Now that colder weather has arrived, the ice fishing action is heating up in southern Ontario. Especially for walleyes in the Bay of Quinte. Jeff Chisholm operates a great guiding service on the world famous bay http://www.quinteicefishing.com and Jeff tells me that with the lack of snow, ice conditions are improving daily.
And his walleye catches have been out of this world. What is especially encouraging is that he is seeing a number of different year classes, from small, medium to large trophy size fish that are exceeding the magical 30-inch/ten pound mark.
(Often the best man for the job is a woman, as Ashley Rae proved the other day, fishing with Jeff Chisholm on the Bay of Quinte.)
Rapala Jigging Raps have been Jeff's top producer, especially the new Glow Hot Perch and Glow Yellow Perch coloured patterns. By the way, Jeff makes it a point to always swap out the stock treble hook and use a short shank #4 treble. He also tips the hook with a minnow.
With a short, quick jigging movement, the Jigging Rap will dart out to the side and then return back to the center point. Jig it a second time and will dart in the opposite direction. Using this technique to attract the fish, Jeff is working the Jigging Rap upward on consecutive jigging movements, calling in the fish from a distance. It is also important to use a flasher, he says, as you will often see the walleyes race up off of bottom and hover just below your lure.
Unless the walleyes are extremely active, however, they will frequently sink back down. When you see this happen, restore their interest by using short, upward jiging movements to get the fish to chase your bait.
Always keep your lure above the walleyes and never drop it below them. You will know when a walleye is about to bite as you will see it charge your bait faster and much more aggressively. At this point, slow down your jigging motion to subtle movements or “pound” and vibrate your rod tip to make the minnow dance on the hook. This is typically when you will get the walleyes to strike.
Like a lot of Canadian ice anglers this season, Jeff is using one of the new Rapala R-Type ice combos, especially, the medium heavy action rod and reel loaded with 10-pound test Sufix Performance Ice Fuse. He is tipping the braid with a 5-foot leader made from 10-pound test Sufix 100% Fluorocarbon Invisiline.
Grant McAllister is another one of the hot young sticks plying the Bay of Quinte these days. Grant owns G2 Angling, one of Southern Ontario's premier guide services. Grant's is also one of those die-hards who chases open water walleyes right out into Lake Ontario's unfrozen waters. His last few trips have been nothing short of amazing with a score of giant walleyes up to 14.5-pounds.
(Buddy Bob Izumi with a beautiful winter walleye caught recently while Ice fishing with Grant McAllister)
Trolling Reef Runners, behind Off Shore planer boards, down 25- to 35-feet has been the ticket for Grant. So too, has been fishing over gradual breaks and slowing his trolling speeds down to .9 mph.
But Grant has also been ice fishing for Quinte walleyes and summarizes the action by saying, "my Vexilar has been lighting up like Christmas tree." Nearly all of his fish have been falling to Northland Moxie and Macho Minnows tipped with live minnows.
By the way, if you have never caught a trophy walleye in your life, you need to give Grant a call at 647-982-FISH or visit his website at www.g2angling.com
