Hello, making my first trip in Sept . I’m primarily a fly fisher but putting together a box of gear for my spinning rod in hopes of catching a walleye. Can anyone suggest some lures, jigs (what weights) or soft baits that I should be looking for.
I appreciate any info that you are willing to share.
Thank you.

Fall baits for walleye run bigger that spring and summer baits. Shad raps #7 and #9 are great for finding fish as you drift or fan cast. Once you find them, nothing beats a simple jig with a curly tail, tipped with a leech. Smallest jig based on wind to get the bait to the bottom.

I wouldn't get too crazy buying crankbaits. You only need enough to find schools of walleye. Once you find them, vertical jigging works the best. A selection of jigs from 1/8 oz to 3/4 oz, 1/4 oz being your workhorse. I prefer glow color, seems to help in low light fishing. Glow curly tails are my favorite.

Tip on your jigs: take a needle nose and open the hook by 10 degrees, and to either side by 10 degrees. Your hookup rate will double. Leeches keep if you give them fresh water, crawlers keep with a wet burlap covering.

Locations: mid-lake humps that come up 5-15 feet surrounded by deeper water, bars the same, current areas 10-20 feet. September night fishing can be as shallow as 2 feet. Walleye are generally more active in low light conditions, cloudy, "walleye chop", rain, dusk, dawn, and night.

Good luck and have fun!

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information!

Walleye

This first lure I like to call the “producer” because it typically produces walleye when I need a shore lunch. The J9, 3-1/2”, gold, jointed (broken back) Rapala is my preeminent lure for walleye. This lure can be used with success during all open water seasons (spring, summer and fall). It works best when trolled around points and any extending flats adjacent to the area. If the points are not productive, move out into the lake and fish reefs by maneuvering the canoe back and forth over the structure. Casting this lure over young weed beds and any areas that have current are also good locations to hunt walleye in the spring. Wind blowing between islands in the “saddle” can be a highly effective spot during the spring time as well. Typically if you find one walleye there is a good chance another will be nearby. Once a fruitful area is determined, set an anchor if possible and cast over the structure.

This next lure, the 4-3/4”, gold colored, Rapala Husky Jerk is fished in a similar manner as the J9. Use it during all the open water fishing seasons by trolling and casting this lure over the same areas as mentioned previously. When the structure holding walleye is deeper switch from the J9 to the Husky Jerk. The Husky Jerk can be trolled a touch slower due to its neutral buoyancy which allows the lure to suspend when paused and precipitates deadly strikes by walleyes. When casting this lure always incorporate a pause into the retrieve after a couple of jerks.

While trolling a rubble shore line just past a point in 2003, I caught a walleye on Basswood Lake that measured 32 inches long using the gold colored Husky Jerk. This fish won the annual catch and release contest held by the Ely Echo newspaper.

I am inclined to catch and release the majority of the walleye caught in Quetico. I only keep a few each trip for a couple of shore lunches. The lunkers are always returned to breed or to allow the opportunity for someone else the catch of a lifetime. If we all use these guidelines the quality of Quetico walleye fishing will remain for generations to come.

The closest I’ve been to fishing live bait in Quetico is using either Berkley PowerBait or Gulp! leeches. Once a good walleye location is determined, return to the area with a PowerBait leech and jig over the structure and surrounding area. Using non-lead 1/8 oz. or 1/4 oz. black colored jigheads seem to work best.

If you do not prefer jigging, another effective method is to Texas rig the leech on a red 1/0 worm hook so it is weed-less. Then about 18 inches up the line use a small weight to maintain the lure depths down in the strike zone. This method is best used while drifting over a walleye structure or reeled just enough to make sure it remains off the bottom while casting from a stationary position.

When there is a good chop on the water rig up the leech on a jighead under a slip float. The movement of the float in the waves causes erratic movements of the leech below the surface enticing finicky walleyes. This procedure alleviates snags by allowing the lure to hover over the bottom. Again, this lure can be used during all open water fishing seasons, but is used primarily during the summer when walleye move out into the lake and set up over the reefs and shoals.

Do a search (click search up above) and input " Walleye Fishing 101 " and you will find a thread with a plethora of information.

Thanks to Mike I am all about the black/gold Husky Jerk. It was my go to search bait during my spring trip , and a trip I just got back from yesterday. I’ve been using the HJ12 , so a little bigger. Wally doesn’t seem to mind. It’s amazing how small of a walleye will still slam a lure that size. Another presentation that worked well for me this trip was drifting a spinner harness. Leeches were $40 a pound , so I went with crawlers. It was hot during my trip and I was concerned about keeping them alive. I used a Frabill styrofoam worm box , and bought the bedding with the food in it. The Boys at VNO told me the worms had peat moss on top an to just pull that out every now and then, and dunk it in the lake and place it back on top. Worked like a charm. Just put the few remaining crawlers in my bait fridge at home. Also caught them bouncing a jig with a cut crawler. And under a slip bobber. I’m still learning a bunch about fishing. Now that I’ve upped my successes rate I’ve realized it has a lot to do with always making sure I’m making contact with the bottom. And I fish where the wind is blowing. It’s not always fun fishing wind blown areas but it’s usually where the fish pile up.

Thank you!

If you enjoy fly fishing I would also recommend trying for smallmouth as well. Had a blast last June.