Cheatin' on Father's Day

[johnnyb]

Well Father's Day weekend was a busy one for me, and I think it was the most enjoyable in recent memory. Had 2 insane barbecue dinners, got to spend some time goofing around with my kids, and got some quality time in the boat on 2 different lakes!

 

First lake up was Gull, in Minden. A year ago, I was ready to give up on the lakers in here, until I hooked into (and lost) what I can only assume was the biggest laker anyone in Minden has ever SEEN!!! I now find myself hopelessly obsessed with rooting through all the slot sized fish in that lake until I come across something big again.

 

Come last Saturday morning, I was out there trolling away….watching my screen. I had the cannonball down at 40 feet, since surface temps were hitting the 70F mark. Modest sized flasher down there, with a blue/red spoon that did some damage last year, as well as picking up a few nice Niagara browns this year. Above that I had a nice little dartee on as a cheater.

 

I trolled around an island, flirting with the bottom as it broke from 30-50FOW, and noticed my rod seem to sag…fairly slowly. Checked the screen and knew I couldn't have been on bottom, so I popped the release. Nothing. Started reeling…fish on!! He hit the cheater!!!

 

Not out of the slot, but he fought like a champ…and a great way to start the weekend!

 

 

A few more passes, and nothing….so I explored the back of the island…this time the hit was much more pronounced….but again, I felt nothing after popping the release. I was smart enough to reel FASTER this time, and catch up with the fish that hit the cheater. A little smaller, but keepin' me happy!

 

 

That was enough excitement for the morning, and the lake actually started whipping up for a bit. With no weight in the bow, I decided I'd let the whitecaps play by themselves, and headed in for breakfast. Spent the rest of the day being a dad….did some tubing….some swimming…gave the boat a thorough cleaning...then tucked into a steak and shrimp dinner of biblical proportions

 

Sunday came and we were off to Muskoka…with more lakers in our sights! My Dad and my son joined me this time….last year dad and I laid a beating on the Rosseau lakers, so we headed for the same spot with high hopes.

 

 

Next to NO wind, clear skies, and 72F on the surface, so we made a few passes in 50 and 60FOW, but weren't marking anything. I had the same rigger setup as I used on Gull, gave Dad the leadcore, and had my son flatlining a taildancer. We moved into slightly shallower water, and noticed more activity hanging over 30-40FOW….Dad got a hit, but missed it, and we decided shallower was better. Again, I was flirting with bottom in 35FOW, and as I got a bit deeper, noticed a lightning bolt on my screen….something was making a beeline from the top down to my cannonball….and a second later, the rod started shaking! Pop…..nothing…reel….CHEATER!!!

 

 

A nice 24" laker with respectable girth, and high five's all around. We made a few more passes….but the heat was getting pretty ridiculous, and dinner time was approaching.

 

My son was quite anxious to hop out and cool off

 

 

Dinner was another feast…we gave this guy a head start on the grill before adding the steaks

 

 

And that's about it….thanks for reading!

[msp]

Looks like your really dailed into those lakers. Nice fish and happy fathers day !

[camillj]

Gotta Love those Muskoka lakes ... and I hear tell of some true leviathans from Rosseau

 

Thanks for sharing.

[GBW]

nice report, thanks.

[dave524]

Very nice used to fish Gull years ago and we would get the odd rainbow of 4/5 lbs. out of there too, don't know if they are still there. For big lakers in Haliburton, Drag has coughed up a few fish in the 30's over the years if you want to give that one a shot.

[irishfield]

Very NICE John... 3 generations out fishing, who cares if you caught anything !!!

[Rod Caster]

Good numbers... 2 lakes, several fish and three generations of fishermen

[Leecher]

Got to love the cheaters eh Johnny

Great job on the lakers and that last one is a beaut

Thanks for sharing

Leechman

[Dr. Hook]

Very nice. How does that cheater setup work? Two lures off one line?

[johnnyb]

Thanks for the kind words guys

 

Dr. Hook....the cheater is simply a light spoon tied to a few feet of line...I use a snap swivel on each end....clip one end to the mainline, and drop it in after my cannonball is down. It will work its way halfway down and settle in the natural bow of the line running to the cannonball.

 

Keep track of how many hooks you've got, and you can even go with a 3-way swivel behind your cannonball and run a diving crank, a spoon, then a cheater up the line. Messy to reel in...but gives the fish lots to look at.