River Walleyes in Spring...where to begin?

[Tom (N.W.Ont)]

I have a rather large, slow moving river here in Thunder Bay. I plan on fishing it as early as I can for a wally or two before the season closes. Problem is, would the fishes be evenly distributed right after ice out, staging at the mouth (superior), or bypassing everything and heading up to the top end of the river which is currently iced-over? The space I have to fish on the river is surely limited due to ice, but am wondering what I could look for on the open water I have. Stay close to shore? Deep holes? Down to the mouth? Any ice-out experience on rivers would be appreciated.

thx

Tom

[Backwater Eddy]

Look for warmer, slower moving waters. Look upstream from the major wintering areas, then fan out your search from there.

Muddy shelves warm quicker in the sun and also often hold brushy cover as well as forage. Tributary creek arms and bays with oxbow sloughs would be a hot pick to look for. You will be amazed at how many will be up in 2-3’ of water if they have flooded grass/timber to forage in.

The colder the water the less likely they will wish to stay in the main current of the channel. It takes less energy to run the shallows and that is where the most food will likely be.

Hope this helps & good luck.

:D

Backwater Eddy ~ ~><sUMo> ~ ><>

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[Tom (N.W.Ont)]

Thanks Eddie!

I know of a few shallow shelves at 7' that drop off to 20' and is easily accessable. The tribs may or may not be cleared of ice by Sunday...so who knows.

Thanks for the heads up. Guess I gotta go buy some jig heads with weed-guards on them for the mess I might be fishing in!

Tom

[Backwater Eddy]

In the heavy cover I have found that a new floater jig head made by “Phelps Tackle” called the Spongy Bug is the ticket. Great wobblier style floating jig head with a weed guard that works very well. You can rig them on a slinky slip weight or a “Lindy Little Joe” Snagless sinker to slither them through the cover.

You can see them at www.phelpstackle.com along with some other darn good jigs & rigs.

Drop shotting works well too with the Phelps Tackle Spongy Bug floaters, just keep the bait link short. With a long rod you can dip the rig into brushy areas near creeks and pull a lot of eyes from their hiding spots. It works well on a slip float on drifts over trash.

Good hunting.

Backwater Eddy ~ ~><sUMo> ~ ><>

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html