Walleye Fishing — Ignace, Ontario

Big Walleye don't cruise open water waiting to be caught. They sit on structure — rocky points, submerged humps, weed edges, and the transitions where shallow flats drop into deeper water. At Rousseau's Landing, Sandbar Lake and the surrounding boat cache lakes all have this kind of structure.

The anglers who catch the biggest fish are the ones who study the shoreline, find the points, and work them methodically at dawn and dusk. Each lake fishes differently, so there's a real advantage to exploring multiple waters during the week. Visit our Boat Cache Lakes page to see the full list of lakes available to your group.

On rocky points, big Walleye sit where the point drops from shallow to deep — usually in the 8 to 15 foot range during morning and evening, and deeper during midday. Work a jig slowly along the break line, keeping bottom contact. For trolling, crankbaits at 1 to 1.5 mph targeting that same depth zone produce well.

At Rousseau's Landing, each of the boat cache lakes has different structure, so anglers can experiment across multiple points on multiple lakes during the week. The competition heats up when friends in the group are working different water. Visit our boat cache page for more on the fishery here and what these lakes have to offer.

A slip sinker rig with a live minnow is one of the deadliest setups for big Walleye sitting on drop-offs. Thread a 1/2 oz egg sinker on your main line, tie on a barrel swivel, then run 18 to 24 inches of fluorocarbon to a number 4 hook. Hook a lively minnow through the lips and lower it right to the bottom edge of the drop-off. Let it sit.

Big Walleye pick up the minnow and move off — wait until you feel steady weight before setting the hook. Sandbar Lake and the boat cache lakes around Rousseau's Landing have plenty of structure for this. Stock up on minnows at the bait shops in Ignace before heading to camp.