In my final post about my epic trip to Pym Island on the Attiwapiskat River, I’ll turn our attention to the incredible Walleye fishing. Many people know the Attiwapiskat as a haven for large Pike, but there are also an abundance of large Walleye to target as well.
As I mentioned in my recent posts about the Pike of the Attiwapiskat, we would often start our day with a trolling run starting at the “Trappers Cabin”. On our first such episode, I was fishing with my father who was pulling a Rapala Scatter Rap, while I was using a 1/4 jig with a white grub. Our first couple of passes produced a couple of fish, before the metaphorical “switch” was turned on. We worked that small off-shoot of the main river for about 90 minutes, and caught as many fish as some would catch in several days. It was rare to look around and not see someone with a fish on. My father and I had 9 double headers in that time period alone. None of the fish were huge, they were between 17-19 inches, but when you are catching them at will, that’s just fine.
Some of the other areas we experienced success included fishing the eddies in the main river. There were a few spots that produced results, including one we called the “four corners” because it was an area where 4 distinct currents converged, to create almost a whirlpool of an eddy. In this case we’d cast out our lure upstream, and allow the current to take it down while we worked the lure for depth and distance. We caught some big Walleye fishing this way, including this great catch by my brother in an area we called “fish trap”. In one session I boated 6 walleye, all 25 inches are greater (including my new personal best of 27.5) in a 45 minute time period. Really, the results as far as quantity, average size, and the potential for multiple trophies is unprecedented.
It was incredible to be in a fishery where huge Walleye and Pike were in the same location. When you were hauling in a heavy fish, it really could have been either. We made a long run one afternoon to a section of water that was in fact called “whirlpool”, which was a part of the main river that narrowed to create a fast current, but had a bend and a large flat on the inside corner. This created an interesting area where the fish would move up on the flat to feed, but had the deep fast moving water in close proximity. It was in this location that my father caught his personal best, and the largest Walleye of the trip at 28.5 inches. Anyone that says Walleye don’t fight needs to eperience a stud Walleye like this, to realize how ferocious they can be.
During the planning of the trip, my hope was to catch a 30 inch Walleye, and while I didn’t achieve that goal, I did catch more large walleye than I expected (an acceptable consolation I assure you). We were able to catch numbers and size, and we were able to catch them in multiple ways and in many locations, so what more could you ask? I should also point out that we used no live bait. The most productive lures were 1/4 to 3/8 oz jigs tipped with either a white Berkeley Power Grup, or a BFishin Moxie or Pulsar both in a version of green. To wrap up my report on our trip to Pym Island on the Attawapiskat river, I’ll say this. Looking for big Pike? Check. Looking for Big Walleye? Check. Looking for good numbers of both? Check. Looking for an incredible experience, everything from the beauty of the area to the onsite Native Canadian Guide? Check. Pym Island with Hearst Air really does fall into the category of a bucket list adventure, and I’m fortunate to have experienced it.
If you haven’t had the chance, please read my two other posts on this trip: Experiencing the Attawapiskat and Pike of the Attawapiskat. As always, if you’d like to stay informed of when I add new posts, just sign up and you’ll get a weekly email showing the latest reports. And if you’d like to connect and share your stories or ask for more information on any of the places I’ve fished, just email me at scott@canadianfisherman.ca and I’ll get back to you!