[AVA67]

I have done a bunch of fly-ins in Ontario and Manitoba, but I would have to imagine that 90% of the techniques cross over. We used to go in Late May or early June, so we were dealing with slightly colder waters then you will be dealing with, so the size of the baits you could use will probably be slightly larger. Many of these waters don't see nearly the pressure that we are used to fishing in the states, so often times the fish are not quite as picky as we used to.

Most of the fishing can be broken down into three basic techniques.

1. Casting weed edges, points, coves, and other shallow water areas for pike of all sizes.

2. Break line trolling. Possibly the most effective technique for locating bigger pockets of walleyes as well as taking some of the largest pike you might see.

3. Drifting and vertical jigging or pitching jigs for walleyes.

When I first started going up we would bring a mountain of gear and if I was going again tomorrow, I would still bring way more then I could probably ever fish. That being said 95% of the time I have one of 5 baits on the end of my line.

1. Johnson's Silver Minnow with some sort of rubber trailer. This weedless bait has one of the best actions when casted plus has the advantage of being ale to be thrown into some of the heaviest and weediest cover imaginable and still come out clean. I carry them in silver and gold, and normally tip them with white.

2. Daredevil 5 Diamond Spoon. I have always have had more success on this color then I did the traditional red and white. A classic pike catcher, you just have to be careful as the exposed treble hook doesn't like weed, rock, or wood.

3. Thunderstick and Thunderstick Jr plugs. This was by far our most popular trolling bait for both walleye and pike. Neither runs deep at all, but they tend to be considerably cheaper then most other swimming plugs, have great action, as well as being responsible for both my father's and my largest pike. (both fish over 44").

4. Bare lead-headed jigs and gulp 3" swimming minnows in yellow and chartreuse. This is by far the #1 walleye catcher for the last 2 trips we did. They are cheap when you bust them off in the rocks or get them bitten off by pike, and if the wind picks up you can just go to a heavier jig head.

5. Large floating Rapalas (F11-F18). Can be casted or trolled, but nice larger profile bait when you are targeting bigger pike.

Best of luck with your trip. Bring Good Quality Rain Gear and Plenty of 30%+ DEET bug spray.