Perch fishing in Shirleys bay, what a surprise.

[CyrusG]

This year I've caught some decent eyes through the ice, but Shirley's bay never seemed to be a spot for them unless you wanted to catch a bunch of small ones. I decided to change things up, instead of walleye i just wanted to target perch for the day so i didn't walk out too far from the launch and set up in 6 feet of water. I've never caught eyes in less than 9 feet of water at Shirleys before, and if i did catch them it was as the sun was going down. Mid day, around 3:00 the sun was still up and i was using a tiny 1 inch micro jig slamming the tiny perch when all of a sudden the bite stopped. I wasn't marking tons of fish like i was earlier, and just as i was about to move holes a solid red mark came up and slammed the tiny jig i was using. I only had 4 pound line so my drag started peeling, i was thinking i have a nice pike on but after a few minutes of fighting it, it came to the hole i couldn't believe it. My brother caught a 33 inch pike a few years ago on the lower Rideau using a micro jig but this is the first walleye I've seen caught on one, and shes a biggun



If you look closely you can see the pink plastic i was using, next year i'll try fishing the shallows more often there

[LifeIsntWasted]

Nice fish, glad to see their is hope. I never get out beyond 6-8 feet of water before my son is complaining about the cold and needed the shelter set up. haha

[Walleye'm Fishing]

Ya gotta love icing a nice one when your'e not even trying! Beauty walleye dude.

[Houner]

That's a nice walleye Liplesscrank, but I didn't think you were allowed to keep them bigger than 15.7 inches on the Ottawa between March 1 and June 15. 24 inches is pretty clearly the size fish they're trying to protect this time of year...

[CyrusG]

Thanks guys, I release most of my fish and would never keep a walleye that size even if there wasnt a slot size, i took a quick measurement, pic and she went down the hole full of energy.

[ShawnD]

Nice!

[Oneeleven]

Nice!

I thought walleye was closed everywhere tho.. Hmmm.. My gold quest may not be done!

[Fishoholic]

Nice Shirley's eye dude!

[Gord]

That's a beaut for Shirley's dude! Nice work!!

[Tip-up]

Many nice fish in that area are caught shallow. We typically look for 6-8ft this time of year on the Aylmer side. If there are perch around before the night bite, the walleye are not far behind. Nice one!

[SteveO]

Solid walleye.

[scarkner]

Nice!

I thought walleye was closed everywhere tho.. Hmmm.. My gold quest may not be done!

Then you need to check the regs more! Only allowed to keep small ones on the Ottawa right now, but season is open!

That said, he clearly wasn't targeting walleye so it doesn't matter if the season is open or not!

I too have noticed the walleye in shallower water. I fish near the Deschene Rapids and am seeing some fat little spawners coming in there just a few dozen feet from shore!