You are going to a new lake this year, it is a big lake, you don't have a depth finder, there are a number of bays or coves, no moving water, some big islands, some rocky mid lake humps, a fair amount of points around the coves, the water can get pretty deep in areas, you are positive there are walleye in the lake, more than likely there are some humps and reefs in there somewhere and it is the first week of June. Where do you fish, how do you determine it is the best place to start? Where do you move onto if the first idea is not productive? What lures are you using? How do you present those lures? Simple enough, eh? How do you attack this new lake?

Where to start... excellent question. I think the weather a week or so leading up to the trip would be the first thing I would examine. Has it been warmer then usual, cooler, snow? That being said, I think the first place I would start to look for Walleyes would be off points that have deep water close by, and also points that might have close proximity to a large bay that will have warmer water then the surrounding areas. I would slow troll the first break line off the points. I would start in 10 to 12 feet of water and gradually work my way to as deep as 30 feet. I would not target the reefs at that time of year, to early in the season in my opinion. If the points don’t prove productive, I would target the mouth of the warmer bays. I would troll or drift starting at 30 feet and work my way up 5 or 6 feet if I have to. As far as lures that time of year it would be jig and a leech, plain hook and leech , and a slip bobber rig.

walllee: "... As far as lures that time of year it would be jig and a leech, plain hook and leech , and a slip bobber rig."

Start where the waves are working a drop-off point or shoreline with 10 to 15 feet of water just over casting distance from shore.

I forgot to mention this lake is in Quetico, so no live bait.

Before you can catch them you have to find them. Without a depth finder my favorite method is a half stick of dynamite off likely areas. Once you get a few floating up you can switch to whole sticks. Do NOT drop lit sticks in the boat as they can roll around and become difficult to retrieve.

I like Wallees advice. Sounds good to me.

QueticoMike: "I forgot to mention this lake is in Quetico, so no live bait."

Jig and twister tails, white, yellow, orange, green

I'd look for a warm bay with muck and emerging weeds. 6" weedless power worm in black.
If that failed I'd troll the windward side of the lake with a strong vodka/lemonade and some thoughts and prayers.

One pattern I'd check that time of year is chunk-rock points at the mouths of shallow bays or adjacent to moving water. Fishing a 1/2 oz bladebait will give you a good idea of the depth. By my count, that bladebait will drop at around 3 ft per second. If there are walleye around, one or two of them will hit that bladebait. After you connect with one or two, you can consider switching to a jig and minnow or power worm...but I prefer the bladebaits.

FlambeauForest: "I'd look for a warm bay with muck and emerging weeds. 6" weedless power worm in black.
If that failed I'd troll the windward side of the lake with a strong vodka/lemonade and some thoughts and prayers."

This is probably the best place to look in early spring, the muck bottom and emerging weeds. Some type of leech imitation jig with 1/8 oz or 1/4 oz jig head depending on if I am drifting or anchored. If I can't find an area like this, then points on the lake about 6 to 10 feet deep out a little ways. Then I would check the mouths of each of the bays or coves and also hit the points on both sides. If none of this pans out, try to find some current between islands. If no current between any islands, then troll along wind swept shorelines if possible with a gold Rapala Husky jerk or a gold Rapala jointed J9.

Then drink the vodka and lemonade by the fire that night :)

walllee: "

QueticoMike: "I forgot to mention this lake is in Quetico, so no live bait."

Jig and twister tails, white, yellow, orange, green"

No black jigs? They kind of imitate leeches......

QueticoMike: "

walllee: "

QueticoMike: "I forgot to mention this lake is in Quetico, so no live bait."

Jig and twister tails, white, yellow, orange, green"

No black jigs? They kind of imitate leeches......"

Indeed, yes I do use black also, and purple

I'd start as far away from any productive walleye spots as possible! :)

There are too many lake trout, big pike, and smallmouth bass in the Q to waste time chasing rock carp. ;)

I would start on the North end of the lake and since you said no moving water I would look for soft bottom areas, water temp and emerging weeds would be my guidepost as to where to start. I wouild move out deeper hitting any transition areas until I contacted fish. Powerbait twisters, and road runners would be my first lures tied on.

My tip......On Canada trips I always start from home online using Ontario Fish Online site. You can search by Lake with very good satellite imagery of any Lake you want to look at. It’s good enough imagery you can see weed beds, shallow vs. deep areas, tops of shallow but under water reefs, steep vs. sloping shorelines, etc..... By studying and zooming in closely I can narrow down likely areas waaaayyy better than a 2D map. This saves tons of fishing time once on the water simply going spot to spot without wasting time. The clearer the lake the more the imagery reveals, but, you can always see deep areas from shallow, weeds, etc.....Remember you have to turn off the topo overlay to just have the satelite imagery when using the site or your back to 2D maps. When we get on the water we generally troll the j9 or scatter rap shad if it’s a shoreline or large bay to find the fish. If it’s a point we throw power bait jigs white and yellow sometimes power leaches. Once we on them it’s all jigs for us. I must admit I gravitate to inflowing moving water on the North side of the lake if possible in early June normally. shallow sand/gravel bottom pinch points are good as well. IMO if you can find that combination it is the bomb in early June.

Short story but, related. I once sat down with a pilot/ outfitter/ owner on an Ontario fly in outpost fishing trip 20 + years ago that had a fisheries biology degree and worked for Ontario MNR for years before becoming a outfitter and asked him about the lakes he had cabins on and how he decided which ones to build cabins on. His answer was sustainable fisheries need to be large (relatively) with significant in flow and out flow to handle any significant fishing pressure in Ontario. I took that advice to the bank and plan my Canada fishing trips accordingly.

look for confluence of rocky shore or island, with some open area 6 feet deep or more, and weedbeds with sandy or muddy bottom...classic weed edge situation, find wind on point or shore and you will have minnows being blown out of their cover with all sorts of predators looking for a meal...Berkley minnows on light jig are a favorite if no live bait/gulp, but a whole bunch of lures will work, cast parallel to the edge of weeds/shore. The key is to find where there is a dropoff between the weedy flat and the rocky edge, but they are common and all of them will be "honey holes" if there is wind blowing onto it

BnD: "My tip......On Canada trips I always start from home online using Ontario Fish Online site. You can search by Lake with very good satellite imagery of any Lake you want to look at. It’s good enough imagery you can see weed beds, shallow vs. deep areas, tops of shallow but under water reefs, steep vs. sloping shorelines, etc..... By studying and zooming in closely I can narrow down likely areas waaaayyy better than a 2D map. This saves tons of fishing time once on the water simply going spot to spot without wasting time. The clearer the lake the more the imagery reveals, but, you can always see deep areas from shallow, weeds, etc.....Remember you have to turn off the topo overlay to just have the satelite imagery when using the site or your back to 2D maps. When we get on the water we generally troll the j9 or scatter rap shad if it’s a shoreline or large bay to find the fish. If it’s a point we throw power bait jigs white and yellow sometimes power leaches. Once we on them it’s all jigs for us. I must admit I gravitate to inflowing moving water on the North side of the lake if possible in early June normally. shallow sand/gravel bottom pinch points are good as well. IMO if you can find that combination it is the bomb in early June.


Short story but, related. I once sat down with a pilot/ outfitter/ owner on an Ontario fly in outpost fishing trip 20 + years ago that had a fisheries biology degree and worked for Ontario MNR for years before becoming a outfitter and asked him about the lakes he had cabins on and how he decided which ones to build cabins on. His answer was sustainable fisheries need to be large (relatively) with significant in flow and out flow to handle any significant fishing pressure in Ontario. I took that advice to the bank and plan my Canada fishing trips accordingly."

Shrewd and savvy advice. I have used Laminated Satellite imagery of the Ten Thousand Islands (Everglades National Park) and yes indeed lots of pieces to the puzzle fall right into place. Sand bars and the effects of current flow are readily visible.

I was unaware such advantages are available for Canadian (Ontario) lakes. Is it just select lakes or can you see most / all lakes?

You can see all Ontario lakes including WCPP, Quetico, Wabakimi, etc... I’ve studied fly-in outpost lakes waaaayyy north. MT I debated even bringing it up since I think it’s a huge advantage before I leave the house. IMO If you can find ‘em there not hard to catch.

Hi! This is quite interesting! Following this thread is essential and cognitive for everyone!

sylviashea: "Hi! This is quite interesting! Following this thread is essential and cognitive for everyone!"

Welcome to the message board, hopefully more members will chime in with their comments.

I’m starting at any moving water 1/8 jig white twister tail. Second I’m looking for fallen tree laying in steep drop offs same lure.

Early june in the Quetico I'd be looking for warmer water. Look for where the wind has been pushing warm surface water up against shore. Start shallow and work your way out. I've stopped the search no deeper than 6 feet with nice fish coming out of 3 feet of water in the right conditions that time of year.

You said it's a big lake. I wouldn't waste time humping my arse all across the lake looking for some magical spot the wind was blowing in some specific direction or whatever. I'd look at a contour map so I have an idea of depths, and work the most logical places near camp (it's all been mentioned), keeping my line wet as much as I can.

Maybe I'm just lazy.

treehorn: "You said it's a big lake. I wouldn't waste time humping my arse all across the lake looking for some magical spot the wind was blowing in some specific direction or whatever. I'd look at a contour map so I have an idea of depths, and work the most logical places near camp (it's all been mentioned), keeping my line wet as much as I can.


Maybe I'm just lazy."

There is rarely a magical spot you just use the given information to eliminate unproductive water before you even put your paddle in the water. Thats very helpful if its a big lake and will allow you to be a little lazier.

Playing the wind and fishing windswept shorelines can immediately eliminate at least half the lake, looking for the right bottom makeup eliminates more water, and starting shallow and working deeper gives you a starting point for productive looking areas. You usually don't have to paddle far to find any of these productive spots on a good walleye lake.

treehorn: "You said it's a big lake. I wouldn't waste time humping my arse all across the lake looking for some magical spot the wind was blowing in some specific direction or whatever. I'd look at a contour map so I have an idea of depths, and work the most logical places near camp (it's all been mentioned), keeping my line wet as much as I can.


Maybe I'm just lazy."

Fishing in Quetico, no contour maps, no electonics, no live bait, no moving water.