If I could draw up ideal conditions for a day of walleye fishing, they would look like this: overcast skies with a low ceiling, wind at 15 to 20 km/h, falling barometric pressure, water temperature in the mid-60s°F (15.5°C), and air temperature in the 15 to 20°C range. Comfortable conditions for both fish and angler. In my experience, that forecast is a recipe for success. Ideal conditions, however, are seldom the norm, and anglers are forced to adapt to whatever Mother Nature sends our way. In more than 20 years of guiding in northwestern Ontario, I’d like to think I’ve seen it all — from blizzards to forest fires, and everything in between. I remember one opening weekend in May several years ago when some buddies from southern Ontario came up to fish for walleye. Opening day felt like midsummer, with intense sun and heat. We were all in shorts and T-shirts. By Monday, we were fishing in a snowstorm. I still laugh about what those guys must have thought about “springtime” in northwestern Ontario. Weather plays a huge role in fishing, and being able to adjust to conditions is a key part of every successful walleye angler’s playbook. Here are some of my strategies for dealing with the weather. When the wind blows Wind is the most challenging factor to deal with on the water. Too much wind makes travel and boat control difficult. Too little just isn’t ideal for walleye fishing. Structure that’s on wind is a stronger bet for active fish than structure off wind. There are exceptions to every rule, but this approach will usually give you an advantage. I was guiding an early-season walleye trip a couple of years ago when we experienced several days of east wind — a direction that isn’t very common. I found a spot where the east wind was blowing into a point on the south tip of a large island. South of the point was a narrow east–west channel that the wind was pushing through. My guests and I spent a day and a half on Spot-Lock off that point, crushing walleye from a seemingly endless school of fish. We didn’t move the boat more than the size of four parking spaces. The east wind generated strong current through the narrows, and the walleye were stacked off the point, feeding on a conveyor belt of baitfish. The next morning,
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