Sheldon Hatch, full-time professional walleye angler and fishing guide, is pleased to announce that he has teamed up with Smith Optics as his new eyewear sponsor. “I’ve been wearing Smith glasses since the early 1990’s. They have always led the way in interchangeable lenses and have never let me down,” says Hatch. “Not only will I use Smith products for fishing, but as an avid snowboarder I look forward to utilizing their helmets and eyewear on the slopes this winter. It is great to be teaming up with such an innovative leader in the outdoor sports industry.”
Hatch will be representing Canada at the 2012 AIM Bay Mills Can-Am Tournament held in Brimley, Michigan. This tournament will showcase 60 of the best walleye anglers from both sides of the border. During the fishing season you will find Sheldon Hatch guiding trophy walleye on the waters of Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte.
About Smith Optics: Based in Sun Valley, Idaho, Smith Optics, Inc. was founded in 1965 with the creation of the first goggle featuring a sealed thermal lens and breathable vent foam. Today, Smith is known for its diverse line of sunglasses, prescription glasses, goggles and helmets. Smith’s devotion to excellence, innovation, performance and style has made Smith the choice of action-sport athletes worldwide. Smith products are sold in more than 50 countries through sporting goods and specialty stores.
Well it is that time of the year again when the fall walleye start to migrate int the Bay of Quinte. I have been booked up solid with guided trips and the bite has been steady with the second and third week of October producing the highest number of catches, just like years past. During the last week of the month the fish have started to slow down as they transition and push up into their spots for wintering in the bay proper.
This is the time to get out on the Bay for the larger fish, but not as many numbers as the summer or late fall, the good news is the big ones like to bite in November.
So far it has been trolling planer boards with cranks to entice old marble eyes into the net. The best areas have been East of the Glenora Ferry in the deeper water as the fish continue their migration towards shallow waters. In the next few weeks the bite will begin to change and the fish will start to slow down for the cool winter months.
If you are looking to get out this fall for a guided trip call soon as all the spots are almost gone.
I am pleased to announce my walleye fishing articles will be featured within Navionics mobile applications in the newly released NewsStand.
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The bite out on Lake Ontario has been very good the past few weeks. The bite was fast a furious during August, but is starting to slow down as the temperatures drop. I have spent some time hunting down new areas and the work has paid-off as a few trophy walleye made it into the boat for a few photos.
Lots of walleye in the 7 plus pound range are being caught while trolling crank-baits, spoons and spinner rigs and the trolling speed seems to change on a daily basis.
The walleye are slowly migrating towards the Bay of Quinte and it looks like another good fall season is just around the corner.
Here is a client with his first ever Mississippi walleye!
What a summer it has been on Mississippi Lake, limits come quick and fast in only the first few minutes of trolling. The walleye are crushing the Berkley Flicker Shads as they are trolled along behind off shore inline planer boards, rigged with tattle kits. The past 10 trips have all been crazy with many personal bests and a few big walleye in the 25 to 27 inch range. The walleye are scattered all over the mud flats and seem to be suspended high in the water column as a majority of all the bait fish are cruising the same areas.
The real trick has been trolling the baits into the 3mph range and then stalling the baits by turning into the in-line planer boards causing a big pause. Any flicker shad with white on the belly has been good the past couple of weeks, with the gold baits doing well on the overcast days.
The casting bite along the weed lines and mid lake humps has slowed down and a few walleye are still taking the slow death rigs along the steep breaks – but the trolling bite over the mud flats has been king.
So don’t be afraid to put on your roller skates and give the trolling bite a try, as the walleye sure seem to like chasing down those cranks this summer!
The walleye have slowly started moving out on the flats and so far they have been taking spinners and slow-death behind bottom bouncers. The weed-lines have been slow this past week, but should produce once we get a few weeks of warm weather, which should push some bait back into the weeds.
The casting bite in the back bays of Eastern Lake Ontario is picking up with many nice trophy walleye and some real killer Northern Pike.
The technique the past few weeks has been covering water looking for new weed growth and warm surface temperatures. Hunting around back-bays and looking for weeds can take a long time so be prepared to spend a few days dissecting water.
Once you find the right weed and shoreline you cast the cranks along the outside edge of the weeds and if any walleye or pike are home you will find out quickly. The best cranks so far have been small profile shad baits and the Berkley Flicker Shad has landed some real nice walleye.
If you are looking to book a trip with Ezelo Angling Adventures for this fun shore and weed-line bite do it quickly as the window is limited before the big walleye start to head out to deeper water and chase down suspended bait-fish.
So get out the sun screen and head out on those hot sunny days and look for afternoon fish along the shore and weed-lines where the surface temp is nice and warm.
The ORWL has it’s first event of the 2011 season this Saturday May 28 on Centennial Lake. Guests are welcome – for more details on the event and club vist: ORWL.CA
In the spring one technique that seems to work from back bays on Lake Erie to Bay of Quinte is pulling shallow cranks. Todays video tip is from the Bay of Quinte.
