Kipawa Lodge August 12-20 2022

[wvmedic]

Good day all.

A group of us are going to try Kipawa this year rather than the Zec. It will be our first time on Kipawa and we are staying at Kipawa Lodge.

Any suggestions for tackle, bait this time of year? I'm no jigger as I've mentioned before, but I'm going to give it a go this year. Any suggestions to color, weight for one who hasn't really ever used a jig? I have some thill slip bobber I'm thinking about trying as well as getting some fire ball jigs.

Thanks, Jeff

[Oarin]

Slip bobber is the way to go if you're not a jigger. I suck at jigging too.

[T-Bone]

You should try really hard to embrace jigging. And that’s all I have to say about that.

[wvmedic]

@Oarin, thank you.

@T-Bone, I'm going to give it a go. I'm going to start here at home in a couple weeks.  Hopefully I'll get the hang of it, unfortunately I think I'm going to miss prime Crappie time this year. To busy getting the new house set up.

Jeff

[Ozzy30]

wvmedic jigging is definitely the way to go that late in the summer.  The most important factor on jigging is the rod with sensitivity and a bit of back bone

[Netman]

This may go against alot of conventional thinking, but I recommend you give some tube baits a try. Think "gitzit" etc.
They work best when cast out and hopped back to the boat along the bottom. It never hurts to try things outside of the norm! I like to use a braid with a 4 to 6 foot leader of fluorocarbon on a 7 foot medium action fast tip rod.

[Jay Thomas]

Hi Jeff,

If you have not done it already, ask Wayne (Kipawa Lodge owner) for advice. I don't believe anyone on KFF can come close to his level of fishing experience on Kipawa.

Jigging is a fun productive way to catch walleye if there are pods of walleye where you're fishing. Otherwise, it's boring. I would suggest using the lightest jigs you feel comfortable with (i.e easily reach bottom, easily feel bottom, easily feel light strikes). As for colour, experiment and let the walleye tell you what colour works best.

In my 17 weeks of fishing Lake Kipawa, I only occasionally found pods of walleye. It's precisely for this reason that I prefer bottom bouncing (usually 2 ounces) to move around the lake in an effort to find the walleye. In this process, if I come across pods of walleye, I switch to jigging because it's more productive. Slip bobbering can be fun too and probably ensures less snags.

Just my 2 cents.

Jay

[limacharley]

I'm definitely familiar with that area of the lake. Jigging will get you results for sure.
Since you have little experience with jigging, have you ever heard of using a drop shot method?

Essentially because there are a lot of snags in Kipawa, you risk spending more time tying up than fishing so...
by using the drop shot set up, your hook is 12-16 inches above your sinker. I use special hooks and sinkers for this method. You can use a regular hook like in the video.
I buy all mine on Amazon. Buy in bulk. I use pencil style weights...a slimmer weight risks getting snagged less between boulders.

As you are jigging your line you're basically bouncing a 1/4 oz or 3/16 oz (depending on wave action, pencil sinker on the bottom but your hook with worm/leech is suspended
off bottom...exactly where the walleye are. You should be using about a 10 lb test mono in your reel and tie on a 6 lb test fluorocarbon leader...about 4-6 feet.
If you do get snagged, it will be only your sinker which may break off at the sinker (lighter line). All you have to do is thread on another sinker and keep fishing.

https://www.outdoorcanada.ca/dropshotrig/

https://www.amazon.ca/NovelBee-Fishing-Sinker-Lead-Weights/dp/B082W8Z8F2/ref=asc_df_B082W8Z8F2?tag=bingshopdesk-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80401879906883&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584001426900368&psc=1

https://www.amazon.ca/30pcs-Fishing-Hooks-Swivel-line/dp/B08214QQH8/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=HYATV4ZQI2KY&keywords=drop%2Bshot%2Bfishing%2Bhooks&qid=1649417589&s=sports&sprefix=drop%2Bshot%2B%2Csporting%2C111&sr=1-3-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyUE5MTEhMWEpDSkhUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTI0MTg0MVMyREY3VFdaMVNUUCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTM5NzMxMUZQM1VQTzc2TkhDTSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1&psc=1

[NortonJoe]

I've never tried slip bobbering but I have done a lot of jigging.  I usually use 1/8 to 1/4 oz jig heads in white, pink or some other bright color (I think it helps because the water is stained with tannin, but who knows...) and bait it with a leach or half a night crawler, drop over the side until it hits bottom then bring it up a foot or two. Usually, works for me.  We've been fishing Watson Lake for years and know where the good jigging spots are. Nothing better than sitting on the lake with the motor off and a cold beer open jigging for walleye!

[Hodgey1]

Nothing better than sitting on the lake with the motor off and a cold beer open jigging for walleye!

Can't agree more NJ.

@wvmedic I had never jigged for walleye prior to my first time at Kipawa, the advice above from all is spot on. It works well at Kipawa. especially in the early evenings until dark. Tip the lightest jig head that gets you to the bottom, with a crawler or leech and bounce it off the bottom a bit and you will catch walleye. I must give @limacharley technique a try as well.

I finally gave bottom bouncing a go last September and loved it and was successful, even though I later found out I had it rigged wrong  . I recomend bottom bouncing in the morning throughout the day and then switch to jigging in the evenings. Its a good mix and works well for me while at Kipawa.

[BH]

One additional thought on the drop shot method, you can also use split shot instead of the pencil weight.  Split shot will likely slide off without breaking the line.  I also use split shot when using a 3-way swivel to get my line down and have a floating jig head on the other line.  Learned this in the rivers in N. Michigan.  A lot less time tying.

[plowjock]

Just getting back onto the Board.
Very interesting discussion re: Jigging or slip bobbering.
If you'd like some help, I found Tom Boley on You Tube.
He is very informative with all his fishing techniques.
He also catches a lot more than I've ever caught.
He also has an App out FREE called Walleye Now.
Check him out please, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[wvmedic]

Hey everyone, thank you very much for the info. I really appreciate it, I am sorry it's taken me a bit to get back on here. The new house and a few other things have kept me hopping.
I'm thinking that the Walleye might be fairly dispersed and trolling might be the best method unless I find some grouped up, then I will anchor and give the jigs a go. I figure the surface Temps are going to be in the 70's. We will see.

Again I appreciate the input.
Jeff

[puckster_guy]

walleye will be around 25 ft on shoals and drop offs that time of year cruise/troll till you spot them on the graph. Jig and worm kills them

[wvmedic]

Thank you puckster_guy and everyone else.  My game plan is to troll around and see if I can mark numbers of fish. Hopefully I can locate them, I'm bringing my Helix 7 MSI. If l locate pods or schools, I'll anchor up and give the jig a try and try some slip bobber fishing as well. I like the idea of dropping anchor and just enjoying the scenery and shooting the breeze with my Fiancee.

Should I get some leeches or just stick to crawlers?

Jeff