and told us that we would be using those instead of night crawlers. He showed us how to hanle them, and different ways to put them on the hook. We used very small jigs, perhaps 1/16th oz, which we just held about 6 inches to a foot off the bottom, with hardly any movement at all. The bite was very light but constant. That night was the most productive evening of jigging I had ever had.

I have been back to that area probably half a dozen times since then and each time I make sure to buy an ample supply of leeches just before I get on the road.

What are the different kinds of Leeches?
The most commonly used leech for bait is the ribbon leech (also called sand leech). It is usually black or brown. This specific kind of leech will remain very active for long periods of time on a hook, which makes it a perfect candidate for fishing.

Another god candidate, if you can find them, is the tiger leech. It is smaller and livelier than ribbon leeches.

Stay away from bloodsuckers and horse leeches. They are limp and ineffective for fishing (still better than nothing though)

How to Handle Leeches
Simply let one get a hold of your finger with its suction cup, don't worry, they don't get "stuck" there!

How to Hook Leeches
I heard several theories on this, I personally like to hook it directly on the suction cup, other people hook it right under it, others yet hook the other end, and some even hook it right in the middle. I think more people hook the leech right on the cup like I do.

How to Keep Leeches Alive
Leeches will live long in clean, cool water. Do not use chlorinated tap water, keep them in the refrigerator or in a cool room. Ideally, provide them with a way to clean themselves. Leeches like to rub against rough materials to clean themselves, if they cannot remain clean, they will die. Try the leech bags, I know two providers, JNB Originals makes the Leech Tamer (I own 2 of them), and Beckman Net Company makes the Aqua-Flex Mesh Bait Containers

Where to Buy Leeches
Most ProPac merchants in the province of Quebec carry leeches in small plastic containers. Each container holds one dozen leeches. They can also be purchased by the pound. One local supplier will deliver them to your door.

When to Fish Leeches
They can be used anytime, as long as the water temperature is sufficiently warm. In cold water, leeches will curl up in a ball and stop swimming. Ideally, use leeches only when water is above 60 degrees (Farehneit).

Does Leech Size Matter?
The bigger the better, especially when targeting large walleye. Get leeches that will stretch to 4 inches or more and you're in business.

Walleye Structure

In any given body of water, walleyes tend to relate to structure. Depending on the time of year, and the type of waters you fish, different structures will be more appealing to walleye.

In my opinion there are 5 important factors to consider when trying to locate walleye:

1. SIZE OF STRUCTURE: All other factors being equal, the bigger structures will hold more walleye. Why is that? Because bigger structures will hold more baitfish, and the walleye love an endless food supply.
   
2. TYPE OF BOTTOM: Walleyes prefer hard bottoms, but apart from that, they always look for something different than the rest of the surrounding bottoms. For example, in a sandy lake, they will loks for rocky reefs and points, but in a rocky bottom, they will hold close to sand bars and points. In soft bottom lakes, even if there is no change in water depth, walleye will stay near harder bottoms.
   
3. SHALLOW TOP: Structures that top off in shallow water are usually better than similar structure that top off in 40 feet of water.
   
4. SLOPE: In the spring, walleyes will stay near gradual slopes, simply because they are feeding like mad in the warm shallows all day. Later in the season they will look for steeper slopes, so they can retreat to cooler water quickly after feeding. In late fall, the deep water becomes warmer and more comfortable, so the steepest slopes become popular.
   
5. BREAKLINE REGULARITY: An irregular slope with lots of bumps and curves will hold much more fish than a regular one.
   

A good fishfinder or flasher¸and a bathymetric map will give you all this information, if you are fishing a lake or river which you are not too familiar with, try to plan your time on the water according to these parameters, because finding where the fish is holding is the first step to successful walleye fishing.