Quinte Fishing

Okay...so I get it....90% of the fish are in 10% of the water.....it's called "fishin', not catchin'" ...lol, but damn! Haven't had much luck at all all last year, or this year so far either. I've been fishing the "hot spots", along the hydro line on the Napanee River and at the mouth of the river along the north side just east of Mohawk Bay. Been trying everything from worm harnesses to jigs, to plastics to crankbaits trolling at 1.2-1.5 mph. Lots of perch, the occasional bass and even a couple of drum (sheepheads) but to date, no walleye at all. So what am I doing wrong? I've been along the east side of Forrester's Isand for pike/pickerel - no luck. All up and down Long Reach, both sides, no hits. I even went from one end of Hay Bay to the other (north and south side) with only the occasional hit from little perch. I've even considered hiring a guide for the day but the $500 plus is a bit too pricey for this retired air force guy. I launch out of Napanee and want to try and stay relatively close to home. Maybe I'm not going far enough west on the bay? I keep seeing reports of guys pulling in limits of walleye on a regular basis but I haven't been able to put any in the boat. I guess on the bright side, my pontoon boat makes for a comfy day on the water, but I'd rather be catching than just playing shoreline tourist Can anyone offer some solid advice/locations? Just recently retired in this area and would love to get onto some daily limits. On days that I go out, I'm normally on the water by 6am and fish throughout the day. My last outing was on Monday 7 May. Relatively calm water (winds E 7kph, picking up to S 12 kph in the afternoon). Water temperature 65.4 in the river, and 64.8-65.0 near Mohawk Bay. Clear skies, sunny and hot. Slow troll, faster troll, bottom bouncer with worm harness and a variety of crankbaits being tried without success. Okay...that's the end of my whining for now If someone can offer advice, I'd really appreciate it. Hell....I'll even take you out on my boat...maybe someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong in either technique or location. Thanks for suffering through the rant. Hope to hear from you soon!

I feel your pain. I have the same disease.

Try speeding up just a bit and if using a worm tip the hook with a rubber worm to stop the perch bandits... good luck it will come...

Hehehe...yep...misery LOVES company FishinRod

Here's another weird one....was trolling a crankbait (advertised running depth of 8-13'). I was in 8' of water with a range of line out according to my line counter anywhere between 100' to 210' with trolling speed of 1.2 mph. You would think that I should have been dragging the crankbait through the mud on the bottom with that much line out, but damn...couldn't even skip it off the bottom. Main line is 20 lb test braid with a 20 lb fluro leader....*scratches head*. It SHOULD have been scrapping the bottom, trying to dig it's way to China but nope, rarely connected with bottom. Tried slowing my speed down, etc. May have to add a weight to the line near the crankbait? Just doesn't make sense at all.....

Speed is also a factor in lure depth (that's why it ranges from 8-12 fow). Try casting and reel like hell, it'll dive like a missile, slow retrieve and bait just plugs alongs.

Yep...I hear ya but I've been told that the faster the trolling speed, the higher the crankbait will ride in the water column (which makes sense if yer screamin' I suppose)...but too slow and it doesn't dive either. Obviously more experimentation is required. Thanks for the email !!

PM sent

Go with 80ft out

I'll give it a go, thanks!!

If you are using a bottom bouncer with worm harness, let your line out slowly as you troll, I find if you let it drop at about a 45 degree angle works for me, and use a rod sweep when you feel a hit, not inject deeply into skull like I do with bass. Sometimes you might feel like the boat isn't even moving due to current or wind, but as long as there is some angle to your line and you are in contact with the bottom you should be good to go.
John

Thanks John, appreciate the comments. Got the bottom bouncer wired...just need to work on trolling crankbaits a bit I think. Take care.

was everyone mostly trolling for walleye with worm harnesses for the opener? I launched out by Grass creek point in front of Howe Island. Tried casting the shoals and shore lines. didn't see a thing out there.

_________________
Fishing is not a hobby. A hobby is something you do in your spare time!

Yeah...seems that trolling with worm harnesses is the method of choice. I've also tried casting jigs and trolling crankbaits without success...

My only sugestion might be to downsize your line of choice. 20lb floor lead is overkill and may affect lure presentationlb floor lead unless I’m ripping weeds. Just a thought.