Sheldon Hatch

Since 2008 NPAA members Sheldon Hatch (#928) and Gord Schultz (#553) have continued to grow their Ezelo Walleye Institute (EWI) on the Bay of Quinte. They are pleased to announce the addition of Fin-tech Tackle Company as an official sponsor of their school.

Each day the students will start their day in the classroom learning techniques such as trolling, jigging, rigging, bottom bouncing, electronics and boat control. In the afternoon they take the classroom on the water in their tournament boats so the students can put into practice what they learned.

While presenting seminars Sheldon and Gord have found the information is difficult for anglers to digest. The classroom and on the water experience reinforces the learning process and makes for a fun and educational weekend.

Once again this year the school will be held at West Lake Willows Resort http://www.westlakewillows.com.

For more information on EWI and future class dates please visit http://www.ezelo.com/ezelowalleyeinst.html

For more information on Fin-tech and their products please visit http://www.jigfish.com

I have managed to get down to the river a few times during the spring run and it looks like a majority  of walleye finished spawning in early April. It seems the warm weather and strong sun during Easter really got the walleye on the move. Most areas have very few fish left and the river currents seem to be at levels we would normally see in late May.

The water levels are down from last spring, so be careful this year on opening day as hazards will be prominent.

Only a few more weeks until walleye opener, so get your gear ready to go.

Last night I was in Arnprior to do a presentation to the Upper Valley chapter of Muskies Canada. The topic of the night was the new Lowrance HDS units and StructureScan. The members enjoyed seeing the features and a few can’t wait to get out on the water with their new units to try some of the tips I provided.

For more info on Upper Valley Chapter visit http://tiny.cc/eniik

While driving around Ottawa today I noticed many of the trees starting to bloom, or already in bloom. This is usually the case in late May around these parts and signals me that the walleye will be moving to their summer patterns.

So what will this warm weather do to the spring walleye fishing?

Well I am not sure but we will all have to work out the bite as mother nature presents us with a “curve ball”, I figure by the time I hit the water the walleye will be in their summer locations and water temps will be above normal. The hunting technique I will be using in a few weeks time will be bottom bouncers with spinners and crawlers, this will allow me to cover lots of water to see how far the walleye have moved from their spring spawning areas.  I will post a report on this blog the first chance I get to record some water surface temp readings on local lakes. So hold on tight with this warm spring weather and try to think out side the box this opener.

Time will tell what this spring season will be like and let’s hope we can all find those spring time walleye.