Crankbait Fishermen
Doing Something Different to Catch Early Season Walleye!
Kathleen June 6-11 2001: It was a challenge at first, the fishing there seemed a little different than the other lakes. We didn't catch much the first day or so using our regular techniques which told us we needed to be doing something different.
Trolling didn't work hardly at all which seemed very strange too. Normally we begin casting the obvious shoreline structure and trolling the 15-foot depth but when that didn't work we decided to fish the shallow rocks. Very shallow. See the bottom. Anywhere where there was exposed rocks extending out from shore usually at the narrows or some of the points, that's where we caught fish. Also the big mid-lake rockbar on the north east end (the dangerous one) was good too. Just drifting and casting, concentrating at the level where the bottom just dissapears. Close to dark, when the wind would die down, we'd jig-fish just outside the rocks where the bottom went back to sand, where we could work a jig without snagging up constantly. Normally, we're not concerned about colour, but'pink and white jigs and tails were definitely the best color there. at least on that trip, for the walleyes. The water was warm that week, in the 60's already. We stumbled across the one back bay to the left of camp (I'll look at a map at the show tonight and mark some spots), but this one had no rocks, it narrows down to a mud bottom inlet, there's a patch of weeds. It didn't look like much, but we made a trolling pass Into that bay one day and realized we caught fish when we were as far back in the bay as we could get. So we went all the way in, drifted, casted and caught fish like crazy. The walleyes there were in 3-7 feet of water. If you couldn't see the bottom, you woulnd't catch a fish. There were mayfly larvae hatching there. Had to be the key. Water must have been very warm in that shallow water. This was that 75-degree sunny week, remember. Crankbalts and jigs worked equally well, sometimes, you'd be able to see 3 walleyes chasing your lure as it approached the boat. In any of these spots, we'd catch anywhere from 20-40 walleye per visit and all In the 11-22 range.
We were scared when we saw all the ice yet and how cold we knew the water would be. Todd and I don't travel with live bait remember, so we were conqerned about the liklihood of catching fish on crankbaits. especially in the fast current of the channel which is really all we had access to because of the ice and wind that week. We didn't plan on fishing walleyes much at Moj, we wanted the big Trolling worked too, especially moving UPSTREAM on the east side of the channel, through 10-15 of water, zigzagging to stay along the old river channel. Using the locator to stay along the channel was impossible, because it is so narrow and irregular, so just zigzatgging did the trick. Going very slowly, kicking the motor into neutral every few minutes for a couple of seconds, keeping the lures at least 100' feet behind the boat to get them down deep enough, normally if you can feel them hit the bottom at about 12' feet that's a good sign. The whole channel was good, but the area between the south cabin and the Indian camp was best. We caught plenty of fish drifting with jigs there too.
If you needanything else Paul,just holier, or! think I said I wanted to do something like this for all the lakes, just tips that Todd and I have found that really made our trip, and that alot of guys wouldn't think of, maybe something you could post on your website, or mail to people with the confirmation letters I don't know, just a thought for a little “Insurance” of a catching as many fish as possible. A big part of that is pre-trip planning, as fir as having the right lures along, regardless of the thne of year or the lake you're fishing. And like Todd and I have started telling people about these trips, 1f your not catching fish do something different! Anyhow, all for now. See ya. Contact us for your next Ontario Fishing Trip!If you have any questions or would like to book a trip, contact us via email at or call us toll free at 1-800-454-7644.
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Todd and I are crankbait fishermen. It's fast, it's easy, it's fun and it really works. They don't snag up as much as jigs, and you can usually get them back if they do hang up. But we couldn't catch fish casting the islands and shorelines like normal. 
Our favorite crankbaits are things like Smithwick Suspending Rogues, Rapala Husky Jerks, Ripsticks....anything really in the 5-6” size, we like suspending crankbaits that can be worked a little deeper, they cast down to about 8' or troll down to 15' or so. We like rattling crankbaits, but haven't ever compared their effectiveness to non-rattlers. Colors don't matter much, except blue and silver with an orange belly does outproduce (you'll see that lure in all of Todd's photos, he won't use anything else). Don't know why, but that Rogue is a great lure, might be the color, or the action, or something I won't say it's the fisherman! You'll see these lures in most of the photos I sent.
northerns, remember, so began by fishing the shallow wooded bays, mostly on the west side of the channel, using big floating crankbaits...&-lnch models this time just twitching them through the shallow water and trees. And we caught a couple of walleyes. No northerns. So we switched over to our smaller 6” lures again and began catching about sixty 17-25” walleyes every day. Fishing our usual lures, but retrieving them as slowly as humanly poGsible. When you wouldn't think you could retrive any slower, you had to slow it down more, but always with a tight line to feel the SUPER light hits. It was best to cast upwind, behind the boat, so the wind and moving boat would help keep a tight line. A stop and go retrieve, barely twitching those suspending lures was the ticket. !fyou'd feel anything slightly different, set the hook and it was a fish. Rarely would we actually feel a “hit.” Again, we stumbled upon this by accident, and learned that we could fish as shallow at 2-3 feet, just drifting and casting the bays, and going cut as far as the main current line. The upstream point of the bay closest to the south camp was outstanding, especially before dark. There's an eddy there, usually the boat would Just sit and swirl around while we caught fish. Jigs didn't work as well, there was a lot of debris on the bottom in those bays, sojigsjust gummed up with rotten wood and dead vegetation. Another reason we like crankbait.
Last Note: Barbless hooks saved the day in more ways than one. First, it was cold, and barb-free hooks makes unhooking and releasing fish so fast and easy. We don't use nets, but for guys who do, getting hooks out of the mesh is such a pain. No problem when the barbs have been flattened. Helps keep your hands warm too when you can unhook fish so easily. And you don't have to worry about hooks getting stuck in gloves or clothes. Next, when you're catching a fish, you don't ofen have to bring them in the boat, sometimes you can shake them off at boatside, or unhook them with your pliers without ever touching the fish. And you won't lose fish with no barbs,just keep a tight line like you were always taught anyway! They won't come off and finally, I've never had a hook stuck in my hand, but it happened TWICE that week at Moj. The first was barbless, and I slid it right back out. The next one buried into my thumb unhooklng a walleye, attaching me to the fish, I thought it was barbless too, but I had missed one when flattening them on the crankbalt and sure enough that's the one that found me. We cut the hook offthe lure, but couldn't get it out of me yet, so went back to camp, better light and warmth, and struggled to push the point the rest of the way through. That's no easy task! Don't want to have to do that again. So anyways, I'm a HUGE fan of barbless hooks for crankbait fishing. They make these trips much more enjoyable, make unhooking and releasing fish fister and safer for both fish and fisherman, and even let you catch more fish by spending more time with your lure in the water instead of stuck somewhere it shouldn't be, like in clothes, a net or a finger.