"It is important that you use a lively leech for bait," Roach stressed. "The better the bait, the better the bite, I guarantee it. Whenever I'm fishing with someone that never checks or changes their bait, I know I'm going to catch at least twice as many fish as they do. You use a leech that is moving and you'll convince those fish to bite."

For more information on Plantagenet, contact Bluewater Bait at (218) 444-2248.

DEER LAKE
Itasca County
Some anglers have been whipped pretty good by Deer Lake and they never return. They either fished it early, around opener or during the dog days of August when fishing for walleyes is tough. Deer Lake is like a fine wine. It should only be enjoyed at certain times by those that are connoisseurs of textbook walleye lakes.

Deer sits in a beautiful setting, surrounded by the northwoods and shadowed by many other productive bodies of water, but if it's a structure-laden lake full of hungry walleyes that drives you, this is a good option.

"Sonars are now available that can utilize map chips," Roach said, "and Deer Lake is the perfect body of water to test it out on."

Roach said Deer is loaded with structures like sunken islands, points, sharp-dropping contours and much more.

"You can save a lot of time with the map chip because you can drive right to a spot and then use the sonar to find walleyes."

Roach looks for fish that are a foot or more off the bottom because he knows that it is the negative walleyes that stick tightly to the bottom and any fish that is suspended will be more susceptible to his bait.

"Lakes like Deer Lake are loaded with chunky walleyes that get eager to bite when the fishing is at the peak," he said. "It's also a structure lover's paradise, so this can be one of the most enjoyable fishing trips I take all season."

For more information, contact The Bait Shop in Deer River at (218) 246-2087.

ROUND LAKE
Jackson County
There's a pretty good chance you'll catch a walleye on Round Lake, a 1,000-acre body of water southeast of Worthington. Round is a southern Minnesota prairie lake that has what some would term an "abundant" population of walleyes. While Roach can't recall ever fishing this lake when the characteristics were described to him, he came up with what he thought was a good game plan.