solopaddler

That was an amazing trip Mike...the sleep depravation and long hours on the road were a small price to pay! Luckily we have the weekend to recover. I look forward to the next one...

You got it bud! Kinda glad I've got the weekend to recuperate too

OhioFisherman and Whopper, it's no surprise that we fish Ohio, you guys have the most prolific steelhead fishery in the great lakes basin at the moment.

You should definitely take advantage of it!

I've been doing a ton of steelhead fishing recently with some pretty great results. This time of year if you're willing to drive there's always somewhere that's just rounding into form, reaching prime conditions.

This past Thurs/Fri my friend Dave and myself headed south of the border for what turned out to be an epic trip.

Thursday we fished an Ohio trib and had a pretty decent day. The water was low and clear, but the lower end of the river was holding a good mix of fresh and spent fish and we did quite well. Ohio stocks Manistee strain fish in their rivers, a large robust strain of steelhead that are a blast to catch.

Here's me with a decent little dropback hen

Here's a slightly larger dropback hen I caught a little further downriver

Here's Davey battling then landing another decent hen

Couple more dropbacks that hit the bank

Probably landed in the neighborhood of 40 fish on Thursday between the 2 of us....very decent day indeed!

Thursday late afternoon we headed east back to Pennsylvania and checked into our cabin, located right on the banks of the river.

These small cabins are tailor made for fishermen. Floors are left just bare plywood so you can walk around with your cleated boots on guilt free. For 20 bucks a night it's a great little pad!

Many of these were consumed on Thursday night

Friday turned out to be an unbelievable day. As with the OH river we fished the day before, this PA river was running low and gin clear. Under these kinds of conditions fishing near the lake is usually more productive as there's more water to be found and usually fresh, aggresive fish.

It was the right choice. They weren't big fish, small mint chrome jack's in the 3-6lb range, but just full of fight and a blast to catch.

Here's Dave fighting and landing one

Here's a couple that I caught, one on the pin, another on a spinner (yes they hit hardware with fury!)

Here's Davey battling another

I hesitate to say this, but we probably landed well over 100 of these little chrome beauties between us

By the time we left Friday afternoon my arms were literally sore from landing so many!

I love it when a plan comes together!

Next week we'll most likely head north for a change of pace, maybe the Sauble......

Man I LOVE these fish and this time of the year!

Cheers, Mike

Thought you guys might enjoy this, I thought it was pretty cool

***Warning***some "adult" language due to who the competition was and how intensely they "competed"

http://break.com/index/whales_ruin_fishing_trip.html

Congratulations guys, what a great trip!

Good job Bill, nice looking flies!

As much as I love steelhead fishing, the opener will find me paddling in Algonquin Park for brook trout like I do every year (if the ice is out )

Is fishing sexy?

ooooh yeah, it's dead sexy!

Really outstanding sunset pic's, particularly like the one with the floatplane on the horizon!

Nice report bud, thanks! Micro sized Flatfish or Kwikfish, are deadly in those kinds of situations....Not that you didn't catch a bunch , but they're always good at finessing out a few more once they've seemingly shut down.

Cool! I've got fond memories of Whiteclay and that very camp.

When soloing through there a few years back a group of guys from Ohio staying at that outpost befriended me and invited me over for a steak dinner and some cold beers

Good times, they were a great bunch of guys.

OK, I'll chime in.

In 25 years of exploring the wilderness sometimes for months on end, only once have I encountered a bear, and the fact is I think I scared him more than he scared me

Most of the areas I trip in are extremely remote though, and truly wild black bears have a natural and healthy fear of man.

It's places like Algonquin, or yes, the Chapleau game reserve that you've got to be extra careful and always take precautions as far as how you store your food pack.

The Chapleau reserve does indeed have an inordinate amount of black bears....possibly the highest concentration in the province. That combined with the lack of hunting and high incidence of human/bear encounters (they've lost their fear of man) have made for a potentially dangerous situation. Case in point the young female doctor from Cambridge who was mauled to death in the reserve last year.

In general though fear of black bears while in the bush is a complete and total non issue for me personally.

The chances of actually being harmed by a bear are akin to getting struck by lightning, winning the lottery and getting a pony for Christmas!

You're in MUCH more danger walking the streets of downtown T.O.

Amazing!

If true, the most telling fact IMO, is that volcanoes produce more CO2 than all human activity....

From my end I'm fairly convinced that everything's cyclical. In my position at the weather office I have access to historical data going back over 100 years and you'd be amazed at repeating weather patterns.

All that said, man MAY not be responsible for global warming, but no one can deny mankind is poisoning our planet and harming the environment.

Awesome report and really healthy looking pike

What I find encouraging is the size of the walleyes! Back when I fished and guided on Kesagami there were tons of walleye's, but mostly on the smaller side.

Nice to see tangible results of the conservation program started by the lodge 14 years ago paying dividends.

I had heard that Bob and Marsha recently sold the lodge back to the native peoples...would be curious to know if they're going to continue with the same stringent policies.

You don't have to go to Saturn for that. There's tons of lakes in Northern Ontario that have the same status.

Actually was just about to say the same thing. I've fished many tiny lakes in the far north that have very likely never seen another angler before or since

Felt like I was there, great report Wayne!

Well done boys, looks like a perfect weekend

Way to go, great report!

Just trying to help . Sorry if I offended your sensibilities Fisherman before you had your morning coffee, time change and all..

HEY, that looks like my driveway way back in 1996, lol.

For those of us old enough to remember the dreaded winter of '77, those pic's

bring back memories!

Normally with smaller lakers I fillet them taking off ribs and skin. Dust in flour and saute in 3/4 salted butter, 1/4 olive oil. Sprinkle a little lemon pepper and dill on them while they're frying....very yummy.

But take a look at this recipe for stuffed trout, it looks pretty good:

There are many nice ways to eat trout.

Small Trout: With a small pan size trout, you can cut the head off and gut the fish. Then roll the fish in some flour. Then throw it in a frying pan and fry in some butter. When the trout is cooked, grab the backbone and pull. The whole bone structure slides out of the meat.

Filleted Trout: If you filet a trout, then take the skin off and chop into 3 X 3 inch chunks. Then deep fry with Japanese Tempura Batter. Club House, the company that brings us all the different spices and gravies also makes Tempura Batter which is what you get in Japanese and some Chinese restaurants. They also make English Style batter. Both are great with trout. Lemon Pepper Shake-&-Bake is also good as a trout batter when deep frying.

Baked Trout: My friends tell me that I make the best baked trout in the world. I graduated from Waterdown District High School over 20 years ago and to this day, myself and 13 best friend from school go on a canoe trip into Algonquin Park or do a fly-in at Twin Lakes Outfitters every summer. We catch and eat trout. I like to think that eating my trout is a big part of the trip. It's my job to clean and cook the trout so I have come up with many ways to bake trout but all the ways of cooking have one thing in common. The most important aspect is the way you clean the trout. I butterfly the trout so that the meat stays as one piece, held together by the skin. This way you can stuff the trout and have the stuffing surrounded by meat. Below is how it's done.

Catch a Trout: Twin Lakes Outfitters either have Brook Trout or Lake Trout at most of their outpost camps. It's best to catch a trout in the crystal clean waters of Northern Ontario. You can stay home and buy a trout at the supermarket but only God knows where it came from.

When you catch a trout over 2.5 pounds, try cleaning them in this way. It's much nicer to bake them this way and it's very pleasing to the eye when you present it to your friends or dinner guests. Don't be afraid to eat Lake Trout. People who have never caught a Lake Trout are the first people to tell you that they don't taste good. Lake Trout taste absolutely fantastic, especially the way we are cooking them in this article. Brook Trout even taste better.

Cut the head off and gut the fish. Make sure you have a really sharp knife. If your knife is dull, you will not be able to scrape close to the bone and you will lose a lot of meat.

Butterfly: Here is where we start to butterfly the trout. Turn the trout upside-down so the stomach is facing up. Turn your knife upside-down so the blade is facing up. Slide your knife in along the backbone (at the base of the rib cage) and cut up so that your knife slides up along the outside of the rib cage. Then turn your knife over and cut down along the backbone. You have to cut through a ridge on bones that we take out later. When you cut down, don't cut through the skin. Cut down to the skin and cut along the whole lateral of the fish right to the tail.

Do the same thing on the other side of the fish so that you have the two sides of the fish laying flat and the rib cage structure is in the middle but clear of the meat.

Then turn your knife sideways and cut along the base of the meat and remove the bone structure.

Now you have a butterflied trout. There is still two rows of bones to take out.

With your fingers, you can feel the row of bones that you cut through earlier. Just slice these bones out by cutting along the bones on both sides. Don't cut through the skin.

Get a big piece of heavy duty tin foil. Smear butter over an area which is the same size as the trout. Sprinkle salt, pepper, lemon juice and lots of poultry seasoning on the butter. Then place your trout (skin down) on the butter which is in the middle of your tin foil.

The most convenient stuffing to bring on your fly-in tip is Stove-Top Stuffing. Get the regular stuffing for turkey or chicken. When we follow the directions to make the stuffing, we substitute some of the water needed with lemon juice. We also make the stuffing a little dryer so it absorbs some of the moisture from the trout. Sprinkle some more salt and pepper right on the trout meat and then cover half of the trout with the stuffing.

Fold the other half of the trout over the stuffing. Then rap the trout up in the tin foil. What I do is roll the trout in the tin foil and then roll up the two ends so it's air and moisture tight. You don't want the butter to run out on you.

Place the trout on the grill. Don't have the trout close enough to the fire that it burns but you do want it to be hot. I would say you want the same temperature as a propane BBQ on low. If you can hear the butter boiling, then you have good heat. If the butter stops boiling, it's either too hot and has burned away or too cool.

For a 4 pound trout, cook the trout for 40 minutes. You need to flip the trout every ten minutes. After 40 minutes, you can place the trout off to the side while you cook some steaks which by the way, goes great with baked trout. At this time, the trout is cooked but it's OK to keep it warm by the fire for another ten minutes while you cook other stuff. When it's done, cut away the tin foil and then pull off the fins and the back fin. Then you have a boneless baked trout that's ready to eat.

You don't always have to use Stove Top Stuffing. Get a bottle of Kraft Sun-Dried Tomato & Oregano salad dressing. Let the bottle settle so all the oil floats to the top. Then squeeze the bottle until all the oil is out. This is messy but you have to get the oil out. Then pour what's left on a cheese clothe and drain the spices and tomato chunks out of the liquid. Then spoon all the spices from the dressing onto the trout and then put a generous helping of Parmesan cheese on the fish. Roll it up and bake it. I call it Pizza Trout.

Another good way to bake a trout is to chop up an apple and a large white onion and put into a pan and fry with some salt and butter. After you have sautéed the apple and onions, place the apple / onion mix on the trout and then put a big hunk of cheddar cheese on top and roll it up and bake it.

These methods can be used for any kind of trout or salmon. Just remember that a bigger fish has to be cooked longer at lower temperatures.

To the right is Steve Howlett holding a baked, stuffed Lake Trout. I think he ate it all himself.

Enjoy

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a few more from the day, it was cold in the am but warmed up quite nice, good to finally have the long stick out

 

mid way through the afternoon though I get the dreaded call that any parent doesnt want to get, seems my son broke his hand, knocked the wind out fast, but solo in fine fashion keep the spirits up

leaving the river talk to a guy who really didnt have any roe so I was glad to help out and gave him the rest of my roe hopefully he hit some fish too

 

Enjoy the pictures

 

 

Yeah, that phone call was a bit disconcerting, but he's tough (like his old man ), he'll be okay.

NICE JOB!!!

CUSTOM REEL????

Yep, Al Taylor pin....

Thank's everyone, it really was a great day!

Fished with a good friend today and hooked into a pile....

Here's just a few

Strictly speaking, for cold weather, you can't beat a pair of bootfoot neoprenes. That said, if you'll be doing any amount of walking bootfoot breathables are better. That's bootfoot, NOT stockingfoot. Stockingfoot waders will never keep your feet as warm as a pair of bootfoots when you're standing in ice water for any length of time.

I just picked up a pair of Orvis bootfoot breathables for $99 US ($158 Can. shipped to my door) from Adams Outlet. They're an ebay store and have a ton of these waders available in all kinds of sizes....