Most of the attention is on pike fishing right now, which leaves the few of us guiding walleye with lots of water and little information to work with at the moment. For the week we saw 5 walleye over 27 inches, all of which came before the front. Today things seemed to be turning around again, and although I did not see a fish over 27, we still managed to put 52 fish in the boat over 18 inches with 14 being between 24 and 26.5 inches. Not bad for 2 days post-front. I take this as a good sign that fall transition is on, and that fish are becoming more organized in both their behaviour and concentration. The primary depths shift back and forth between shallow (10-15) and mid depth (20-25ft). I continue to watch out for both, and presently I have little confidence in the deep bite (30+).

As for the pike fishing, I have to say ‘I told you so’. As soon as that front moved in we saw a sudden increase in the big pike numbers. Between the 2-3 boats targeting pike this week there were 13 pike over 37 inches, including a 39, 2-40s, a 41, and 2-42s. About half of those fish were raised during the heart of the cold front. Pike were primarily targeted by casting baits over standing weed-beds and working grassy bays with deep water nearby. Dave Suggitt (SWWL guide) also had considerable success by ‘tight-line’ trolling over big weed-beds – running spoons close behind the boat right overtop and through the weeds. In his words “you just run your baits about 10-15 ft behind the boat, right through the weeds, and then see pike blow-up right beside the boat on them… that’s what is so awesome about it, that you can see them hit”. Tactics like this can be a nice change of pace after hours of casting, and also cover water in a way that is more effective in certain situations.

We are coming down to the wire here with our last guided day on the 24th. Expect some big pike numbers to come in by the end of next week with the Rosenow group in camp for a good long stay. Keep a-tune and we’ll let you know what we can raise in the next 8 days. Personally, I can’t wait for a monster to be caught, as there is no doubt they are out there and the conditions are only getting better.

That’s it for this week folks. Thanks for reading and for following, and I hope to see you up here soon.

Jesse Wright

Senior Guide

Silver Water Wheel Lodge

For the week we had 10 walleyes over 27 inches. Most of them came up before the cold front moved in. Only today did we finally see some larger fish returning to out spots, with a number of 26s and a 27 caught out of the 30 foot range. For the most part, the walleye bite has been steady off both the big sand structures and off the deep rock, and we saw our volume increased substantially this week. The daily guide sheets averaged around 35 walleyes per day, and a few days the guys managed to fill the back of their sheets (60 fish over 18 inches!). The highest volume day produced 82 fish over 18 inches, which is as good as you can get – whether it be the early spring or mid-summer bite. Averaged depths remained steady around 30 ft. but we are seeing a trend towards fish feeding in the 20-25 foot range as well. In general the most success was seen fishing localized pods of fish with a jig and minnow, and less production came by moving fast with gulp.

The pike fishing has also been great. We saw 10 pike over 37 inches this week, with 3-38s, 1-39, 1-40, and 1-41. The warm weather has put a stall on the giant fall pike moving into their typical spots, but we are managing to keep up our numbers up by targeting main lake points that have both rock and weeds, and other suitable structure that is adjacent to deep water. We are also targeting existing primary weed-beds that remain intact, and usually manage to produce plenty of action as well as decent fish in the 30 -35 inch rage consistently. But again, we are all still holding our breath for the next turn in weather, and anticipating the arrival of the true Lac Seul giants to come roaming in for the fall feed.

From a personal note, I feel as confused as some of those big walleye must feel with these extended summer conditions in the place of what is usually our most temperamental season. It was clear that fall went on pause this week, even the trees lost their momentum in changing colour. I saw fish surfacing and jumping all day today, basking on top in the sun. I saw an eagle grab one right off the top, and I was reminded what an incredible wilderness we have up here, what an amazing fishery we are fishing on, and what a great job guiding is (especially when the weather is like this!).

That’s all for this week folks. Hope the week is treating you well and look forward to seeing you soon!

Jesse Wright

Senior Guide

Silver Water Wheel Lodge

The team has shrunk to its final skeleton state, about 8 of us now (plus a celebrity guide appearance from Graham Coulombe who is in camp for the week). We have equally divided ourselves between the bear hunt, walleye fishing, and pike fishing. The bear hunters have been doing well, and this week there was a new SWWL record bear brought in that tipped the scales at well over 400 lbs. Some guys have been pike fishing in the afternoons when the walleye bite becomes tough. As for me, I am plugging away at the walleye fishing with some of my favourite hardcore guests – Bill J. and Joel.

For the week we had 13 walleye over 27, with 11-27’s, 1-28, and 1 huge 30 inch walleye. Those big fish numbers line-up well when considering the angling effort, about 1/3 of the guided days we have at our peak times. The best walleye bites were still coming off of deep sand and rock, and average depths were anywhere from 20 – 35 ft. Some of our local A spots are still steady and reliable, while others seem to be vacant. Again, another sign that fish are on the move. Hopefully that transition will come easily and we’ll be stacking fish in shallow water and hunting monsters out deep.

The pike fishing has had consistent attention this week, with 2-3 guides working most afternoons on hunting down a big one. Again there is plenty of pike action to be found out there, and consistent mid-30s getting caught by anyone slinging baits, but the big ones are doing a lot of following and not a lot of committing. Reports of monster pike being seen and raised are encouraging, and soon we should see that big pike explosion we are all waiting for. Pike numbers for the week include 3-37s and one monster 42.5.

That’s all for now folks! Hope your week is well and to see you soon!

Jesse Wright

Senior Guide

SWWL

Some rather blustery conditions limited our ability to charge around in the big water this week, but we still managed to keep up our big fish numbers, although volume suffered a bit. For the week we had 28 walleyes over 27 in. including 7 – 28s, 1 – 29, and one monster 30. Guide sheets averaged around 25 walleye over 18 in. per day. Those big fish numbers are impressive considering there were only 5-6 guides on the water each day.

The big gulp bite is still working as a pattern to produce good fish, but more success was seen with a ‘geared down approach’ on the windy days. Averaged depths were normal for late summer on Lac Seul, with the majority of good bites occurring in 20-35 ft., and the deeper rock bite (30-35ft.) turning a noticeable amount of the bigger fish. It does feel like fish are beginning to be on the move a bit, and with some of the weed beds beginning to die off, we are watching out for shallow pulses of fish that have historically occurred in past fall seasons.

The big pike fishing is on the cusp as well. Lots of big follows this week and consistent mid-30s fish are being turned on days when pike are being targeted. For the week we saw 5 pike over 37 in. with 1 – 40, 1 – 41, and 1 – 42. That being said, there are a lot of pike still deep and being caught incidentally while walleye fishing. Soon there will be monsters-a-plenty in the shallows, and the boys will be slinging away.

My lesson of the week occurred when fishing with Al and Babs Debes. Former resort owners on Leech Lake and very experienced walleye anglers, they taught me a few important things, most notably that I am a spoiled Lac Seul fishing guide. When I suggested we change spots after only catching 5 fish for the sheet in about an hour, they looked at me with (wise) surprise and said, “Jesse, this is not slow. This is fantastic!” Soon after that, Al managed to catch his personal best walleye of his life – a monster 27.5 that outweighed most 29s I have seen. As guides we sometimes forget what an incredible fishery we are on and begin to take for granted what we manage to produce day in and day out.

That’s all for this week folks. Thanks for checking in and we hope to see you up here soon!

Jesse Wright

Senior Guide

SWWL

It was another week with holes in the schedule. There were 59 guided days this week with an average of 9 guides on the water each day. The openings did allow us to have friends and family join us at the lodge to celebrate my parent’s 50th Wedding Anniversary. It was great to see everyone.

The “big jig Gulp Alive” pattern still produced good walleyes this week, but there were more conditions that called for lighter jigs and minnows. Most walleyes were caught between 20 and 35 ft. Both main lake sand and rock were productive. For the week we had 40 walleyes over 27 in., including 3 – 28s, and 2 – 29s. Guide reports averaged just a little over 30 walleyes per boat over 18 in. per day.

There was very limited effort put into pike fishing this week, but that will all change very soon. Nights are cool, surface temps are dropping down into the high 60s, and the weed beds are starting to fall apart. This past week’s high winds tore up some weed beds and there are random pieces floating around in the lake right now. There are still a few spots available for small groups looking to book a trip to chase big pike the first two weeks of Sept.

I am looking forward to seeing a full recap of the final stats for the year. The one trend that I know is going to be prominent is the extraordinary number of 23 – 25 inch walleyes caught during the 2011 season. The other significant change this past summer is the development and refinement of our “Big Jig and Gulp Alive Crazy Legs Jerk Shad” pattern fished at speed down deep. This technique has dramatically improved our search speed and allowed us to effectively study much, much more water than when we relied primarily on electronics to find and dead stick fish on the graph. The bottom line is, the more tools we have and the more comfortable a guide staff is at using them, the easier it is for us to figure out what the fish are doing when they change up their patterns and locations. I credit the consistent number of weeks with 30 or more walleyes over 27 in. across the 2011 season to SWWL guide crew team work and performance. It has been a great fishing year and we look forward to 2012.

I will be chasing muskies with good buddy and Guide Ben Beattie on the East side of Lac Seul on my way home to Iowa. I will be guiding deer hunts for the next 3 months and then we will be right back to SWWL bookings and shows. Until next year…. MW – Gone South!

We had another round of serious cancellations this week. In fact, I only had 56 guide sheets this week, which means that there was an average of 7 guides on the lake instead of 13. Despite the decreased pressure, production remained very strong. I did not find my share of big walleyes this week, but the boys made up for me with 30 over 27in., including 4-28s. Volume was very good with guide sheets averaging 40 walleyes over 18 in. per day. The highest daily total was 56.

We have continued to rely heavily on the 5 in. Gulp Alive Crazy legs Jerk shad with ½ – ¾ oz. jigs pulled fast in deeper water. It is a great search system when you have a few active walleyes spread out on a flat and it also helps to locate pods of walleyes. We may only pick up one or two with the big plastics, but we can mark the group and go back and work that spot over with lighter jigs and minnows. The most difficult time for guides to locate fish is when they are moving back and forth between shallower or deeper locations. This system saves hours of search time and gets us on big walleyes fast whether they are active or not.

Years ago when we were in the middle of a huge big walleye peak, I failed to point out to my groups that we were experiencing an anomaly that would not continue into the future. For the tenth time this week, I have been told how surprised guests were by the number of 23+ inch walleyes we see every day. When a guide boat catches 15 walleyes over 24 inches in one day it should shock people. It does not faze SWWL guides. They appreciate it and understand that it is awesome, but it is happening more and more often these days.

There was very little effort spent chasing big pike this week, but Bob Ernst did chase down a giant 42.75 in. giant on a Poppa doc spoon.

Nights have been cooling down into the 50s this week and there has been fog on the lake the last 2 mornings in a row. Water temps are just starting to cool by a few degrees, and there is just a hint of Fall on the way.

Overall, it was another very stable and strong week for walleye fishing on the southern main lake basins of Lac Seul. We had a few wimpy showers, but we are still incredibly dry and are still seeing smoke on the water every other day. The fires continue to burn to the north and you can see the dry conditions beginning to affect the forest, especially on the islands. The trees close to the water line are starting turn yellow and the grasses on the granite slopes are also starting fade.

There were some minor changes in the weather, but it almost feels like the smoky conditions have had a dampening effect on the dramatic weather shifts. There were a couple of tough bites on a few of the afternoons, but overall, the walleye fishing was very good for both size and numbers. We continued to see very high numbers of 22 – 25 in. walleyes again this week. Even though we had 3 cabin spots open this week due to cancellations and many guides off the water, we still managed to catch and release 37 walleyes over 27 in., including 2 – 28s. Walleye volume continued to be very good with guide sheets reporting an average of 35 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day.

Usually at this time of year 95% of our walleyes are caught using ¼ ounce jigs tipped with minnows. Occasionally we would gear down to 1/8s for really difficult fish and “dead stick them.” We did catch fish with jigs and minnows this week, but we also did very well again with big jigs and plastics on deep sand flats. Years ago, we would have fished bouncers and harnesses to chase these walleyes, but recently we have had better overall success with ½ – ¾ oz. jigs and 5 in. Gulp Alive crazy legs jerk shads. With this big bait you can cover water quickly to locate active fish while you are watching your graph and locating pods of less aggressive fish that you can go back to and work with smaller jigs and minnows later. It is just another very efficient technique that we have been working on over the course of the season and now we are comfortable fishing this system down to 30 ft. and deeper. Many of our big walleyes this week were caught on the big plastics.

There was very little effort put into chasing big pike this week and when we did, results were very modest.

Of Note:

Wendi and Keith Dickerson brought their boys Josh and Logan up for the first time to fish with us this week. Every one caught at least a 27 in. walleye and Josh and Logan each caught their personal best walleye at 27.5 in.

Both deep water sand and deeper water rock produced equally well this week and the most consistent depths were 18 – 32ft. You can still find a few fish in shallow water, but the vast majority of our production came from the main lake basins. Jigs and minnows produced most fish, but the guides have also successfully been experimenting with big jigs and plastics moving fast in deep water. Tipped with minnows, we primarily used ¼ oz. and occasionally dropped down to 1/8 oz. jigs for stubborn fish marked on the graph. But especially on the deep water sand flats, jigs in 3/8 to ½ oz. or more worked well when backtrolled at .5 – .8 mph with 5 in. Gulp Alive crazy legs jerk shads in white. This presentation just looks like a smelt and the big profile often triggers bigger fish. Chuck Willmott caught his personal best walleye at 28 in. “dredging” the sand with a big jig and a “crazy legs Gulp.”

For the week we caught and released 35 walleyes over 27 in., including 6- 28s. Volume was very good with guide sheets reporting an average of 35 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day. The highest daily total was 62. As we have moved into deeper water, we are seeing an increase in the number of medium to large walleyes. There were a total of 272 walleyes over 25 in. caught and released last week. Many boats had strong catches for walleyes over 24 in. and the highest daily total was 20. Overall, it was a very good walleye fishing week.

There was very little pike fishing effort and we ended the week with just one big one at 42 in.

The Kicker:

Guest: You got a good one?

Guide: No, just a little one.

Guest: Where I come from, an 18 – 21 inch slot walleye is Not a Little one.

By Saturday we were well into a heat wave with over 100 wildfires burning north of the lodge. The first half of the week was dominated by light winds, blazing sunshine, day time highs over 90 degrees and humidity index values over 100. There were days with light north winds that blanketed the area with smoke. I have never seen smoke on the lake so thick that it reduced visibility to less than ¼ of a mile. Guides navigated by GPS. Water bombers flew almost every day. We were on a severe thunder storm watch on Wednesday, and we spent the day ready to go to shore, but every storm that built up went north, south, or just blew itself out. About 30 drops of rain hit the lodge and the front went through that night dry. The weather forecast for Thursday neglected to mention that the wind was going to blow 30 – 40 mph all day. And finally today it felt like September as north winds and a low cloud deck settled in with a few showers. We have shut all of the windows in the lodge and we lit fires in cabins tonight for guests. The low tonight is forecast to be in the high 40s. It really feels like September and yet the fire ban is still in effect. If this paragraph was tough to follow, then think what it did to the walleyes.

Walleye fishing is most challenging when the fish are spread out and the bite is off. We began the week smashing large numbers of walleyes, including big ones, in the shallows. Depths ranged from 4 – 12 ft. and sand flats in front of cabbage weed beds were the key. Saturday through Wednesday, the deep water sand and rock were absolutely empty of forage and walleyes. Everything was either suspended in the top 10 ft. or in the shallows. Everything changed when the weather broke. You could see the baitfish on your graph spread out and mix through the entire water column. Shallow water sand flats that held enough walleyes to keep several boats busy all day emptied and produced fewer than 1 fish per hour. We found some walleyes moving out to deep water sand flats on breaks between 20 – 25 ft. with ¼ oz. jigs and minnows, there were semi-suspended fish caught on wind blown rock sand transitions in 14 – 20 ft. moving quickly (.5 to 1 mph) with big jigs and gulp, and there were still a few walleyes caught on shallow water spots (8 – 12 ft.) as long as the wind was blowing. The shallow fish changed activity levels quickly and would prefer triggering type baits like fast plastics at times, but then later on that day in the same spot, you would have to gear down to light jigs and minnows to scratch a few out. To consistently catch fish this week, you had to shift gears and aggressively hunt dramatically different water with various presentations all day, every day.

Despite the challenging and changing conditions, the guide crew managed to stay on fish and to turn surprisingly good results. For the week, we caught and released 45 walleyes over 27 in., including 9 – 28s. Guide sheets averaged 35 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day and the highest daily total was 68.

There were a few groups that spent time chasing big pike this week with mixed results. The big pike caught were found primarily on main lake weedbeds closer to deeper water. There were 3 – 41s caught this week and Don Holton caught his personal best at 44 inches.

The Kicker:

At a check out last night, a guest asked me what I was going to say in this week’s fishing report and I gave him a brief description of what is written above.

Guest response: “Wow, we didn’t think it was that tough… our guides just kept moving until we found the next bunch of fish…. It was great.”

The walleyes began the week on shallow sand and as we ended the week, we found many groups of fish moving deeper onto main lake summer sand structure. I would say that we are still in a transitional phase as there are still many walleyes in 8 – 14 ft. of water. It is significant to note that the percentage of small fish is increasing in the shallows and the big fish are increasing in the 18 – 30 ft. zone. When the fish were shallow and aggressive, the Gulp bite was strong, but as the bigger walleyes have moved deeper, it has become more of a ¼ oz. jig and minnow bite.

For the week, we had 24 walleyes over 27 in., including 4 – 28s. Guide sheets averaged around 40 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day. The highest daily total was 76. With very high temps forecast for the coming week, it is a 50/50 guess as to whether the walleyes will trend deeper onto main lake sand or reverse course and head back to shallow water and the deep side of the weed beds. We will aggressively plan to check both.

The big pike bite was good for the week, but inconsistent for patterns. The big fish were caught from cabbage weeds on main lake points, transition bays, and we still caught some big ones in what would be considered deeper water spring time locations. Spoons and big in line spinners worked best through the weeds. For the week we had 17 over 37 in., including 2 – 40s, 2 – 41s, 2 – 42s, and 1 – 43.

The Kicker:

Guest: Mike, we had our best walleye fishing ever….. We had 24 walleyes over 24 in. in one day.

MW: That’s awesome big fish action… I just wish I had all of my guides on the water.

The Bass really are winding down as the week is ending, but we still managed to boat 82 over 17 in., including 5 – 19s, and 1 – 20. Tubes and topwater were first and second choice baits. The official end of bass season happens when we start to catch bass on main lake transition spots and that began on Thursday.

We had a few groups arrive this week that came in with the intention to chase big pike. The guides lobbied to fish for big walleyes, but were talked into hunting gators. The guides spread out and searched summer, transition, and spring spots and we were surprised to find many big pike in the big weed beds on the outside of spring locations. What was even more surprising is that some of the biggest walleyes of the week were caught from these same weed beds on big spoons and big in-line spinners in 4 – 6 ft. of water. For the week, we had 25 pike over 37 in, including 4 – 40s, 1 – 42, and 2 – 43s.

Last year at this time we were fishing walleyes on deep main lake sand structure in 20 – 30 ft. of water. We checked those locations many times this week and came up blank every time. The weather has been warm, sunny and nice and the walleyes have been consistently shallow. There have been pulses with fish into 2 – 4 ft., but most of the bigger walleyes were caught out of 8 – 14. Big plastics were huge this week and often outperformed live minnows. Gulp Alive Minnows in 4 in. and 5 in. Crazy Legs jerk shads were the top producers. When the walleyes are in super shallow, they tend to be very aggressive and there was no need to slow play light jigs for most of the week. Jigs in ¼ to 3/8 with plastics were most productive when the fish were snapping and 1/8 oz. jigs with minnows fished slow turned fish when the bite was off. For the week we had an unbelievable 49 walleyes over 27 in., including 4 – 28s, and 4 – 29s.

The Kicker: The incredible fishing this week was tempered by the fact that I had one group cancel for this past week and 3 other groups cancel for later July and Aug. It is just a shame to have some of the best fishing of the year squandered with idle guides and an empty cabin or two. If you would like to fish with us just once or be part of our many return groups for years to come, Now is the time to give us a call or email.

Walleye fishing was good this week for both volume and size. The walleyes smacked plastics and Gulp alive some days and other days they didn’t. The guides used the response to plastics as a baseline for how active the fish were on any given day and adjusted their speeds and presentations accordingly. For the week, we had 28 walleyes over 27 in., including 5 – 28s. Volume was very good with guide sheets averaging more than 40 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day. The weed bite has been good. Transition spots have also been on and surprisingly there have also been good walleyes caught out on main lake deep water sand structure. A couple of the guides caught good fish on bottom bouncers with spinners and Power crawlers, but most production was split between jigs and minnows and Gulp alive minnows or jerk shads.

We didn’t have as many groups chasing bass this week and there are spots that are holding far fewer fish, but the bass bite was still very good. We had 204 bass caught over 17 in., including 66 – 18s, 16 – 19s, and 2 – 20s. There were a couple of flat calm days when topwaters were effective, but most fish were caught on tubes or crayfish style plastics.

Big pike were hot and cold. We had 8 over 37 in,. including 2 – 38s, 1 – 39, 1 – 40 and 2 – 41s. It was a surprise to see some big fish caught in slightly deeper water in what would be considered spring time spots and to see some big fish on main lake structure. Spoons and In-line spinners were top producers.

Take away: It is officially walleye season. We will chase big pike off and on and will finish off the bass season, but It is now summer and every guide knows that to “win” he has to find the big walleye bite.

The Kendal Hartley / Mark Bailey group missed the smallmouth bass season in 2010, but they made up for it with a vengeance in 2011. If last week was “silly”, then this week was ridiculous. Bass fishing was awesome. For the week we had 430 bass over 17 in., including 174 over 18, 45 at 19 or over, and 3 over 20 in. I knew I was going to be out of Master Angler pins and I made a deal with this group to send them out later in order to save a few for the next week. Tubes were by far the most productive presentation. A trick I learned a few years ago from this group is that you can get away with heavier pound test line than you can with fussy walleyes. With 14 – 20 lb. test mono, you can pop a snagged tube out of the rocks without having to drive the boat into shallow water and disrupt a spot. It is a simple change, but it is one that can improve your big bass catch rate by two fold or more.

Many guides spent most of their time chasing smallmouth this past week. Despite a significant change in the amount of time spent fishing for big walleyes, it was still an excellent week. We caught and released 38 walleyes over 27 in., including 9 – 28s. We did not catch any super giants, but production all the way up to 28 in. was consistently strong. Walleye volume was also very good with an average of 40 over 18 in. per boat per day. The guides used very diverse strategies to take advantage of the prolonged East winds. Some worked the shallow side of main lake summer spots, others were way back in 4 – 8 ft. of water in typical spring spots, and many were fishing traditional East wind transition locations. There were actually just as many walleyes caught on big jigs and Gulp Alive plastics as there were caught on 1/8 oz. jigs tipped with minnows. Consistent production required versatility.

We did have a few groups hunt big pike hard this past week and the production was not very consistent. Especially early in the week, it felt like many of the bigger pike were deep and out of range of conventional casting gear. The bite did pick up with increased sunshine and improved towards the end. For the week we had 12 over 37 in. , including 3- 39s, 1 – 40, 1 – 41, 1 – 42, and 1 – 43. The weed beds in the warmer bays are up and the weeds on the main lake are getting close.

The Kicker:

Guest: “You know what they say… Wind from the East, the fish bite the least.”

Mike: “Except on my favorite East wind spots…. And I have a ton of them.”

The walleye bite also improved dramatically with the weather. Despite the focus on bass fishing, we had a very good week for walleyes. Daily walleye volume shot up to an average 35 walleyes over 18 in. per guide boat. The highest daily total was 64. Big walleyes were also back on the bite with 27 over 27 in., including 5 – 28s, and 1 – 30. Most of the production came from either late spring spots or early transition locations. The bright sunshine put a ton of fish into very shallow water and there were reports of many nice walleyes caught on spoons and plugs while pike fishing. For the most part, the biggest walleyes were pulled from 6 – 12 ft. dragging jigs and minnows. We did finish the week with a very fast morning bite rip jigging Gulp Alive and plastics on transition sand locations. If you weren’t moving baits fast and off the bottom, you weren’t catching. The fish caught were almost all over slot with multiple 23 – 26 inch fish per boat.

There was some effort made to chase big pike this week, but there were more quiet reports than quality. For the week we had 7 over 37 in., including 1 – 40, and 1 – 41. With good walleye results and awesome bass fishing, it was difficult to justify spending much time chasing big transition pike.

Smallmouth bass fishing production was absolutely silly. In 2010, we caught and released 40 bass over 19 in. for the entire year with none over 20. For this past week, we had 37 over 19 in. including 7 bass over 20 in. Tubes were the hottest bait, but there were some nice fish caught on jig and twister combos and small crankbaits.

The Kicker:

Missy: “You have to stop giving away multiple pins for guests catching more than one 19 in. per day.”

MW: “What are you talking about?”

Missy: “We are out. You gave away more pins in one week than we did all last year for bass and the new order will not be in until July 4. You have no pins………”

As a guide, the key to a successful day is usually to get a base line for the bite and then plan a strategy to duplicate a pattern that worked earlier in the day. Are they shallow and aggressive or deep and lethargic? Are they biting in spring time locations or do we need to fish slow and light on transition spots? The key is to find a pattern and identify other locations and patterns that are similar. This week it was hard to find a pattern and nearly impossible to duplicate it. At our nightly round table meetings, I listened to guides finding a few nice walleyes way back in the channels of the north shore spring time spots, some guides finding a few nice fish on typical transition spots, and some guides so frustrated that they found fish deep on typical main lake summer structure. Lac Seul went into a weather blender and mother nature pushed the puree button. We did our best to adjust, but in the end, there is only so much to work with.

For the week, we had 23 walleyes over 27 in., including 6 – 28s. Walleye volume was down to an average of 20 walleyes over 18 in. per day for each guide boat. There were a few nice fish caught shallow in spring spots, but there were also many rogues caught out on the main lake. This week there were just as many big walleyes caught on big pike cranks fishing shallow water as there were fishing 1/8 oz. jig and minnow combos on main lake transition spots. As a guide manager, I preach “change of pace” from May to Sept., but this week, it didn’t seem to matter.

The big pike fishing suffered as well. We had 5 over 40, with 1 – 41, and 1 – 42. If the weather warms this week, I will expect to see big pike move back into some of the shallow water spring spots, but we will also begin to work on the main lake transition spots as well.

Smallmouth bass are just starting to come up onto the shallow water feeding flats before they gear into breeding season. We had 62 bass over 17 in. this past week, with 23 – 18s, and 2 – 19s. Slow, compared to last year’s early spring bite, but still not bad considering the weather conditions.

The Kicker:

Senior guide during round table meeting: “I had a good south west wind blowing up on the north shore and my bite was slow, so I packed up my guys and we headed for the south shore to hit spots that are usually good for southwest. I got half way across the lake and the wind went flat and by the time I got all the way to the south shore I had light north east…. I will not chase light lake winds anymore.”

The most consistent walleye bite was found in 8 – 12 ft. of water this week. There was the occasional fish caught in super shallow water, but there were also walleyes found down in 16 – 18. Walleye volume fell off a bit this week with guide reports averaging 25 fish over 18 inches per day. Despite the drop in numbers we still had a great week for big walleyes with 35 over 27 in., including 7 – 28s, 1 – 29, and 1 – 30.

Walleye fishing was primarily a jig and minnow bite with time split 50/50 between ¼ oz. and 1/8 oz. jigs. Presentation speed was a little slower this week with many fish in a neutral feeding mood.

We spent a great deal of time casting for pike in shallow bays with modest results. It was still a good week for big pike numbers. We had 23 over 37 in., including 3 – 40s, 3 – 41s, 1 – 42, 1 – 44, and 1 – 46. The three biggest were all caught on jigs and minnows while walleye fishing.

A few groups targeted bass this week. Considering the cool surface temps, the results were good as the smallmouth are just becoming active in the shallows. Jigs tipped with twister tails and small cranks were the most productive presentations. For the week we had 43 over 17 in., including 9 over 19 in.

The Kicker:

After a full afternoon of casting for pike, a senior guide met up with other crew members around the photo printer checking out picture of a giant 46 in. pike that had been caught that day while walleye fishing.

Senior Guide – “Well there you go… Guess I’ll just head out to the middle of Lac Seul and empty my pike tackle boxes into the lake to make room for more 1/8 oz. jigs…..”

After a very snowy winter and a cool start to spring, the ice finally went off the main lake of Lac Seul on May 13. We were fortunate to have 5 – 6 days of brilliant warm sunshine to jump start water temps before our first guests arrived on May 20. Even though we were hit with a major cold front early in the week, the season opener was excellent for both size and volume of walleyes and pike.

The cold front brought lake surface temps back down to more seasonal levels by midweek. The main lake is in the mid to upper 40s and most of the productive fishing areas are ranging from the low 50s to 60. Without the minor heat wave after ice out, it would likely have been a very tough week.

Lake levels are about average for this time of year and are increasing at a steady pace. We are able to travel through the Sticks at speed.

It was a terrific week for big walleyes, with 43 over 27 in., including 13 – 28s, 4 – 29s, and 1 – 30. Volume was also very good with boats averaging 30 walleyes per day over 18 in. The highest daily total was 65.

Very few walleyes were caught from skinny water because of the falling surface temps. Most were caught on 1/8 to ¼ oz. jigs with minnows in 6 – 12 ft. in areas we would consider normal walleye spring time locations.

The big pike bite was also excellent with 50 over 37, including 11 – 40s, 2 – 41s, 3 – 42s, and 2 – 43s. Most of these fish were found in “typical” shallow warm water bays in 1 – 5 ft. The most productive presentations were medium sized spoons, 6 in. Jakes, and Husky Jerks in size 14.

The bass bite was random and most of the production was incidental catch from pike and walleye fishing. For the week, we had 31 over 17 in., including 12 – 18s, and 5 – 19s. The bass are holding in 5 – 12 ft. and are likely to wait for surface temps to reach into the upper 50s to low 60s before they move shallow in numbers.

Over all it was an excellent first week of season and it is hard to believe that the ice went off the lake just 2 weeks ago.

The Kicker:

Guest at Checkout: “This is the first time in 10 years that all 6 of our guys had their photos on the trophy board …. And 2 of them have more than one photo up.”

Mike: “It has been a phenomenal week for big fish. The rule for the guides is that we don’t take down a photo while a guest is still in camp. This week, we had to pin photos to the frame and on to the wall.”

We all know one of those guys; the fisherman who routinely out fishes the rest of the group. Is it just good fortune or is there something else involved? I can’t speak to all fishing situations, but there are several similarities shared by our consistently successful guests. Sure, fortune plays a role, but consistent success occurs when chance happens to those that are prepared for it. The odds of being a successful trophy angler improve exponentially with increased preparation and effort. The first step is to choose a body of water that supports a trophy fishery. If you have read this far into our website, then you know that Lac Seul definitely fills this square.

Preparation & Effort

If it were simple and easy, then everybody would catch big fish all the time. It usually isn’t and it wouldn’t be as much fun if it were. The average size distribution of fish in a population is generally pyramid shaped. In a healthy population there are always many more small fish than big fish. Especially during the summer months, the biggest walleyes school by size and the largest pike seek out specific habitat. In both cases, the largest fish in the ecosystem separate themselves from the more numerous smaller members of the species. This means that for the greater part of the season, anglers have to decide whether they want to fish for action or for size.

Reality is that we all spend part of the morning fishing for smaller fish for shore lunch. The choice to leave a spot with good action to go in search of atrophy sounds simple enough, but it often takes mental preparation, effort, and stamina to stick with areas that are known for big fish, but not for volume. To be consistently successful boating big fish, you have to have a trophy fish mind set and stick to it.

Confidence

Confidence in a spot makes it easier to hold out, but it’s difficult to have confidence when you only fish a lake a few days every year. The use of a knowledgeable and experienced guide can greatly increase confidence and improve your odds of success. The term “guide” gets thrown around quite loosely at times and most of us have either experienced a terrible guided day or at least have heard stories. It is understandable why some of our new guests arrive with more than a healthy bit of skepticism for the quality of the guide staff. Doubts quickly disappear when guests realize that Silver Water Wheel Guides average over 5 years experience, work together as a team and are on the water every day of the season looking for new patterns, presentations, and locations.

The cumulative experience and knowledge of the guide staff is another tool that our consistently successful anglers use to improve their odds. The guides know where all of the big ones were caught that season and the seasons before. Areas that attract trophy class fish at a specific time of year tend to draw big fish every year. Confidence based on the guide’s knowledge and experience keeps anglers attention focused on a big fish spot even when volume is down.

Equipment

The last common denominator shared by our guests who seem to routinely “get lucky” is the use of quality equipment. I’m not talking about gimmicks and gadgets, just solid, high-quality rods, reels, line, and tackle. Yes, that 30 year old spin cast reel with 20 year old line on that buggy whip rod with metal line guides can still be used to catch a walleye. But why catch “a walleye” when you can catch 10.

There are many fishing situations where the only difference between those catching and those not, is the quality of equipment those anglers chose to bring to Canada with them. Especially during the summer months, jig fishing in deeper water can be extremely productive for big walleyes. The use of a quality, fast action, high modulus graphite spinning rod allows the angler to detect the slight difference between a “bump” on the bottom and a “bump” by a fish. When jig fishing; if you can’t feel `em, you can’t catch `em.

The key to good equipment for pike is to not let yourself get out muscled. Yeah, we have all heard the story about that guy who landed that huge pike with walleye gear and no leader. We tend to forget the number of stories of broken lines, bent hooks, and lost fish. Anglers who gear up heavier for pike not only improve their odds of landing a big fish, but they also have the option of casting the larger spoons and spinners that really appeal to the giants. Yes, you can occasionally land a big pike on light tackle, but you are not in control of the fight and every time the fish dives under the boat or back into the weed-bed, your chances of boating it decrease dramatically. By gearing up, you can better control the fish and the fight. If you have to, you have the option of horsing him out of a weed-bed before he buries himself and throws the hook.

It really boils down to odds and opportunities. What are the odds of landing a great fish given a certain set of tools and conditions. You have already increased your chances of having the opportunity by choosing to fish Silver Water Wheel Lodge, why not improve your odds of capitalizing on that opportunity by gearing up with quality equipment.

Lucky Anglers
“I’d rather be Lucky and Good!” Fortune and chance will always play a role in angling, but our consistently successful guests have shown that it is possible to stack the deck in their favor. If you are truly looking to land a giant, the formula is fairly simple;

• Select a body of water that supports a Trophy Fishery.
• Mentally prepare yourself to stay the course in search of a giant, even when the lure of volume is tempting. Be ready to put forth the extra effort. If it were easy, everybody would be able to do it.
• If possible, research and hire a knowledgeable and experienced guide.
• Invest in quality equipment.

Successful trophy angling is contagious. Catch one giant and you’ll be looking harder for another. Eventually, you may just become another one of our guests who “Catches the fish of a lifetime …again!”

With all this technology in hand, It is easy to overlook the fact that at times the super-tech approach may not be the most efficient or effective way to catch walleyes. One of those occasions is early season action on the Canadian Shield. Like most walleye anglers, I’m constantly looking for ways to land more and bigger fish. I still find time to experiment with new tackle and techniques, but over the years I’ve found that early season is a time when a ‘low tech’ approach often puts more walleyes in the boat.

As a fishing guide in Northwest Ontario, I encounter all types of characters whose angling skills run the spectrum from novice to expert. Because every group of anglers is different, I try to keep most of my seasonal presentations simple and effective. Two Seasons ago I was hired for a half day in mid June by a well respected outdoor writer from the upper Midwest. I admit that I felt a bit more pressure to produce than usual, but I decided to work the same simple pattern that had been producing well the previous weeks.

My plan was to head to the wind blown side of a shallow, fertile bay with newly emergent weed growth, drift and pitch 1/4 ounce jigs tipped with a 3 inch twister tail. The day turned out better than I had hoped and we pounded fish. In four hours, three of us caught and released well over 100 walleyes including 3 between 24″-25″ and 2 over 27″ long. During the day, my clients commented on several occasions that they were amazed we were doing so well without using any live bait or modern techniques. I took a little bit of pride in the fact that I had shown the “pros” something a little different about fishing the North.

Later that day, as we rehashed the day’s events over supper, one of my clients said, “Well Mike, that was a good day on the water, but do you think you could catch a walleye in Minnesota?” At first I thought he was kidding me, so I asked him to repeat the question. He said, “I mean you obviously know how to catch Canadian walleyes, but do you really think you could catch Minnesota walleyes?” I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked that he not only questioned my skill, but also by his inference that my prized Canadian walleyes were somehow inferior to their southern cousins. I got over the minor personal affront, but as I thought about it, I realized that part of his premise was correct.

In most respects a walleye is a walleye, but walleyes on the Canadian Shield often don’t act the way a “proper” walleye should. Instead of being the finicky, temperamental, night crawler-sucking southern variety, North country walleyes can at times be more aggressive than European soccer fans. I’ve had a 3 LB walleye slam into a musky sized crankbait with enough force to nearly wrench the rod from my hands. Before I saw the fish, I would have bet money that I was hooked into a pike of at least 15 pounds. I’ve caught modest sized walleyes on everything from giant sized 3 OZ spoons, to Mepps Giant Killers, to 10″ musky jerk baits. I couldn’t count the number of times per week that I “accidentally” catch walleyes on tackle designed for trophy Pike.

“So they act a little different sometimes, so what?” The point is, If you can identify when and where these Shield walleyes will become ultra-aggressive eating machines, you can modify your presentation and catch more and bigger fish. To discover the reason for the occasional behavioral difference between the “northern” and “southern” strain, you have to understand the differences between the two environments that each fish inhabits. I believe that the fish are genetically virtually identical, but it is the difference between the ecosystems that results in the change in attitude.

Put simply, life in the North is hard. The growing season is short, forage can be seasonally scarce, and with minimal fishing pressure, there are often more walleyes around competing for a fixed forage base. Age to Length analysis performed by Ministry of Natural Resources biologists indicated that the average 19-20 inch walleye found in Lac Seul was between 10 and 12 years old. A walleye of similar size would require only 5 or 6 years to reach the same length in Minnesota’s famed Mille Lacs.

Like most species, when a walleye has faced lean times and someone rings the dinner bell, he is going to gorge himself like there is no tomorrow. The trick is to know when and where the dinner bell is going to ring. From ice out to the time when shallow bays begin to fill with new weed growth, the most important factor influencing walleye location and behavior is temperature.

I participated in a recent tagging study which revealed that some post spawn walleyes traveled more than 20 miles less than 2 weeks after they had been tagged in a traditional spawning area. Where did they go? They traveled until they found isolated pockets of water that were nearly 60 degrees compared to the main lake which remained in the upper 40′s. Why? Because that was where food could be found. The rapidly warming water effectively jump started the entire food web resulting in a flurry of activity at all levels. More microscopic algae, meant more microscopic crustaceans, more insects, more prey fish and so on until the area became a Sunday brunch buffet fit for a ravenous, post spawn walleye. Someone rang the dinner bell. Once the dinner bell begins to ring, just about any reasonable lure or technique will catch fish. The key now is to find the most efficient approach to put as many fish in the boat as possible.

During the Spring peak, it is not unusual for an angler to bring more than 100 walleyes over the gunwale each day. Unlike patterns found later in the year, early season walleyes are not as likely to school by size, so you have to expect to catch a bunch before you boat a dandy. This is the time to go ‘low tech’. Trolling crankbaits with planer boards or following complex trolling routes with a GPS plotter or even finesse live bait rigging techniques are examples of modern techniques successfully used to catch difficult walleyes, but they are technical and time consuming. These methods will certainly produce walleyes on the shield, but the time spent resetting planer boards, meticulously working a piece of structure, or removing several treble hooks could be spent landing another walleye using a simpler presentation.

Thirty years ago, every successful walleye angler’s tackle box contained some version of the Little Joe Spinner. In the past decade or so, the mighty little Joe has taken a back seat to the more modern techniques of rigging and bottom bouncing. You can fancy it up if you want to, but a 3/8 – 1/2 oz. bead chain sinker and a 2 ft. long pre-snelled spinner harness is a tough combination to beat when the bite is on. Tip the spinner with a minnow, throw the boat into reverse, and troll promising shorelines until you find fish. It worked 30 years ago and it still works today when fish are aggressive.

My personal favorite ‘low tech’ presentation at this time of year is a 1/4-3/8 oz. lead head jig with a brightly colored 3″ or 4″ twister tail. Keep the jig off the bottom, the line tight, and boat speed under Mach 1 and you will catch fish. The simple jig and twister tail is versatile and efficient. The activity level and density of aggressive fish determines the amount of boat movement required. When I know that I am on fish, I’ll use a controlled drift while casting. The jig is then retrieved in a slow swimming fashion. A fast action, high modulus graphite rod will dramatically improve the “feel” you have for the jig and will result in more fish.

At times when my clients are having difficulty detecting bites or when the fish are more scattered, I like to back-troll. I slip the outboard into reverse, pitch out about 40 feet of line, and drag the jigs along. This allows me to cover more water and those that had difficulty discerning a subtle walleye nudge have no problem recognizing a bouncing rod tip after a walleye has hooked itself on a back-trolled jig.

Another variation on this method is a technique often referred to as snap jigging. Instead of back-trolling, the boat moves forward with a bit more speed, usually between 1 and 2 mph. To keep the jig and twister combo near the bottom, typically requires an increase in jig size to 3/8 or occasionally 1/2 OZ depending on depth. As the boat moves forward, the angler sweeps the rod forward parallel to the water surface and then slowly allows the rod tip to return to its original position perpendicular to the boat. This action causes the jig to snap into the upper portion of the water column and then slowly flutter back down. Almost all bites will occur as the jig falls towards the bottom. A thermometer is the best tool to eliminate water early in the year, but snap jigging is an excellent way to further eliminate water, especially when fishing an unfamiliar system.

An important point to make is that these ‘low tech,’ high volume techniques are specifically geared toward those days in the North when conditions are good. Times get lean, even on the Canadian Shield. The day after a severe cold front can decrease the surface temperature of a bay by more than 10 degrees and when that happens, don’t expect the action to be anything like it was before the front. What used to be walleye heaven will suddenly appear to be the dead sea.

Fortunately, not all walleyes do the same thing at the same time. Especially on large bodies of water, a resourceful angler can focus on a different population of fish. Even during the peak of the active bite in the warm shallow bays, some fish will have taken up residence on deeper, main lake structure. These fish are catchable, but far from active. A severe cold front that results in virtual lock jaw for the shallow water population, has virtually no effect on the fish cruising the deeper reefs, bars, and sunken islands of the main lake. They still won’t be aggressive, but heavier jigs tipped with live bait or live bait rigs will save the day and often yield a larger fish.

After a few sunny days, the shallows will warm again and the fish will turn back on. Walleye anglers across North America must be observant and flexible to be consistently successful and the same holds true even on the Shield. As productive as today’s super tech methods can be, there are still occasions when it pays to keep it simple. Walleye anglers who have never experienced the awesome fishing Canada has to offer may be skeptical of dragging meatless jigs or backtrolling spinners the way their Grandfathers did, but these ‘low tech’ methods are quick and efficient and can’t be beat when the dinner bell rings.

Even the most stable and prolific Trophy Fishery is no match for man. An ecosystem that evolved for thousands of years can be devastated in the blink of an eye by thoughtless or careless fisherman. After the biggest fish have been systematically removed from the ecosystem, it is a monumental task to repair the damage. When possible, it takes a minimum of several generations of careful management.

Compounding the problem is the fact that as you travel further and further North, the growing season becomes shorter, it takes longer for a fish to grow to trophy size, and the ecosystems become increasingly fragile. A North country fishing resort boasting a Trophy fishery will certainly not have one for long unless they aggressively conserve all of the big fish that they catch. This information is not new. Unfortunately, the nature of the business caused hundreds of excellent fisheries to be seriously depleted, especially those that were closer to civilization.

Historically, if a conscientious camp operator decided to enforce camp rules restricting the size and number of big fish that could be taken to preserve the fishery, he would effectively cut the throat of his business. His customers would turn to his competitor across the lake who allowed uneducated fisherman to catch and kill as they pleased, and the competition would then reap the financial windfall of increased volume. The irony is that the practice of unrestricted catch and kill policies of the biggest fish in the system resulted in the demise of the fishery and the eventual failure of the camp. A vicious “slash and burn” cycle then perpetuated itself to make the business profitable. The “successful” operator set up camp on a body of water, fished it hard, depleted the fishery, and moved on to the next one, pushing further and further North.

Thankfully, a new generation of anglers, provincial fisheries resource managers, and camp operators evolved who understood that the future health of Trophy Fisheries and angling tourism were intrinsically tied to conservation and careful catch and release of the biggest fish. Today, the informed fisherman looking for a chance to catch a trophy, won’t even consider a trip to a Canadian camp unless they strongly promote catch and release. Lac Seul is one of the most studied fisheries in Northwest Ontario and was one of the first to have progressive Trophy Fishery Management policies implemented. I view these policies as essential tools to make sure that other anglers on Lac Seul operate under the same conservation policies that I have preached and supported for years.

How do you know if a resort actually has a trophy fishery?
Find out if their fish Live Long and Eat Well!

As you sort through that mountain of brochures, take note of the faded dockside photographs of dead trophy fish, pay less attention to the “claims of 8 LB walleye and 40 inch pike” and more to the camp’s conservation policy, and keep in mind that big fish don’t live in little ponds. “The Lac Seul Difference” can be described in print, but to fully appreciate it, you have to fish it. Once you do, I’m confident you’ll become one more of our guests that return year after year.