Last yer I experienced the exact same conditions and results. Our key to success was to locate areas on the lake that were distant from the hatch. The entire lake wasn't focused on the hatch, just those fish that considered home base close to the hatching locations were feasting. On the north end of the lake we were fishing there were not hatching locations and the fishing was normal. Otherwise, we broke out small, dark colored grubs and had success like you spoke of.
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Originally Posted by BornToFish
Greetings,
The wife and I arrived at a lake north of Red Lake, Ontario on Saturday, 29 June. A full-fledged may fly hatch was in progress. This may fly hatch was pretty much over by the middle of the week. The consensus of the folks at the camp, including the lodge owner and guides, was that the may fly hatch this year was about two weeks later than "normal".
I haven't fished for walleyes during a full-fledged may fly hatch before. I have encountered the tail end of the hatch in previous years, such that the flies weren't much of a factor.
This year, the may fly hatch coincided with a transition of walleyes from shorelines to off-shore structure. The walleyes lingering around the shorelines seemed to be feasting on the may fly larvae. We were able to catch walleyes fishing the edges of weeds in areas where the flies seemed to be hatching - sand + weeds. We casted jigs + live bait along the edges of the weeds and into pockets within the weed edge. This pattern was challenging as the walleyes seemed to be on-the-move. We would be knee-deep in walleyes, and then ten minutes later we couldn't buy a bite. We simply waited for the next school of walleyes to move through the area.
Is the above pattern for targeting walleyes during a may fly hatch common? How do you target walleyes during a may fly hatch?
By the end of the week, we were catching good numbers and size of walleyes fishing the off-shore structure that could be reached without having to cross deep water.
Good fishing and tight lines!!
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