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Lake of the Woods is a walleye structure fisherman's paradise. The shallow reefs adjacent to deep water are a magnet for walleyes, but one area that is overlooked by many people who usually fish walleyes shallow, are the deep water humps that this glacial lake has to offer. Lake of the Woods has a certain charm or attraction that sooner or later develops into a serious love affair for all those who come to know it. I was first introduced to Lake of the Woods fishing by Perry Good and Steve Hockett while staying at Witch Bay Camp. Perry Good one of the top Professional Walleye Trail competitors, visited Lake of the Woods and Witch Bay Camp in July. Steve Hockett owner and operator of Witch Bay Camp stated, "Lake of the Woods may be the very best lake anywhere when you take into consideration its walleye, muskie, northern pike and smallmouth bass fishing. I doubt there is another lake in the world that can top it for these four species combined." Ice usually goes out of the lake during the first two weeks in May and the walleye fishing is usually poor until about mid-July. My experience is that good fishing starts on the bars of small rock and gravel in six to ten feet of water. Then after two to three weeks of this the fish move to weedbeds in four to six feet of water, where you can fish until about mid-July. These same weedbed also offers excellent fishing for large northern pike. Early in the year, they're up shallow, then they go out to the deep water and get on the humps in the 20-foot range. When fishing these humps I rely on my depthfinder to tell me if anyone is home on these humps. I usually like to look for a good shelf that comes out from an island that has boulders on it. This is the structure that many walleye key in on to rest and ambush their prey as they slide back and forth from the hump to deep water. These are transition areas where the fish come to feed. These humps provide a structure for baitfish that have moved out into deep water as schools, and are looking for a place to rest. Naturally what attracts the baitfish also attracts the walleye. The other thing that my depthfinder unit allows me to see is how active these fish are. Many times you can go over the hump and see that the walleyes are moving up to the top portion of the hump, this signifies that they are in a positive mood and within minutes you should be landing a nice plump walleye in your boat. The sunlight penetration also makes a big difference as to where the walleyes are located on any given hump. You wouldn't think that sunlight penetration would go down as far as 25 or 30 feet but in these clear lakes it does. So when fishing pay close attention to the sun and make sure that you fish the shady side of that hump. More active fish will be found in this area. You might want to offer these fish some artificial baits and that is when the use of plastic grubs or twister tails might hold the key. You can rig them Texas style with the bullet weight close to the eye of the hook or Carolina style with the weight suspended above the lure with a bobber stop or a rubber stopper. Or you might want the simple approach of using a nightcrawler or a crayfish. Regardless, the walleye is a fighter by nature and will give you a heart stopping run when hooked. Once fish were located I usually started off with 1/16 or 1/8 ounce jigs tipped with nightcrawlers. As the fish tend to move deeper I switched to a live-bait rig or a spinner attached to a bottom bouncer so we could tick the bottom and stay out of the rocks. Reef areas around the islands are excellent picks for early walleyes. The key to some of the most productive fishing is mobility; keeping on the move will let you cover water and find biting fish. There are very good maps of the lake available, but having good maps is of no value unless they are used properly. Anyone who ventures out on this lake for the fist time without a good map or a guide is a fool. But anyone who can use a map will not have any problems if they take proper care. Navigating in the islands portion of the lake simply involves making sure you know here you are on the map, every minute you are on the lake. You find where you are one the map, relate the map scale to size the of things you see on the lake, and travel to the next site that you can identify both on the map and on the lake. Usually this is done by identifying islands, points, bays, channels or unusual shoreline configurations. I realize this sounds absurdly basic to those that do this all the time, but to others reading a map is a big mystery. The walleyes at Witch Bay Camp are fantastic, but the accommodations were even better. The owners Steve and Gail Hockett cater to the fisherman as well as the entire family. Witch Bay Camp are great from the meals, to the lodging, to exchanging information about where and when to fish. For further information on Lake of the Woods here are a few places you can contact Steve and Gail Hockett with a call or drop them a line at: Witch Bay Camp, P.O. Box 238, Kenora Ontario, Canada, P9N 3x3 Toll Free: 877-468-5838 or e-mail ghockett@kmts.ca.
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