I have two options for a BWCA trip this summer. July 13-20 or August 11-17. We will be on one of the large lakes, jigging with crawlers/leeches for walleye on reefs 18-30 feet deep. Any thoughts on which date would be most likely to find walleye in a deep water summer pattern? More specifically the August slot seems like a no-brainer, but my personal calendar aligns better with the July dates. I am slightly concerned the July slot could be too early. Thanks for your insights.

The deep pattern is more likely in August. If it were me, which it ain't, I wouldn't decide how I'm gonna fish yet. If they are still shallower, catch 'em there.

lundojam: "The deep pattern is more likely in August. If it were me, which it ain't, I wouldn't decide how I'm gonna fish yet. If they are still shallower, catch 'em there."

+1
There will always be some fish shallow(wind blown points, moving water, weed lines) but it may be a dawn or dusk event.

Nothing beats watching that red light up bobber disappear

Personally, I'd go with the August window due to the decline in mosquitoes, more comfortable weather, and better fishing.

Also, I wouldn't commit to planning around these fish being deep. Most of the "best" August walleye fishing in the BWCA I've experienced has been in less than 15 ft. As water temps begin to cool in August, the concentration of walleye numbers seem to start relate to the fall patterns, but not in full effect. Shoreline structure (connected and non-connected) adjacent to deep water and main lake basins can be fabulous. Bait fish tend to still be shallow, but start moving to deeper water areas as food and protective cover decline.

Good luck!

I'd plan your trip around what works best for you personally. Either time frame could see fishing hit the dumpster due to all sorts of reasons. Either way you're still going to have to look at each lake individually and determine what pattern is working best on that body of water.

In general you'll see walleye deeper in August and from my experience less likely to hit more aggressive presentations. Slip bobbers have always been king for me in August.

I’d also ask what lakes and type of trip you are planing ?

WalleyeHunter24: "Personally, I'd go with the August window due to the decline in mosquitoes, more comfortable weather, and better fishing.


Also, I wouldn't commit to planning around these fish being deep. Most of the "best" August walleye fishing in the BWCA I've experienced has been in less than 15 ft. As water temps begin to cool in August, the concentration of walleye numbers seem to start relate to the fall patterns, but not in full effect. Shoreline structure (connected and non-connected) adjacent to deep water and main lake basins can be fabulous. Bait fish tend to still be shallow, but start moving to deeper water areas as food and protective cover decline.


Good luck!"

I find walleye school by size and depth in late July and August. Fish under 24" are much more likely to be found shallow. "Eaters" in August like that 14' depth and if your a numbers guy sometimes you can catch a pile of them. Yawn........I get bored almost instantly with walleye under 24" unless I'm fishing for dinner.

I find good walleye in 25ft during August. At 25ft a 5lb 26" walleye is the norm. You may be hard pressed to catch an "eater" at that depth. We have caught walleye in the 8lb class using jigs tipped with minnows at 40ft on lake Minnitaki near Sioux Lookout in August.

And of course i have mentioned several times before about finding big schools of big walleye suspended off reefs 25ft down over 70ft of water during August. Don't assume those marks on your depth finder are whitefish or Cisco......they might just be walleye.

A hard blow can sometimes bring up some quality fish from the depths during August but that is the exception and not the norm IMO.

mastertangler: "

WalleyeHunter24: "Personally, I'd go with the August window due to the decline in mosquitoes, more comfortable weather, and better fishing.



Also, I wouldn't commit to planning around these fish being deep. Most of the "best" August walleye fishing in the BWCA I've experienced has been in less than 15 ft. As water temps begin to cool in August, the concentration of walleye numbers seem to start relate to the fall patterns, but not in full effect. Shoreline structure (connected and non-connected) adjacent to deep water and main lake basins can be fabulous. Bait fish tend to still be shallow, but start moving to deeper water areas as food and protective cover decline.



Good luck!"

I find walleye school by size and depth in late July and August. Fish under 24" are much more likely to be found shallow. "Eaters" in August like that 14' depth and if your a numbers guy sometimes you can catch a pile of them. Yawn........I get bored almost instantly with walleye under 24" unless I'm fishing for dinner.


I find good walleye in 25ft during August. At 25ft a 5lb 26" walleye is the norm. You may be hard pressed to catch an "eater" at that depth. We have caught walleye in the 8lb class using jigs tipped with minnows at 40ft on lake Minnitaki near Sioux Lookout in August.


And of course i have mentioned several times before about finding big schools of big walleye suspended off reefs 25ft down over 70ft of water during August. Don't assume those marks on your depth finder are whitefish or Cisco......they might just be walleye.

A hard blow can sometimes bring up some quality fish from the depths during August but that is the exception and not the norm IMO. "

Totally agree with your take on this. You do have the best chance to get a stud that time of year when targeting deep water. Deep water fishing also presents different challenges where an advanced knowledge base, skill-set, and tackle selection applies.

A statement of caution: Working those deep water fish at that time of the season can also be their demise if caught. Pressure changes and dramatic shift in water temp as they are brought up through the water column can lead to post-release death.

I'm not judging anyone for doing that (I have and still do on occasion), but it should be taken into consideration due to those factors.

Food for though walleye hunter 24. There have been some recent studies suggesting delayed mortality with various fish. You think they are fine when they swim away but some studies suggest otherwise. Naturally I take such studies with a grain of salt and am somewhat dubious but there might be some truth involved.

I do not see any issues however with bringing walleye up from 25 or 30 ft where I usually fish in August. 40 ft might be different I suppose and much has been discussed about lakers being brought up from the depths during late summer. I suspect it is the water temp change which does the trout in at that time.

One thing I do know is that if you handle fish with dry hands and remove their slime coating they can be in trouble. Case in point.........we stocked a small pond near our home with fish with the expectation of ice fishing later. We had let a bunch of sizable crappie go and a few weeks later decided to fish the pond and see how our efforts were going. In the shallows I seen what was obviously a sick and distressed crappie. Its side was covered in white "ick" like aquarium fish get. Most amazing though was the ick took the shap of a hand complete with fingers. Right where I had grabbed the fish was where it had gotten diseased. That was an eye opener.......Now I always make sure my hands are wet before I handle fish I intend to release.

I have done many trips in July and August, and have caught many 7 + pound Walleyes , and 3 fish over 10 pounds. All of these fish have been caught in water 10 feet or less on slip bobbers. The only other “big Walleye” I have caught was a 31 incher that was caught in late September when I was fishing for crappie in 20 feet of water. I guess my advice is to fish the big water reefs, or any place you find current .

walllee: "I have done many trips in July and August, and have caught many 7 + pound Walleyes , and 3 fish over 10 pounds. All of these fish have been caught in water 10 feet or less on slip bobbers. The only other “big Walleye” I have caught was a 31 incher that was caught in late September when I was fishing for crappie in 20 feet of water. I guess my advice is to fish the big water reefs, or any place you find current .
"

Interesting stuff wallee..........live bait is, of course, the great equalizer when it comes to summer walleye. It seems that all the years in August I have fished shallow I always have caught smaller walleye wether on the Canadian Sheild or the Great Lakes. But fish do what they want and if they want to go shallow they will. I suspect your catches of larger walleye during August was caught in low light or windy conditions?

While quick trolling crankbaits out of a canoe I was having limited success on larger fish at dark when I would troll shallower. I went back out to 20 ft even after dark (I had to have the light on for the depth finder) and started catching bigger ones again.

But I like to consider other people's success and you have given me something to chew on. Do you commonly catch big walleye in 12ft during August or were they the exception over a lifetime of fishing? Curious........

Yes, it is quite common. There is a area we fish on Vermilion that has given up at least 6 Walleyes over 10 pounds, and litterly dozens between 7 and 10 pounds This spot tops out at 7 feet. What is amazing is that the area is busy with boat traffic most of the day. It’s basically a shelf that falls off to 11 feet . When we are anchored here most people think we are fishing for Bluegills . There is a ton of current in this area and we just let the current work the bobbers. We set our bobbers at 6 feet . This spot has been good at all times of the day , even on bright sunny days. Of course there are times when it’s not productive, but it is our go to spot. The other spots we fish are the big water reefs. Again slip bobbers are our main tactic. Again, depths range from 7 to 12 . Of course early morning and evening seem to be the best times, but on a cloudy day with a nice chop on the water the Walleyes will be there. I agree that Walleyes will school by size. Two years ago I was fishing on Burntside Lake. I was not using bobbers, but I was drifting a mud bottom area that was 8 to 10 feet deep, that was close to a steep 30 feet drop off. It was the middle of a bright sunny day and we caught 7 Walleye from 7 to 9 pounds in the next hour. I’m not saying that I have not caught Walleyes in deep water, I have, but I just do not fish “deep” very often.