Discover Walleye Fishing on the World-famous Bay of Quinte

This Fish’n Canada episode had Pete Bowman back with walleye fishing fanatic Kevin Lavers of Merland Park Cottages fishing on the world-famous Bay of Quinte. It had been a long time since they’d fished together. In fact, their last trip was a fall Sheephead shoot, which ended up with great success. Their last walleye shoot dates way back to the 2002 season.

For this latest trip (and just like that previous trip in 2002), Pete and Kevin were going to be concentrating on casting crankbaits to weed beds for active Walleye. It’s such a fun and effective tactic! And when you really think about it, that almost 20-year stretch is such a testament to how good crank-baiting Walleye on Quinte actually is. It truly is a phenomenal summer-to-fall Walleye tactic.

The Walleye Cover

For this shoot, they were fishing in mid-summer. It’s a perfect time to target walleye that live in and around weed beds. The Bay of Quinte is a perfect body of water to look for weed-dwelling walleye (bass and pike as well). For the most part, the weeds grow near the shorelines, and there’s a defined edge on both the deep and shallow sides. A mixture of milfoil and cabbage seems like the best for walleye.

Shoot Conditions

The conditions for this day were pretty much perfect. Sunny with a bit of cloud cover and some wind. As per usual on Quinte, though, be prepared for a feeling of “they lied to me again” when it comes to weather channels, sites, and apps. If “they” say it is going to be a steady 15k with gusts to 22k, bank on much higher numbers. This comes from years of fishing in the area.

The predicted winds were pretty much as the above numbers: the reality was at least 35k gusts. Doable, but certainly not Pete’s choice when it comes to open-water fishing.

The beauty of a large body of water like Quinte is, there’s pretty much always a somewhat protected area to hit.

On this particular shoot, Kevin and Pete caught fish pretty much all day long. The bite was strong, and the fish were healthy. Along with a bunch of salleye, the boys also caught a gar, a nice largemouth, and some small pike. A highlight of the trip was seeing a crazy, what looked like a rainbow trout (yes, on Quinte!) swimming close to the shore in circles.

“Fishing is so awesome!” said Pete.

Summer Fishing Tactics

In this article over at FishnCanada.com, we get into all the details of catching summer walleye on “The Bay” and even walk you through what should be in your tackle box. For all that, and more, check out the article in the link below!

Things To Do Around Picton & Prince Edward County

Prince Edward County is actually an island in Lake Ontario surrounded by 800km of shoreline. Along with Picton, there are quaint areas like Wellington, Ameliasburg, Bloomfield, Carrying Place, Cherry Valley, Consecon, Cressy, Demorestville, Fawcettville, Glenora, Hillier, Lake On The Mountain, Milford, Mountain View, Northport, Rednersville, Rosehall, Rossmore, Salmon Point, Sophiasburgh, Waupoos, Waupoos Island, West Lake, Woodrous, and Yerexville.

A weekend drive through this area will certainly bring the feel of small-town country living back to your soul.

Fishing In Prince Edward County

The Bay of Quinte is only one portion of the fisheries around this area. Other lakes include East and West Lakes, Consecon Lake, Wellers Bay, Lake Ontario, Presqu'ile Bay, and Lake on the Mountain.

Wines, Beers & Cider In Prince Edward County

The Picton and Prince Edward County area may be most famous for its number of quality wineries. Along with a growing population of microbreweries, this place is happening. Here is a list of names:

• Amanda's Vineyards
• Black Prince Winery
• Broken Stone Winery
• Chadsey's Cairns Winery
• Cape Vineyard
• Casa-Dea Estates Winery
• Closson Chase Winery
• County Cider Company
• Del-Gatto Estates Ltd.
• Devils Wishbone Winery
• Domaine Darius
• Exultet Estates
• Grange of Prince Edward Estate Winery
• Gravel Hill Vineyards
• Half Moon Bay Winery
• Harwood Estate Vineyard
• Hillier Creek Estates
• Hinterland Wine Company
• Hubbs Creek Vineyard
• Huff Estates Winery
• Karlo Estates
• Keint-he Winery & Vineyard
• Lacey Estates Winery
• Lighthall Vineyards
• Norman Hardie Winery
• Rosehall Run
• Sandbanks Winery
• Stanners Vineyard
• Sugarbush Vineyard,
• Thirty-Three Vines Winery
• Three Dog Winery
• Trail Estate Winery
• Traynor Family Vineyard
• Waupoos Estates Winery and Vineyard

Episode Gettin’ There (Sponsored By Ram Trucks)

To get to today's fast & furious weed-Walleye fishing, Pete first drove east on Highway 401 and then exited south on County Road 49. Once in the town of Picton, he turned left on Bridge Street, or as it's also called, Loyalist Parkway, and finally arrived at his accommodations at Merland Park Cottages.

He next met up with Merland owner Kevin Lavers, and they headed out for a jam-packed day of casting for walleye on crankbaits.

Episode Hotspot (Sponsored By Garmin)

As you can see from this show, it was all about fishing weed lines.

Since the outside edges of weed beds on Quinte usually run erratically and hardly ever in a perfectly straight line, casting is the most efficient way of presenting a bait. Try to get as close as you can to the weed edge.

We like throwing floating crankbaits that dive from around 8-12 feet deep and have a nice, wide wobble when retrieved at a slow speed. As said in the episode, cast the crankbait out, reel it quickly to get it to the maximum running depth and then slow down. If you feel a weed, rip the bait free with a hard, fast jerk with the rod.

Check out our Hotspots page on www.fishncanada.com for more Hotspots

• Baits: Floating Crankbaits ranging from 6-12 Feet were best
• Presentation: Casting (both Braid and Fluorocarbon lines)
• Depth: 6-15 Feet

Conclusion

The Fish’n Canada Show has been travelling to Prince Edward County for years, and we’ve always maintained the attitude of, “we’re definitely coming back!” This episode, again, had loads of fish as well as some great fishing stories!

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