Epic Heat Wave

July 1st 2018

 

Well Canada day definitely brought out the boats today, with this most likely being the hottest day I’ve fished in years. With the humidex reading it must have reached 100 degrees! Thankfully I was under the roof, as we trolled the entire time we were out. Tino was back with me but this time we were going to do a little 101 for pike & walleye.

I headed to the first spot hoping to teach him how to locate these fish by covering water. I set one rod deep and the other mid and began the search. I was looking for bait and fish marks and noticed plenty of big hooks that I was pretty sure were not what we were after. There were several sturgeon jumping around us as we made our way along and this was definitely what they were. Although we did mark other smaller fish, we never had a reel fire. Time to move shallower!

I had switched up the baits and moved in some, marking plenty of fish as well as bait but again, we still didn’t have any takers. I did however see all kinds of nymphal shucks on the water indicating a recent hatch and wondered if they had fed all night. It wouldn’t be the first time this has happened with the lake looking like an all you can eat buffet!

We pulled the lines and completely relocated to another area much shallower, in hopes of our first strike. I once again switched the baits to something that wouldn’t run as deep and searched this flat thoroughly, without any luck. Again I was seeing signs of the empty shucks on the surface and noticed a bunch of mayflies in the boat. There had definitely been a substantial hatch recently and we were feeling the effects from it. Time to make a big move!

I ran a long way to a completely different section of the lake and was sure we would get into fish here. First task was to raise the roof as it was starting to get real hot! Once again I set the lines at two different depths and started the search for the toothy ones. About ten minutes in, one of the reels fired and we finally had our first take! It wasn’t a big pike but it was a sign that they were here. I kept trolling the area and shortly after we had another reel go off. I knew the plan was starting to come together! This too was another pike but a much better one than the first and released after a couple of pics. Tino was finally starting to see what was needed in order to catch fish from shallower water. He had trolled before but only on deeper bodies of water and for trout & salmon. This was a completely new method for him and he was starting to see why he hadn’t been very successful on his own.

Over the next several hours the temps got considerably hotter as did the fishing. We were now into both pike and walleye regularly and he was even starting to reset the rods after the fish were landed. There were also a couple of nice keeper walleye in the livewell for him to bring home tonight. He saw how effective this trolling could be and realized how productive a proper presentation over active fish actually was. He was definitely learning new tricks and techniques!

I wasn’t thrilled with the number of walleye that had been landed and wanted Tino to get more of them instead of the pike. He had caught a lot, but only two eyes so far! I tried to move over to a deeper edge but noticed all kinds of tree branches in the water. In fact the debris from the trees was just incredible! The winds last night must have been intense nearby because I couldn’t even troll this area! I had to go back to where we had been and kept catching more pike. I eventually slid away from the pike zone in hopes of a few more fish for him to eat. As I got a little deeper and after many more northerns, one of the reels fired with what we were after. He brought to net another nice keeper walleye and put his third fish in the livewell. This would be more than enough for him and his family to eat! I reset the line and switched the baits again to work even deeper water in this heat. I thought that they might have dropped off their feeding flats and took refuge in the cooler depth.

It didn’t seem to matter where we fished today, we just couldn’t seem to escape the northerns! It was nice to hear the reels scream but with zero wind and scorching heat from the sun, we didn’t want to leave the comfort of the top. I probably could have fished slower by drop shotting but we needed the shade and kept at the troll.

I fished a bunch of areas that I hadn’t this season and on one of them, Tino landed a nice smallie. He also had another good fish on from here that was either a small or largemouth, but it threw the hooks. I made a few passes here and fired both reels simultaneously, landing only one of the two fish. This was about the 2nd or 3rd double of the day, but the first one where a fish came off. This was also the last bite we actually had in the amount of time remaining. We pulled the lines, downed the roof and headed back to take out.

I was surprised to see only one trailer in the lot but was about to find out why! Turns out they barricaded the entrance while I was on the water to celebrate July 1st activities in the park. It was a shit show of epic proportion getting out! They even told me I would have to wait till midnight in order to leave. Not happening! I managed a tight turn leaving that had me running over the sidewalk just to make it by the posts for the bicycle path. I pay for this launch but they can close it anytime they want, nice!

Despite the difficulties at the start and the end of today, the middle part was great. Tino had learned several new trolling techniques that will benefit him in the future and boated plenty of fish in the process. This may have been the hottest day I have ever spent fishing with temps near 100 degrees but we survived. I can’t wait to get home to the cool comforts of my air conditioned home. Might even take a dip in the pool, but probably not!!