Walleye opening weekend is probably one of the most awaited days each spring here in zone 17. The boat launches are full of early risers and eager anglers all ready to hit the lakes and catch some Kawartha Gold! Since the second Saturday in May; I’ve been super busy finding plenty of spots and getting clients hooked up with some of these fish. This year the Walleye spawn was a little later than usual due to the low water temperatures and a lot of the smaller slot sized fish were hard to come by however a few warm days into the season, the bite really started to heat up and the walleyes started to show up in their normal spring areas! We were able to catch several limits during some of this season’s trips; as well as a few new personal bests and firsts for clients! The way we are targeting these fish is fishing areas that have some healthy weed growth and that had close access to the main basin of the lake. Most of the time it was offshore humps or steep shoreline banks with hard bottom. Using forward facing sonar it made it easy to locate exactly where the fish were sitting on these areas and with accurate casts we were able to put our baits right in front of them. Over the years I’ve caught walleyes on a variety off different baits and presentations however one technique really dominated this year for myself and my clients. The majority of boated walleyes this season were caught swimming or hopping a small 2.8″ swimbait on a ball head jig. Super easy to do and a very subtle presentation; however it was extremely effective. I use the Stealth Ball head Jigs made by Great Lakes Finesse. The jigs come in 3 different sizes and 5 different colours. Typically my go-to is the 3/16oz Matte Green Pumpkin heads. They have a wicked sharp hook that is small and fits so many plastics perfectly. Not to mention it keeps it shape even after fighting larger walleyes or accidental bycatch like pike or muskies. For my rod/reel and line setup:
Rod : G Loomis NRX+ 902S SJR (7’6″ Medium Fast)
Reel : Shimano Exsence 3000
Line : 15lb Power Pro V2 (Onyx) – 7lb fluorocarbon leader
Lure : Great Lakes Finesse Stealth Ballhead Jig (3/16oz Matte Green Pumpkin) paired with a 2.8″ swimbait
