solopaddler

9 out of 11 days? LOL! I can sleep when I'm at home though, we always fish hard. So now you can see what you missed out on. Damn you and your crazy work schedule!

Way to go Adam!!

Rabid Walleyes And Relentless Rain Rolling over in my bunk I reached out and checked my watch, it was 5am. It had been a restless night with heavy wind howling relentlessly and occasional rain pelting down on the tin roof overhead. It was still dark, but there would be no more sleep for me. Quietly slipping out of bed I threw on some clothes and padded softly into the kitchen with coffee on my mind. The other lads filtered in one by one not too long after - the kitchen light and smell of java rousing them from their slumber. Only Chris looked rested, but then he’d shoved foam ear plugs so far up into his head a road crew with jack hammers would have been white noise. Don’t know why but I can’t wear ear plugs, they make me feel claustrophobic. Last year on another trip my buddy Joe was in a desperate state. I don’t usually snore, but this time I was - loudly. Having no ear plugs he improvised by shoving soft candle wax into his ears. It worked great until the morning when he found it impossible to remove. It had hardened overnight and was stuck solidly in his ears. Took him more than a day before he eradicated the wax and could hear properly again… Good times! To date we’d covered a lot of water and caught plenty of fish. Only problem was we’d yet to catch any big ones, but I think we all knew it was just a matter of time. Slowly we were beginning to figure things out. Discussing the situation over coffee we had very few options as the strong winds were dictating our choice of locations. It was blowing from the southwest so the western shoreline would once again be our destination. We readied the boats and just as we were about to get going Don flew in to check on us bucking the gale in his tiny Super Cub… After exchanging pleasantries he checked our gas, dropped off a few more bags of ice, fired up the water pump and topped up the tank then was gone. I’ve mentioned before that MLO is a great outfitter and they really are. Unexpected check flights like that are the norm with these guys, their primary concern being the comfort of their guests. It was time to get the show on the road. Chris snapped this great shot of us heading out onto the lake that morning with Jason “waving” at him from afar… Poking our way north up the west shoreline we began to lay a major beat down on the fish. It was still super windy but thankfully at least the sky cleared and the sun shone brightly. There are some very fast breaking shorelines on that side of the lake - water that drops quickly into 30 plus feet very close to shore. Typically that’s precisely the kind of structure I look for especially in the fall. We stopped to jig off a number of prominent points, and spent a large amount of time trolling Depthraiders next to the breaks. It was easy fishing and we even managed to capture some larger specimens. We worked our way almost all the way up the entire western shore then began to head east with the plan being we’d fish around some mid lake islands then swing back down the eastern side. Under normal circumstances I’d run quickly to a new spot not wanting to waste any time fishing useless water. This however wasn’t normal circumstances. With the wind still strong and huge rollers battering us broadside I began a slow troll to the nearest island about 1 kilometre away. We’d settled on smaller 6” Depthraider’s as our trolling lure of choice. Both walleye and pike seemed to love it and it has a thick sturdy lip great for pounding off the bottom. Bobbing up and down in the waves we slowly fished our way over to the island, in all honesty not really expecting much of anything. Watching my graph the bottom was table top flat and an almost perfectly uniform 27 feet in depth. Like my old grand pappy used to say though - even a blind squirrel can find a nut now and then. We had a depth map of the lake which was quite accurate, but not entirely. Not expecting to find any structure at all I was shocked when I glanced at my graph and saw 12 feet! Grabbing our rods out of the holders we began to reel in and at that point we hit 7 feet. I immediately grabbed my gps and marked a waypoint - there was no doubt this would be a spot. As we reeled in Jason and I both hit chunky walleye as we dragged our lures across the top of the shoal. As good as this spot was it was currently way too windy to fish comfortably, but before we pushed on I sussed things out a bit. Criss crossing back and forth in the rollers it was clear this was a big piece of rock! By my rough estimation a good 400 yards long and 100 yards wide. It topped out at 7 feet in the middle then was 8-12 until the edge where it dropped off quickly on all sides to 25 feet. Perfect! Putting that in our back pocket we motored over to the lee of the island then ultimately the eastern shoreline fishing along the way… It had transformed into a perfect evening. While the wind still blew it wasn’t unmanageable and the sun cast a golden glow as we fished our way back to camp. Every single rock pile, point and hump held ridiculous numbers of walleye and we caught fish at will. I believe anyone who’s never experienced what far north fishing can really be like would lose their minds on this lake. I filmed these two video clips highlighting some the crazy action, have a look! The other guys enjoyed similar action themselves, in fact most of the day both boats were within sight of each other. It was another festive mood back at camp that evening as we relaxed and swapped stories. After being in a bouncing boat all day it took some time before my equilibrium was restored. I think all of us were walking around like drunken sailors for a bit after reaching dry land. Anyone who’s done any amount of boating knows exactly what I’m talking about! The boys had kept a couple of walleyes for dinner and were busily frying them up outside on the point while Jason and I watched on. I know this is going to sound like heresy but I had no desire to eat walleye on this trip. It was the end of a long travel season for me and I was tired of eating fish. Trust me it IS possible to get sick of walleye as crazy as that sounds. I opted for giant bacon cheese burgers once again and Jason was on board. (Don’t forget he lives in Manitouwadge and eats walleye constantly). Rain had fallen relentlessly that night before finally clearing in the morning. While it wasn’t raining it sure looked like it might at any moment! Jason and I seized the opportunity and raced up to the northwest corner of the lake where we’d marked the shoal the day before. We rode the waves on the way there then when we arrived they abruptly died down to almost nothing. Perfect! Throwing out a marker we began a slow drift across the top of the shoal casting for pike. I was tossing a red and white spinnerbait and it didn’t take long. For whatever reason pike everywhere seem to love red and white, whether it’s the time tested Dardevle spoon or any other offering it doesn’t seem to matter much… Not long after we landed the pike I noticed something odd. Every time I positioned the boat for a new drift the wind was pushing us in weird ways, opposite to the way the light waves were moving. Obviously there were some strange swirling forces at play. Within ten minutes the wind suddenly picked up and began to blow strongly from the northwest, a 180 degree shift. “This” Jason said eyeing the horizon “doesn’t look good!” I agreed. We continued to fish the shoal for another 15 minutes and right before our eyes the ceiling closed in shrouding us in a damp chilly blanket of mist. It was easily one of the fastest shifts I’ve ever seen while on the water and left no doubt weather was on the way. By the time we packed things up in the now huge swells the rain began to fall - heavily! We tried to gut it out fishing our way back to camp in a number of protected little nooks but it was tough. Not only faced with wind and rain the temperature had also dropped. When we left the dock it was a balmy 18 celsius and within an hour of the wind shift it had dropped to 10. By 11am we’d had enough and drenched to the bone and chilled we made our way back to camp. Chris and Eddie never ones to endure hardship were already there ahead of us with a roaring fire in the wood stove. Good lads those two! We relaxed the rest of that afternoon playing cards and napping before finally at 6pm Chris said “Hey, what’s that?” The rain had finally stopped and the silence was deafening. Stepping out on the deck to take stock things didn’t look quite as grim. It was still chilly, but the ceiling was higher, the wind had abated. Scrambling to get dressed the four of us hit the water after bailing a good 8 inches of water from our boats. Fishing close to camp we didn’t set the world on fire but still caught plenty of fish. After being cooped up for hours we were all just glad to get out… Later that night it was a steaming potful of butter chicken on tap with double baked potatoes with cheese and bacon, salad and warm nan bread on the side. I’ve said it before, but we don’t suffer on these trips. Sizeable Fish And Sore Fingers That mid lake hump was under my skin. Blown off it the day before I was reasonably sure it merited more attention. Unfortunately for us the wind was blowing a gale once again the next morning from the northwest making travel difficult on the big lake. After a lengthy breakfast of bacon and eggs with lots of hot java we assessed the situation. Chris and Eddie had no desire to battle the waves and had another game plan in mind. “I think we’re going to poke around below the outlet dam again” Chris announced. Eddie always agreeable concurred “Yep, we know there’s lots of fish, why fight the wind?” It was a great plan. I never usually base my decisions on what conditions “might” be like - God knows we’d seen them change on a dime several times already on this trip. Beyond that I guess I’m just stubborn. I wanted to fish that hump again - badly! The boys headed off to the outlet bay halfway up the east shore while Jason and I dressed for the elements and headed northwest into the waves. We took our time, taking more of a circuitous route to the spot and were thrilled to see that corner of the lake was somewhat protected. Game on! We caught a fair number of fishing drifting jigs across and around the fringes of the shoal but surprisingly there were no huge concentrations. They were definitely there but not enough that you could sit on them and lay a beat down. Switching tacks a more mobile less static approach was adopted. We began to troll deep diving crank baits around the fringes of the structure and immediately began to hit fish consistently, including some really big walleye! There is no doubt we’d hit on a key pattern for larger walleye and it felt good to be vindicated… I also shot this short video of the action, have a look! By mid afternoon it was still windy but the sky had cleared. Tired of being pounded by the relentless winds I had an idea. “What do you think about hitting up the reservoir and finding the river channel?” I asked Jason. Always agreeable when it came to escaping the wind he concurred. My thought was there had to be some monster pike lurking in the depths of that wood choked water. I figured if we focused on the well defined and deep river channel and put our time in trolling some oversized deep diving lures we might poke a big one. Once on the reservoir it’s an amazing sight to see on the graph. You can clearly see the forest of trees buried when the dam was completed in 1942. The amount of fish, and giant fish to boot lurking in those wood choked depths would probably astound most people. They’ve got to be in there! Problem is it’s very difficult water to fish. We stopped at a few key spots off points and dropped our jigs down into the timber, and it was nuts. One fat walleye after another! It was also an exercise in frustration at times as it was difficult to avoid the wood. After retying for the tenth time we put away the jigging rods and turned to the task at hand - pike. Finding the river channel is easy, although it does snake around in spots and you have to watch your graph like a hawk. We trolled 10” Depthraiders for the rest of the afternoon, putting in our time for a crack at a big fish. Like I said to Jason “It’s probably going to be boring, we’re probably going to catch squat - BUT it might be our best chance at a larger fish!” As it turns out we drew a blank. We trolled for 3 more hours sticking with the program, but the big girls didn’t come out to play. I still think it was a good idea, but sometimes you draw fail - that’s fishing. What we DID catch was innumerable suicidal walleye that crushed our oversized lures and a slew of axe handle sized pike. At least we were entertained! The interesting thing about the walleye was they were much lighter in colour compared to the golden beauties on Mojikit, almost silvery. Considering the deep water we were trolling that’s not too surprising, I’ve seen it countless times before. Fish that live and roam in broad expanses of deep water are often paler… By 8pm we’d had enough and began to make our way back to camp. I fully expected that the guys would have a bonfire blazing and they didn’t disappoint. We could see the blaze of the fire from a kilometre away as we neared camp. The boys were indeed back and my prediction was correct. They’d only arrived back half an hour ahead of us and had some stories of their own to tell. Fishing on foot below the dam they caught an incredible number of walleyes and nice sized pike. As Eddie said “We were going to carry a motor over the trail and use the other boat but the fishing was too good from shore!” They worked their way downstream a fair piece catching oodles of fish and having loads of fun in the process… All was well until IT happened. Eddie was out of sight behind a point casting when he heard Chris yell “OUCH ***t!” Chris never gets overly excited. He’s got a cool laid back kind of persona and never really gets wound up over anything. Well, most of the time. Scrambling over the slippery rocks Eddie rounded the point to find the poor lad with a treble hook buried into his finger past the barb and blood streaming out… Eddie shot this short clip of the surgery. Thankfully it was easy… After bandaging Chris’s sore digit they ventured back out onto Mojikit and made a beeline for the calmer northwest corner. The irony being they made straight for the very same rock pile that Jason and I had fished earlier that same day. Ironic because on their go around they finally hit some larger pike! Just goes to show you, if you’re sure a spot is a good one, don’t give up on it. At some point the bigger fish will show up to feed!! The fish were definitely on the prod with numerous walleye hammering their oversized pike spoons! One of the smaller pike they caught was even sporting fresh bite marks from a MUCH larger predator! There’s not much question that big esox prowl these waters… Way to go boys! That evening the sunset was spectacular piercing through a gauzy layer of cloud and bathing us in a golden light as it sank low in the horizon. Perfect end to another perfect day… We had another fantastic meal, this time pasta with a thick, rich meat sauce, garlic bread and salad. I laid down on the couch at 10pm just to “stretch” and was out like a light. Waking up at 3:30am in the pitch dark I fumbled my way over to the bunk where I collapsed for a couple more hours of sleep. Guess I was tired! The Green Hornet And Goliath Pike I’ve been on a lot of these trips - almost too many to count, and the one factor that can be an issue is weather. To date we’d faced strong winds, heavy seas and a good amount of rain. As always you deal with whatever you’re faced with and forge on and this morning was no different. There was no rain, in fact the sky was brilliant, but the wind was howling overhead and the lake was a sea of white caps as we peered out of the screen porch at 7am, steaming cups of coffee in hand. Strong wind or not it was a beauty of a morning… So what do you do? In the case of Chris and Eddie you go back to the outlet dam. After such a glorious day yesterday fishing from shore they decided to go the extra mile and carry a motor and gas around the portage and use the old tinny pulled up on shore there. There was little doubt they’d do well, and as you’ll see later on that was proven emphatically… Jason and I probably would have done the same but there was only one boat so we conceded to the boys. Their enthusiasm was infections however and after seeing some larger fish brought to hand the day before we all had high spirits. With a strong southeast wind Jason and I slowly and methodically began working our way up the slightly more protected eastern shore. Almost immediately we began to catch fish! Have you ever had a lure in your arsenal that although you’ve never used it just knew would shine at some point? I had one of those with me. Digging through my tackle I pulled out a massive frog coloured #4 Len Thompson spoon. I’d bought a bunch of them a couple years previously after a friend told me how lethal they were on giant pike when he fished Cree Lake in Saskatchewan. Until today I’d never used one. Almost 5” long and well over an ounce in weight it was a substantial spoon… For whatever reason that spoon was pure magic and I didn’t take it off my line the entire day! Those that know me probably wouldn’t believe that as I’m always switching things up but not on this day! Even walleyes were hammering the darned thing as we worked our way up the shoreline. Drifting across the mouth of a shallow bay casting my giant frog coloured spoon I was having fun but wasn’t really expecting a big fish. One thing I’ve learned over the years though, if you’re targeting large fish you can’t let your guard down for a minute. When you do that’s when they’ll hit. You have to “expect” a good fish on every cast. Problem is that kind of intensity is difficult to maintain especially when you’re at the tail end of a long trip. You tend to get lazy… A rocky point marked the entrance of this bay and extended far out into the lake. Shallow jagged rocks lurked 2 feet under the surface a good two hundred yards from the point. As we drifted over this spot I hurled out my lure now called The Green Hornet and reeled it in quickly ticking it off the top of the underwater reef. I absolutely thought I was snagged - that’s my excuse. Halfway home The Green Hornet stopped dead in its tracks and thinking for sure it was a rock I raised my rod and jiggled the tip trying to free it. Twenty feet from the boat the water erupted in a shower of spray as a huge pike - well over 40 inches - reacted angrily to my feeble jiggling. I’m not sure who was more surprised, me or the pike. Shocked senseless I tried to set the hook but it was too late, she got unbuttoned. Thinking perhaps she still might be hot as I never really got any hooks into her we let the spot rest for 15 minutes or so then fished it again with a variety of slow moving soft plastics. Nada! Live and learn, although by this time I should know better. As we neared the north end of the lake the weather turned again. What was beautiful blue skies suddenly changed to massive dark bottomed thunderheads and the wind suddenly picked up blowing even stronger. “I think” I said eyeing Jason, “we’re going to get pounded!” As we zipped up our raincoats you could see a wall of water barreling towards us from the south. That was where our cabin was. Making a bold decision I raced north and ten minutes later we were at Mattice Lake’s original outpost camp at the north end of the lake. Just as we tied the boat off to the decrepit old dock the rain began to fall and we just made it! Scurrying up the weedy embankment we pushed open the door of the old cabin and entered as a virtual wall of water descended on us. I remember Red Fisher used to say “If you don’t like the weather in the north wait 15 minutes!” So true. As quick as it began the ugly storm cell was gone and 15 minutes later the sun was shining again…crazy! Back in the boat we poked around some mid lake islands catching a mix of walleye and pike before finally finding ourselves on a wind blown point that jutted prominently out into the lake about halfway up the eastern shore. I caught one fish on the Green Hornet, then immediately hooked another. While I was busy with those fish Jason caught 4 more on a 3 inch twister tail. When in Rome… I picked up my jigging rod and for the next hour we had one double header after another. Somewhat frustrated with the lack of giant pike the unearthly numbers of walleye helped ease the pain. I shot this short video of some of the action! The boys had a story of their own to tell. Carrying the motor, gas, rods and gear over the short trail they were eager to sample the water further downstream from the dam. There’s an element of adventure when you do something like that which I can fully appreciate. Even if the fishing is mediocre you have a lot of fun in the process. Fortunately for them the fishing was far from mediocre. Not long after they strapped their motor to the transom of the old boat and pushed off downstream they began to catch fish. After fish, after fish, after fish. In Eddie’s words “that day pretty much made the entire trip for us!” At one point Eddie threw his yellow 5 of diamonds spoon into a deep pocket behind a boulder and something special happened. Just like the Green Hornet Ed had been using his pet spoon almost exclusively on this trip. And why not? It worked! Time after time when I go on these remote trips I’m struck at just how naive and easy to catch the fish are. The reality is you could easily fly in with a small box of spoons, a handful of jigs and plastics and catch all the fish you want! As Ed reeled his spoon past the rock a massive fish hit immediately turning tail in the current and racing downstream. As line peeled off his drag he suggested calmly “Maybe you better start the motor Chris!” Chris did and they followed the brute downstream a couple hundred yards before finally netting it in a calm back eddy. Thick backed, long and girthy it was BY FAR the largest pike of the trip!! The lads stopped at a beach on the way back to camp to load up on driftwood for our evening bonfire. That’s one of the nice things about Mojikit, there’s mountains of sun bleached driftwood strewn about all over the place. No shortage of wood that’s for sure! Back at camp we were all in a bit of a festive mood buoyed by the great day of fishing and a rare perfect evening. The wind calmed down shortly after dinner, the sky cleared and we were able to sit comfortably around the campfire swapping stories and gazing at the night sky… Eleventh Hour Pike And A Sincere Thanks Apparently there are THREE things you can count on: Death, taxes and bad weather at Mojikit Lake. This was our last full day and to be honest we didn’t really care that much, but man this was the worst morning yet! Rain was once again falling in sheets, this time accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning. With lightning flashing all around us we weren’t about to hit the water in tin boats and start waving graphite rods around in the air. We spent the first half of the day simply cleaning the camp and doing a bit of packing. None of us expected the weather to last and if we got the worst of our chores out of the way we could then fish with no worry. Don was slated to pick us up early the next morning weather permitting so cleaning now was a good plan. It took longer than we thought, but the skies finally cleared a bit by 3pm, the rain stopped and the lightning went with it. There was a good foot of water in the boats this time and it took a while to get them bailed out and ready to go. Ultimately we did though and both boats raced up to the northwest corner to fish the humps and rock piles that had been producing so well. Eddie and Chris motored over to the closest hump and threw out a marker while Jason and I continued on to work a tiny rock pile a kilometre away. None of us really expected to catch anything of significance - you rarely do after a front of that magnitude rolls through. It was our last evening though and we’d make the best of things. Par for the course, as we approached our chosen spot the wind picked up considerably and we were soon being tossed around in the rollers again. Clipping a 6” fire tiger Depthraider onto my line - a good one for me this trip - I began to troll around the windward side of the rocks. I was on the outside with my lure and Jason was on the inside with a shallower running spoon. On this day the fish gods smiled on me. As I made the turn in front of the rocks I felt a slight “tick” and swept the lure forward quickly. That triggered a heavy hit and my rod bowed under the weight of a decent pike. It wasn’t crazy huge but it was a darned nice fish made all the more memorable because of the 11th hour it was hooked and the challenge of landing it in the rough water. Have a look! Every one of us caught some decent fish that last evening but the pike was the highlight. It was a small window too as by 7pm the skies darkened once again and rain began to fall heavily. It was a unanimous decision - time to quit! The only other notable event happened when I nosed our boat onto a beach just before heading in. Hopping out I wanted to stretch my legs and heed an urgent call of nature. Stepping over a piece of driftwood I found this humongous pike jaw buried in the sand. Having caught plenty of large gators over the years I can tell you this set of chompers belonged to one BIG fish! It was perhaps a fitting end to our adventure. We were done, but those jaws might very well bring me back. Our trip was a raging success, but there are still bigger fish waiting to be caught. Mid September can be a tough nut to crack when it comes to locating and catching big pike in the north. I’m thinking a June trip might be in order next time… A big thanks goes out to Mattice Lake Outfitters for their warm hospitality and high level of service. Thank you Don, you run a great operation! When planning a fishing trip it’s sometimes a gamble even when it comes to fly in trips. Often the reality just doesn’t exceed the expectations. With MLO there’s never any doubt involved, they are one of the best! Another big thanks goes out to my companions on this trip, Chris, Eddie, and most of all my boat partner Jason. It was a pleasure sharing this adventure with you guys and I know we’ll do it again. Cheers boys! I always film a short video tour of the facilities. I’ve already mentioned several times how great this spot is, but have a closer look, I think you’ll be impressed! Fortune smiled on us the next morning as the weather cooperated allowing the plane to land right on time, closing the book on another great trip… Hope you enjoyed the tale, until next time!

Ogoki - it’s a word that resonates within me. One of Ontario’s most storied waterways, the Ogoki River rises in a series of large lakes northwest of Nipigon then flows northeast for over 480 kilometres before finally spilling into the Albany River at the native community of the same name. Its waters teem with fish - mostly walleye and pike, but colourful brook trout can also be found in its rapids and spring fed tributaries. For me it’s a river of memories. I’ve paddled its entire length, camped along its shores and caught fish in its waters until it became monotonous. I vividly remember dragging my canoe up the north channel of the river just downstream from Patience Lake in the middle of the summer. It was a low water year and it seemed all of the fish were concentrated in the pools directly below rapids. In one spot the river flowed smoothly over a flat sheet of bedrock before dropping over a small ledge. As I approached the pool below I thought at first it was filled with bits of debris swirling around in the turbulent water. It was fish. What I’d thought was debris was actually hundreds of walleye nosed up into the fast water with their dorsal fins sticking out. For a good hour I caught fish on every cast with a simple jig and white twister tail. It’s also a river with an interesting history, perhaps none more intriguing than the construction of the Ogoki reservoir back in the 1930’s, a herculean task at the time. In an effort to divert the water flowing to James Bay south to Lake Nipigon the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario built two large dams, one on the Ogoki River and another at the outlet of Mojikit Lake. Once finished in 1942 it flooded a vast area of land including three existing lakes creating one massive fish filled body of water in the process. Prior to the construction of the reservoir Mojikit was already a large lake of substance. Unlike the reservoir itself which flooded large tracts of forest, only a bit of land along Mojikit’s fringes were enlarged. What this means is unlike the reservoir there is very little sunken timber lurking in its depths to snag a lure or lose a jig. I’ve paddled the entire reservoir but Mojikit Lake which is connected to the south via a large channel was unknown. I’ve heard plenty of stories about the fantastic fishing in its waters, but to date I hadn’t explored it. As always when choosing a fly in destination one of my main criteria is size. I love the challenge of fishing big water and in my experience there are usually larger fish to be caught. Mojikit is definitely big. According to Adam Dempsey’s research in his article on Ontario’s 30 largest outpost lakes Mojikit sits at number 13. It has over 21,000 surface acres of water and 286 kilometres of shoreline and that alone makes it impressive. In addition you have direct access to the Ogoki reservoir and another 30,000 acres of water - combined it’s absolutely gargantuan and precisely the type of large and diverse water I seek out. With the destination chosen the next question was which outfitter? There are a couple of other outfitters operating in the Mojikit channel where it connects to the reservoir, but only one in Mojikit Lake proper - Mattice Lake Outfitters. I had a fabulous trip the previous September with Mattice Lake when my group fished their Whitewater Lake camp further upstream in the system. Great fishing, first class facilities and a level of professionalism and service that may be unmatched. Already a fan it was a no brainer choosing them for our September trip once again this year. Joining me on this adventure were friends Chris Brock, Eddie Misiak and Jason Louvelle, a good group of guys and all excellent anglers. Mid September in Ontario’s north can sometimes be dicey especially if the weather doesn’t cooperate. I knew we’d be treated well and the camp would be a good one, but how would we fare on the big waters of Mojikit? Time would tell… Lasting Memories And A Northern Utopia Fortunately for the rest of us Jason left the hustle and bustle of southern Ontario behind a few years ago and now calls the small northern Ontario town of Manitouwadge home. Fortunate because we flew to Thunder Bay and rather than rent a van for the week Jason picked us up at the airport - in style I might add. Standing in front of the terminal with a mini mountain of duffel bags and rod tubes he cruised up in a brand new Wrangler Unlimited pulling a large trailer. Sweet! A large number of my trips begin at Thunder Bay and the routine has now become old hat. After loading our gear in the trailer and engaging in some friendly banter we hit the nearest Metro supermarket armed with a shopping list. Even with a detailed list it never fails to amaze me just how much food one can ring up at the register for a week long trip. In our case it was three very full carts - enough food it seemed to bunker down and survive a zombie apocalypse. Parked off to the side in the lot it took us a bit of time to sort through everything and pack it into the large totes Jason had brought from home, but we were in no rush. Soon enough we were loaded and ready to roll north. Mattice Lake Outfitters is located just south of the rail town of Armstrong Station roughly three hours northeast of Thunder Bay. The gateway to Wabakimi Park and a hub of fly in outfitters, Armstrong has long been a favourite jump off point for me and as always it feels a bit like coming home. It’s an easy drive from Thunder Bay - there’s virtually no traffic, and we rolled into Mattice Lake’s yard at 5pm under clear skies with spirits running high. I’ve said it before but these guys run a tight ship. As we entered the drive and followed the winding lane down to the office Jason marvelled at the neatness of it all. First impressions always matter and this was a good one. Don Elliot the main man behind the operation was there to greet us and we chatted briefly before settling in to our digs for the evening. Just like the year before we were staying in one of the guest cabins located right at the airbase, a huge bonus in my estimation. Just like the rest of MLO’s operation these cabins are something special. Sparkling clean, well appointed and 10,000 times better than any motel. These guys truly care, of that there is no doubt. I realize that some of this is a virtual repeat of last years Whitewater Lake trip, but it merits repeating! Just like last year there were freshly laundered sleeping bags waiting for us in the cabin for the three of us that flew to Thunder Bay. With airline weight limits being so stingy Don provided us with the sleeping bags for our trip. It might seem like a small thing but it really was a huge help. On the kitchen table was a small note for our group along with the cabin key. Details like that are noticed and appreciated. After settling in we drove into Armstrong for dinner at E&J’s diner. There’s not a lot of options in town but this place was surprisingly good. In general though the town is a lot different from my younger days when I used to frequent it on a regular basis. Tall weeds were growing up through cracks in the pavement and rough pieces of plywood were nailed up over many of the windows. It had a tired, sad feel to it like an old car left to rot in a field. Once someones pride and joy, now an afterthought. Still, if you dig deep enough there are stories. We cruised by a boarded up hotel that I remember staying at more than once in those bygone days. Back then it was a happening place, always busy and full of life. I had dinner there years ago with a lovely young female cop after creating a bit of a stir earlier that same day. I’d arrived in town after a lengthy three month canoe trip and went straight to the police station where I’d registered my route and left a small gym bag with clean clothes for the trip home. The door was unlocked so I walked inside only to find no one there. Odd because there were firearms everywhere. Obviously someone had forgotten to lock the door. Not wanting to cause any alarm but wanting my clothes back I called the OPP in Thunder Bay to alert them of the situation. Didn’t take long. Within 10 minutes a cop car came tearing up the dusty street at high speed and Karen popped out with wet hair, wearing sweats and in a total panic. That’s how we met. I’m getting side tracked now, but suffice it to say the small town of Armstrong holds some memories. Looking at the boarded up hotel now suddenly made me feel old… Life goes on especially when there are fish to be caught. We were slated to fly at 7:30am so the bunch of us were up long before that. Being an unapologetic coffee snob I busied myself with the task of brewing some java with fresh ground beans and my trusty press - I don’t go anywhere without it. Stepping onto the porch with our coffee we scanned the sky. While it wasn’t raining this morning it looked like it might. The ceiling was leaden grey and there was a stiff northwest breeze. If we were going to fly the sooner the better in my estimation, it looked as though the weather might close at any moment. Backing the Wrangler down to the dock we quickly unloaded. I knew we were overweight (not us, our gear) but figured we’d deal with the situation if need be. Don to his credit never said a word. He’s one of the few outfitters I’ve dealt with over the years where overweight cargo is taken care of with no extra charges. Thanks Don! I’m sure there is a limit but in two trips there I have yet to reach it. While helping Don’s son Austen load the plane I said to him “Sorry about all the gear, if I’d have known we’d have packed differently”. He smiled and said “I don’t even know what that means!” Understandable. What it means is last year we flew in the Otter which has a huge payload and that’s what we assumed we’d be flying in. This time however it was the Beaver being loaded to the max, a much smaller plane along with a tiny Super Cub that Don himself uses to service his camps. It all fit in so it’s a moot point, but the honest truth is we’d have brought less stuff if we’d have known. Needless to say the Beaver was a wee bit cramped as we squeezed in then roared north under the low clouds towards Mojikit Lake. What I haven’t mentioned yet is just how special the outpost itself is. Located at the south end of the lake a good 17 kilometres from the next closest camp in the Mojikit narrows, it sits on a point with a commanding view of the lake. Even better the sandy point hooks around creating a perfectly sheltered cove for the dock. Honestly I’ve never seen anything quite like it. As usual I shot a short video of the flight in. It’s worth watching as near the end the pilot banks directly over the outpost giving a birds eye view of what really is a perfect northern utopia. Take a look! Easing In Slowly And A Cauldron Of Fish As always it takes a bit of time settling into camp. Unpacking bags and coolers, organizing the kitchen, stocking the fridge and most importantly readying the tackle and boats. The camp as mentioned is a good one… While we puttered about getting things ready the plus side was the weather cleared. What was initially a solid blanket of grey overhead was now scattered puffs of cumulus cloud racing past in the brisk wind. That was the downside as the wind had picked up considerably and was now blowing strongly from the northwest. The lake, big and mostly wide open was a sea of rollers. There were however two larger 16’ Lund boats on the beach that Don had recently flown in from an older camp on Troutfly Lake. The existing fleet of boats were all 14 footers so we spent some time swapping out the motors onto the larger boats. It was a good move. Finally ready to fish at 2pm we ventured out onto the lake. To give you a better idea the lay of the land here’s a couple of maps. First is a depth map with deeper water being dark blue. Second (and I may be getting ahead of myself here) is a topo map with some of our better spots marked on it. Typically we discuss a game plan before heading out but this afternoon our main concern was simply staying out of the wind so we opted to ease into things slowly. Tacking into the waves both boats made for the west shore of the lake which was somewhat protected. Looking at the map there were a number of prominent points that begged to be fished. Idling up to the first spot Jason dropped a 3” green twister tail and caught a small pike. I dropped a plastic paddle tail minnow and caught a walleye. Then we had a double header, both chunky walleye. It was a good start and a sign of things to come. It quickly became obvious that Mojikit Lake was infested with walleyes, one of those special lakes where if you chose to you could catch them at will all day long. Here’s a short video highlighting some of the great action from our first afternoon: As is usually the case I prefer to target larger pike so we also spent some time trolling fast breaking shorelines and points with a variety of different lures including 8” Depthraiders. Considering the fact it was our first day on a large unknown body of water I thought we did okay! Eventually we worked our way over to the east shoreline and Jason caught a particularly memorable fish as the wind blew us past a rocky point at the entrance to a small bay. It was a nice fish although not super huge but he caught it on light spinning tackle and it fought like a tiger… Already pleased with our success we could have easily called it a day. It was 6pm, the sun was starting to sink low in the horizon and frankly we were beat, but some things are impossible to pass up. As we worked our way south down the eastern shore back towards camp we nosed our way into the outlet bay where the diverted water flows south to Lake Nipigon. Passing a pinch point with heavy current we stopped and jigged up a dozen or so walleye from the swirling pool below before continuing onwards. Rounding a corner we spied marker buoys and the Summit dam just beyond which Ontario Hydro uses to control the water flow. In my opinion it’s pretty unlikely the water below the dam gets fished very much - why would most people bother when the fishing on Mojikit is so good? In addition there wouldn’t be anyone accessing that water from downstream as the nearest camp is on Zig Zag Lake with several rapids blocking passage to the water upstream. We could hear the roar of the whitewater below as we nosed our boat onto a grassy landing and pulled it up on shore. Grabbing a couple of spinning rods and a box of jigs we walked around on a wide clear trail that skirted the dam. Obviously well used it was clear that hydro workers were there on a regular basis as we passed a helicopter landing pad then a small wooden shack with a pad locked door right next to the dam. It took less than 3 minutes all told and were standing at the base of the dam casting jigs into the pool below. Heavy current blasted out in the middle, but a slow swirling back eddy right in front of us was money. Cast after cast after cast we caught one thick backed walleye after another. It literally was a boiling cauldron of fish. Most often you didn’t even have to reel in - you’d toss the jig into the eddy, close the bail, let it drift 5-10 feet and BAM a fish would hit. They fought like crazy in the strong current as well, and after 50 odd fish landed we’d had our fill. At the base of the dam was an old tin boat, probably used by hydro workers, pulled up on shore. That raised an interesting possibility as the prospect of fishing the water further downstream held some allure. As you’ll see later in my tale that opportunity was seized emphatically… We pulled up to the dock at 8:30pm tired but happy. Chris was already starting a campfire with some driftwood they’d collected and the rest of us unwound with a drink while I fired up the bbq. Thick juicy bacon cheeseburgers followed by a campfire on the point under clear starry skies. It doesn’t get any better than that… Baffling Fish And Big Waves As always before every single trip there’s homework to be done. Admittedly most of the places I travel to the fishing is easy, but the key to enjoying really great angling is the ability to quickly eliminate unproductive water. Even on remote lakes there are key high percentage spots. Studying the map prior to our trip one spot jumped out: Moose Crossing on the Ogoki reservoir. There’s a pinch point here where the reservoir bottle necks down before spilling into a deep basin at the junction where Short Lake angles down from the northwest. On a body of water like the reservoir itself this spot stands out. It didn’t hurt that I spoke with a Mojikit veteran before my trip who had this to say, “Friends of mine have fished Mojikit for 10 straight years and weather permitting they make the run to Moose Crossing every day”. It’s a long run - slightly more than 30 kilometres one way, but we had to check it out. At some point during the night the strong winds had died down and blessed with a cloudy but almost perfect morning Jason and I decided to make the long run. Chris and Eddie had their own game plan in mind wanting to check out the outlet dam on the Ogoki reservoir - a run just as long as ours but in the opposite direction. Loaded with provisions for the day both boats sped north skimming across the placid waters of the lake all of us excited at the prospects. Jason and I took our time stopping to fish likely spots along the way. We were in no rush. The Mojikit channel itself is almost 6 kilometres long - a body of water than itself merits some attention. Overall though most of the channel is quite shallow and my feeling was it’d likely be more of a spring spot. We caught fish here and there on our way through but nothing spectacular. Direct proximity to deeper water is always a big plus in my books, especially in mid September. By the time we reached the reservoir the sky was perfectly clear and we were breaking out the sunblock. Stretching out before us as far as the eye could see it was an inspiring piece of water… Arriving at Moose Crossing it was an almost perfect spot. The original river bed was easily located right in the middle of the neck down with depths of well over 50’ in spots although it varied wildly. Along the fringes was a forest of flooded trees standing in 8-12 feet of water. An ideal little shelf for fish to feed then deeper water right next to it where they could slip back into on a whim. Perfect! Oddly enough on this day the fish simply weren’t there, it was baffling. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but that’s the truth. We trolled deep diving cranks in the channel, drifted heavier jigs through its depths and caught nothing. Well, not nothing - we did catch a handful of fish, but we really worked for them. Thinking perhaps they were lurking in the shallow fringes we fished that as well and once again drew a blank. I’m still not quite sure what the issue was but in talking with the same Mojikit regular after our trip the amazing fishing they experienced in that spot was always in June. Even on world class waters some spots are only seasonally good and perhaps that was the case here? By mid afternoon the wind had started to pick up, this time blowing strongly from the south and pounding fiercely into the north shore of the reservoir. Motoring across we began to work a series of small bays being battered by the wind. Not too surprisingly things picked up and we both began to catch fish, mostly small to mid sized pike but the odd walleye as well. Right at the entrance to one of the small bays there was a small patch of sunken cabbage - 30 plus feet of water on one side, 10’ on the other. Almost “expecting” something special I fired out a brown and orange spinnerbait and burned it across the weeds as the wind whipped us past the spot at break neck speed. I was lamenting the lack of a drift sock when a healthy mid 30” pike suddenly boiled behind my lure and smashed it boat side. “This” I said “is more like it!” Unfortunately the darned fish gut unbuttoned almost instantly, but maybe, just maybe we were onto something. At least that was my hope. Working that wind blown shoreline for another hour or so we caught fish almost at will, but unfortunately none of them were large. The other boys had an interesting day themselves fishing their way down the reservoir towards the outlet dam. By all accounts they did well although much like Jason and I no larger pike came to net. On the walleye end of things they did capture a number of slightly larger specimen’s and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the area… It was a long wet ride back to camp as the entire length of Mojikit Lake was a sea of rollers and we were ploughing right into them. I did my best to tuck in behind islands and points along the way but it was still a bumpy ride. Once again the other lads were just ahead of us as we finally reached the shelter of our cove and tied off the boat at 8:30pm. We were tired but it was a good tired, the kind if tired that makes you feel alive. Nothing beats long days on the water, especially on beautiful remote bodies of water in the company of friends. Pouring drinks we rehashed our day on the deck while we once again fired up the bbq. Tonight it was steak, baked potato, caesar salad and garlic bread. And let me tell you, it was good! Continued...

Thanks guys, the support really does give me hope!!! (You have no idea how stressed out I am right now LOL!)

Very cool!! I was mildly dissapointed when I opened the thread and found you weren't fishing in the town of Marathon on the north shore Superior. I used to be an avid runner, I know how tough that is.

Watching the video was like a scene out of Superbad.

You guys are awesome!

Looks chilly but fun!

Thanks guys!!! I've been trying to spread the word about this and the response has been overwhelming! It's giving me hope

Thanks again guys. I'm sounding like a broken record but it really does mean a lot. Thanks Wayne! That was our thought as well until my art director saw the shots of all the fat hairy naked guys fishing. Clothing is now mandatory.

Once again I can't tell you how much I appeciate everyone's comments! This may be the biggest undertaking I've ever tackled and it's nice to know people have your back. Thanks Shane. I'll let everyone know in early November. For those of you Stateside, yes it will be available, again I'll let you guys know how and where when the time comes.

Thanks guys, it means a lot! Thanks bud. To answer the question it's not a tagline, more a subheading for one of the narrative pieces in the mag. I thought long and hard about a tagline for the actual title "Canada Fishing Guide". I wanted one, but the art director I'm working with talked me out of it.

My uncle who is now passed away was always my biggest supporter. One of things he always said to me was "Mike, if you're really passionate about something you will be a success - follow your dream!" Well, after a lot of years I'm finally taking his advice. In many ways it's the biggest leap of faith I've ever taken and I'm equal parts excited and nervous, but the fact remains there is no reward in life without some kind of risk. I've been a writer for some time now having been published in a number of magazines including Ontario Out Of Doors. It's always been a passion, but it's also a lot of work for very little pay. After thinking long and hard about my future earlier this year I decided to launch my own magazine. More than anything the ability to do precisely what I want to do in the way that I want means everything. The magazine not surprisingly will be called Canada Fishing Guide and we'll primarily be highlighting interesting angling destinations from coast to coast along with some pretty great photography. A natural progression to what I've been doing online for several years now. Along with the travel features there'll be a good dose of what I think will be some really great storytelling - narrative pieces that will paint a vivid picture. Again, exactly the kind of stuff I like to read and I hope everyone else will too. The inaugural edition will be released in early November strictly in digital format. Going forward in 2016 it will be available in both print and digital form. I'll let everyone know what's going on as the date approaches. In the meantime here's a snapshot of the cover. (wish me luck )

I want one of those signs.

Give it to me for a week and I'll let everybody know.

Not my taste either, but wow I sure can appreciate the craftsmanship! Amazing.

Hits home for a lot of us here... EXACTLY from Rockhouse Motion on Vimeo.

HAHAHA!

Looks great! Love the huge crawl space with the high ceiling.

That's better, looks like a great trip!

You must have been in a sanctuary, look at all those posted signs!

Nice haul, well done!

Some great memories fellas! They sure grow up fast don't they? This wasn't all that long ago...

An interesting and well thought out response from Darryl Choronzey on the topic. What I took away from it was stream temps are too high when the salmon return and perhaps just as importantly they are not imprinting because of where they are stocked and the strains of fish being dumped in: The Ontario Atlantic Salmon Program Ignorance or Stupidity The Province of Ontario has been stocking Atlantic Salmon in an attempt to achieve self-sustaining reproduction not just since the spring of 1986, but as early as the late 1800’s. Tens of millions of Atlantic salmon have been stocked in their various life stages from eyed eggs, fry, fingerling, yearling, advanced yearlings and even full aged adults. The results can best be described with words such as disappointing, dismal and even disastrous. Year after year after year taxpayer dollars have funded an experiment that has shown no evidence of even minimal success. That is unless you perceive less than two dozen fish returning to a major waterway such as the Credit River west of Toronto, where millions of Atlantics have been stocked as a success. Atlantic salmon disappeared from the Lake Ontario tributaries in the late 1880’s due to river degradation in the form of dams, pollution, clearing of surrounding forests and to some extent over-harvesting. Those rivers that could not support Atlantics in the 1880’s are in worse shape today than they when those last Atlantics disappeared before the turn of the century. It’s called population sprawl and urbanization expansion and those big Lake Ontario tributaries especially west of Toronto will never support Atlantic salmon restoration. Not now and not in the future. The Atlantic salmon is not a rainbow trout, Chinook salmon or brown trout. It returns to its natal stream at a different time and demands the best water conditions that the main rivers in this experiment can never provide. Roger Greil the smartest and the best and they never called him??? Roger Greil the aquatic manager at Lake Superior State University is the only fish culturist to achieve any real form of success breeding Atlantic salmon in the Great Lakes and creating a sport fishery. Greil bases his success on three distinct reasons. -imprinting His eggs are fertilized, hatched and all fish raised and released at one site on the St. Mary’s River for maximum imprinting. - stocking size All Atlantics released at the university’s lab are held from 18-20 months again not only for maximum size and maximum survival, but maximum imprinting. -location (temperature) The waters flowing down the St Mary’s River are perfect for this type of experiment. Always cold, always clean, always moving. Roger knows more about the needs, methods and problems faced with raising Atlantics in the Great Lakes than anyone. He also readily admits that he has achieved some degree of success, but he has special circumstances present at his site not found anywhere else on the Great Lakes. He also notes that he is not utilizing Atlantic salmon to create a sport fishery first, but as a study animal in his classroom. Atlantics are difficult to rear and are not a creature to expect optimum survival either in the hatchery or once released in the wild. Roger also mentioned time and time again the fact that Atlantic salmon were adversely affected by a diet of alewife when feeding in the Great Lakes. Like most salmonids, but particularly true with Atlantics eating alewife led to thyamine deficiency, which in turn related in very poor survival from egg to fry when the fish were hatching. In fact, when alewife were the main source of food for Atlantics in Lake Huron he suffered losses from 80 to almost 100 percent. In the wild this related to almost no chance of spawning success. The Early Years- Atlantic salmon restoration has been attempted since the very first signs of their possible extinction in Lake Ontario back in the 1880’s. Samuel Wilmot first began stocking Atlantic salmon back in 1865. Since then millions upon millions of Atlantics have been stocked in rivers such as Bronte, the Credit, Duffins Creek, Bowmanville, the Humber, Moira, Lynne Creek, Salmon, the Wilmot …just about every tributary on Ontario’s north shore. Has natural reproducing self-sustaining population ever been established after more than 125 years of effort? 1987 - 2004 From 1987 to 2004 the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources embarked on a major program to once again attempt to develop a natural reproducing self-sustaining Atlantic salmon population. It proved to be another failure. Often the OMNR will attempt to explain the reason for the failure noting that adequate numbers of Atlantics were not utilized. At times they note that stocked fish were possibly too small when stocked to meet their target. The answer is simply no. Over almost a 20-year period more than 2,463,000 Atlantics were stocked. Yes, 124,920 were eyed eggs, but more than 2,200,000 were live fish ranging from fry, through to yearlings, right through to adult age classes. The fish just didn’t survive in any real numbers. In an attempt to identify any type of survival the Ministry of Natural Resources even carried out a special ‘fishing survey program’ whereby certain anglers were allowed to carry special permits to fish closed waters in an attempt to locate any surviving adults. The Atlantic catch results as expected proved to be dismal, but it certainly provided some great angling opportunities for those special fishermen allowed to angle in waters closed to everyone else in the province when it came to rainbow and brown trout, but few if any Atlantics were caught. Lake Ontario Salmon Stocking 1987 / 2004 Year Fry Fingerlings Sub Yearlings Yearlings* Adults Eggs 1987 1,009 1988 21,850 27,145 1989 51,379 24,403 1990 1,600 36,291 21,760 1991 55,195 1992 59,685 1993 15,000 39,166 19,520 1994 17,310 49,502 1995 90,286 44,744 1996 116,194 4,394 1997 138,565 504 1998 21,423 129,427 500 157 16,287 1999 13,000 164,414 274 12,036 2000 140,313 116,768 140 2001 9,131 195,437 175 2002 5,511 242,239 1,299 576 44,000 2003 5,500 123,620 84,128 338 2004 25,300 217,804 5,000 460 Totals 252,488 1,536,354 454,142 92,828 2,624 124,920 Grand Total- 2,463,356 It should have been obvious to anyone working on the program at that time that the Atlantic was proving to be one big dud. Sure there were a lot of fry and fingerlings being stocked yearling and advanced yearlings being stocked as well. Millions of fish being raised and stocked and nothing coming back. Now go back again and look at why Griel was getting results. Imprinting , stocking size, location/temperature. This just wasn’t happening in Ontario and it still isn’t. Greil’s fish again are hatched, raised and released at the same location for perfect imprinting. Greil carried all his fish over to advanced yearlings 18-20 months of age. His location on the St. Mary’s is cold and comfortable year round. At the time of this experiment, I was raising rainbow and Chinook in Owen Sound and visiting Burlington a lot. I also happened to have a high/low thermometer with me in the truck for numerous years. Many times I stopped to take water temperature upstream of the Queen Elizabeth at both Bronte Creek and the Credit. During July and August temperatures were more often than not in the low to mid 80’s. Not only lethal but chowder cooking time for any Atlantics that ever did survive and decide to try and enter the rivers. Rivers west of Toronto just don’t cut it and that was being proven. I also got similar high temperatures at Duffins and even Bowmanville during the summer months. Again, as far as I’m concerned these rivers for the most part are great rainbow rivers, but rainbow for the most part enter the tribs from late September around til late April. Atlantics are a different critter with a different date book. Summer temperatures are lethal on these fish. These rivers are not what they used to be and never will be. Not once in those 8 years did the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources attempt to contact Roger Greil to discover why he was succeeding and they were failing. MNR/OFAH Buddy Up In late 2005 or early 2006 I received a phone call from a good friend of mine ‘at the time’ named Jerry Smitka. Smitka was a retiring Ministry of Natural Resources biologist and along with Jack Imhoff another biologist was promoting a new venture being conjured up between the Ministry of Natural Resouces and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters concerning the Atlantic salmon. Jerry asked if I would support it. There was talk of old mounts on the poolroom wall. DNA samples from long extinct Lake Ontario Atlantics and even possible excursions to South America planned to possibly bring back some original genetic stock. He also asked if I would support the program? My reply was simple. No thanks. Still it was the same critter, possibly with a few genetic changes, faced with the same problems. Same old stocking practices and in my opinion the same old results would be achieved. It was and still is my opinion that the rivers and Lake Ontario would not support a viable Atlantic salmon sport fishery and would not support natural self-sustaining reproduction. Over the years there would be plenty of hype by both parties. Plenty of photo shoots with politicians that knew very little about the fish that they were carrying down to the river for the cameras. There also was plenty of talk of planting trees, turning stones in rivers and getting kids involved. There were even press releases in the early days of the program from the parties involved about the number of fish that had been stocked by the partnership. I’ve yet to see a press release on the number of Atlantics that returned to the river. The surviving fish just never materialized in any numbers to the river or to the fishermen, in the lake or the river. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and their associate experimenters also at times again passed out the permits to ‘distinct’ angling individuals to fish during the closed seasons and in sanctuaries in an attempt to find these Atlantics. These seek and search privileged angling trips were suspended under the protests of the public. Back about three years ago, I was exchanging Christmas greetings with a friend of mine, Chris Goddard the Executive Secretary of the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. As usual, the subject got around to Atlantics. Only this time Chris suggested I sit down with Mike Morencie Ontario’s new Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife supervisor. The first of a number of meetings was arranged and I flew up from Florida to meet the new head of fish and wildlife. He knew in advance that I was concerned and had been adamantly against the Atlantic program from the start. At the first meeting, I suggested that at least half the scientists involved and responsible for the program should be fired or shipped out. I also noted that the smart move would be to immediately flush every Atlantic salmon being held in ministry hatcheries at the time down the toilet, explaining that he would achieve the same results….almost zero, but save the cost of rearing, babysitting and feeding the beast. I noted that only Greil at the Soo had achieved any real success due to the all important factors of genetics, proper size at release, proper stocking, proper imprinting and the fact that the Sault Rapids have that all important ‘cold’ water factor come home in June/July and August the time when Atlantics first return to his hatchery and their release site. He also listened to my concerns on thyamine deficiency due to a diet of alwife in Lake Ontario. I strongly suggested that his staff contact the one person that knew more about Atlantic salmon than anyone in the Great Lakes…Roger Greil. Surprisingly, up until this time that I write this report, no one in the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has ever made contact with Greil. In a follow-up phone conversation I asked for the latest Atlantic return figures for the Credit River. I was given a new contact name to receive the numbers. Low and behold when I made the call I was informed I would have to wait the like rest of the press and would get the numbers in March when the release was made public. Was this Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources co-operation at it’s finest??? I immediately hung up the phone and called Mike Morencie who promised the results in a day or two. I honestly expected low return numbers of a hundred or more. To say I was shocked at what really returned to the Streetsville dam is putting it mildly. A grand total of 33 Atlantics had been captured in 2011 at the Streetsville dam. Millions of fish stocked in more than 25 years and 33 Atlantics were all that could come back to their major stocking river. But the story only gets worse. More one on one meetings were held with Mike. At times, even Doctor Chris Goddard sat in. Mike was more than co-operative. We discussed a lot of issues relating to the Atlantic program. At one sit down, the thyamine subject was brought up. Mike mentioned tests had been done and Chris immediately noted that test that had been carried out were in fact not effective for testing for the problem??? Again, I noted that no one up until this particular meeting and even today had bothered to contact Roger Greil on the problems and cures related to raising Atlantic salmon in the Great Lakes. Normandale These days, most of the public believes that Normandale Hatchery is ‘the’ home of the Ontario Atlantic salmon program. That belief is wrong. It’s just one of the homes. The problem is Normadale has been renovated mostly for Atlantic salmon, with a smaller portion allotted to raising rainbow trout and chinook salmon. Annually production of Normandale Atlantic Salmon- 400,000 4-5 inch fry 150,000 10-11 month yearlings 75,000 advanced yearlings Total Atlantics 650,000 Again, I requested and received the annual costs to operate Normandale. The reply from the Ministry was prompt and not surprising. Normandale’s annual operating cost has been established at $386,500. I’ve been raising trout and salmon for more than twenty years. With the various species, sizes, numbers and hatchery space allotment I estimate the cost of raising the Normandale Atlantics at a minimum of $300,000 of the total operating costs of the Normandale facility. The Normandale fish are all destined directly for Lake Ontario tributary stocking by the Ontario government. This being established, I asked the numbers and costs of Atlantics being raised for the so-called other groups such as the OFAH, Sir Sanford Fleming, Metro East Angler’s Ringwood Hatchery, etc? Wow! Did I get a surprise? Harwood Fish Hatchery Harwood is one of, if not the largest of Ontario’s brood stock factories. Unlike our American neighbours around the Great Lakes who utilize wild fish stocks when collecting eggs for their fisheries programs, Ontario for the most part depends on large numbers of adult brood stock for the hatchery egg needs. It’s also Harwood that is the major Atlantic salmon source of eggs, fry and fingerlings for most of their experimental Atlantic salmon needs. Again, I requested from the MNR the number of fish produced, number of brood retained and the annual cost of the Harwood hatchery. Again, Mike Morencie and Kevin Loftus the Manager of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Fish Culture produced the requested records. The first report I received was frightening. Here’s a chart from the Harwood facility that has absolutely nothing to do with Ringwood for the fiscal year 12/13. It’s just one year mind you, but Harwood has been the eggs source for the Atlantic program almost from its inception. Harwood egg/fry/fingerling/yearling output… from fall 2012 spawn Belfountain 27,562 fry/fingerlings Belfountain 31,176 eyed eggs Credit River 63,162 eyed eggs Credit River Sir Sanford Fleming 59,395 fry/fingerlings Ontario Streams 10,838 eyed eggs Ontario Streams 14,269 eyed eggs Sir Sanford Fleming 74,000 fry Sir Sanford Fleming 27,960 spring yearlings Sir Sanford Fleming 43,607 fry Ringwood 25,291 fry/fingerling Islington 46,734 fry Humber 57,881 eyed eggs Bronte 37,117 eyed eggs Cobourg Creek 38,476 eyed eggs OFAH classroom 9,950 fry Coderington Research 35,345 green eggs Total…. 602,759 You have to remember that a number of these destinations, besides Ringwood, Sir Sanford Fleming and the CRAA are also utilizing the actual fish and even eggs to raise Atlantics. These volunteer clubs end up picking up most of the funding to carry the fish over to fall fingerlings. One also has to realize again, that all Atlantic eggs and fish produced at both facilities require brood stock. Atlantic salmon have always proven to be a tough fish to raise in the hatchery, starting with the fertilization of the egg. That was the reason for my request for the number of Atlantic brood stock being kept at Harwood. When the answer came, I was again more than surprised. The number of Atlantic brood stock in Harwood consists of 3 strains, 14- year classes, which totals out at 4,544 brood stock. The ministry also noted at the same time that over at Normandale an additional 2 strains, 7 year classes which totaled at another 3,355 Atlantic brood stock. I would say 7,899 Atlantic broodstock are a lot of hungry mouths to feed for 365 days a year. Harwood’s annual operating costs were given to me at $422,835 for that year. Total Atlantic Salmon Stocked Produced at Harwood 2005-2012 Anyways, put the total of the fish raised and released at Ringwood and Harwood Hatcheries for this experiment since 2005 and 2012 and you have astronomical 4,413,858 fish and an additional 1,924,178 eyed eggs stocked as well. Total Atlantic Salmon Stocked From 1987-2012 Now add those numbers together with those stocked between 1987/2004 and we now have a total of at least 6,742,000 fish and at least a minimum of 317,000 eyed eggs stocked in Lake Ontario’s north shore tributaries since the start of this idiotic program. (all figures provided by Great Lakes Fishing Stocking Data Base) http://www.glfc.org/fishstocking/rangesearch.htm) The Credit Pitiful Returns Should Be Looked On As No Returns So where are the fish? Right from the start of this program the Atlantics have failed to survive, failed to return in any numbers to their release sites, and even failed to provide any resemblance of what could be referred to as a sport fishery. The Credit River system by far receives the largest annual stocking of Atlantic Salmon and has been the focal point of stocking efforts. In the past, the Credit has been ‘the’ river to experiment and it’s only getting worse! In 2011 more than 390,000 Atlantics were stocked, along with 144,000 eyed eggs. In 2012 the Credit received 567,919 fish and additional 439,000 eyed eggs. A simple word for this travesty…asinine! What returns have come back to the Credit? -In 2011 33 adult salmon returned to the first barrier at Streetsville -In 2012 20 adult salmon returned to the first barrier at Streetsville - In 2013 9 adult salmon returned to the first barrier at Streetsville Millions upon millions of fish stocked and 9 Atlantic Salmon come home to the Major Atlantic stocking site in Ontario! This is one of 4 Atlantics that came back to Bowmanville...it looked at the dam and died in the net before release At Bowmanville Creek, more than 11,000 chinook , coho and rainbow trout were hand lifted over the Bowmanville dam by volunteers. Out of that number only 4 Atlantics were found. The All New Oregon Weir To Count Atlantics At Duffins Creek And let’s not forget the much touted Oregon fish weir shipped from the west at a cost of $200,000 or more. Well, the high money contraption was erected and low and behold the sum total as of this November was a total of 7 Atlantic adults at the costly imported construction. Funny, but worrisome is the fact that I contacted the biologist at the Toronto Conservation Authority before the weir was delivered and inquired what his high water temperature levels were in the river close to Lake Ontario and he noted often as high as 85 degrees Fahrenheit…….duh that’s better referred to as Campbell soup water when it comes to Atlantic salmon. Wrong Rivers / Wrong Techiques: Now look back at what I said about Roger Greil and his reasons for success at Sault Ste. Marie on the American side at his university. He raises the right fish, to the correct size, imprints them perfectly and releases them at the same location. Ontario has not met this criteria at any of their locations. Roger raises, rears and releases his fish under perfect conditions. His fish are hatched, raised and released at just one site. That achieves perfect imprinting. His fish are also raised to approximately 20 months of age for optimum survival. When his surviving adults do come home they are greeted by perfectly cold water conditions due to the fact that Lake Superior empties in to the Soo Rapids at his home base. Again, Ontario is not able to replicate this at any of their sites. Ontario’s Atlantic salmon are reared at Normandale and Harwood or hatcheries at Ringwood, the CRAA hatchery, Sir Sanford Fleming or a few school hatcheries. The Atlantic yearling plus fish that go into Ontario streams for the most part are imprinted to those hatcheries. The fish raised by volunteer clubs are not reared to proper smolting age of 20 months but as fall fingerlings. In his years of study, Greil found no returns or pitiful returns from anything but yearling plus Atlantics and again they were imprinted from birth at the one release site. Just as important is the cold water factor at the Soo Rapids. This is not the case on any of the large Ontario rivers like the Bronte, Credit, Duffins or others. Atlantic salmon return to the river as pre-spawning adults in June, July and August. Those Ontario rivers are at lethal temperatures at that time of the year. Fish chowder is more the results than fish survival. With the Ontario program the vast majority of fish are stocked too young and too small for any long-term survival and then we dump them by the millions into rivers that are not receptive to the creatures. The present rivers are no way as clean or as cold as they once were when the fish went extinct back around 1887. Dams are still evident on most rivers, forests have been cut and cleared, temperature has risen and for the most part urban sprawl has either polluted them or made them lose their much-needed high oxygen requirements. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and their partner super-seed their river systems with far too many fish. Even if the young fish fail to survive long term, they will still decimate newly hatching upstream wild trout stocks that are hatching. You can only put so much water in a barrel or fish in a confined river or tributary. Millions upon millions of Atlantics have been stocked in the upper Credit and this does not help, but hinder hatching brown trout or brook trout and the fishery in that river. Common sense should have dictated smaller numbers when stocking, but common sense seems to be thrown out the window in an attempt to show some form of success for the program. Our American Neighbours As already noted in my opinion Roger Greil at Lake Superior State University has shown the most significant success with Atlantic salmon survival and resulting returns. Remember, his eggs are obtained at his site on the St. Mary’s River from returning wild stock. Those eggs are then hatched and the young fish retained at the same site until they reach smolting age 20 months later, when they are released at the same exact same site for maximum imprinting. The St. Mary’s River is without a doubt a perfect location for experimenting and producing an Atlantic fishery. The waters are cold, clear and well oxygenated from Lake Superior located upstream. It is the only site on the entire Great Lakes that allows for this degree of success for rearing and releasing Atlantic salmon. The fact also has to be made that the St. Mary’s River’s ‘bottleneck’ physical structure and conditions drastically improves the sport fishery. Roger releases only approximately 50,000 advanced yearlings annually. The State of Michigan experimented with Atlantic salmon in the past and cancelled their program for decades. Noting Greil’s success and to fill the void of their reduced Chinook fishery they are now experimenting on a ‘controlled’ Altantic program capped at approximately 100,000 Atlantic salmon ‘advanced’ yearlings per year. The majority of those plants will be stocked in the cold waters of the St. Mary’s River. Again, stocked in a perfect site, but without Greil’s imprinting success capabilities. Michgan State Atlantics are reared at the Platte River hatchery and then stocked in the St. Mary’s River. When questioned, Michigan authorities noted if they don’t achieve the desired results the program would be cancelled after no more than 6 to 7 years. New York State has been stocking Atlantics consistently for years and has had some success, but unlike Ontario, rears and releases the vast majority of their fish as advanced yearlings (15 months) and 8 to 10 month old advanced fall fingerlings. They seldom stock more than 60,000 fish annually in total and prefer to raise them to 14-16 months of age. It is important to remember that New York State utilizes the Salmon River including Beaverdam Brook for the largest percentage of their stocking numbers for imprinting purposes. Again, there is an Atlantic salmon sport fishery off New York State waters, but they stock minimal numbers of quality sized fish and imprint them properly utilizing the Salmon River where the greatest number of fish are stocked. It is interesting to note also that creel censuses and DNA sampling last year carried out by New York State indicated that all Atlantics caught by anglers were tested and came entirely from New York State stocked fish!!! All this accomplished with a fraction of the fish raised and a fraction of the costs compared to Ontario’s foolish Atlantic experiment!!!! Remember, our neighbouring American states raise fish for fishermen, for tourists and for the economy. Their programs are run as business, not as an experiment!!! False Impressions Over the past decade that I’ve been than following the Atlantic program. A lot of phone calls from Wisconsin to Newfoundland. I’ve talked and met with a lot of top fisheries people on both sides of the border. Not surprising, not one on the American side of the Great Lakes had any idea of the actual dismal success of the Ontario program. In fact, most believed the program and returns were going great guns. It seems no one on our side of Lake Ontario ever mentions the dismal returns to the Credit or Duffins or even Bowmanville. I sat in on one Lake Ontario meeting and listened to Ontario reps talk about the ‘new’ Duffins Creek weir being shipped from west coast, yet absolutely no mention of the dismal Atlantic Credit returns of 2011 and 2012. One boss at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service even noted they were thinking about putting smaller Atlantics in some of their streams to achieve the same success as Ontario. What he had heard was the fry plants were doing great guns? When I mentioned the true returns he replied with the phrase “someone over at the MNR must have a nose that’s growing”. That nose is definitely growing, but if you check stocking sheets, the U.S. Federal agency since 2009 has been stocking tens of thousands of additional fingerlings annually with little chance of success. Hopefully, our American counterparts are not venturing into the same folly as Ontario. Fingerlings or fall fingerlings just don't cut. When discussing Atlantics with the Credit River Conservation Authority, there was more concern about the vanishing brook trout than Atlantic salmon. I mentioned over stocking the waters above Norval, yet it seemed they were oblivious to the millions of Atlantics being stocked on top of the brown trout and brook trout in the Credit headwater that they were really concerned about. Never, since the start of this program have I ever talked to one person outside of the Ontario program who were informed of the actual returns rates. Plenty of talk about stocking numbers and so-called river enhancement, but never about returning fish numbers. On one other note, one Ontario biologist noted that in the mid-80’s it was brought up that that the original program should restrict their numbers to a maximum of only 50,000 yearling plus and only utilize two cold water rivers east of Toronto to attempt the experiment in the first place where the better conditions could be found. The suggestion was turned down and then the mistakes began. The Lake Fishery Since the late 1980’s we’ve now stocked close to 7 million Atlantics and over 300,000 eyed eggs. Just what has that provided the Lake Ontario open water angler? The simple answer is very little recreational benefits and very little return to the economy. In both cases, almost nothing. As already noted, New York, utilizing bigger sized smolts and better imprinting practices has developed a minor sport fishery. On the Canadian side of the lake the results have been dismal. Ontario’s most recognized fishing guides Randy Scott and Wayne Andrew’s are pioneers on the lake and have been guiding on Lake Ontario consistently for more than four decades. This past year from May until mid-September the longtime guides captured only two Atlantics each, while harvesting upwards of a thousand steelhead and Pacific salmon each. When it comes Atlantics the results were worse than pathetic. These professionals fish almost every day of the week from spring until early autumn and again caught a grand total of only four Atlantics. The open water fishery for Atlantics is a bust. The Alternatives Like, I’ve already noted, I’ve been following the Lake Ontario Atlantic salmon program since it’s inception in the late 1980’s. The idea of self-sustaining natural reproducing Atlantic salmon on Lake Ontario’s north shore is asinine. Everything today is wrong for this creature. No matter what anybody would like to believe the rivers waters are nowhere near the conditions of the late 1880’s when the original stocks went extinct. Atlantic salmon for the most part return to the rivers in June/July/ and August. Today, the major rivers to the west of Toronto reach lethal water temperatures in this period and would for the most part kill any Atlantics entering, let alone attract them to enter. The Credit River, the experiment’s main focus site, still has two major dams at Streetsville and Norval that are closed to other species. These dams not only stop natural migrations, but increase water temperatures to the lethal level. The same river has a number of water filtration plants on it’s banks. The river is not even close to the river of the 1880’s. As a matter of fact, no river on the northern shore is of better quality today, than the rivers of the 1880’s. Simply look at population growth and the pollution that goes with it. All the trees planted and rocks placed cannot bring these rivers back to their pristine state prior to the 1880’s. Sorry, but it’s impossible. The tributaries west of Toronto are the worst examples. The Atlantics are not a Pacific salmon or steelhead that run the rivers in fall, winter and spring depending specie. Atlantics first enter the tributaries in June, July and August and few if any of our rivers are cool enough for their survival today, especially the Bronte, Credit and Duffins Creek. Again, stocking Atlantic salmon younger and smaller than advanced yearlings at a minimum of 8 inches is length leads to nothing but death of these fish. Why in hell’s name are we wasting value hatchery space, expensive funding, lost fishing opportunities and lost tourism dollars to the economy on this program? The obvious solution is to raise a maximum of no more than 50,000 advanced yearlings. Only two quality streams east of Toronto should be chosen as release sites that are more suited to beast. These two streams have to be east of Toronto for any type of success. With the Atlantic program reduced from over a million Atlantics annually, both Normandale and Harwood fish hatcheries could be utilized in a much more productive manner for not only the fishery but economy that goes with it hand in hand. The reduction would free up space and funding. Presently, thanks to a working arrangement between the Ontario Steelheaders, Lake Huron Fishing Club and the Ministry of Natural Resources 70,000 disease free Chambers Creek strain steelhead are being held at the Chatsworth facility. A portion of these steelhead (1,000) should be implemented into the MNR brood rearing program. Future yearling trout from these strain could be stocked in larger numbers in tributaries on Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. Rainbow trout are a proven species that survive, provide year round fishing in both the open water and streams. A minimum of 100,000 could take up some of the hatchery space that would be made available with the removal or reduction on present Altlantic stockings. Ontario would also be wise to also re-introduce the annual stocking of approximately 50,000 – 60,000 coho salmon ‘smolt’ that could utilize the additional space made available by the ‘intelligent’ decision to drastically curtail the present Atlantic program. There’s more waste with the present Atlantic program than just what is happening in Provincial run facilities. Take into account the fact that more than 100,000 Atlantic salmon are presently being raised at facilities at Ringwood, Sir Sanford Fleming College and the CRAA operations. At the two volunteer run facilities alone, with Atlantics out, the tanks now producing no viable results could be utilized again with additional rainbow (Ganaraska and Chambers Creek strain) and properly reared coho ‘spring smolt’. Check and you will discover that the Americans for the most part utilize larger advanced yearling ‘smolt’ for their stocking purposes and their over all success. Time For A Drastic Change After more than 26 years of playing and experimenting with this creature, it’s time to stop or drastically reduce the program. It’s time to run the fishery like our American neighbours do, not as a grand experiment, but as a fishery for the angler and as a business to generate tourism dollars back into the economy. As a fisherman, I look at stocking almost 7 million Atlantic salmon and stocking almost 2 million eyed eggs over the last 26 years and then getting a return of 9 Atlantics salmon back to Streetsville in 2013 as idiotic. Everyone talks about the Liberal’s billion dollar Gas Plant Fiasco. As a fisherman, I look at the Atlantic Salmon experiment as a travesty. A travesty that I estimate we taxpayers have invested more than 5 million dollars to date and possibly a lot more. That doesn’t even include in my estimation the Sunshine salaries, research salaries and everything the MNR has tied in to this project that are connected with this experiment as well. It's a lot of money for wasting more than two and half decades of hatchery space, wasted fishing opportunities , wasted tourism revenue, other wasted revenues that could have related to the a successful fishery and finally no fish.