Some thoughts after a week of fishing

[Radnine]

Hi all,

What follows is a collection of thoughts after a week of fishing on Cameron Lake. Feel free to comment or ignore at will:

 

- Lures with too many hooks are lousy for smaller fish - I did some trolling when the winds would allow it and found that catching smallish fish on a multi-hooked crank bait means you will be pulling two out of it's mouth and one or two out of another spot on it's body. It also means that the fight will be rubbish (try fighting when you are hooked in multiple spots). I am becoming a big fan of single hook (like a jig) fishing.

 

- My go to arrangement of walleye this year has been a gold 3/8 oz. "eyeball" jig with a smoke coloured grub (jig by Northland and grub by YUM) and it catches about every thing that swims. Tipping with a worm or minnow increases the odds, but it works well without anything as well. Thanks to my B-in-L George for turning me on to that set-up.

 

- I purchased a couple of those hollow body swim baits. Rigged weedless as the package shows, they worked well through the weeds (tied direct so there are no mechanical fasteners to grab) and I was able to drag them through everything with no snags. Now, I also never got a bite on one of them (even though the action looks killer) so I am not sure how the hook arrangement is for hook-ups. This has got to be a good set-up for a place like Rice no?

 

- My faith in my much maligned (by me) Lowrance H2Oc GPS has been restored. The map for the Kawarthas was bang on for depths and positioning, including the trip through the locks into Sturgeon and up the Burnt River.

 

- Even with the GPS I found that marker buoys are worth their weight in gold. But I think that I have lost more of them than I have lures; There must be one that is made with a strobe light no?

 

- You meet the nicest people in a lock. We were snuggled up next to a boat so they could cram a giant tour boat in the lock at Fenelon Falls and ended up sharing snacks and having a good old gab. The kids that run the locks are all young and good looking (guys and gals) and it is easy to imagine it as one of the worlds greatest summer jobs. Locking also fascinates my son and makes us feel famous as people gather to watch the proceedings.

 

- I watched four guys go off in a rental boat from the marina as I was waiting to take my boat out. They clearly had no idea of what they were doing and nearly rammed another boat as they were trying to leave the dock area. Everyone has to start somewhere and the people at the marina have to make hay while the sun shines, but damn, this was an accident waiting to happen. I don't know which was worse, them or the youngsters that were buzzing around the dock area on the rented jet skis. At the end of the day though, both groups were having fun and spending money and I did not hear of any tragedies on the lake.

 

- Fenelon Falls is a great little town with lots to do and some really nice eating establishments. They have also done a better job of putting restaurants and stuff near the locks than Bobcaygeon for instance (not that it's a contest, I was just brought up a Bobcaygeon guy and have been pleasantly surprised by Fenelon). They also have a Canadian Tire, Home Hardware and a nice new Sobey’s (right next to the Tim Horton’s)

 

- There is no better feeling than being at a cottage where your boat is tied up to the dock. You hop in and out at will and your kid says stuff like “Let’s go out for a troll, hey Dad?” It is also a great time to nip out on your own and try different techniques and theories.

 

- I returned from my week full of new goals (both fishing and life) and anticipation of my upcoming week at Big Doe with my son and nephew. I am also full of my usual envy for those of you that live “up there” or own cottages in this great province.

 

Regards,

Jim

[Rich]

Good read. It sounds like you really enjoyed yourself in that area. I agree about Fenelon Falls being a nice little town. Been visiting every year since I was just a little brat. I'm glad you had a good time there. My grandfather's cottage there is my paradise.