Walleye fishing, in BWCA, in a canoe, in May

[MNdanimal57]

I'm going to the Boundary Waters around May 20th this year. Going in on Saganaga and canoeing West along the Canadian border. I've fished walleye plenty of times before, but almost always have a fish finder, a boat with a motor, and somebody else who knows more about fishing than me so I don't have to worry about finding good spots. I'll be the most experienced fisherman and I'm wondering what to look for to find good walleye structure.

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks!

[scott b]

Troll while you paddle. This is a good way to put fish in the boat on the way to your spot and maybe even find a honey hole. Bottom bouncer, long line, floating Rapala. That way if you stop paddling for some reason your bait floats up. Good luck and don't forget the Gulp. Walleyes should be pretty shallow and around current areas at that time of the year. Try casting gulp twisters on grapefruit sized rocky shoreline at night if you can.

[DooWap]

I agree that if you're paddling you should be trolling some sort of crankbait. I've caught a lot of fish in the BWCA just while canoeing from one spot to another and trolling. Look for big boulders and rock piles and hit them with jigs or slip bobbers. Rocky points are always good spots too. Also, when you're at your campsite, always make sure you have a slip bobber in the water. A lot of times you can catch your dinner right from camp up there.

[TooTallTom]

One tip I've been given is, when working without a map (or with a minimal map) to use the shoreline as a guide for the lake contour near the shore. If there's a cliff leading directly into the water, it likely continues into the water. If the land behind the shoreline is flat, the water is probably shallow for quite a ways.

Using this technique, you can look for a point near some steep shoreline and fish off the point on the assumed deeper part of the lake.

Also, you might want to bring a ice fishing depth bomb with you if you're really concerned about checking depth quickly. You can use your fishing rod as a measuring stick.

[mainbutter]

+1 on trolling while you paddle. I ALWAYS have a rapala (usually a good ol' jointed shad rap) out while I'm paddling from one place to another on any Midwest lake. I haven't had a day yet where I wasn't rewarded with at least one bonus fish from doing that.

[nwhunter]

+1 on trolling while you paddle. I ALWAYS have a rapala (usually a good ol' jointed shad rap) out while I'm paddling from one place to another on any Midwest lake. I haven't had a day yet where I wasn't rewarded with at least one bonus fish from doing that.

+1 for shad rap when paddling. I've gotten plenty of lunches in the BWCA doing this. Especially as early as he's going.