Quinte Fishing

Hi folks. Just interested in strategy on quinte. I always have a hard time fishing waters without much structure. I normally don’t move once I find perch but am not very successful with walleye. Do you move until you find walleye? Interested in other theories and thoughts.

Big island looking good today 8” of ice and no slush 200ft offshore. A handful of perch, no walleye

That's a great question. I have the exact same issues myself. Been ice fising Quinte for 4 year, between 50-100 hours a season and have only gotten one walleye. I usually go straight off point Anne and the perch action can be great but it is tough for me to see so many walleye caught (online) and I can't seem to find or catch them. I also use a snap swivel, because of frequent lure changes....could this be affecting my success or am I just in bad locations? I started using a flasher and don't see anything acting differently than the perch do. The 1 Waleye I caught I wasn't looking at the flasher when it hit so not sure what they would look like ( is it a quick in and out or do they linger for a while?) Any tips at all would be greatly appreciated, it's getting a bit frustrating ( don't get me wrong though, still have a great time with the perch).

I don't have a lot of experience with Quinte walleye but there are a couple things I have learned over the last couple of years. I to was only catching perch and fingerling walleye but then I started fishing higher off the bottom...usually 3ft or more. I find the active and more aggressive fish are cruising higher up. When I tip my lures with a minnow I usually pinch the head off and use that or the tail section separately. When I do this I find the fish commit more and strike harder. A full minnow dulls the action of some lures and allows the walleye to feather/short strike the bait, and maybe trick you into thinking it's a perch biting also. Lastly I have definitely noticed that Quinte walleye respond really well to rattles. They might not always strike at your lure but it certainly calls them in to investigate. Buckshot spoons have a low key rattle inside them that seems to produce fish consistently, compared to a Rattle bait that only produces strikes when the fish are very aggressive...but makes a tonne of noise and attracts fish to the area.

Great reply, Damajor and thanks for the insight.

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The fishing was so good........I thought I was here yesterday!

Thanks for sharing the tips Damajor. I used to fish 6"-1' off the bottom but changed to around 2 feet and have noticed an improvement. I'll definitely try even higher up, it can only improve my results.

Also use the half minnows, usually heads work best. Funny on Saturday I was fishing off Herchimer and the perch were so small/picky there that they were pecking the eyes out of the minnow.

Amen to the rattle, I see a lot more action when rattling. I usually use a lipless crankbait to call them in and then switch to a buck shot when they are summoned. Again my Walleye luck is bad but maybe this technique used higher up will help.

Could I ask, do you use a snap swivel?
Thanks again!

Funny you should ask about the swivel...I use quick snaps.

I was fishing on Scugog yesterday for crappie and was thinking about the Quinte Strategy thread that was posted the other day... as it was something I was going to reply to already.

Yesterday I had lots of active fish swimming around on the sonar but was only getting the occasional bite and fish. Thinking of the swivel question I decided to remove all the quick snaps from my lines and tied directly to my lures. Well the results were immediate. It did not matter what line went down the hole the bite was on. I don't think the snap and swivel necessarily spook the fish but it definitely affects the action of the lure.

I'm not sure why I started using snaps because I didn't always. Funny enough, spots that use to me more productive I thought were winding down over the last couple years. Maybe I got it wrong and really it was me, and the way I was presenting my bait/lures to the fish? Tell ya what though, I am no longer using snaps!

The biggest advantage to the swivel is to help eliminate line twist...also the convenience of switching lures is right up there. I use a bearing swivel higher up on the line between my braid (main line) and flurocarbon leader to help manage the line twist.

So definitely more work not using a snap/swivel...just means a little more effort involved... or more rods with specific setups/defined roles. More rods you say!...well it doesn't take much to convince a fisherman that he needs more rods that's for sure! At least not this guy

Well looks like I'll change it up. I've always used snap swivels, it's just how I was taught. I did buy a knot tool for quick knots, time to practice. Glad to hear about the field test, maybe my luck will improve.

Watch the Cast & Conquer videos on you tube. He does a great job of describing how to attract them with aggressive jigging high off the bottom using jigging raps, buckshot spoons, and dinner bell spoons. Once he calls them in he shows you how to do the lift/shake to play keep-away continuing to pull the fish higher and higher. If they disengage he goes back down to them and repeats. If you see marks high off the bottom reel up to them they will often strike.

Thanks for sharing that resource, I'll be watching and incorporating!

A little late but thank you all for the reply Reviewing my strategy as the excitement builds for the upcoming ice season!