Trip #3 to Quetico July 2023. I'm a fisherman here in Florida, and I fish a lot, but the walleye have evaded me up there. I've caught lots of smallmouth, largemouth, northerns and a few lake trout up there.

Can I get any pointers on catching walleye? I'm going to do a Clay fly-in trip with a long layover in or around Kawnipi.

Thanks!

Walleys will be in shallower water starting about 2 hours before sunset and the same after sunrise. the will move deeper during the day. 4 to 12 for shallow. They love weed edges, wind swept shorelines especially if has boulders. Several size rock is best. Basketball size to the size of your fist. The easiest way to fish for them is to use a bobber and a plain hook. Jigs can be productive. Leaches or night crawlers for bait

Welcome to the board! Good luck in your search for walleye. :)

Here are a few prior threads with information you might find helpful:

Walleye Fishing 101

Favorite Walleye Methods in the BWCA

tonyis38: "Walleys will be in shallower water starting about 2 hours before sunset and the same after sunrise. the will move deeper during the day. 4 to 12 for shallow. They love weed edges, wind swept shorelines especially if has boulders. Several size rock is best. Basketball size to the size of your fist. The easiest way to fish for them is to use a bobber and a plain hook. Jigs can be productive. Leaches or night crawlers for bait"

No live bait in the Q


But yes, wind blown rocky shorelines are good. Any hump you can find away from shore or around islands. Basically where you're catching smallmouth, fish maybe another 10' deeper in the same areas

Did not know that! Then plastic all day long pitching jigs.

I'm almost always fishing when travelling and pick up quite a few walleyes per day. I like lures that dive 8-12' until the end of June, then go a bit deeper. Shad raps, tail dancers, husky jerks, etc. Just troll the shorelines outside the first drop off. A depth finder is handy for this, but not essential.

On the Lakes you are heading into, I’d troll baby troll… Easiest way to catch walleyes. Then once you find them toss jigs.

Rapala (tail dancers, shad raps, minnow raps) Berkeley Flicker Shad’s, Salmo Hornet, or anything of the like will work. Silver/black, perch, or fire tiger are my favorites.

Long line the cranks, don’t go in a straight line, turn occasionally slightly, if you don’t hit bottom occasionally then you might not be deep enough.

You should catch all the walleyes you want on Kawnipi doing this. Sort of a can’t miss lake.

T

Thanks guys, you gotta love this forum!!!

In July, target mid-lake humps surrounded by deeper water. If the water is stained, walleyes may be active all day, otherwise focus on the morning and evening bite. A surface chop is necessary. Fish can be actively feeding between 8 to 12 feet of water. Jigging with a white twister tail can be most productive. And yes, you need a rubble bottom... a smooth dome will be lacking walleyes.

the 2 simplest things , is stay in contact with the bottom- target low light times.
have done well with paddle tails plastics.

Walleye like current. I've had better luck with streams into a lake than streams out. Pinch points/saddle between islands can also hold fish and especially if they're near an incoming or outgoing stream. Reefs also hold fish, but they require electronics, which I don't carry.

Don't let any of the usual red flags about walleye fishing hinder your quest. If it's hot and sunny in calm clear water at high noon in late July - typically adverse conditions for walleye - fish away. I've caught them from shore in these conditions casting a Rattlin Rap only because it's a great casting lure and can run shallow and deep.

Pay attention to wind direction. Even if the wind slows/stops, what shore was it pounding earlier in the day? That is likely where you might find walleyes for the evening bite.

Don't overlook shallow water muddy areas either, earlier in the season. Last year my son and I found most of our walleyes in 3 feet of water in a muddy/rocky bay. The mayfly and hellgrammite hatches can pull them in shallow.