troutologist

After a whirlwind of tournaments, travelling and guiding this spring/summer I finally got a chance to get out camping with my girlfriend again (last time was May Long weekend…) After watching the radar for possible T-storms Friday, we hit the road with a promising weather report around 2pm. Got to the lake, launch the boat and had camp set up by about 530pm. Camp was on a small island, tucked off the main lake and away from much traffic and close to good fishing….perfect spot!! Home for the weekend The Boat Alicia and pup who ran everywhere around the island at full speed all weekend, he really likes camping! Without much hesitation we hit the water for the evening bite and found fish on a few of my go to spots, then hit tried a few new ones and found the same result. Ready to help with the net at a moments notice…. After got back at dark and relaxed by the fire with some beer and bison burgers…a great night. Rain started around midnight announcing bedtime, though let up around 4am. Saturday dawned clear and calm, we got an early start as boat traffic (tournament weekend too) can be heavy. It got hot fast, no wind and no clouds forced us to take a few swimming breaks. Again same results….the key was rigging or jigging leeches on points or humps. They definitely had a preference for one technique over the other at different times throughout the day. Got into a few better fish Murphy helped me measure and release fish Rain threatened on Saturday evening but never came, we caught some more walleye ate a late shore lunch and generally enjoyed life. Got up Sunday, caught another pile of walleye, kept a few for dinner and had to head home early to take care of some work commitments. Great weekend, company, weather and fishing couldn’t have been better.

Mike is that lake the WR the one you were telling me about? If it is, that road looked very poor last fall...I tried again....

My pup Murphy on his first camping trip on LOTW around 3 months. He's 5 mo. now, we went back to the same island this weekend and he never touched land...always swimming.

Are you on a canoe type trip where weight is an issue? I usually bring a perc and ziplock full of coffee. Also bring filters for the perc it makes cleanup much easier. Starbucks singles are good too but pricey, I buy a couple for a treat and drink the regular stuff mostly. Another trick when you can't fit a big perc in is to hoard the single (tea bag type) coffee packs from hotels. This way you can brew in a regular pot and not worry about grounds.

Try and bring a portable fish finder with you. This will help immensely if you intend to jig. Cover some water by trolling a medium body bait or spoon on a 3 way rig with 2-3oz bell sinker.

I would have fished more and put a more serious effort into a career in the fishing industry, be it tournament pro, guide etc. Still want to give it a go. I knew what I wanted to do since I saw the movie Never Cry Wolf, I work as a DFO biologist in the arctic now. Your decision doesn't (and shouldn't) have to be made overnight, ruminate on some possibilities and choose the one you think balances finances and job satisfaction for you. You won't know if a particular path is the one until you do it...can only make educated decisions. I like to think the environmental field will be in demand for some time to come.

One that is on the books for me to learn is rip jigging. Fished a tourney in MN and it was amazing how this tactic with very specific gear was the only way to fill a limit. We rigged, cranked and pulled blades and finished middle of the pack...which was still awesome as the competition was the likes of Linder, Roach et al. For me when playing with a new tactic its all about getting those 1st couple of fish and developing the confidence. Flipping slop has taken a long time to get confidence in and work out some measure of proficency but it is starting to pay off. I often have to leave my "go to" baits at home and force myself to fish a new tactic.

Nice fish. They are in there, though not a pile.

I have been using small aligator clips with different colour tubing on them. Keep the cullers in 1 well and make a ongoing notation of each fishes weight. I've been fishing slot tourneys for walleye out here and length is not always the deciding factor so its important to get every ounce out of your fish. I still have a lot to learn myself Good luck

It is actually disgusting how good the fishing is on LOTW and you're often in sight of Kenora.

Though not an SUV I have a Tacoma TRD sport, rated to tow to 6500lbs. Best vehicle I have ever owned. Milage is great on the hwy and while towning. My rig loaded is around 2600lbs and it runs around 2000rpms at about 110kmph. It is awesome offroad and blazed many a trail on Lake Winnipeg this winter, my only complaint is it didn't have enough weight to pull out the new f150s that were getting stuck. I can house up to 7'6 rods by running them up from the floor of the passenger seat, 8 footers are relegated to the boat.

I always did best on Yum 3-4" ribbed grubs, motoroil, green pumpkin. Play with a blue, purple or green jighead. The lightest that will allow bottom contact in a particular run, creep it along the bottom. I'd get nice fish through the summer, but my big fish all came in the fall. Man I miss that fishing, 5 days a week for a few years I had it dialed right in.

Great photos, must have been a blast to get into pike like that!!

Good job Luc, looks like you guys got into them. Were the flies hatching? Boat #2 looks pretty rough there, winger never fails to hold down the front of a boat.

It took my pup out camping for the 1st time at around 3 months, found an island to tent on that kept him somewhat contained. He's been out to other camps in the last month, he's almost 5 months now. Just make sure they come when called. My last dog was a rescue and didn't really get to camping until later in life, she never got used to it. Seems like the pup will be a good outdoors dog. Good tips here, some great ideas as well.

Wawa MNR should be able to set you up.

any boat with a flat bottom will be stable, if you plan on some shallow water and rock sliding on the grand an abs or roylex boat will be best. Read up on initial vs secondary stability and see what is best for your situation. I believe there is a demo day on guelph lake, you can test out a few models to see what you like.

Just north of white river are 3 stocked speck lakes at the side of hwy 17. Get a stocking list and a map.

Pardon??

Dear Pres. Obama, Thank you for ignoring the problem, your promise to clean and preserve the Great Lakes has obviously been kept. Putting faith in a barrier that was continually proven not to work was a great plan. I suggest you take up waterskiiing in the Chicago area, for a chance to fully address this issue.

Inline weights and dipsies were working for me 2 weeks ago, the fish were down 20 to 50 feet. Dipsies allow you to troll more precise on structure or keep on schools. Top baits lately were yozuri minnows, j9, j11, j13, smaller husky jerks. Also had a lot of luck using NK28s, stingers and Northports, monkey puke was lights out. The trout were feeding on shrimp but mostly cisco.

Thats an awesome post right there, I am always interested in seeing arctic related content, as I too spend a great deal of time up north. I can't wait to sit in a Borek plane for another 10000Km this fall!

Agreed and also I believe you require a permit from MNR (not certain of the details)

I've driven a 2010 Predator with a 250 Opti it flies! Its 62 or so GPS. The Big tiller system is awesome, but so is the Titan steering add on for Yammy and other brands.

In the summer time a plastic barrel painted black on a pedastal will work, pump from the lake let the sun heat it up all day and you're money. Gravity feed down to the shower. They also sell "shower bags" heavy duty black plastic bags you fill and hang same princple. If its cool then you just boil some water to augment these. Cheap fixes, for me camp isn't about the luxuries. 6mm plastic, some saplings, a metal bucket and some hot rocks = camping sauna.