Walleye opener, Anyone excited?:)

Went to Balsam last Saturday to practice my jigging skills on a pike before the walleye is open

SE Wind blowing pretty hard to 25 clicks and good amount of rain has guaranteed me an empty launch and the lake to fish all to myself.

At first it was tough to catch anything but then found fish on the wind swept side of the shoreline and managed 5 pikes to 3-4 lb, 2 walleyes and 5 smallies, mainly shallow in 5-11 FOW

Took home 2 pike for a fry.

Can't wait for the walleye season to open.

Not sure yet which lake I will go but it does not matter

PS. I know I am excited a bit too early maybe as the walleye opens May 11th in zone 17 (just in case someone was wondering that I think it opens tomorrow)

Nice you had the lake to yourself and brought some fish home to enjoy. Always glad to see you catching multiple species of fish as well. I am excited to get out fishing again after the walleye. Waiting and waiting for the walleye and crappie to finish their spawn. Looking forward to being out there in whatever weather.

Well done JB. Excellent outing considering the conditions...

My back hurts just reading this, you fished the wind swept side, bobbing up and down. Ouch!

You are a diehard angler.

I would have tucked behind an island for sure.. LOL..

Cheers & thanks for the report.

PS: Yes when I was young I used to always fish walleye opener, usually sturgeon or rice lake. Used to rent a cottage for the weekend and everything, but weather was iffy that early and we changed the walleye opener weekend to May 24. If you are renting it's nice if the weather is better, for me anyway..

Great score for those conditions.
I went on Sunday. Caught two small pike and kept one. Lost one much bigger after some fight. Did not see it though. Better weather, lots of boats.

Regarding walleye opener I am a bit excited. Invited to a birthday party on Saturday...
Will try to go on Sunday.

I will be there JB ,heading up Friday morning for the park opener. Fishing Friday and Saturday. Good luck to all

Thank you for the feedback, guys.

Was there again yesterday - 3 pikes and 2 walleyes (all fish released) in 5 hours of fishing.

Only used jigs with plastics , bite was mainly in the morning but I was late on the lake - around 9 am

I was surprised to see not that many boats fishing on Saturday. Maybe because of the wind which picked after 11 am as otherwise it was a gorgeous sunny day with 17-20C

Not sure if I go to Balsam on opener.

North GTA bass masters are having a pike tournament there on Saturday (May 11) so it will be busy out there.

Good luck to everyone on the opener!

Who is that blue alien with the blue fish....lol.

Arnie

Who is that blue alien with the blue fish....lol.

Arnie

That's me, it must have been a bright blue full moon that night.

Now why would they schedule that on the same day as Pickerel open

Should I rethink Balsam and go to Sturgeon or Rice. I’m not familiar with either lake for Pickerel?

JB, I look forward to your Kawartha walleye reports each spring and this year I’ll be giving it a go with my cousin on the long weekend. We have one spot on our lake we’ve had success in the past (an extended shoal surrounded by weeds nearby deep water) but I’m wondering if the walleye might be shallower at this time of year? I’m not sure where they spawn in the lake but I’ll have a variety of jigs, jerkbaits and crankbaits to throw out there. Best of luck, Mike.

Now why would they schedule that on the same day as Pickerel open

Should I rethink Balsam and go to Sturgeon or Rice. I’m not familiar with either lake for Pickerel?

WF,
North GTA bassmasters have been having a pike tourny on Balsam on the second Saturday in May for the past 11-12 years (don't remember the exact number) so not sure what you were doing with that in the past

Joking aside, they (North GTA bassmen) are a good bunch of guys and they know how to catch fish. Did this same pike tournament with them a few years ago on Balsam and came in the middle of the 50 boats pack (I believe we were 22nd or smth).

Don't do any tournaments anymore, just fish for fun at my own pace.

Check out their fb page for tournament results - quite impressive pike catches there with Big fish around 35-39" caught every year

As far as walleye is concerned , there are many good lakes to fish in the Kawarthas. From Cameron to Stoney you cannot go wrong if you know how and where.

Rice lake still holds a good walleye population although they are harder to catch than 10 or so years ago.

Good luck on Saturday!

Hey, Mike.

Not sure if I will be posting much this year but we shall see.

Walleye spawn on gravel and sandy flats and shorelines with good oxygenation so this is where you should start looking for them in the Spring. The typical depth is 4-12 FOW depending on the area and conditions.

The water is still very clear in most lakes which means the walleyes will be more active in the periods of low light, i.e. overcast/windy days and at night.

Good luck to you!

Hey, Mike.

Not sure if I will be posting much this year but we shall see.

Walleye spawn on gravel and sandy flats and shorelines with good oxygenation so this is where you should start looking for them in the Spring. The typical depth is 4-12 FOW depending on the area and conditions.

The water is still very clear in most lakes which means the walleyes will be more active in the periods of low light, i.e. overcast/windy days and at night.

Good luck to you!

Thanks for the tips!

You’re right JB, I haven't been on the lake much in the last 14 years.

I’m a zone 15 guy now but I always return to Balsam as it was home for 40 years.
Maybe I’ll try some of my old haunts to see if they produce Saturday.

Mr. Pike and Mr. 19” Pickerel.
Hit West Bay today and man was it windy form the SE which is rare.

Saw another 8-10 boats and a couple netted fish.
Pike was caught on a berkley dew work