Fishing
May-June Walleyes and Northerns
By Captain Bob Dick
Apr 20, 2006, 15:10

Fishing walleye and northerns in eastern Lake Ontario’s “Golden Crescent” has been affected by many things in the last few years, including clearer water.  While the sheer numbers of walleye in large schools have declined, many walleye swim in smaller groups that are more dispersed, making plenty of action available.  The excellent quality and quantity of fish in this area mean opportunities are plenty for all types of anglers to catch trophy walleye without a substantial investment in new equipment.

One thing I would like to note is that all fishermen are responsible to take only what they need.  Catch and release is very important to this fishery, so don’t take huge quantities just for show, use good judgment for each situation.  We have groups that release them all, some take one or two to eat, some take one to mount and others want whatever they catch as they pay a lot of money for that right.  It is rewarding to hear about the large amount of fishermen who are practicing catch and release recently in this area to help keep this fabulous fishery alive and well.  Overall in a whole season, we feel it balances out. 

There are so many places to fish in May and June in the Golden Crescent it’s hard to mention them all.  The Black River Bay area is one of the most frequented areas.  With many points and edges plus the deeper 50 to 60 foot belly in the middle, it has the structure, bait and water flow that creates excellent walleye fishing.  Some other areas that produce consistently are Everleigh Point, Bull Rock, Sherwin’s Bay, Pillar Point, Guffin’s Bay, Adams Cove, Chaumont Bay, Three Mile Bay, Middle Shoal, Point Peninsula, Hidden Harbor, Fox Island, Grenadier Island, Stony-Calf-Galloo Islands, Henderson Harbor, Bass & Gull Islands, high rocks, Stony Point, Ray’s & Sawyer’s Bay, Stony Creek and Drowned Island plus many others to numerous to mention.  A few local bait shops and marinas you can get information on “what’s happening” are B&J Bait in Dexter on the Black River; Henchen’s Marina in Henderson Harbor; West View Marina in Henderson Harbor; Guffin Bay Resort & Marina” in Guffin’s Bay and Stony Creek Stony Creek, just to mention a few places.

A good way to learn a bit about the area and some of the methods used is to book a trip with a local charter fishing guide, especially if you’re just starting out.   It usually pays off in the long run, even if it is just in the knowledge gained for future fishing on your own. And remember, have fun trying, and maybe even take a kid fishing!

There are unlimited choices of baits, rigs, depths of water, structure and types of fish to target in the Golden Crescent and tributaries.  Productive walleye and northern pike set-ups can be quite simple with patience and persistence and not being afraid to experiment.  However, it is always important to remember some main points when fishing for walleye.  Location is key and you need to be where the fish ARE.  This is especially true of walleye because they have a tendency to school so tightly.  Secondly, make sure your baits are in the range where the fish are more active and present them with a lure they will respond to.  Finally, select a color that gives them maximum visibility and adjust your speed to their feeding habits.  Again – speed can sometimes be determined simply by watching your turns to see if they prefer the fast or slow side of the boat.

Most of the fishing we do in the spring is in 10 to 35 feet of water but occasionally 35 to 60 feet.  This means the deeper fish can be easily reached with dipsey divers, mini-divers, lead or deep diving body baits.  The more complex setups such as wire rods, lead core lines, lead drops, downriggers, dodger/flasher rigs and the like are not needed.  A fisherman can be quite successful running body baits from in-line planers or large planer boards along with a few well placed floaters and divers.

Most of the season we like to run large double boarded planers by Prince Mastercraft.  They have florescent orange striped sides along with flags that are easily visible in rougher water. Depending on boat traffic, we like to run them from 75 to 150 feet out away from the boat.  I like to run four lines off each side attached with offshore releases 250 feet back on the farthest line out shortening the lead 10 to 12 feet on each rod put out.  The rods I like the most are Diawa Heartland X with Diawa line counter reels spooled with 12 to 15 pound Trilene or Cortland line with 8 to 12 pound leaders.  I am one that likes to use downriggers no matter how deep the water is.  Depending how many people in the boat (you are allowed 2 rods per person) I will run all four downriggers with different baits.  Generally we will run 10 to 12 rods in the water at one time.  You must constantly adjust and fine tune your setup when the conditions and location of the fish change.

If you start fishing shallow water, you might want to adjust to shorter leads somewhere between 80 to 150 feet behind the boat, switching to lures that tract tightly, can be trolled faster and don’t dive as much as others as you can cover more ground with less chance of tangling.  It’s always important to keep tract of hits in any slight turn or large turn as you can determine if the fish prefer a faster or slower speed.

When you start fishing deeper water several methods can put more lures in the fish’s face.  The more obvious is to lengthen leads on the planer boards and if you’re running divers, let them back a little further.  You can add small slip weights in front of the swivel when running leaders or run split shot on your line 4 feet above the lure which also works to catch grass etc. that will interfere with the action and presentation of the lure.  Some like to run min-divers from Lurh-Jensen and Big Jon.  Small spoons with 50-100 foot leads off planer boards are successful as body baits sometimes inhibit the usefulness of the mini-divers.

Lures, lures, lures!!!!   What are you using?  Probably the most often asked question out of a fisherman’s mouth.  I’ve always found that whatever you’re confident in and catches fish for you is the most important fact.  I’ve found when fishing with my friends that we can be trolling the same area, same speed and if he’s catching fish on whatever, I will switch with no results and visa-versa.  But generally speaking if the fish are banging a lure steady on one boat, you definitely should have a couple out.  Color selection is key and the right color could change every couple hours.  Walleye definitely have color preferences largely related to water clarity and the amount of light presence.  When fishing stained water or in overcast conditions, bright or fluorescent colors such as chartreuse, orange, red and green seems to work well.  When fishing clear water or under bright conditions, shiny metallic colors- gold, silver or copper often produce. 

Lures that I like best?  I really like the old Thundersticks!  My opinion is they were always the best out of the box without any or very little tuning.   When water temps are below 58 degrees, I like stick baits with small diving bills and a longer thinner body such as Rapalas, Thundersticks, Bombers, Smithwicks and Reef Runners.  When water temps are above 58 degrees and fishing deeper water, crank baits with moderate action and larger diving baits will produce more flash and vibration.  Storm Deep Jr. Thundersticks, Deep Diving Little Ripper Reef Runners and Rapala Shad Raps all produce.

It is always good to make sure your lures are running true by letting out some line off the side of the boat and check out the action.  Don’t be afraid to give some extra sharp jerks to see how it reacts in case you get into some rougher water.

Is trolling the only way to go?  No!  But most charter guides feel it is the most productive as far as bigger fish and more of them especially being able to cover more territory quicker.  Worm harnesses and jigs are very productive and come in an assortment of colors and sizes.

A good way to learn a bit about the area and some of the methods used is to book a trip with a local charter fishing guide, especially if you’re just starting out.   It usually pays off in the long run, even if it is just in the knowledge gained for future fishing on your own. And remember, have fun trying, and maybe even take a kid fishing! 

(The Author, Captain Bob Dick operates Moby Dick Charters our of Henderson Harbor, NY, and is a member of the New York State Outdoor Writers Association)