Désolé, cet article est seulement disponible en English. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

August 18th 2018

 

This morning I had the pleasure of fishing with another group of four. Gardy brought along his wife and treated his in laws to a day on the water. They were in for a great day!

By 7:30 we were heading out in a NE wind that put a pretty good chop on the water. I immediately ran to an area to troll, setting the lines in hopes of our first bite. Within 5 minutes they were into the first of many pike of the day and loving it. They had wanted to bring a few fish back with them and the northern went right into the livewell.

I trolled all over this place, but only managed to pick at the fish. I wasn’t use to only a few bites and eventually moved away and to a newer area. It was here that the reels began to fire and we even had a couple of doubles. Although mostly pike, there was one really nice, over walleye that had to be released!

With the end in sight, I kept at the troll, all the while hooking into more northerns. With only a few more minutes left, the long line screamed and we were into our last fish of the day. Little did anyone know that it was also the biggest! We had stumbled onto a small musky and I had to clear the lines to land this fish. With all the nets too small I was also forced to boga it in order to bring her aboard. Now that’s how you end a day!

They may have only had a short period to fish, but everyone had a great time catching plenty of northerns. Raymond even brought a few of the bigger ones home with them, for their dinner tonight. The highlight of the day however would definitely have to be when his wife brought her largest fish aboard right at the end. This would be a day they would remember for a very long time!!

I picked up my afternoon group when I dropped off the morning party and headed out to new areas to fish. Peter was back with Mila and his grandson Adam, for another day of fishing. I had two of them this past week and Adam landed loads of fish. They were hoping for another equally good day today!

I began with a little trolling and picked an area that had produced in the past. Unfortunately with this NE wind there were all kinds of floating weeds, making my work more complicated. I was having to clean the rods, almost in rotation. Although I tried to get out of them, it seemed almost impossible. After one bass, one walleye and only one pike, I just gave up. Time to go elsewhere! This morning had plenty of weeds as well, but nothing like I was in now. I was going to make a long run and start where I had ended.

After a bumpy ride, we arrived and I began setting the lines. I had only gotten the first rod in and was about to work on the second when it screamed. Now that’s what I’m talking about! It took less than 30 seconds and we were into another fish. Adam reeled in a pretty nice northern and I finished setting all the rods. Hopefully there would be more!

For a couple of hours we trolled the area and plenty of rods were bent. Although they didn’t land any more walleye, Adam did have at least one or two hooked. Unfortunately they came off on the way to the net and pike were all he caught.

With a little time remaining in the day, they wanted to try for bass. I pulled all the lines and made a move to what should have been a very productive area to fish. To my surprise, it didn’t show any signs of life and we never had a single hit. I quickly relocated to another spot nearby, hoping for much better results!

With everyone on soft plastics, we drifted up current with the NE winds and both Mila and Peter missed a couple of chances at fish. Towards the end of the drift, I set into a terrible strike and surprisingly hooked into a nice bass. I quickly handed the rod to Adam and he fought the fish perfectly. We finally had a sign of life and confidence grew!

I had noticed on the drift that there weren’t a lot of fish up on the flat and decided to try something different on the second drift. I hit the edge and held with the anchor mode on my electric motor. First cast to the deeper water and Adam was battling another nice smallie. I instructed the others as well on where to cast but they weren’t as fortunate. Adam on the other hand, hooked and landed two more on consecutive casts. He was on fire!

I don’t know if the fish just got smart or if we ran out of them but the action stopped and we were forced to move once again. With time running out, we only had about 5 minutes before we were done and unfortunately no more fish were had. I packed up and readied for the run back to the launch.

This afternoon was a little slower than I’m use to but there were still plenty of fish landed, by Adam! I will be back out again this week with Peter & Mila and hope to get them into some really big ones. I will concentrate my time on hooking them up with sturgeon and possibly musky. Hopefully they will cooperate, making my job easier. Either way, we’re going big game hunting!!

Désolé, cet article est seulement disponible en English. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

August 16th 2018

 

Olin was with me for a half day morning trip, looking for some action. As usual, I wasn’t worried about catching fish and headed out to start with a little trolling. His wife Cindy was also along, allowing me to use an extra rod, increasing our chances of hooking up.

A quick run to our starting spot and we were fishing! Within 5 minutes, the first reel fired and a small northern was landed. Minutes later another one of equal size came aboard and I knew there would be plenty more before we were done.

I was covering a trench area that had been holding some big walleye lately and really hoped to encounter a few of them on the feed. One northern after the other was taking our baits and several doubles were had on simultaneous hits. Cindy really didn’t want to reel any of them in so I just kept passing the other rod to Olin after netting the first fish. Eventually he did land a walleye, but it on the small side and would have only been a keeper. Today it was not going to happen as I was pressed for time and wanted to leave enough to be able to go for smallmouth. After several more pike, I pulled the lines and headed out.

With a little over an hour left in the morning, I brought Olin for some bass. Soft plastics were what we were going to be using and I was also going to fish and pass the rod when I got bit. Minutes later, I felt a pick up and gave the rod to him. Although he did have the fish on briefly, he really didn’t set the hook and it came unpinned at the boat. Too bad as it was a really good one! We covered the area thoroughly and unfortunately only came up with a few more, along with a couple of missed strikes. One more move to another area nearby had similar results with a few more being landed before we were done.

Half days are always tough as there never seems to be enough time to cover the water I need. Although plenty of fish were landed, it would have been nice to hit a few more areas before we had to leave. I’m sure there would have been many more smallies landed!

Despite only fishing for about 4 hours, Olin still had a great time boating plenty of fish. Without even realizing it, he had landed three different species. The small walleye and bass he had caught gave him the three he needed for the slam! This morning turned out to be a memorable one in Canada, being all the way from Arkansas! Another happy customer with another great day of fishing!!

Désolé, cet article est seulement disponible en English. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

August 15th 2018

 

I had two trips scheduled today with the morning seeing Mila, Petra and Adam. Both Mila & Adam were with me last year and back again looking for more action. Adam wanted to just catch fish so we headed out to do a little trolling for pike & walleye.

With only a half day to produce, I decided to go where I knew the fish would be. Within a few minutes, the little guy was locked up and fighting a nice northern pike. For almost three hours he would be battling many more and loving every minute of it. Mila was just chilling, letting his grandson land everything but I wanted Adam’s mother to bring a few of them in herself. The next reel to fire turned into a double and she finally got to fight a fish too! With both mother & son locked up, I took this moment to snap a couple of pics. I always love bent rod photos!

Most of the morning was spent trolling up pike but a few keeper walleye were also brought to net. I wanted Mila to fish as well and eventually left this area to change it up and do some drop shotting. This way I knew he would have to fish!

We had run closer to where we launched and I wasted no time getting the lines wet. The winds were actually favorable for a change and with three lines in the water, I knew it was only a matter of time. I had been marking some fish but mostly smaller ones and several of the walleye confirmed it. They brought a few really small ones to the boat and I soon made another move. The next area did produce one bass and several more tiny eyes and another relocation was made once again.

With the winds picking up some I checked the radar and noticed a storm approaching. I hoped it would hold off before I had to run back, but it didn’t look good. A few minutes later, it didn’t really matter as I took Petra back anyway. She wasn’t feeling well in the waves and I wasn’t too far from the launch We dropped her off and headed back out for the remainder of the trip.

With less than an hour to go, we concentrated on one specific area and they boated several more small walleye. Mila did have a few nice smallies on, but unfortunately they threw the hooks when they took to the air. Time to go!

As soon as I arrived back at the ramp I could see the afternoon guys waiting for me. I quickly said goodbye to Mila and Adam knowing that they would be back again this Friday for more action. I was hoping on taking them for sturgeon, if the weather cooperated!

Brett and his son Jason were my guests for the afternoon and I only hoped the weather would hold off. A quick glimpse on the radar again, saw the storm moving south and barely clipping us along its path. I crossed my fingers as we headed out in pursuit of Jason’s first fish!

As soon as I arrived, I set the three lines and began searching for pike & walleye. It seemed like forever before we had our first reel go off but in actuality, I think it was only 5 minutes. I have been so spoiled lately that some days I have a hard time getting the second rod in before the first reel fires!

Jason was into his first fish ever and eventually it made it into the net. He was officially hooked for life! A few quick pics later we resumed the troll, looking for more. Although a little slower than I had hoped, the weather was seeming to hold off pretty good. We did hear one clap of thunder in the distance that had me a little nervous but that was it. I had purposely left my rain gear on so as not to jinx us and apparently it worked. We stayed dry and soon the sun even came out allowing me to remove all the extra clothing, safely!

Back to the task at hand and I had Jason locked up again several more times in the next couple of hours. Most of the fish were northerns but he did manage to land and lose a couple of walleye. The fish were biting a little strange with the weather being so nice and either short striking the baits or just falling off completely in the net. We had flat calm water and were now in bright sunshine forcing me to raise the roof for some shade. It was back to being scorching hot and the no wind thing wasn’t helping either!

Brett had decided that they would be calling it a little early so for the remainder of the day, I focussed my attention on one little area that was producing. Jason was catching fish and I wasn’t going to leave until we were done!

With double digits having been landed by the little guy, he was all smiles as I packed everything up and readied the boat to leave. It was just after 3:00 and they were scheduled to be somewhere by 3:30. We were done!

Back at the dock, they decided that the walleye in the livewell would get a chance to live. They had planned on keeping it for dinner but really didn’t have the time needed. This was one lucky fish as I really didn’t want to clean it either. They released it back to fight another day!

Today was another great day filled with plenty of fish once again. It was even better because I got to see two young kids enjoy themselves doing something they love. It sort of reminded me of when I was their age and spent time pursuing my passion. With any luck they will continue theirs as well and carry it on into the next generation. Another great day on the water!!

Désolé, cet article est seulement disponible en English. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

August 14th 2018

 

Another group of four enjoyed their day on the water again today, filled with lots of action. Two were local but the other two were in from Italy. I was about to get a lesson in another language that I didn’t really understand. Oh well, it would give me plenty of time to focus on the fishing!

I had opted to troll once more with this many bodies in the boat and got the lines in quickly, once we arrived. Well it didn’t take long before two reels fired and we were off to the races! Their Italian guests were into their first Canadian pike, but it wouldn’t be their last. Throughout the morning everyone would have their fair share of these toothy critters. Along with them, there would also be several decent keeper walleye and a few overs too. One of them even landed a pretty good smallie that somehow moved into the pike & walleye area to feed.

The morning passed by quickly with John feeding everyone in the boat. He even made espresso coffee for them several times with his portable burner and special pot. We were like a travelling restaurant on the water!

At one point in the morning I was forced to raise the top with the drizzle we had gotten and was glad to have done so. Eventually it came down a little harder, but everyone stayed dry! When it did pass though, the sun came out and it became a scorcher, so the cover was a welcomed addition for two reasons.

All the while reels were going off constantly and numbers of fish were seeing the net. Well most of them were as one of the Italian guests released many before they reached the boat. I don’t think he understood the concept of Catch & Release! Either way, plenty of fish were still caught by everyone.

Eventually in the mid afternoon sunshine, things slowed down as usual and I decided to change it up some. We were going to go for smallies and I packed up the trolling gear and pulled out the lighter rods for them to cast. They were really looking forward to getting into some bass on soft plastics as we ran to the next spot to fish.

I decided to give them an example of how to fish these baits and as usual, had one on the first cast. Unfortunately it came off before I could get it to the boat! Once these guys got started it was one miss after the other. Everyone lost at least two or three fish before they slowed down on the hookset. I think John had the first fish up front and it started the ball rolling. By the time it was all said and done, they had landed over a dozen fish from this one small area and missed many more than that too!

These guys had experienced what everyone else has lately and landed plenty of fish. They all had slams as well with the pike, walleye and bass they caught. This was a great day all around and catered by John with the amount of food he had brought. Nobody went hungry as I think he fed them every couple of hours! The espresso coffee they had was also a new thing in the boat for me. I’m just glad I didn’t have any as I’m already wired most days anyway! All in all this was a very successful day on the water and everyone left totally satisfied. Just another great day of fishing!!

 

Désolé, cet article est seulement disponible en English. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

August 13th 2018

 

Another day filled with great number of pike and walleye and an unexpected, exotic species! Kajal had wanted to do something special for her fiancé and booked a surprise fishing trip with me several weeks back. She didn’t even tell him where they were going this morning until they met me at the dock. They were both in for a great day!

With the trolling bite so good lately, I wasted no time setting the lines and getting started. I quickly instructed them on what to expect and it didn’t take long. Within 5 minutes we had three pike landed and I knew there would be plenty more!

I covered water looking for the big walleye but up until now, all we had were numbers of northerns. Throughout the morning we never went long between pike and once the clouds rolled in, things started to change. We had only sunshine and now with the overcast, the walleye began to bite. It’s crazy how one little change can affect the fishing!

They had wanted to take a few walleye back with them and we had no trouble catching their dinner. In fact, they also threw a few back, both overs as well as keepers!

I was covering all depths of water and decided to try a little shallower with the darkened skies when one of the reels just screamed. Kajal grabbed the rod and we all saw the fish take to the air in a spectacular leap. It was a huge bowfin and battled her right to the boat. These things are mean and it really didn’t like the boga in its mouth! It made for a great pic and she also had her slam for the day. It’s always nice when you get into the exotic species while fishing for something else!

The afternoon was nonstop as well and we were quite comfortable under the roof in this heat. The sun was in and out of the clouds but by late afternoon, just out. With very little wind it would have been hell if we didn’t have some sort of shade to fish under.

This was another day loaded with all kinds of fish and I was happy to share it with them. They had both caught tons of northerns as well as some really nice walleye and couldn’t have asked for more. Well more was what they got when I invited them to a local restaurant to eat some of their catch. They gladly accepted the invitation and we soon prepped to leave. Several fish later we were on our way back to the dock to take out. They would be coming back with me and I was going to filet the fish before going out to eat.

Seeing as how there were three walleye to clean, I decided to keep one aside for them as well. They didn’t need all of them tonight and would be able to enjoy a meal on their own where they were staying.

Good times, good company and great fishing was what we had today! The restaurant was just the icing on the cake, so to speak. In fact they even had a complimentary desert for their recent engagement. I don’t think they could ever have imagined such a fantastic day, when they woke up this morning. Right from the start to the very end it was just filled with all kinds of great memories. They will be leaving Montreal fulfilled and not just from all the food they ate tonight!!