“Catching Muskies, Walleyes and Panfish at Wisconsin’s Eagle River Chain of Lakes with Jim ‘Hi Pines’ Rechlitz and Mepps and Mister Twister”

Part 3: Walleyes in May, June and July

Editor’s Note: Jim ‘Hi Pines’ Rechlitz is the owner of Hi Pines Guide Service in Eagle River, Wisconsin, and an officer in the Headwater Chapter 12 of Muskies, Inc. He guides primarily for muskie and walleye as well as panfish and smallmouth bass on the Eagle River chain of lakes in northern Wisconsin.

Question: How’s the walleye fishing on the Eagle River chain of lakes?

Rechlitz: Just like muskie fishing, the success of walleye fishing depends on three factors: location, location and location. The best month for catching walleyes here on the Eagle River chain of lakes is the month of May. The ice is off the water, and the walleyes are beginning to spawn then. During that month, you may catch pre-spawn, mid-spawn and post-pawn walleyes, which are aggressively feeding then.

I like to use a Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub on a Mister Twister Jighead and tip the jig with a minnow. I cast that bait in 2 to 6 feet of water on the edges of rock piles along gravel banks and any place I can see a snag or brush pile. In June, I move out to the 6- to 10- foot-deep water with a slip bobber and fish over weeds. Instead of tipping the jig with a minnow, I’ll tip the jig with a leech. In July, when the walleyes move out into that 8- to 24-foot-deep water, I like to use the Wolf River rig. I’ll use a fathead minnow and fish it in 18 to 24 feet of water.

You can also catch those fish all the way down in the deep water with a Mister Twister jighead and a Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub. White and green seem to be the best colors for me. I like a 1/16- to 1/8-ounce jighead, and if the fish are a little deeper, I use as much as a 1/4-ounce jighead. If you’re fishing on the Mississippi River here in Wisconsin, you really don’t have to tip the Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub with a fathead minnow. You can fish just a straight grub for walleyes.

To fish with Jim ‘Hi Pines’ Rechlitz, call (715) 479-6113, email hipines@hipines.com or hipines@newnorth.net, or visit www.hipines.com.