Teach the tactics!

[Davidantkiw]

So I'm not looking for people's sacred fishing hole or that favorite lure that no one else knows about, but I am need in some quick guidance on tactics for certain species. After having some lengthy talks with member KegRiver about fishing the great white north he gave me loads and loads of excellent advice to get me catching fish from shore but now I have bought a boat and thought I would do a wider canvas instead of harassing him on pm's.

I am a novice fisherman from Vancouver Island where I mostly fished trout from shore. I moved to Alberta(High level) last year and did some pike and walleye fishing all from shore and everytime just with yellow and black 5 of diamonds, though It did prove to be decently successful and we did catch often, I feel as if there is more to fishing than that. So me and a friend decided to buy a 12 ft aluminum and a 4.5hp merc. Never done any boat fishing so this is where my requests of tactics come in. I'm looking to sink into some pike and walleye but also there are some lakes and rivers with whitefish, burbot, lake trout and I would like to give them a go as well. Any advice is appreciated, even if it's a book to read I'll take anything haha.

The places I will be attempting are.
Rivers - peace, and it's tribs, Boyer, chinchaga, hay, wentzel, ponton, wabasca
Lakes - hutch, rainbow, wadlin, twin, peerless

Thanks again in advance for any tips

[bobalong]

I have fished for most species in Alberta but walleye fishing is what I spend probably 90% of my time fishing for. You will catch pike, in many of the same locations and with the same presentations you use for walleye.

My observations over the past 25 years of chasing walleye, is that "rig" fishing has been more consistently productive for me. IMO "rig" fishing will give you the most control of the speed and depth of your presentation.

Bottom bouncing, Lindy rigging, jigging, and slip bobber fishing are the four presentations I use most of the time. For searching, or fish spread out on a flat, bottom bouncing is my go to, every time, every lake.

Once fish are located I fish the area more with slow presentations, lindy rigging and jigs, and if the fish are really concentrated I may anchor up and use jigs or slip bobber.

There is lots of information on line available about all these presentations, but you might want to spend a lot of your time researching the seasonal movements of walleye. Get yourself a good sonar, and view maps of the lakes you are going to fish, before getting there, as it will give you some areas to start.

Fishing a whole lake to locate fish is not really practical unless you have unlimited time on your hands. Locate the appropriate structure for the time of years you are fishing, and spend your time, concentrating on these areas.

Even when good structure is found, not all areas of the structure will hold fish, so work the area thoroughly, before moving on. You will find over the years that similar structure holds walleye in most of the lakes in the province, once you have found it in one lake, the same structure will hold fish in most of the walleye lakes. Good Luck and have a great summer!

[SKSniper]

Most of my experience is with pike. I like to troll the edges of the weed beds with a crank bait or spoon. They swim through the weeds looking for feed and you can usually catch them right on the edge. I find the red and white Len Thompson works awesome for pike both trolling and casting while anchored. For perch use a tiny hook and get it near the bottom of the lake and just troll slowly until you catch one. There will usually be a school of them when you do find them!

[EZM]

Bobalong is 100% right on walleye .....

I always locate them by slow trolling a bottom bouncer with a crawler harness and a blade. Use a minnow, crawler or even some scented rubber. Productive water is usually 14 to 20 feet for most times of the year trolling along the drop offs along a shore line.

If we find a consistent spot we stop and jig em'.

As far as pike are concerned - trolling a crank bait with a wide wobble designed to get down deep is the ticket. 8-15 feet of water and a crank bait that will troll down 7 to 12 feet is the best in my opinion - again, this applies most of the season.

Good luck .... have fun

[Davidantkiw]

Right on a will do some reading on these methods and spend some time looking at lures to get ready for open season. Thank you sksniper I want to get some perch to I forgot to mention that I believe they are at wadlin lake do you know if they are in any of the other water sources I have listed?

[Davidantkiw]

Any tips for whitefish?

[fishnfoo]

I have fished for most species in Alberta but walleye fishing is what I spend probably 90% of my time fishing for. You will catch pike, in many of the same locations and with the same presentations you use for walleye.

My observations over the past 25 years of chasing walleye, is that "rig" fishing has been more consistently productive for me. IMO "rig" fishing will give you the most control of the speed and depth of your presentation.

Bottom bouncing, Lindy rigging, jigging, and slip bobber fishing are the four presentations I use most of the time. For searching, or fish spread out on a flat, bottom bouncing is my go to, every time, every lake.

Once fish are located I fish the area more with slow presentations, lindy rigging and jigs, and if the fish are really concentrated I may anchor up and use jigs or slip bobber.

There is lots of information on line available about all these presentations, but you might want to spend a lot of your time researching the seasonal movements of walleye. Get yourself a good sonar, and view maps of the lakes you are going to fish, before getting there, as it will give you some areas to start.

Fishing a whole lake to locate fish is not really practical unless you have unlimited time on your hands. Locate the appropriate structure for the time of years you are fishing, and spend your time, concentrating on these areas.

Even when good structure is found, not all areas of the structure will hold fish, so work the area thoroughly, before moving on. You will find over the years that similar structure holds walleye in most of the lakes in the province, once you have found it in one lake, the same structure will hold fish in most of the walleye lakes. Good Luck and have a great summer!


Hey Bob,

Kudos to you! That was a very concise and relavant answer with a wealth of information. The OP should really look at this and study up on these different techniques and there will be walleye in their future. The key to all types of fishing is #1 locating the fish and #2 having a range of techniques to get them to bite.


Cheers Foo

[waterninja]

i think you will really like fishing from a boat ratger then shore (i know i do). also less mosquitoes when your away from shore. lol
i won't try to give you fishing tips as you will learn as you go, and with all the stuff on youtube to watch, coupled with advice from members and other anglers that you meet, i'm sure you'll learn quickly.
i will tell you that a 12 ft boat with a 4.5 motor can have some serious limitations. be carefull on big lakes and always try to head upriver at the start of your day. good-luck. have fun.

[DiabeticKripple]

sometimes walley are reeeaaaallllyyy picky. the odd time we know we are right on top of them, but cant seem to get a consistent bite while jigging, we will pull anchor, go upwind of them, and let the boat drift our jigs into them. then we were nailing them.

[bobalong]

Hey Bob,

Kudos to you! That was a very concise and relavant answer with a wealth of information. The OP should really look at this and study up on these different techniques and there will be walleye in their future. The key to all types of fishing is #1 locating the fish and #2 having a range of techniques to get them to bite.


Cheers Foo

I think that finding fish and figuring out the presentation of the day, or the hour, is just as much fun as catching them! Sure getting anxious to get out there and find the first good bite of the open water season!