troutologist

Thanks! Its an Ice Spooler by Clam.

I got out after some stocked trout this weekend on 6" of ice! Glad to be back on the hard water and really proud of this brown trout...my best by far. Also had a chance to do some experimenting with the new style of ice reel out on the market, boy its just like centerpin fishing, when these trout get hooked they run and its a blast. About as close as you get to pinning for bows and browns on the prairies! Anyways a little primer for you folks, take care on the ice and do your best to exercise caution and patience as things freeze up.

Man that last splake has unique colours, awesome trip, thanks for sharing!

In that field you can either live where you want and no work in it or move to where the jobs are. Head north, you will make money get your 2 years experience and then be able to apply for a whole new suite of jobs. Working in remote locations will give you a whole new set of problem solving skills, in valuable skills in consulting with Aboriginal groups, very marketable when looking to move south. Gov of NU or NT will pay your moves both ways mostly and Northern Living allowance is often considerable. Environmental consulting is a growing field with Gov'ts cutting back their staff, resources and often mandates to save bucks. Get your experience where you can and get ready for GC or OMNR to farm out projects they no longer have the capacity to do.

Some beauty fish Bunk!

This will be awesome. That crew goes full time and catches some amazing fish. Not to mention puts a different twist on catching them. Keep your eyes out for this show!

The Pro Dry Suits are really good, I would highly recommend them. Got mine this spring and wore it guiding in NWT and the rest of the summer/fall. Like every other Simms product I've had it performed well. No wet spots, well thought out features. Hood is one of the better I've used. For sizing, I am usually XL (G3 Coat) but opted for a 2XL in the suit.

Buses used to be free in the evenings. Good times to be had. Don't build a tower of empty beer cups it will cause problems.

The SPOTs work great, where you will be they will have no trouble connecting quickly. It is a preprogrammed message if all is ok. That links to a Google Maps satellite shot. There is a subscription fee. Be sure you instruct those at home about poor weather conditions at its ability to limit uplink for the SPOT. Also I find you have to set things up so those receiving the message know their roles, ie 1 designated SAR caller with an alternate. And setting up the amount of checkins to come and the number of missed checks before the call is placed. An SOS goes directly to SAR in Texas then they route the calls to CFB Trenton then the closest aircraft likely MNR out of Timmins or Peawanuk or Moose. I really find setting the precedent of continuous communication on long remote trips somewhat troubling, since people at home worry and tend to want to make the call too soon. When in the bush there are any number of situations that arise to prevent the daily checkin...have to train those at home. Good luck, be safe, take lots of pictures! ps ditch the rifle and bring a shotgun!

No reason not to use those spoons in the summer. The always help me pick off active fish from a school before slowing down and working fish you see on the screen. Walleye are predators...make them chase an aggressive bait, Fergies are deadly cast over sand/mud flats and snapped in. Great river baits too.

Not sure about that particular lake, but I have always found walleye below 30' that were willing to bite. With a slot size in place, and if that is the only depth to catch at this time of year, I would look to another species.

Contact Ryan Marlowe from Figure 8 Baits in Kenora, he will be able to set you up. Water temps are sky high right now, hope they drop a bit...been hearing about a lot of mortality on muskie this summer with higher than normals water temps.

Pretty aggressive for sure, if you have a look at some of their other content its pretty darn good fishing.

Thanks guys....will try the prop washing for sure. Also looking forward to trying the Bondy bait out this season. I use a mix of jigging and trolling a 3-5oz bucktail...seems to account for my bigger fish...though my biggest came casting a J13 in 3 fow in July...go figure.

Check this out, some boys from MB having fun. Hope its cool to post this. Unique anyways... My link

I strongly recommend the St Johns Wilderness 1st Aid, I take this every 2 years for work and it really expands on the extended care aspect as well as some of the realities of dealing with injuries in remote locations. Especially for anyone going far afield like canoe trips etc. Another important tip is to find out some basic health info about all in your party before leaving, medication needs etc. Helps the process of elimination should someone pass out. (e.g. hypoglycemia) I used these skills a few times with serious injuries on various fishing trips. If you plan on doing any guiding at all, this should be a requirement.

Hey folks looking for a bit of dialogue here. In 4 days I'm headed but up north to guide for a month at Scott Lake Lodge. Pretty darn excited, I must say. I have fished and guided lakers previously on Great Slave so am not no stranger by any means. Was wondering if any OFNers had guided up north or were guests at a lodge where the guide was using some different technique. I was hoping to add a few new ideas to my arsenal and maybe put a few more big girls in the boat for guests. Thanks for any help.

Lots of variations on the bouncer technique. For the weight the standard is 1oz for every 10ft in depth, though with a river and current you may have to bump this up a bit. You want your line to have no more than a 45deg angle from the boat...keeping the line more vertical reduces snags. When working the bouncer rig I like to hold the rod (baitcaster for ease of letting out more line) touch bottom, lift up 6" or so touch bottom, and so on. Letting it drag for me seems to invite snags. Lots of choices in the harness world...making your own is simple, cheap and allows you to customize to what the fish are telling you in your waterbody. I'm not going to rewrite the techniques because there are already great resources available on Google, but look into Slow Death, spin n glos, and swim and spin techniques. A favourite of mine is a 4' leader, with a slow death hook, 2 or 3 beads and a Macks Smile blade. Trolls 1.1-1.6mph depending on what the fish are telling you. Good luck

Very nice catches. Another fella I know from T Bay caught a brown in the Nip this weekend as well.

What can be said...awesome trip, what an experience. You're making me homesick for brookie fishing!

Camelpak!!

Yessir! For a break I tuck the rod on my back leg and tuck it under my front one. Only time I wish I had a rod holder is when I'm trolling inline boards

Thats just what I do, run the tiller and pump the bait to add action. I really like having the ability to raise the rod to move the bait over structure and also feel and "pushes" where a fish swipes and misses, usually you can feel the bait skip a beat.

For my own curiosity, is having a clicker a requisite for most when muskie trolling?

For ease of moving big double bucktails the Tranx is unequaled. I have Calcuttas the difference after a day of fishing is huge.