NewHips

Looks like another fantastic trip......some great pics as well. Thanks for sharing.

I will keep you and your family in my prayers, life is a rocky road for sure.

I take my Nexus 7 with us on all our trips, 3 years now and still as good as new. Plenty of free Apps on Google Play. Great battery life,with a $3 adapter and a $3 App you can plug a external flash memory into it and transfer files.....I bought the 32Gig, but really not necessary since you can buy additional storage pretty cheap. One thing to consider is the tablet compatible to connect or add additional storage.

Thanks for sharing your season........nice video.

Thanks for posting, looks like great Fall fishing.

Great shots.......can't wait for the full report.

Thanks for another great report..............................

Great job................it had to be a blast

Thanks, everyone................this trip will be hard to top, that's for sure. I'm in the process of adding my 3 day trip report from Hearne Lake, not quite as exciting as this one.

Wow, incredible stuff! I believe you'd be hard-pressed to find a better pike fishery anywhere in the world based on this report. Did you spend any time targetting other species?

Well, they do offer a Lake Trout trip, which I believe is pretty far from camp. I tried for some Walleye, but was the only one in camp to get any (3). What was surprising is that the walleye weren't in the river. Although most people really don't fish for them, one of the guides said he had never caught any near the rapids. Maybe just a spring time spot?

After some research on my part, I finally had it narrowed down to Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge or Lac La Martre both out of Yellowknife Northwest Territories. After talking to various people from fishing forums, I choose Taltson Bay. Flying out of Knoxville TN. Stopping in Chicago, Calgary…….Yellowknife, 2600 miles total one way. I was meeting my oldest boy, who lives in Honolulu a couple days early, as these were the only days he could use his frequent flyer miles. The Northwest Territories had had its worst fire season in over 30 years, Since early June and the beginning of the Northwest Territories fire season, there have been 333 fires that have burned over 2.8 million hectares of land (6,918,950 acres). By the time we arrived the smoke had cleared, we talked to a local that said one day he couldn’t see more than 20 feet, the air quality index was off the chart.
Yellowknife, and the adjacent river and bay on Great Slave Lake, derive their names from the knives once used by Dene of the area. The blades were fashioned from naturally occurring
copper gathered along the northern reaches of the also aptly
named Coppermine River, near the Arctic coast. Now diamond mines are their main resource.
Day 1 Landing in Yellowknife


There were plenty of cabs around, we were staying at the Bayside Bed and Breakfast which is located in Old Town, in sight of Air Tindi the float plane base. Ate at the Dancing Moose Cafe, arctic char burger,fries and wine.My son got in after 10pm, early bed.
Day 2
Not much to do in Yellowknife, but did some last minute shopping, rested up and set the alarm for 11:30pm to see if the Northern Lights were out. They were, as Yellowknife sits under the Aurora Band.


Not to bad for my first attempt, this was in the backyard of the BB.
Day 3
Had a nice day, we walked up to Pilots Monument which overlooks the Back Bay of Great Slave Lake.


For supper we went to Bullocks' Bistro, had the Kingfisher Sampler, pricey but worth every penny. Really had a fun time, the cook looks she came out of the 60's and pics of the Caribou head and goofy hats & chainsaw. (sorry no pics). My son had the Bison Steak, excellent as well. With a couple drinks each our bill was $120. I would do it again if I had the chance.Stayed up to midnight, but the Aurora was weak.
Day 4
Our flight scheduled for 11:00am was right on time. Joining us were 5 others in one group, so 7 total in camp. We flew Air Tindi,
Flew in a Caravan, seats about 12, I believe they said it costs 3 million, really a nice plane. Flight took about 45 minutes.





That's the camp, sits at the end of the Taltson River where it flows into Great Slave Lake. It didn't take long to unpack and get out fishing. Within the first couple hours we had already popped 6 Pike over 40 inches, many fish in the 35-39 inch range.




Best for the day a 44 inch. 40 fish total, very aggressive and hard fighters.
Day 5
Cloudy and rainy most of the day, sun came out when we were eating lunch. I swear the entire week the wind would change directions every 2 hours. I had discovered the cabbage was starting to die off, a lot of the fish were out in the sand flats, maybe 200 yards or so from the weeds. I had my GPS so every time we got a big fish I put in a way-point. This pattern held up all week, I believe they were following the whitefish, so I had my milk run every day, without the GPS this was impossible. We could cast troll or drift, whatever we felt like. Big spinner baits were the ticket, Grinders, and some homemade (Rips Lures) on Ebay worked great.Buchertails, savage gear/ big plastics were excellent.One day I used a giant flatfish Crome/Chart. that was literally destroyed in 2 days. One fish tore my Savage Gear hard body in half. Big baits are the ticket up there, leave your #5 mepps at home. Double 8's and double 10's spinnerbaits always drew them in. Wait to hear about the night bite !!!!! For the day we got 9 over 40 inches with a 44.5 the biggest.

 

 

http://youtu.be/HgBo3C4zkk4

 

Day 6

Another cloudy rainy day, fishing was great, hits or fish most every cast, many doubles as well. 7 big fish in the morning with a 43 inch, 2- 41 inch in the afternoon and a 45 inch at night. Their is a after supper bite that occurs in the channel (about a quarter mile long) about 10 foot of water. Most of the guys use big Bulldawgs, I mean the magnum size, 14-16 inches long.I only had one big one with me and a couple of smaller ones (12 inches). You troll the channel until past dark. In one night one guy in camp had 9 fish over 40 inches. My son used a big Believer that brought in quite a few. Best day of fishing I have ever had.

 

 

 

Clear skies tonight.....the Northern Lights will be out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quite a day to say the least.

Day 7

Morning started off cloudy and looked like rain, the camp decided to head up the Taltson River to the Falls, a 27 mile journey. My son and weren't guided, we didn't have to go........but why not. I knew if we didn't we would be sorry.

 

 

We raised numerous big Pike to no avail...........I did manage a beautiful marked fish as we were heading back.

 

 

One guy in the group got at least 4 big ones using a Shadalicus with a 3/8 oz jighead.

 

 

 

For the day only a few fish caught, but 4 big ones,

 

 

The Northern Lights were out again.........

 

 

 

Day 8

Warm and wind died down, morning bite was good, 40 fish with 2-41 inch fish

 

 

 

 

 

For the day we got 60 fish, 9 big fish with a 47 inch at night.This one night the camp had a 49...48...2=47.....3=44...and quite a few aver 40. All I can say is WOW.

 

 

 

 

http://youtu.be/poN1v7_opY0

 

http://youtu.be/BeR5jU_K2F4

 

 

 

http://youtu.be/6xQYVPg-BS8

 

Day 9

Wind and cold all day 30 mph from the N/W.....big waves total loss of the day.

5 fish for the day with 2 over 40 inches.

 

http://youtu.be/R6J4VxRjehw

 

Day 10

Last fishing day.......I was in the Zone, for the day 75-100 fish....... 15 fish over 40 inches 3=45 in. best day ever in my fishing life. Longest drought was 15 minutes, many doubles. My Savage Gear was on fire today along with my Flatfish. The night bite was incredible, you couldn't land them fast enough. Using 2 giant Bulldawgs we boated 8 huge fish before 8:00pm. I had a monster boat side that was huge, estimating 48-50 inches, it literally broke my fish gripper in two pieces with a head spin. We had her unhooked and was ready to grip her when she broke free. A thunderstorm moved in, with hail as we headed back to camp..........What an experience!!!!!!!!!!!! We lost at least 2 hours of night bite, easily 3-4 more big fish to be had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 11

Time to pack up and say goodbye. Cloudy and cold, some sleet. Plane was arriving at 10am.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a trip.................cross one off my Bucket-list. If you want Big Pike this is the place, feel free to contact me for specific information.

Thanks for watching..................New Hips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talston is the pike stuff of legends. Will be looking forward to this report Hips. Surprised you wouldn't book a 3 or 4 day on Slave for lakers, instead of Hearne. You were already there. Although, a report on Hearne will be interesting as well.

 

Nice job on the big slobs.

 

 

Jack if I remember correctly had five faves... Talston Bay, Athabasca, Lac La Martre, Midnight Sun Alaska and Wolf Lake... but the biggest pike he ever saw was a river fish in the Yukon. Wish he was around this site to correct me if I'm wrong.

Moosebunk...............couldn't find any outfitters they shut down the end of August. That might be my next trip

Help, I did it once...........I have all videos on You Tube which icon do I hit for OFC ?

Boy you were a long way from home. Looking forward to your report.

Coming soon........got all my pictures and videos done, I will start tonight

I use a homemade rod holder, C clamp it to the front bow, use the extendable arm on my tripod with a quick realease (with ball-head swivel) 20 sec. timer.I keep the fish in the water, either net or still with a single hook lure still attached to his mouth. I find the hardest part is the focus, I try to focus on the motor or approximately where I'll be standing. I would never trust a tripod in open water and lose a $1000 camera. Thanks for the great tips...........

Just got back from fishing these two lakes, I want to put together a detailed report as soon as I catch my breath. In short summary......My son got a PB 47in pike and I got a PB 47in Pike as well, I had a bigger pike on but my fish gripper broke in half from the power of these beautiful fish. I had her boat side but could only hand grip her....... and she swam off, easily a 48-50 inch fish.
In one evening for the camp (there were 7 of us total) a 49,48,2/47,2/44 and many in the 41/42 range were landed. One of the guys had 9 master anglers in one night.
Hearne Lake..........many trout, 140 total for 3 days, 3-5lb average, really fun on a small rod. They were incredible fighters as well. Water was in the upper 40's...........Northern Lights were fantastic as we had a couple of clear nights. Here are a couple of teaser pictures.
Enjoy.......New Hips

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Great video.......Thanks for sharing

Another perfect trip, the look on the boys faces are priceless. Looks like it would be perfect place to take young boys on their first fishing trip. I'll consider this one as my Grandson is approaching 11 years old. Great videos....as usual

Next time I'm trying Jack's technique.....seems to work pretty good.

Great memories there..........Thanks for sharing

Some hot walleye action for sure.........great video

Wow.....great report, some real hogs.

Thanks for sharing

Your son should be very proud......nice pike

Thanks fishnsled.....I'll try another pic from Manitoba

First try at putting video in my reports.....and pictures..................be kind

 

 

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f225/ppankow/DSCF0250_zpsca87a9a2.jpg

About eight years ago it started getting hard to walk any inclines. After x rays my left side had no cartilage left, bone on bone. The surgeon says your right side looks like it will last for a while. Needless to say after my first replacement.....3 months later my right side dissolves to bone on bone, back to surgery. Totally pain free and very active now......I didn't have much choice in the matter.