5 expert anglers reveal their secret—and unconventional—tactics for walleye, bass, trout, pike, muskies & channel cats

EXPERT ANGLER: PETE BOWMAN

WALLEYE TACTIC: GO CRAZY WITH COLOUR

My friend Pete Bowman, co-host of TV’s Fish’n Canada Show, laughs when I tell him about how Pearase ignored the channel cat rule book. That’s because also learning to think outside of the box has helped him catch walleye on southern Ontario’s famous Bay of Quinte.

“It was back around 2002 when I met a walleye pro named Tom Gustar,” Bowman says. “He kept telling me about the giant late-fall walleye he was catching.” At the time, Bowman says he was boating a lot of decent fish using jigs, but only occasionally catching a trophy. So, he was amazed when he went fishing with Gustar and had several 20-plus walleye days, with the fish averaging more than 10 pounds. “We were trolling long, slender, walleye-style crankbaits,” Bowman says. “That alone was a game-changer for me, but it isn’t the full story.”

In those days, natural-coloured baits were the big deal, with perch patterns being Bowman’s favourites. Shad and similar subtle hues worked well, too. So, the expert angler stuck with the natural-looking bait philosophy for quite some time. Fast-forward more than 20 years, however, and Bowman says he now rarely uses natural-coloured cranks. That includes when he’s fishing in the ultra-clear water of Lake Ontario, where the rule book says the fish carefully inspect your lure, looking for flaws before they strike.

Bowman’s change of heart over lure colours came after he fished with a novice angler who thought it would be fun to troll a crazy-coloured crankbait. “I told him, ‘Sure, go for it,’ while I snickered to myself,” he says. “I mean, there was zero science involved. But you know what happened next? Mr. Novice got multiple bites, and I am suddenly saying to myself, Wait a minute, what’s going on here?”

As a result, Bowman now routinely pulls garishly coloured baits such as Yo-Zuri’s Crystal Minnow Deep Divers in Purple Wonderbread (above), Acid Perch, Chartreuse Tiger, Midnight and—get this—Zombie. “Only after I’ve exhausted all of these weird colours will I even think about tying on a subtle shade,” he says. “And then it’s pure white, which really isn’t natural, either.”

Whether he’s trolling for walleye on the Bay of Quinte, one of the many lakes in Ontario’s Algoma country, central Alberta’s Pinehurst Lake or Maxhamish Lake in the B.C. Rockies, Bowman now always starts with the brightest, loudest, craziest-coloured cranks in his tacklebox. “High five to the novice anglers who think outside the box,” he says.