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July 29th 2018

 

After spending a couple of days on Lake Ontario for salmon, I was back on the water this morning with a couple of clients. Joel & his son were in from the UK and about to experience the time of their lives!

We wasted no time heading to our first spot despite the rollers from SW winds. After being on the big pond, these waves were nothing! A quick orientation on the rod holders and they were ready to catch fish. Joel had fished plenty but his son Theo was pretty new to everything and was handed the rod when the first fish hit. He brought to net a small northern and it was also his first pike ever!

We trolled around the area and managed a couple more fish, including a nice keeper walleye and then it happened. One of the reels fired and Joel was into a big fish. I could tell by the way it was fighting that it wasn’t what I was use to seeing and brought the other two rods in for the fight. Confirmation was soon made when we saw the fish and he couldn’t believe the size of this thing. He was hooked into his first, ever seen, musky! After a while I was finally able to boga grip his catch and brought it aboard for a few pics. We released it soon after and watched as she made her way back to the depths. I told him it would be all downhill after that fish but reset the lines anyway.

We covered lots of water and I managed to put them on plenty more fish. Both walleye & pike were landed throughout the morning and some of them were pretty good size! All these fish were new to both of them and Joel already had his first Canadian slam. I was pretty sure I would be able to get his son one as well by targeting the smallies, little later in the day. In the mean time, we were focussed on the task at hand and that was trolling the area we were in.

We continued searching for more big eyes and both of them landed several before I decided to switch it up. I had wanted to leave some time to drop shot deeper water and try for a few smallies. I pulled the lines, packed everything up and headed elsewhere.

I stopped on a shoal in the middle of the lake and prepped the rods for them. I also explained what would happen and how to set on the fish when they bit and we began. On the first drift they both had bites but were unable to monopolize on them. I was also fishing some to show them what was needed and landed a couple of small walleye from this area. They were however about to catch on real quick!

After a couple of fishless passes, I moved over to another rocky area and Joel immediately was tight to a crazy smallie. It leaped 3 or 4 times while he fought it before I finally managed to get it into the net. It was also his first ever bass and made for his fourth species today. I really wanted Theo to experience this as well and worked with him until he was able to hook up one of his own. He finally caught a nice bass and obtained his first Canadian slam as well. A little while later he hooked into another and landed this one to take the lead. It was now 2 to 1 but it was going to change! They both had multiple chances in the remaining time, but his father was able to bring a few more in the boat before we were done.

Today was both an excellent day and a great learning experience for Joel and his son Theo. They had gotten to see a couple of different techniques and landed all kinds of fish while doing so. Apparently back home the fishing is so bad that this was more than they could land in a year! To me this was just another average day on the water, but with a bonus fish of course! I guess we’re just blessed with the fishing over here!!

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July 26th 2018

 

Another day of great fishing was had today by Mafhoud and an unknown fisherman. He wanted to remain unanimous today so no pics of him!

We started off once again trolling and managed to catch plenty of fish. Northerns, walleye and even a few largies fell victim to our offerings. Mafhoud didn’t believe we could catch fish in the heat, but we proved him wrong. Both of them had a slam before we even changed locations!

After trolling for most of the morning, we switched it up and went casting for bass and they managed to boat plenty more fish. Although mostly smallies, Mafhoud did manage to land a really good largie on soft plastics. This thing was a giant!

They casted for almost 2 hours before deciding to take a break. We were going back trolling in hopes of some more big fish and they weren’t disappointed. First fish was a really nice walleye, larger than anything they had caught so far today. Fortunately it was Mafhoud that landed it and I was able to take some pics. They also brought in many more pike and a couple more keeper walleye that were going home with them tonight.

Late in the afternoon, I noticed the skies darkening in the distance. A quick check on the radar showed a small storm cell that would pass us by and I kept at the fishing. They continued catching plenty more fish in the remaining time we had and we never got wet either. I could see the rain falling heavy on other areas of the lake but we were spared . It was nice to remain dry after yesterday’s all day rain!

By 4:00 we decided to call it a day and returned to the dock. As with all days lately, there were huge numbers of fish landed with plenty of big ones in the mix. Mafhoud had four firsts today with pike, walleye and both smallmouth & largemouth bass. He got to experience the best fishing he had ever seen and all of it in the summer heat. I think he now realizes that adapting to the time of the season can provide countless hours of great fishing, no matter where you are. Fish have to eat! I think I’ll see him again soon as he’s talking about bringing his son out the next time we meet. It’ll be great because I’ll be able to take more pictures, when he returns! Hopefully he’ll have an even better day on the water the next time and his son will get to see what fishing is suppose to be like. More great days ahead!!

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July 25th 2018

 

Herman brought his family out today, on likely the rainiest one of the season so far! We hooked up at the usual time and headed out in rough water to our starting spot. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining, but it wouldn’t be long!

Just before we arrived, the rain began and as soon as I stopped, the roof went up. It would at least protect us from most of the misery today. With the winds blowing pretty hard though, it would still be coming in the sides. Rain gear would be needed as well, but mostly for the lower body!

With the bimini top up, I set the rods and instructed them on what to expect. We would be trolling once again and I needed them to be able to get the rods out of the holders without struggling too much! As usual, it didn’t take long before Herman reeled in the first fish of the day. He brought to net a decent pike as the starter fish. A short while after, another pike came aboard by his wife Laura and things were beginning to look up.

The winds were blowing from the SE putting a good chop on the water and the rain was coming down sideways. Although the top kept us from getting soaked, we were still feeling the mist from the rain at times and I had to give a pair of bibs to Laura, as she was mostly in the seat. Despite the rain, the fish seemed to be cooperating and I was picking at them pretty good. They had already gone through a couple of rotations in no time and a few of the fish were decent walleye too. Both Hunter & Cole had managed to land good sized northerns and were hoping for a few quality eyes now. Their mother had boated the largest eye so far but I knew it wouldn’t hold up for big fish of the day!

Today was a strange one for weather as extremely heavy cloud cover kept an intermittent rain falling throughout the morning. The good news was that at least it wasn’t cold, as the winds were pretty warm. High humidity had me putting on and taking off the rain jacket several times during the day, but at least the fish were biting!

The morning passed by quickly with lots of fish being landed by everyone. As we got into the afternoon I found myself covering even more water in search of bigger walleye & pike. Several double headers were seen with a few of the keeper walleye being put into the livewell . I wasn’t sure if they would be bringing them back but we could always release them afterwards, if not! It turned out later that it was their lucky day, as Hunter released all of them back to the lake!

Laura already had big walleye of the day so far and when her turn came back up, she managed to land an even bigger northern. Not to be out done, both her son Cole & husband Herman each landed one about the same size as well. Competition was fierce but mostly from their youngest son, Hunter. He was trying to lock up all the categories including big perch of the day.

With time getting on and the rain still continuing to plague us with the winds, I made one last attempt at getting some bigger fish. I headed out to slightly deeper water and worked an area that had put some huge fish in the boat lately. When Hunter’s turn came around again, he managed to bring a really good walleye to net that he thought might give him big fish in that division. He also had the last fish of the day, but his brother took him out with a pike shortly after.

I decided to take the top down with the rain stopping and we were even luckier to have had the winds lay down as well. This would make for an easy run back to the dock when we were done. With minutes remaining, Laura was up and one last reel fired! She wasinto the biggest walleye of the day now and it was also the last fish. Two categories in just seconds! I couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up the day than with her big fish. They definitely ended on a high!

The run back was smooth, but as we neared the ramp, clouds just exploded on us with violent rains. I had hoped to get back before the skies let loose but unfortunately we weren’t that lucky. It poured so hard that the auto bilge actually kicked on and most of them got soaked. The water coming down the ramp was like a mountain stream as well. This was some serious rain falling!

As with most of the day, the downpour eventually let up and allowing me to take the boat out comfortably. They may have been wet but they had the best fishing of their lives, catching all kinds of big fish today. Everyone left with plenty of memories along with loads of pictures from all of the great fish they landed. I’m sure they will be remembering this day for a long time!!

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July 25th 2018

 

Cameron & Andy had the pleasure today of fishing for something new. Being from Africa, they were use to saltwater fish and were looking forward to catching a few new species. I knew they wouldn’t be disappointed!

We hooked up at the usual 7:00 time and headed out in a big SE wind. It was also blowing three footers directly on the ramp, making for a tricky launch! The run to our fishing area wasn’t too bad, even with the big waves. This Ranger really makes for a great ride!

I set the lines and gave the usual orientation on rod removal and began the troll. Within 3 minutes they both had landed their first northern and they were well on their way to another freshwater slam! Andy had flown all the way from Africa to visit his friend Cameron that now lived close to Toronto. They were staying in Montreal for a few more days and then heading back to Ontario to where Cameron lived for a couple more weeks. I wanted to make sure they landed as many fish as they could and trolled through all kinds of great looking water to do it.

Although they had now landed many northerns, I was still searching for some quality walleye for them to catch. The waves were pretty good with these big winds and I thought this would make it even better. I finally hit on an area that began producing fish and some pretty good ones at that. In no time they both managed to bring several nice over eyes in the boat but all were released due to their size. I had hoped to get couple of keepers for them to bring home but continued to hook up on only larger fish. Not a bad problem to have!

After countless fish throughout the morning, the overcast skies finally gave way to some sunshine in the afternoon. This also helped the fishing somewhat as they were finally able to put a couple of keeper walleye in the livewell for their dinner tonight. Along with these walleye, they still continued catching much bigger ones too and Cameron completed his slam by landing a huge largemouth bass as well. He had never seen one other than in magazines and on TV and was really happy to finally catch one this size. While trying to take pics of his fish, we had a little fire drill with multiple rods going off. So much so that I had to put the largie in the livewell, just to net all the fish they were catching. Each time I managed to get the lines back in, another reel fired and I had to wait again. Nobody seemed to mind as they caught 6 more fish in about 5 minutes time! Eventually I was finally able to take a few pics and he released the bass afterwards.

Andy had wanted to try for some smallies late in the afternoon and after many more pike & walleye, we switched it up. I headed closer to shore where I knew they would be able to get into some decent fish and they weren’t disappointed. Despite the overcast that had returned, I was able to find what I was looking for and they threw soft plastics for the fish in this area.

Cameron was the first to hook up but unfortunately the fish had all the control. After a couple of jumps it finally bounced off the big engine and was gone. He realized at that moment that these things were out of control! They weren’t like trolling pike & walleye, they were just mean! Andy had similar results up front when a big one took his bait twice and both times he missed it due to a light hookset. Things could only get better!

We didn’t really have much time left in the day and I wanted both of them to land some of these smallies that they were losing. I instructed them on what to do a little better and made them aware of a solid hookset. Next time the bass hit, they would hopefully keep them pinned!

By covering the water slowly they were both able to get into several of these bronze beauties but still managed to lose more than they hooked. Fortunately some of the better sized ones made their way into the boat before we had to go. Andy landed a couple of really nice ones and Cameron did as well. He even caught another walleye from the same area as an added surprise fish!

Right about 4:00 we called the day and I packed everything up for the run back. It would be a lot more pleasant than this morning as the lake flattened out almost completely. We had a little rain fall earlier and the winds just died afterwards. Smooth riding all the way back to the dock now!

This day was another great one filled with lots of fish and these guys enjoyed themselves immensely! They had caught loads of pike & walleye and slammed on bass in the end. Andy even managed to land a huge perch casting for smallies that gave him another species as well. Overall, they couldn’t have asked for anything more!!

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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!!