Canadian Slams

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July 23rd 2018

 

Thomas and his daughter Katie were with me today for another spectacular outing. There were suppose to be three of them but his son decided to remain in bed. Big mistake!

After travelling a good distance in a light chop, I set up the rods and began the troll. It had been so good lately that there was no reason not to. Thomas had caught both pike & walleye before but his daughter was new to this fishing and had not. Within minutes of the lines being set, a reel fired and she had her first Canadian walleye. Not only was it her first, but it was much bigger than anything her father had ever landed before! I held it for her while several pics were taken and then released it back to the water. Nice starter fish!

I was pretty sure we were going to have a great day with overcast skies and a good chop on the water. The reels were firing often throughout the morning with both northerns as well as good walleye being caught. Katie was having a blast reeling in both and many fish too! Although I did have to work a little harder at locating them, they were quite active. Her father also managed plenty of good fish and I think he even landed his largest walleye as well. Katie still had bragging rights with hers though as well as the biggest pike too.

We had trolled for several hours now and were into the afternoon when I decided to switch it up and get them both a slam. I packed away all the rods and pulled out some lighter spinning rods for them to use. Off we went in pursuit of the smallmouth bass!

Katie had caught bass before but only largemouth and was in for a treat. She was about to feel the strength of a bass on steroids! I explained to them what to do with the soft plastics and had them casting over shallow rock flats in search of the brownies.

It didn’t take long before Katie was fighting a nice big bass. I could see by the way she was struggling that this fish was more than she expected. It fought hard and peeled line from the reel several times before I was able to get it in the net. Her first ever smallie and an official slam for her today! I didn’t want to keep the fish out of the water too long as it had swallowed the hook and I had to perform surgery. The technique I have for removal is great but immediate release is imperative! Sorry Katie, no pics this time!

Shortly after the release, Thomas was hit and he too managed to fight a nice smallie of his own. Within 10 minutes of stopping for bass they both had completed their grand slam in Canada! Unfortunately just like his daughters fish, this one had also swallowed the bait and no pics were taken. It didn’t matter though as there were plenty of others to be caught!

I covered the area looking for more and managed to put them on a few other fish. I had also wanted to try another place a little further away and saved enough time for the last spot of the day. Off we went, hoping for bigger and more!

The winds had kicked up some and we were out in the open on this place, fully exposed. I zoned in on the key area and anchored up with the electric motor right where I needed to be. Almost immediately, Thomas was hit and with bent rod once again. He was absolutely loving the bass and landed several more in the time remaining. Katie also landed a few but also lost several others on the hook set. It didn’t matter though as they were having a great time.

Sometime around 3:45, we decided to call it a day and head back to the dock. One last cast and Thomas almost had his final fish of the day. Unfortunately a missed strike had him ending it without. He had caught plenty though and wasn’t disappointed!

Today was not only a great day of fishing but it was an excellent way to introduce Katie into freshwater fishing. She had landed so many fish and had a fantastic time on the water, in the company of her father. I’m sure this experience will have her wanting more father daughter outings for other species as well. She’s already talking about steelhead fishing and I think it will happen pretty soon. Either way, they will always remember the day they both completed their first Canadian Slam!!