Hi there,I recently bought a camp on the pickerel river, part of the French river water system near Sudbury Ontario. I am just East of highway 69, near Cantin Lake; a large deep pool in the water system that goes down 100 feet or so, there are two large waterfalls that flow from the French to Pickerel near by with fast current. I have had lots of luck in the summer locating the walleye, in current spots in the spring and fall and weedbeds in the summer. But myself and everyone else has had trouble finding them in the winter. A theory of mine is that they go deep , 40 - 60 FOW during the day and move into slower current spots around dusk and dawn. Where should I look? Do I return to my summer spots? PS. Pickerel is not a traditional river, for the most part there is not much current on the main system. hardly noticeable. only in the mentioned waterfall areas is it strong. Thank you!

Hi there,I recently bought a camp on the pickerel river, part of the French river water system near Sudbury Ontario. I am just East of highway 69, near Cantin Lake; a large deep pool in the water system that goes down 100 feet or so, there are two large waterfalls that flow from the French to Pickerel near by with fast current. I have had lots of luck in the summer locating the walleye, in current spots in the spring and fall and weedbeds in the summer. But myself and everyone else has had trouble finding them in the winter. A theory of mine is that they go deep , 40 – 60 FOW during the day and move into slower current spots around dusk and dawn. Where should I look? Do I return to my summer spots? PS. Pickerel is not a traditional river, for the most part there is not much current on the main system. hardly noticeable. only in the mentioned waterfall areas is it strong. Thank you!

Posted on February 11th, 2020

Hi Niall, I have not fished that area but I can give you my best answer from having fished other moving water in the winter time. The walleye will not be as deep as you think. They will be located in 10-20′ water probably in any silt-bottom bays or expansions of the river where there is less flow. So not in the deepest part, but in the “main-river-basin” that is 10-20′ deep for a consistent distance or a large “flat” (water the same depth)…God bless you.