Wilderness walleye

It’s late afternoon when the float plane lands on the remote walleye lake. By the time you settle into your room and gear up, there’s only an hour or two left to fish. You head out, expecting double-headers and trophy sizes, but the first few spots you try yield nothing. The sunset is lovely and the sounds and smells of the wilderness are all around. But, where are the walleye you’ve been dream­ing about? Even on the best of lakes, they’re not everywhere. When we visit a remote fishing lodge or outpost camp for an angling holiday, we expect to get on fish right away. Sometimes, it’s as easy as lodge staff pointing us in the right direction. Other times, it’s not. Anglers from all over the world come to Ontario because we have some of the best remote walleye fishing in the world. So, when we get to a fly-in lake, we can assume there are a lot of walleye to be caught. But, as on any lake, our walleye-fishing skills can be directly proportional to our success. In addi­tion to knowing how to fish, here are some tips specific to the wilderness-fishing expe­rience, to help you boat more walleye. Choosing your destination Select a lake that suits your angling style. If you love catching walleye in shallow weeds, don’t visit a deep, rocky body of water. Is the lake known for large numbers of small fish or fewer fish with a large average size? A lit­tle advance research, online information, or reading destination articles in publications like Ontario OUT OF DOORS can give you a good idea of the sort of angling to expect. You can even call the lodge owner with specific questions. They’re generally forth­right about what to expect at their opera­tion and might even help you contact clients who have visited the lodge and are willing to give a testimonial on the angling. You must also decide if you will visit a fly-in lodge on a large lake with other guests or an outpost camp where you will likely not see another person outside of your group for the entire stay. The fishing Map: Gospel? Generally, the lodge will have a map to hand out to all guests, to give them an idea of where to fish. These vary from glossy, laminated multi-page publications, to a single-sheet photocopy, but provide the primary where-to-go information. Sometimes,