Kiss the Fish

Central Lake trophy 

My goal every time I debark on a guiding trip is 100 fish.  Now as a rule, which ever guest is lucky enough to boat the century mark gets to plant a big ole kiss on the fish with photo evidence for everyone to witness.  Well, this past week there were plenty of opportunities kiss the fish.  The walleye action just absolutely exploded on every lake.  The main contributing factor for the aggressive bite was weather stability.  Five straight days of  70-80 degree weather just sent the fish into a feeding frenzy.  Hopefully, the bite continues into our first ever Big Hook Canada Day Fishing Tourney at Central Lake.

Another Central Lake, West Portage trophy. 

Many of you are probably asking an important question....what about the mayflies?  Well, they are another contributing factor to the walleye activity.  The fish could be feeding on the larvae in the mud flats.  However, there haven't been any sightings of the winged creatures just yet.  Our water temperatures have surged past 70 degrees which is the magical number to stir the mayfly larvae.  I believe we will start seeing carcasses in the next day or two.

Now don't fret, walleye fishing doesn't completely just shut down when the mayfly take flight.  Fishermen just need to adjust their tactics slightly.  First of all, scale down on jig size, 1/4 oz heads and 2"-3" tails should be on the end of your line; not 1/2 oz heads or 4" tails.  Lots of fish are going to be full on mayflies but their predatory nature will still keep them feeding, just on smaller fare.  Second, the bite will be light so having the right line is key.  Full walleye will lazily strike lures and it is up to you to detect that teeny tiny tap on the line.  Braided line is better at sensing extremely light strikes.  Finally, I have found spinner rigs/worm harnesses encourage great bites during the momentary slow down. Fortunately for fisherman, the mayfly only lives for 24 hrs.

Delong Eels catch....walleye?

Burnt  

Some great perch opportunities exist here.  Finding the thick weeds are key for a great perch bite. Walleye are also moving on the edges of weeds and transitioning to rocky points.  Big boy bay and moose creek continue to produce trophy pike. 

Central 

The West rapids have been absolutely on fire for walleye.  Guests have sat for hours boating and releasing fish after fish.  The north narrows produced many big pike last week.  The west portage has one spot and one spot only for your next big pike.  Johnson silver minnows take the award for lure of the week.  Fish are beginning to smash top water lures. 

A terrific father/son trophy pic.  Congrats Alec on the 41" fish. 

Cocos

The See party had a blast searching out big northern.  Most were found in four feet of water basking in the warm shallow weeds. The rapids is still holding large amounts of walleye.  Current guests are tossing #7 Shad Raps into the flow with a slow retrieve for big walleye.  The water levels are slightly down, so shooting the rapids is a breeze. 

Lemonade/Favourable 

Guests last week focused on Lemonade Lake boating fish just about everywhere.  Fish weren't schooled up in huge numbers but were found every single spot.  Numerous sauger were boated in the deeper waters and perch were caught along the western shoreline within the reeds.

South

Trolling Hot N Tots were key for finding big walleye last week. Color wasn't much of an issue just finding the right windy mud flat to troll along.  The big pike have been elusive but that should change now that the weeds are growing strong and are almost at the surface.  

Southwest 

The guests last week tried to find lures that didn't produce a strike and were stumped.  The walleye were found just about every where.  According to the guests, the island just east of camp was far and away the most productive spot in the lake.  

West 

 The Steeves party raved about the fishing last week at West. They have been customers of ours since 1989 and claimed this year was the best fishing EVER.  Many big fish were found in the Horseshoe and in the SW corner of the Fish Bowl.

Good luck on the water everyone!
-Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com