Wabigoon Help Please

[IowaDave]

Let me start off by saying that I am a fairly experienced fisherman, but I've come to realize that I'm maybe not all that 'good' of a fisherman. Not that I haven't caught a lot of fish in my days, but that for the most part, I'll usually fish the same presentation that has worked on a particular lake in the past & if that doesn't work, will assume that the fish just aren't biting. That's the same way my dad always did it & it's how most of the people I go on trips with do it as well. Truth be told, I think that is probably the case with a lot of novice fisherman.
I'm man enough to admit my shortcomings and also smart enough to know that I'm missing opportunities, so during the past year I've taken it upon myself to open my mind & become more educated so that I can maximize the limited time I have available to fish & actually put more fish in the boat. In short, I want to learn.

With that said, I'm taking my 3rd annual trip to Lake Wabigoon June 5th-13th. I'm going with my buddies who have been going there for nearly 20 years. Their dad, who has passed away, fished the lake for nearly 45 years in a row. When fishing for walleye, they exclusively use a walking sinker & a lindy rig with a nightcrawler, therefore in the past so have I. This method has produced mixed results for us the past 2 years that I have been along; anywhere from fairly fast & furious to dead. The other thing is that since I've been going, we've never landed a 'big' fish. 4 pounds is the largest.
Being the newcomer, I haven't wanted to rock the boat or question their methods since this is how they've been doing it forever, but I'm getting comfortable enough now that I'm willing to make suggestions about different presentations & also locations (not that I couldn't fish with a jig while they're using a lindy, but I don't want to do that if it's not going to work).

I should also mention that in the past, we/they have always been there the 3rd week of June. Circumstances this year made us change our plans to a week earlier & I'm somewhat concerned that this may affect the fishing, especially if I don't have some other options (presentations) in my bag of tricks.

So....my question for you is this.....what do you suggest for presentations for this lake and or this time of year? Please include colors, weights, bait type, etc. (we will be targeting walleye by the way)

Also, specific to this lake, what spots would you recommend this time of year? In the past we've fished Devil's Island a LOT ("they've always been there in the past") to the point of beating a dead horse when we're catching nothing.
We also fish Larson, Olsen, Paulsen quite a bit and Butler to a certain extent. I've read from a number of posters here that they either fish Wabigoon a lot and some even live on the lake, so specific sites would be great.
If you don't have recommendations for specific sites, then depths you would recommend for this time of year would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[nitroman]

I was in the same situation as you are 8 years ago. I joined a group on their 9th yearly trip to Cedar Lake, all they did was backtroll lindy rigs and occasionally pitch weedbeds for nords. I knew how to fish for crappie and that was it, thats all my dad and I ever did. I subscribed to In-fisherman and Walleye insider mags and found this website and absorbed everything I could. I even read Lunkers love Nightcrawlers and tried that system with great sucess. Now we do anything we can to catch fish. Because we were all friends to start with it didn't take much to get them to try my idea's because in the end we all just want to catch fish and have now learned alot from each other. Don't be afraid to say anything it's your vacation as well as thiers so make the most out of it the worst that can happen is you all learn a new way to catch fish and have an even better trip.
my$.02

[larrym]

First of all the earlier week won't change or hurt anything and may even be better. If it were me I'd start with what everyone is comfortable with and if it happens to be working great. If it isn't be prepared with some minnows instead of crawlers as that is enough to do the trick sometimes. We've also found that when spinners are not working something more subtle may be needed. Often, for us, that's a plain 3-4' snell with a colored hook and maybe a bead or two and no spinner. Get it on the bottom with a 1/4 or 3/8 walking sinker and slow down the presentation. Try varying sppeds with all these presentations as that is sometimes the key. Also read all you can on jig fishing and be prepared to try that with either a crawler or minnow.

One more thing, you've got to be where the fish are. Learn to use your sonar and ask lots of questions of the camp owner. All the above techniques won't work when your not where the fish are. :) Trying different approaches and different spots is half the fun. When you've finally "solved the puzzle" the fish you catch are even more enjoyable.

[IowaDave]

Thanks for the info guys!
If anyone else has something to add, please do so!

[JimSticks]

Wabigoon is a great walleye fishery and also a fairly large lake. When the walleyes are active they attack the lindys and you can boat alot of fish, but when they are not we have found that pitching jigs (1/8 to 1/4) around the rocky islands with very slow retreaves to work well here. This should be the case especially with the time of year your going. Later in the season slip bobbering before dusk was successful for us, but i am not sure about that this early.
I think your best bet it to commit a little bit of time each day to trying a new technique.
Good Luck

[IowaDave]

Wabigoon is a great walleye fishery and also a fairly large lake. When the walleyes are active they attack the lindys and you can boat alot of fish, but when they are not we have found that pitching jigs (1/8 to 1/4) around the rocky islands with very slow retreaves to work well here. This should be the case especially with the time of year your going. Later in the season slip bobbering before dusk was successful for us, but i am not sure about that this early.
I think your best bet it to commit a little bit of time each day to trying a new technique.
Good Luck

Have you found that any particular color jig works better than others? Do you put a twister and or crawler/minnow with the jig?
Thanks again!

[JimSticks]

I do not use twiseter tails or tubes on the jig just the jog head with a minnow. Color is always changing but i am partial to Gold and Chart.

[mata]

It is my opinion that you should use other methods if possible, lindy rigs are better when the fish are neutral, also the mortality rate is much higher when using lindy rigs unless you are extremely careful.
(usually the hook is very deep andhard to remove) Jigs are the fun way to catch walleye! Big fish are usually in different schools than smaller fish, so if you want to catch numbers fish for the small ones, you must explore if you want to catch bigger eyes (try deeper)

everyone knows what opinions are!Good luck

[IowaDave]

It is my opinion that you should use other methods if possible, lindy rigs are better when the fish are neutral, also the mortality rate is much higher when using lindy rigs unless you are extremely careful.
(usually the hook is very deep andhard to remove) Jigs are the fun way to catch walleye! Big fish are usually in different schools than smaller fish, so if you want to catch numbers fish for the small ones, you must explore if you want to catch bigger eyes (try deeper)

everyone knows what opinions are!Good luck

Interesting post...thanks!
A couple points I'd like some more info on if you don't mind.....

I've often wondered if the big fish ran in the same schools as the smaller ones & from your response, you say no. Do the larger fish still tend to run in schools, or are they typically crusing solo?

Also, when people are suggesting using jigs, should they be trolled or casted? Or does either method work?

[nitroman]

Jigs: Pitch em' jig em' snap jig em' troll em' drift em' it's the most universal lure out there. My fav is drifting them across weedy bays when the wind is right. Like I said it's the most universal lure available to you and your it's only limit. Try every method until you start catching fish then try to figure out what wont catch fish, basically once you find a presention that works don't limit yourself to it keep exploring.

[IowaDave]

Bump for any recent reports on Wabigoon?

[back357]

You are in the same boat (pun intended) I was 7 years ago. My crew used to troll wolf river rigs non-stop. Then, after much research, I came outfitted with Whistler Jigs one year and started to really crush them. Every year I have tried to add a bit more options including deep trolling cranks like a Husky Jerk or working large swim baits. My personal feeling is that your outfit will thank you for bringing new options to the table. I've even caught a Walleye on a fly rod which everyone thought was impossible. On the subject of larger fish, I've got a couple of thoughts...although none of them can be considered professional by any stretch. I have found that bigger eyes will be outside of where the smaller ones are. That being said, I have also had luck using larger presentations in a school of smaller ones. Personally, I think the best trick is using a combination of tactics (e.g. troll until you find them and then anchor and throw 1/8 to 1/4 ounce whistlers with minnows). That way, you can cast out past where you feel the smaller ones are and work the lure back to the boat to see if you get the larger ones. If they won't budge on the trolling, then cast a jig in the direction of where they are trolling and use a faster retrieve to make up for the fact that you are moving in that direction. Either way, mix it up. Let's face it, trolling all day is not that much fun. Oh, and as far as colors, my feeling is you can't go wrong with Chartreuse, Gold or Silver. This year's addition is going to be casting a crawler harness. I'm not sure how that is going to pan out, but you don't know until you try.

[shorelander25]

Been there alot like to fish devils and stewert islands try pitchin jigs into shallow. works good good luch stayed at bonny bay camp nice place.