Best Fishing Ever
June 18, 2018
June 17th 2018 (afternoon)
The switch up of clients didn’t go as well as I had hoped! Dave wasn’t able to get out of the launch area with barriers set up for the race and Vlad wasn’t able to get in for the same reason! Apparently the race had gone longer than they anticipated and alternate measures were needed. I gave Dave a shortcut through a back area but Vlad and the others still had to come in on foot.
By noon, we were all ready and I headed out with Vlad, Brian & Paul to a different section of the lake. I don’t think they expected what was about to happen next! I know they didn’t anticipate trolling!
As soon as I arrived I set up the top to ensure everyone’s comfort. It was nice to get out of the sun and definitely a lot cooler! I then prepped the rods and changed up several baits based on where we were. I also instructed everyone on the ins & outs of the rods, literally! With everything ready, all that was left was to get the baits wet.
Within a minute after we started the troll, one of the down rods went off and Vlad had the first fish of their outing. Nobody was ready for such a quick hit and I was forced to remove it from the holder for him to fight. I could tell by how it was staying down that it was a walleye and confirmation was made boatside. I quickly netted it and several shots were taken before the release. Too big to keep! Within a couple of minutes after the first, a double was had and the other two also got to fight fish. They were absolutely shocked at how fast the action was and couldn’t believe their luck! Three fish in about as many minutes!
I was on good fish and stayed in the area, firing reels off every couple of minutes. The action was so fast that it was ridiculous! I wasn’t even able to get behind the wheel for over 30 minutes, with all the fish I was netting. Both pike & walleye were being caught and Brian ended up with the largest walleye of the day and apparently his life too! We even managed to get a keeper in between all the northerns caught. It seemed like as soon as one of the fish was released, another reel screamed and we were locked up again. I really don’t know how long this went on for but it felt like a couple of hours. Vlad was telling me about one of his guided fishing trips where he caught one little perch the entire day and reels were still firing! Crazy fishing was being had and conversations were being interrupted constantly. I guess that’s not a bad thing! We eventually had to relocate after milking the area for as long as we did. Now it was going 5 to 10 minutes in between strikes and I just wasn’t going to tolerate that!
I decided that we were going to hit a deeper area nearby and set the lines for a downstream troll. I barely got the first rod in when the reel howled and Vlad boated another keeper eye. I knew we were going to pound on the fish again! For well over an hour we fired reels every few minutes with several doubles in the mix. My biggest issue was the floating pollen grabbing the lines and jamming in the guides. The poplar trees were shedding and at times it looked more like snow falling than a late spring day. In between all the fish biting I was constantly plucking cotton like pollen from the lines and guides. Thankfully the fishing was on fire and this was only a little inconvenience that I was willing to endure.
The day was getting on and when I finally looked at the time, I was shocked to see it was already past 4:00. I hadn’t planned on fishing later but these fish were biting and I didn’t want to leave. As they continued to land even more big pike we discussed our departure time and agreed that after a couple more fish we would end the day. Well sometime after 4:30 we did but not before landing many, many other fish. So much for just a couple more! It’s always hard to leave fish biting but they had a long drive back to Ottawa and I just had a long day!
This trip was one that these guys will be remembering for quite a long time. They had never experienced a day like this, filled with so many big fish. Along with the numbers and size, they also got to see a technique work like nothing they had ever seen before. By controlled trolling and covering water I was able to keep them on fish the entire time. With the exception of a couple of slow periods due to checking shallower water, I had them tight lined most of the day. So much so that nobody had a clue just how many fish they had caught! This is always a good thing! By the sounds of it, this won’t be the last time we meet. They are already talking about another trip this summer. They all left saying that this was the best fishing they had ever experienced! Funny how I keep hearing that!!
