Greg and Jeff Lake Minnitaki, Ontario 7/27-8/2
I met my brother Jeff at the Minneapolis Airport on the 26th and we drove 10 hours north to Ojibway National Park near Sioux Lookout, Ontario for a week of fishing. Neither of us had ever fished Ontario before, but my brother's neighbor dragged his boat into Canada with us. This area is a maze of interconnected lakes, islands and back-bays. We were glad that we were with someone familiar with the area. A GPS on the boat is an absolute necessity because it is so easy to get lost on the endless water on these Canadian Shield lakes.
Fishing for pike and smallmouth was hit and miss the entire week. The weather was chilly, windy, and stormy. The wind and thunderstorms prevented us from fishing much past early afternoon on several days. Despite the squally weather, Jeff and I enjoyed some very good walleye fishing. It took a day or two to figure out a productive pattern, but from Tuesday through Friday, we concentrated on a couple of main lake points that consistently produced fish. We averaged 20 walleyes most days in 3-5 hours of fishing. A good percentage of the walleyes were over the 21 inches. The biggest fish was 25.5 inches and probably near 5 lbs. Pulling bottom bouncers and spinners produced most of our fish. Berkley Gulp crawlers produced several of our biggest fish, but good old-fashioned night crawlers were the most productive bait. Blade baits fished vertically on points and drop-offs were surprisingly productive, too. Jigs took a few fish, but windy weather and deep water structure made it difficult to fish jigs.
Greg with a 24 inch walleye from Lake Minnitaki, Ontario. The water in this part of Canada looks like iced-tea and the walleye were very dark. Some were nearly black from top to bottom.
Jeff with a 22 inch fish.
Greg with a 23 inch walleye with a huge head and skinny body.