Pete Pokulok of Let's Talk Fishing answers a question on where to look for walleye in the weedy Kawartha Lakes of south-central Ontario, Canada.

Q: I moved to Southern Ontario a couple of years ago from what you people down here refer to our neck of the woods as "the north country". I keep hearing about fishing the weeds for walleye, and it's something that I'm not accustomed to.

When I get out on a body of water like Pigeon or Rice Lake, I can't figure out where to start. These lakes are so weed-choked that I can't tell what is good walleye cover and what isn't ?

 

L.T.F.: Don't let yourself get bogged down trying to figure out exactly where to start. Just get yourself into the weeds and start working. Believe me it'll pay dividends. Just think of the weeds as a huge dining room table. The larger the table, the more people, or in this case, fish, it can -- and will accommodate.

Depending on the time of day I hit the water, I'll try and break a weed flat down as to where I'll start on it. For starters, under low light conditions (first thing in the morning, or evening) I'll concentrate my efforts on the outside edges of the weeds, paying particular attention to the weed points. I'll position the boat parallel to the weed line and work into the wind. This will give me better boat control and I'll be able to slow down and fish systematically. I'll cover each and every nook and cranny along the weedlines, particularly the weed points and on either side of them.

When working down the line, don't neglect to check out the new emergent weed growth on the outside edge of the visible wall of weeds. At times walleye will suspend out on top of this new growth facing the weedline. I've caught some of my bigger fish out on this new growth accidentally when making a cast out in open water to clear my line. Now when I fish a weedline, I automatically fish the outside emergent weeds looking for active fish.

As soon as I make contact with a fish I'll throw out a marker and fish the area thoroughly. I don't know how often I've seen an angler pick up a fish and just continue on down the lake. At times walleye will school up and I've seen myself take two or three other fish from the same weed point before moving on Another thing to keep in mind once you make contact with a fish is to ask yourself a couple of questions: why was that fish there; what was it relating to; and what sort of presentation was I using when it hit. Establishing, a pattern can eliminate a lot of water and make your outing much more productive and enjoyable.