Chasing fly in walleyes in northern Canada out of Red Lake is what we did for 30 years with 2 to 6 guys. We always went the second week of June because the mayflies were hatching and the fish were shallower. Dark stained water was the key because the light penetration was down and fish bit all day long. The lake we liked was smaller with some islands and it didn't blow up like the big lakes up there. 6 of us fished Eagle Lake and it was too big and we would have gone hungry if it wasn't for a couple guys with floating jig heads and trolling SR-7 crawfish Shad Raps. You are smart to fly in because if guys can drive to a lake, it gets netted and that is what you are eating at the Red Lobster. Our lake was in a chain and two lakes were about 5 miles long each. 16 foot S-16 Lund boats with 15 hp four strokes were perfect.
Dad never liked the big northerns because he likened them to having an alligator in the boat, so we hammered the walleyes. While we did have electronics, we found "Bud's Bay" by trolling Rapala's one windy day years ago and it had perfect structure. Deep water rising to a rock 15-7' section that went into a sand flat. Minnows and mayfly nymphs would get pushed up into there and back trolling and vertical jigging just murdered the fish there in 9-12 feet of water. Casting was fun, but depending on the bottom we got snagged way more often and didn't have the control and didn't produce as many strikes as vertical jigging.
As to lures, my buddy tied on a chartreuse 1/2 ounce Whistler Jig when we got there and fished the entire week with a tackle box full of those. That was good, but I think that I caught bigger walleyes with a 1/2 ounce lime green Whistler Jig. You read that right, 1/2 ounce. Big walleyes are old fish up there and they are lazy and are on the bottom, or just off of it. The little guys will chase a bait anywhere, but not the big ones. Bigger baits caught bigger fish and the key was getting down to the bottom. A Whistler Jig has a small spinner blade behind the head and we think it looked like a mayfly nymph to the fish. The flash of the spinner didn't hurt either. A white Twister Tail was good on that jig, but for years we would take frozen strip sucker meat along when it was legal and that was excellent too.
In August you are going to find the fish deeper or in the shade. Another reason a heavier jig would help get down deeper faster. Bring enough pole. We liked medium heavy with a fast tip to help set the hook on bigger, older, tougher fish. Braided low stretch line with a fluorocarbon leader. Slow back trolling (trolling in reverse) gives you better boat control than front trolling once you are on the fish. Bring a marker float or two. Walleyes are schooling fish and once you find them, throw a marker and go back over them. Guys here in WI. talk about how light walleyes bite. The Canadian walleyes never got that memo. They often hit really hard. If they want it, they'll get it. The 15-17" fish are the best eating and in Canada you are going to run into the slot size fish that always need to go back in as breeding stock.
Last edited by Windfall; 07/28/22.
