Fishing with Piotr

Walleye (aka Pickerel)

Characteristics: A walleye is quite a unique fish. It can easily be distinguished amongst all the other fish species that I will discuss in my articles. The walleye is an olive goldish colour but, its colour can become darker or more pale depending on its environment and what it eats. This fish have sharp jagged teeth and many of them so you want to be careful when handling them. They will range in size from 10-33 inches when they are fully grown and can weigh up to as much as 7 pounds. A very distinguishing characteristic of theirs is their opaque eyes, almost cat-like.

How to handle: As I said, these guys have teeth!!! So be very careful when handling them, especially if this is the first time you catch one. They are meat eaters and they are not afraid to use their teeth to protect themselves. When you are attempting to get your hook/bait/lure out of its mouth be sure to use pliers so as not to hurt yourself. You can usually grab them under the belly to hold them so that you can get your equipment out.

Where to find them: Walleye are an elusive fish and are sought out by many anglers. You can usually find them in large bodies of water that are turbid (cloudy looking water with many particles in it). They can be found both in shallow and in deep waters, but unlike largemouth bass they do not really hang out in the weeds. You can find them on rocky or muddy bottom lakes just cruising around in schools waiting to pounce on their prey.

How to catch them: There are a variety of ways to catch walleye but the most proven and effective way is to use a plastic grub with a weighted jig head. Once you locate a good area where walleye could be hiding you can simply cast your jig out into the water and just pull your rod tip up and down in short little bursts to try to lure these guys to bite. Try to make your rod movement sporadic so as to make your bait seem more natural. Walleye have cat-like eyes so they are able to see very well in the dark or in low light areas. Some anglers go out specifically in the middle of the night to target these bad boys. By jigging close to the bottom you can easily fool walleye into thinking that this is a leech or injured fish, a perfect little meal for them. The beauty of walleye is that once you land one you are likely to find others nearby as they tend to school together.  You can also get lucky with walleye by trolling a spoon at a low speed in deeper waters. These guys are like the panther of the underwater world and will stock their prey down. Jigs and trolling are definitely the most effective methods to land these guys but you can also use crank baits, usually deep diving ones, or even spinner-baits. Try fishing them when the water becomes a bit choppy as this breaks up the natural light that penetrates the water and fools walleyes into biting your bait. Walleye are a fish that can be fished both in summer and even in winter, so there is no excuse to try to get out there and catch some, plus they make for the best shore lunch you will ever have, just be sure to check your regulations on the size and amount you can keep.

Walleye

Walleye 2

Smallmouth Bass

Characteristics: A smallmouth bass is a close cousin of the largemouth bass. However, unlike the largemouth bass, smallmouth bass are usually a little more brownish greenish in color and they have vertical bands along their sides not a large long black band like the largemouth bass. Again, like the largemouth bass they can range from a pale brownish green to a darker brownish green based on their environment and their food source. One of the best ways to differentiate a smallmouth vs. largemouth is that in a smallmouth the upper jaw will not extend beyond its eye, when its mouth is closed. They can range in size, but a fully grown smallmouth can be anywhere from 10-20 inches long from head to tail and can be 1-6 pounds.

How to handle: Smallmouth bass are a great fighting fish. For their size they are one of the most exciting fish to catch. When they hammer your bait during their feeding season you will know that you have a fighter on your line. As you reel them in they will usually come up to the surface and jump out of the water, making for a very exciting fight. In terms of actually handling them once you get them in the boat or to shore, the can be handled the exact same way as a largemouth bass. They too do not have sharp teeth so you can easily pull your bait/hooks out of their mouth without the need for pliers. Again, be mindful of their fins as they can jab you in the finger. When you do have them in your hand make sure you hold them securely as they will continue their fight even when they are out of the water.

Where to find them: Smallmouth bass may be a close cousin of the largemouth bass, but they live in different waters. They prefer to hang out in deeper waters, streams, and rivers. Usually a rocky or sandy bottom of a lake will yield these little fighters and even sometimes they will seek shelter in amongst the structure of fallen trees. They prefer very clear and clean waters so if you catch one it is usually a good indication that the water you are fishing is very clean. Just like the largemouth bass their season is usually early summer to late fall. Check your local regulations to find out when smallmouth bass season is open in your neck of the woods.

How to catch them: Since they are similar to largemouth bass they will go after similar food sources. However, as they tend to live in deeper water top water lures are not very effective for these guys. The best method to catch them is by using a crank bait, spinner bait, or tubes and jigs that you bounce in and around the bottom of a lake. In recent years many fishermen are using tubes as their go to bait in the Great Lakes region to catch monster smallmouth bass. The reason behind this is due to the invasive species of the goby. Fishermen will usually match a tube that is similar in color and size to a goby and will just jig that off the side of their boat to target the smallmouth bass. This is one instance where the introduction of the goby has seen the native species of the smallmouth boom. Gobies help clean up the water but in doing so they also ingest a lot of pollution and in turn when the smallmouth bass eat them they too ingest this pollution. So it is not necessarily a win win situation for us anglers, but do yourself a favor and definitely get out there and try to land one of these monsters.

Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth Bass #2

Largemouth Bass

Characteristics: A largemouth bass will be a green colour with a horizontal black band stretching though the middle of its body. Depending on what they eat, how deep they live, the colour of the water, and the structure around them, their colour and range from a pale light green to a deep forest green. One of the best ways to differentiate a largemouth bass vs. a smallmouth bass is that in a largemouth the upper jaw will extend beyond its eye, when its mouth is closed. They can range in size, but a fully grown largemouth can be anywhere from 10-22 inches long from head to tail and can be 1-5 pounds. Anything larger then that will for sure be a trophy largemouth and will give you bragging rights for years to come. If you plan on keeping a few for a shore lunch make sure you check your local regulations on the size limit you can keep.

How to handle: I find that largemouth bass are usually pretty tame and for the most part will only put up a bit of a fight. They will attack a bait quite hard, but once hooked you can usually get them to shore or to your boat quite easily. When you land it make sure to watch out for its fins, as with any fish these can be sharp. Unlike many of the large predatory fish, largemouth bass do not have sharp teeth so you need not worry about sticking your fingers inside its mouth to unhook it. If you look at my pictures you will see that I am usually holding it by placing my thumb in its lip. This is by far the best way to handle these fish so as to not hurt them or yourself, but be sure to have a firm grip because if it is still lively it may try to break out of your hold.

Where to find them: Largemouth bass love to hang out in warm water usually where there is some cover or structure for them to hide out in. You will find them around tress, lily pads, and at the mouths of streams. Largemouth bass will live in anywhere from 1’ to 10’ of water for the most part. Quiet bays are a favourite hang- out for largemouth bass. The best time to fish them is starting in early summer to the middle of fall. As long as the water is warm these fish will bite all day long but mornings and evenings is when they are most active. Check when bass season opens up in your neck of the woods and get out there on day one, you won’t regret it.

How to catch them: If you fish around lily pads and other structure there is a variety of baits that the largemouth will go for, and I mean a huge variety. Anything from spinner baits, crank baits, top water lures, frogs, worms, minnows, and even mice. They really are the pigs of the fishing world as they will devour almost anything that moves. Since they are active for a short period of time it makes sense for them to eat anything they can and fatten up for the winter ahead, especially with the long winters we have here in Canada.  

Live Largemouth Bass

Largemouth Bass

Largemouth Bass #2