The skunk is OVER !

[splashhopper]

Well I went "van camping" this weekend and took my 12 ft Sportspal with me. It never left the roof racks ! I had a blast without it.. lol

 

I left Saturday morning at 4 am... couldn't stay in bed any longer... i have been amped to go "van-camping" this weekend for a few days now as my wife was taking our daughters to Toronto for the weekend.

 

Headed up to the Huron Grey Bruce areas and followed my nose( and my Mapart back roads book of course.)

 

The first river I hit was one that i found accidentally a couple of years ago while doing some back road touring.

 

First cast and I got this>>

 

Sorry about the blurr,,, i was just a LITTLE pumped when I caught my FIRST pike!

 

Woo whooooo... Yipppeee... the skunk is OVER

 

I stayed in that section of the river for most of the morning with periodic rain and drizzle as my only companion... It was shear heaven.

 

About 20 minutes after I landed the first one I got this one >>

 

 

 

It was the same lure I used to catch my first pike. I don't even know the name of it as I got it in a an old tackle box that I bought at a yard sale a few years ago. I wasn't too worried about losing "the old thing" as the whole box and stuff in it only cost me TEN BUCKS!.. It looks like it has been chomped on a few times too. I was a bit suspect of the aluminum looking hooks, but alas, they ill go through fish mouths too.

 

I am starting to figure out that the ol' boy who had it, and gave up his interest in fishing, must have been in to pike... Lots of wire leaders, HEAVY old jigs,, BIG red and white bobbers etc.

 

Thought it might be wise to take a pic of my "new favorite pike lure" and see if anyone recognizes it and if they are still available?

(They are not in CT or the local tackles shops that I can see so far.)

 

By mid day, I had tried some husky jerks and some spoons with one bite off and two more that got free with violent head shakes right at shore.

Most of the pike I got on all headed straight for me.

My inexperience with these buggers soon showed as I was in to them and thinking they tired easily and tried dragging the lost ones up in to the grass too soon.

 

By mid afternoon Saturday, I needed a nap and figured I would try some night fishing for them. THREE HOURS LATER I crawl out of my bed in the back of the van and I am groggy as all heck and I notice I have front tire going down !

 

Decided to drive up to " Twocoda country" real quick and see if I can get it repaired. Too late. CT service bays closed ! So I bought a can of that fill n patch stuff just in case I got stranded on some back roads . Pumped the tire up. Dang if it is still holding 30lbs of air today.

 

Got some grub at Twocoda's favorite fast food joint ( beef on a bun) and headed 20 minutes further north to meet up with some friends of Bill W that I know. Had an hour with them and then went to Timmies for a hot chocolate and some local knowledge for other pike holes.

 

They sent me east about 35 minutes and I found a 24 hrs timmies parking lot to sleep in for the night. (Good place to sleep in a van stealth style btw.)

 

Awaking at 5 am Sunday morning I was on a mission for more pike but that was not to be till later. No worries though as I got in to some other fish instead.

 

One of the places I found in my travels was this>>

 

And up river from that place I got in to this >>

 

I was trying for brookies in the rapids when this hit

 

A few minutes later I caught his little cousin >>

 

Hmmmm, maybe i will search for more.... bad idea.. i walked a bunch of a little streams on my way to another pike hole and killed the rest of the afternoon... oh well, I marked some promising tribs in my book for later reference

 

Around dinner time I was touring along some side roads heading towards a dam that i was gonna put the canoe in at that i knew held pike. ( my buddy caught some there last summer and i caught a ton of bass in it)

 

On the way I came across this place>>

 

There was already an older couple fishing from the bridge and I asked if they minded a little company.. They said no problem, they already caught their dinner !

 

Dang !

 

I asked the couple if they ever tried top water fishing for pike.... They said no and that they always used a big minnow or chub under a float.

 

I said I wanted to try top water in the lily pads.

A few casts later and KERSPLASH ! It wasn't as dramatic as a large mouth bass but it was GREAT to see when I was trying for them in front of the old couple

 

It had something wrong with one of its eyes though>>

 

The couple left and I decided to try a bunch of different lures to see how the action was with the 6inch leader I had on.

 

About an hour later a local farmer showed up with a big white cowboy hat.. We got talking and it turns out he is a retired auctioneer

(Eric something ?) and and used to breed Percheron Horses.

My brother raises Percheron's in the Woodstock area and damned if he didn't know my brother

 

I decided to put my top water frog back on and fish the lily pads again.

 

The second cast and WHAMMO >>>

 

I "borrowed" this pose from Solopaddler, eh! lol

 

The old boy asked me about that "frog thing".. He was watching me while casting his 3" red devil.

I pulled one out of my bag and hooked him up with it. The first thing I told him to do was cast it OVER THE RIVER IN TO THE GRASS on the other side. He looked at me kinda funny but did as I suggested. Got him to slowly retrieve it in to the waters edge and damned if he doesn't get a hit IMMEDIATELY !

 

He was so excited that he yanked the frog away from the pike before it took it under... Oh well.. i do that lots too .. lol

 

After he left I went to another little town and met up with some more Friends of Bill W for some coffee and local knowledge.

 

None of this crew fished but they had good coffee....

 

I decided to head over to another place for night time brown trout or possible brookie action. I found a little place to fish just as it was getting dark.

Tried fishing it but kept snagging up and burned through 4 panther martins( replica's thank god) in about 15 minutes... That was enough for me. I crawled in to the back of the van and went to sleep.

 

This morning came and I had a good look at the spot I was fishing... only a foot of water.... no wonder! dohhhhhh!

 

Got out of there and headed back to my First spot from Saturday morning.

 

Well, with the suggestion from an earlier topic that I posted, I caught some chubs and minnows before trying for the pike... just to see what this " chub and a float " thing was all about. ( And I saw the old couple results the day before too ... lol)About 30 minutes later and I get this one >>

 

 

I haven't figured out how to hold these fish when they won;t settle down yet as u can see by the way I have this one. I am all ears folks.

 

This morning's action was slower than Saturdays at this spot as the water was a lot clearer.

 

I was twitching the float and minnow and had two more get away from me.

 

I don't think I let them have the minnow long enough before I tried setting the hook though. Too excited to see that float go under and away and I was reacting like I was steelheading.... lol

 

Just before I was leaving today, I had something REALLY HEAVY on that snapped my line about 30 seconds in to the fight... I had my drag too tight.

 

By that time I was out of chubs and just plain whooped.

 

Got in the van and headed home. Just in time to be reminded that it's garbage day tomorrow ! ( back to reality so soon)

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions to those that responded on my previous pike post.

 

All fish were released live except the one I gave to the ol auctioneer.

 

Splashhopper

Edited May 25, 2010 by splashhopper

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

looks like a good time "van camping". thanks for posting!

[splashhopper]

looks like a good time "van camping". thanks for posting!

 

 

Gotta make a couple of adjustments to the "sleeping area" and all will be better for next time. ( need to put a bungee chord across with a curtain to block the parking lot lights )

 

Could be an interesting summer with the van.

[wankerjohn123]

Looks like a great time! Awesome spots fishing spots.

Thanks for posting. Not sure what that lure is, I have an old red & white same size and shape.

[danbouck]

Awesome Report

[Beats]

Great report. However, I think (and I may be wrong) that the pic you have labeled as a speckled trout is just a small rainbow that hasn't got his mature colours yet. Could be wrong though.

[Fishing 24/7]

what a fun report dude!

 

 

keep up the good work!

[Drock6687]

I beleave that your old lure is one of my fav steelhead lures...a kwik fish...

[splashhopper]

Great report. However, I think (and I may be wrong) that the pic you have labeled as a speckled trout is just a small rainbow that hasn't got his mature colours yet. Could be wrong though.

 

I think you are right... so does my friend Dutchy

[danbouck]

I think you are right... so does my friend Dutchy

 

That's what I thought it was but I'm no expert

[10point]

Hey Buddy, congrats! Looks like a fun time.

[MCTFisher9120]

Nice job haha

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Great Report. Pretty impressive fishing from shore!

[bow slayer]

looks like the lure is either a flat fish or kwik fish.They come in all kinds of sizes and colour patterns. They have a real wide wobble to them ,the smaller sizes work nicely for steelhead in the fall.

[Jacques]

Great report -- agree it looks like a kwik fish but I've never seen that colouring...

[MJL]

Congrats Splash on the de-skunking...Great report

 

I wish I had a van ... Or at least something with a comfy backseat:D

[Twocoda]

i told ya once and ill tell ya again ....its going to happen to you like it did to me ....you best buy your cottage or home up here now before the prices get way outta hand...then you can use the van for work instead of fishing ...lol...

 

EXCELLENT report !!!!

 

Ya know ..you doing the "solo pose" .. somebodys daddy might have some splainin to do ...

[splashhopper]

i told ya once and ill tell ya again ....its going to happen to you like it did to me ....you best buy your cottage or home up here now before the prices get way outta hand...then you can use the van for work instead of fishing ...lol...

 

EXCELLENT report !!!!

 

Ya know ..you doing the "solo pose" .. somebodys daddy might have some splainin to do ...

 

The old auctioneer took that photo for me

[bigugli]

Nothing beats doing a road trip to see what's out there and the satisfaction from the successes. Well done.

[splashhopper]

Nothing beats doing a road trip to see what's out there and the satisfaction from the successes. Well done.

 

I just followed my nose and intuition down a few roads from my Mapart book..

 

The guy who taught me to fish always said:" You can't catch a fish reading up about them on the internet. You gotta get the line wet sometime" ! lol

[yo_guy]

Nice job splashhopper

[bigbuck]

Nice report!! You did good!! I nailed a 14lb'er on Lake X just outside of town Y this weekend.