I heading up from CA next week. We are doing a 7 day trip in and out of Mudro, we plan to go up the Horse River and back down through Jackfish Bay on Basswood. Lots of base camping, lots of fishing.

This will be my third trip in 5 years (first two were late Spring- early June). I have read and practically memorized Craig Zarley's BW fishing books, and I absolutely get the versatility of the jig/grub combo. I use something similar out on the west coast for almost everything. I get what he is saying and what he wants me to do...

The problem: I can never find the damn walleye. I have fished the wind swept shores, sharp drop offs, raised reefs and islands. I have drifted through wind swept pinch points, battling back through the wind and current for multiple passes. My last trip, in 2016, I fished hard, easily 4-6+ hours every day, and did not catch a single walleye. In 2013 I was there right after ice out, and I caught one, which I sight-fished in about 10ft of water.

I am hoping that the Basswood Falls region will be just stupid easy, and I'll get a little redemption before my next trip; where I'll be lost again.

Can anyone help me figure out what I'm doing wrong? Anyone willing to point me in a direction or say what depths they might be at, this time of year, in Basswood?

TIA!

Any running water will attract walleye. Although it may be a dawn and dusk only bite. Fishing a jig in current is a classic tactic. Make sure you are bouncing off the bottom. I use 1/4 to 1/2oz jigs depending on current and wind. You WILL lose jigs.

June and September are two different games. June you need to work warmer bays and shallows with a jig and bait ON THE BOTTOM. September use plugs Wally Divers around mid-lake reefs casting or trolling AT OR NEAR THE BOTTOM. Snags will let you know you are in the zone. I think September will be harder for you...

I most consistently find walleye at mid-lake structure this time of year. I've been catching them down at least 10 feet this past week, often around 20 feet. If you're not having luck jigging at spots that look good on the map, try trolling a diving lure where you can see steep depth changes or changes in bottom structure on your map. Think drops off points, deeper holes in a shallower basin, mid lake humps and reefs, etc. My best luck trolling for walleyes in late summer (August/September) has been with (in order) Rapala deep down husky jerks, hot n' tots, reef runners (adjusting them can get annoying), and rapala tail dancers. If you're ticking the bottom with your lures you'll catch walleye eventually, and when you do, stop and jig that spot.
Bring live crawlers and or leeches if you can (some bait shops still have leeches right now, not sure about when you go in September). I transport my worms in a styrofoam container, with a soft-sided lunch box around them to help regulate temps. You'll catch more finicky eyes with live bait and it might give you some additional time to set the hook.

We were fishing Lake Three last week and there was no consistent pattern. Some were shallow, 13'-15', while others were deeper, 20'+. About the only thing we figured out is that nightcrawlers were the bait of choice. We had live minnows and threw a variety of Rapalas, but the nightcrawlers produced more fish by at least a 2-1 margin.

thlipsis29: "We were fishing Lake Three last week and there was no consistent pattern. Some were shallow, 13'-15', while others were deeper, 20'+. About the only thing we figured out is that nightcrawlers were the bait of choice. We had live minnows and threw a variety of Rapalas, but the nightcrawlers produced more fish by at least a 2-1 margin. "

Thanks for the depth tips, how were you fishing the crawlers?

Mid-lake structure, low-light, half a crawler on the smallest jig you can manage. Anchor up, go slow or vertically. Any thick green weeds adjacent to deeper water and hard bottom will hold fish as well.

1/4 oz jig head or lindy rigs

We will be fishing leeches under slip bobbers. I prefer using beaver flicks from the Beaver House in Grand Marais, but you are heading out of Ely so I would just use a jig head.

Good luck, 3 days till we leave!!!!! Looks like it will be good temps for fishing and camping!

Hmmm.........what does your line look like? The quickest way to fail in the north is to over tackle IMO.

Walleyes are fat and happy in August/Sept. You can tempt them with live bait and finesse tactics (read "Lunkers love nightcrawlers" to get the skinny on truly effective live bait tactics particularly targeted at big fish).

Or you can get reaction bites.

To catch walleye you must first find them. While live bait might be the way to "catch" walleye it is not always the best way to "find" walleye since the presentation is often slow and methodical.

Trolling crank baits is a great way to find walleye. In August and Sept I focus on 25 to 30 ft of water and fast troll banana shaped big billed crank baits which are able to maintain that depth. I use a depth finder and try and keep my bait within 5ft of the bottom with 3' being better. I rip along quickly and play the "catch me if you can" game. I cover lots of ground all while my eyes are glued to the depth finder. I fish aggressively at this time of year and I fish deep. I fully expect to go to a new lake and within 3 hours have a nice 26" walleye in the boat, sometimes several. Bigger fish tend to be deep..........smaller fish will school shallow, often near weeds this time of year.

My method requires a depth finder and a rod holder is quite helpful as well.

Once you catch a walleye you have now found a "spot" where you can employ your more methodical live bait and jig tactics and start to get on them since walleye are typically a schooling type fish. Walleye are not so hard to catch.......but you must put a bait in front of them. If you are fishing where they are not it doesn't matter what you put down, which is why trolling is the first and best option if you dont know where the fish are at. its all about getting clues and that means traveling and looking. Dont let anyone talk you out of fast trolling at this time of year.........you want reaction bites. Lures which go to slowly are easily identified as fakes. Give them precious little time to decide. WHAM! Make sure your drag is set correctly and dont over tackle regarding line. 8lb green XT or 10 lb clear XL is fine..........test your knots. Mid 30's pike are common in this depth range as well this time of year.

Finding leeches this time of year might be hard, because they stop trapping them. If you can find them use them. If you can’t find any Leeches use night crawlers for your bait. Put them on a hook under a slip bobber setup. It’s kind of hard to not catch fish this way. Another way is using a spinner with a Crawler harness. Just cast out and slow retrieve it back. Jigs tipped with a leech or crawler also works.

I would be targeting 15ft that has a nice drop off to 25-30ft with a hard bottom. A bottom bouncer with a crawler harness trolled slow will produce fish.

Have you considered going into Fourtown, Boot, Fairy, Gun, Gull, Thunder, and Beartrap. I have caught walleye in all the lakes from Fairy north. It's a nice area with smaller lakes and can be easier to locate fish. If you are interested, send me an email.

Just got back from the Q. We found all of our walleyes in current. I brought an anchor bag and anchored in the middle of the current and cast toward the shore. When our lure on the bottom fell into deeper water, that's where they would nail it. Most of the time we hooked up with huge smallies in about 8 to 10 feet of water but in deeper water caught the walleyes.

Here's the answer to your next question. We were fishing with 6" green pumpkin colored lizards (Z-Man brand) and 6" green pumpkin brush hogs. Most every fish we caught wanted those two soft plastics. We tried different baits including jigs but those two lures caught the most by far. Also caught a few trolling deep walleye divers.

The trick with soft plastics on the bottom is to fish them extremely slow. You have to have an anchor or the current or wind will move you too fast.

Another good location we found was dropping the plastics off of shelves into deep water. Find a windy point with a drop-off. The fish really are there.

Just my experience last week. Your results may vary.

Terry

Last year went to Basswood late summer, tried all the classic eye spots. Found them out in the middle in about 30' of water with no structure any where trolling a lindy rig with a .5 to 1 oz. weight. We also caught some very nice northern, trolling chubs, tail dancers, and the biggest one was caught on a lindy rig.

24kGold: "Just got back from the Q. We found all of our walleyes in current. I brought an anchor bag and anchored in the middle of the current and cast toward the shore. When our lure on the bottom fell into deeper water, that's where they would nail it. Most of the time we hooked up with huge smallies in about 8 to 10 feet of water but in deeper water caught the walleyes.


Here's the answer to your next question. We were fishing with 6" green pumpkin colored lizards (Z-Man brand) and 6" green pumpkin brush hogs. Most every fish we caught wanted those two soft plastics. We tried different baits including jigs but those two lures caught the most by far. Also caught a few trolling deep walleye divers.


The trick with soft plastics on the bottom is to fish them extremely slow. You have to have an anchor or the current or wind will move you too fast.


Another good location we found was dropping the plastics off of shelves into deep water. Find a windy point with a drop-off. The fish really are there.


Just my experience last week. Your results may vary.


Terry"

Wow, thats outside the box fishing..........Lizards for walleye, thats pretty cool. Who does that? Did you first try using them for bass and started catching walleyes? I haven't used lizards for a long time but I always like them.

mastertangler: "

24kGold: "Just got back from the Q. We found all of our walleyes in current. I brought an anchor bag and anchored in the middle of the current and cast toward the shore. When our lure on the bottom fell into deeper water, that's where they would nail it. Most of the time we hooked up with huge smallies in about 8 to 10 feet of water but in deeper water caught the walleyes.



Here's the answer to your next question. We were fishing with 6" green pumpkin colored lizards (Z-Man brand) and 6" green pumpkin brush hogs. Most every fish we caught wanted those two soft plastics. We tried different baits including jigs but those two lures caught the most by far. Also caught a few trolling deep walleye divers.



The trick with soft plastics on the bottom is to fish them extremely slow. You have to have an anchor or the current or wind will move you too fast.



Another good location we found was dropping the plastics off of shelves into deep water. Find a windy point with a drop-off. The fish really are there.



Just my experience last week. Your results may vary.



Terry"

Wow, thats outside the box fishing..........Lizards for walleye, thats pretty cool. Who does that? Did you first try using them for bass and started catching walleyes? I haven't used lizards for a long time but I always like them. "

Yes, fishing for bass and discovered that Walleye love them too. I've used them now for about 5 years and catch a about as many walleye as bass on them. I don't know why they like them but I'm not complaining. The Z-Man brand seem to work the best because they float. I use a 1/8th oz bullet on the nose and secure it with a small split shot. That way, the nose stays on the bottom and the body floats and moves. They work better than Zoom lizards. And, green pumpkin with black flake is by far the best color I've found.

I'd like to take credit for catching walleye with lizards on purpose but it was purely an accident.

Terry