Rod Caster

First and foremost I'd like to thank Blair for his FANTASTIC hospitality and hosting skills. Your shack was the perfect gathering place! Thanks for everything man! I'll be your wingman anytime. I apologize if I get any names wrong... I'm bad enough with names as it is, and with this board thing, we all have TWO names. haha. First thing at the docks, drinking a extra-large-medium Tims tea at 740AM, I met up with two gentlemen who told me they read about the G2G, but were not from the board. Hey look, were famous! Dan (Lota Lota) and Yoshi were first to arrive! We had a good chat and they made their way out. Them two troopers were going to stay in a tent on ice, so they had quite a bit of gear to haul. Nick (NAW) and Jason (livingfishing) were the second group from OFC to arrive. They had time to meet with the next group before promptly dragging their equipment past the island and set up near Blair's shack. As I assumed greeting duties, I could hear them drilling holes by around 815AM. Can you see Nicks famous ice-chipper? Tony (Motion) and his son Alexander (fishman2202) were the next group to arrive. After Alexander and I talked about our Mazda Rangers (haha) they set out on the slick ice and efficiently set up their pop-ups. I have to say that these two guys are top-friggen-notch in my books It was great to meet you both! Those of us who couldn't catch a sloth in a closed room were asking Alex for fishing tips, but I'll get to that later. I waited another 15 mins but nobody else arrived so I loaded up and walked out. I clumsily drilled two holes with Nick's auger and set my lines. Within minutes, Nick is landing a nice herring and a small pike. Tony and Alex got two small walleye and slipped them back down the hole. Alex checking the depth. Nick then puts on a bit of a clinic as he pulls in 3 herring within 30 mins! I think he caught some perch and maybe a small walleye but I can't quite recall. Two of them were kept for a midnight snack... how were they Nick?? The G2G got into full swing as Blair and Kevin (spud) arrived with the minnows and started the heat in the shack. They pulled Kevin's nearby shack closer to Blair's, so we had a nice section of Callander Bay all to ourselves. Joey Tier, who I now refer to as Joey Tiger, thanks to Wormdunker (Brian) , arrived in his peuter scooter and quickly drilled holes with what I think is the greatest hand auger out there! 6" Finbore with the curved blades! Like butter... I love the offset handles. Brian and Brian showed up with his BRAND NEW four wheeler with chains, had a chat with the group, then set their lines. This was his set-up later on in the day. The host with the most then lands into a decent pike Here is Kevin's shack. Trouty (Ryan) arrived at some point and not long after, he tops Blair's pike and takes top spot in the "Biggest Fish" category of the derby. Hunger pangs abound, Duckdog (Nelson with his boy Carter) kindly lets us use his portable BBQ. We grilled up some burgs' and 'dogs and gathered around Blair's shack for lunch. At this point, Nick leads the derby with most fish, Ryan has biggest and Joey Tiger had a small, gut-hooked walleye. The prizes went as such: Biggest walleye, perch, herring, pike get to pick a lure. Biggest overall fish and most fish split the entire pot or $30 and lots of lures. Here are some signatures inside Blair's shack. If you ever visit, you must sign! Dan jigs up a little walleye! Brian (wormdunker) erases the white stripe with a decent pike! At this point, around 4PM I believe, young man Alexander figures out the trick to catching the tight-lipped fish and puts on a clinic for everyone. On top of making the rest of us look like amateurs, he pulls in this beauty 20" walleye! Here's a short video. (I have no idea if this will work, there's no way I'm signing up a google account to use youtube.) Not to be outdone, the Tiger slams into this beast. The evening set it at this point and everyone who was still on the ice was focused on their lines. Unfortunately, prime time never quite materialised and only a few walleye were landed. Here's Joey with a good keeper. I kind of gave up once a few people left so I just wandered around for the remainder of the time. As I was sitting and talking with Nick and Jason, Nelson and Carter catch the FISH OF THE DAY ! A 23" Nipissing tank. My camera doesnt like the darkness, so the photos are bad, but you'll get the idea. Little Carter was very excited... I don't think he'll forget this fish anytime soon! So that is that for the fish and the G2G. I drove Nick and Jason to the docks to grab some gear and by the time we opened the truck doors, the weather had completely changed from pleasant and mild to extremely windy with horizontal snow. I'd like to hear how Dan and Yoshi (I hope I got the name right) survived and if we have to recover his tent somewhere on the shores of Callander Bay. I hope all went well. Hopefully everybody had a safe drive home and enjoyed their time! I sure did. Thanks everyone.

Nick and Dan! Did you get blown out to Sturgeon Falls last night? How'd it go? Any Ling?

Ha!

I've caught several in the Ottawa river near Mattawa, but nothing near that size. Nice markings on it, eh? Btw, don't stick you fingers in their mouths they clamp down like Pike and don't let go! Much stronger jaw than a walleye

That's a REAL nice Sauger Mike. I have never seen on over 14inches. They are typically smaller than walleye... So I guess that's a testament to how good your walleye fishery is! Great fish!

Great report Jacques! That sounds like a great get-together. Must have been a long drive, Vinnie.

sounds like a good mix of species on that lake. Congrats on the pb!

I just got home. Last thing I did was drive NAW and Livinfishing from the shack to shore, to pick up some gear. By they opened the door, a full blizzard had set in! I drove them back to the shack as a courtesy move,.. Should be an interesting night for them and Lota Lota. Full report tomorrow.. Right now I'm off to kick out some jams for the night.

Nick is holding a strong lead right now. A pike a four herring. Blair has biggest fish with a decent pike. One small perch for me... At least my lures will be nice and clean

Motion and his son are on the ice too. I'm still at the landing greeting members

Haha case closed

The GM guys better watch out... I swear every second Silverado I see has a blown headlight!

Lota Lota, NAW and Livinfishin here so far! Gonna be good!

Only took me 3hrs to make

I just purchased 8 burgers and buns. Also got a pound of butter ... Now who is bringing the salted minnows, they sound delicious!

I'm at 14 for a PB.... 15 is just silly!

I'm not suprised.

Nice. Anybody would be happy with that lure...and it comes with history and luck!

You already did... first time we met. Ha!

Yup. From what I saw yesterday, the slush layer hasn't completely frozen yet. If it were -20 tonight, we'd be ok. I found a brand new mepps deep diver for the derby box! A twoonie gets you in the derby and if you can add a new or gently used lure or anything small and fishing related, then you get a big ol' handshake along with derby rights.

Good stuff Mike. Really enjoyed this report!

did she think your bulb was defective because it was flashing every time you made a turn?? Was her last name Wiggum?

i paid for no depreciation insurance...time to go for a drive things look MUCH better as of last night... we 4wheeled out for miles and only hit a few slushy spots with very little snow. Its definitly not truck-ready until we get a few real cold nights to tighten up the slushy layer, but for sleds with scratchers and 4wheelers, it's all good. Good 'ol Bartletts

Thanks for the update... things might freeze up nicely over the next two days, but I don't think I'll be driving to your shack this year. Heel-toe express for me My Dad and I just returned from a 4wheeler trip towards deeper water. We may have broken through the top crust a couple times; overall the ice is suitable for a 4wheeler, not a snowmobile or truck. We caught one keeper walleye and missed two. 42fow. We just randomly picked a spot since we didn't bring the GPS. edited to add : top crust