nkuchmak Posted October 11, 2012 Report Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) I've mentioned in previous posts that my yearly backcountry/fishingtrip into Algonquin was not able to happen this spring which of course left much to be desired as fall seems quickly to be taking over. I was asked by both my Dad and my friends if we could get something going in the fall which we allcommitted to, however, most of us were not able to get away before trout seasonclosed on the 30th of September. This left only the thanksgiving weekend openand i picked up the phone and made some reservations. 20121006-DSC_0021 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr Just because the Lake Trout and Specks were busy doing their thing didn't mean we had to forgo the fishing either. Splake a hybrid of the two, are stocked in a number of lakes in the area and are unable to reproduce making them the perfect gamefish in the fall. Having never targeted splake before i wasn't sure what to expect however I figured they were pretty much the same as a lake trout in behavior so I packed accordingly. This assumption was definitely challenged over the next few days. 20121006-DSC_0003 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr We made it to our lake of choice after some portaging and thats when the weather went from bad to worse with rain falling from above just a few minutes after we got our tents up. Some tea was boiled and our group sat under the tarp waiting for the system to pass overhead. We hadn't been at our site longer than 20 minutes when a heavy antlered moose was spotted high tailing it across the lake in search of a female I'm sure. Since the camera was still packed away I was unable to manage any photos but the image of the big bull appearing out of the rain was certainly a great way to start the trip. 20121008-DSC_0418 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr After an hour or so there was a slight lull in the weather and while the other 3 didn't seem to share my enthusiasm, i was out solo in the canoe fishing in front of our site. I was worried that the cold front that had just occurred would have shut the fish down but it was only a few minutes later that i was into my first fish. A short tussle and the fish was in the boat meanwhile i noticed the rest of our group was scrambling on the shoreline trying to get rods rigged up. The fish was a plump 18 inches and it was bit busted up so it was decided we would have this first fish for dinner that evening. 20121006-DSC_0054 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr That evening I landed 3 more fish around the same size and our other canoe managed a few small ones with a big one lost boat side. As the sun dipped down, it was clear seasons were changing with temps around zero, sleeping was relatively uncomftorable for those of us without thermal sleeping bags. 20121008-DSC_0385 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr The following day we lucked out with clear skies and no wind allowing us to explore a lot more of the lake and fine tune our techniques. I managed to pick up a few small fish on a bottom bouncer rig with a spinner while my Dad in the front of the canoe managed more and larger fish fishing tight to the wood on the shoreline with minnow baits. It seems that the splake follow their brook trout genes and take to the shoreline cover in a similar way. What left me more awestruck was the aggressiveness of these fish. Despite a drop in temperature over the last few days, these fish would often strike multiple times if they missed the bait usually hooking themselves right beside the boat as they chased the lure down. 20121008-DSC_0367 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr The highlight was on sunday evening, just before we were about to head infor dinner my Dad proclaimed he had a good one on. This being a smaller size lake i wasn't sure of how big the fish could get but we knew it was a little heavier when his line began to head for deeper water. The first view we had of this fish our mouths just about hit the floor with the spectacular colour on this fish. I have long had a fascination with the char species and got the opportunity to catch chrome bright arctic char in Nunavut a few years ago but never have i seen anything like the colours on this male splake. The fish measured 23inches and looks almost like someone mounted a lakers head on a brookies body.Of course this fish was released. 20121007-DSC_0346 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr The following day we broke down camp in the morning and managed a few more hours of fishing and of course a few more splake on the way out. Having never had much interest in fishing for them before and despite the smorgasbord of weather including rain,snow,sleet, and sunshine, it was a great long weekend. Edited October 11, 2012 by Wabusk
Christopheraaron Posted October 11, 2012 Report Posted October 11, 2012 Very cool! Hope I can get up once more this year!
gino Posted October 11, 2012 Report Posted October 11, 2012 Man, that was an awesome weekend you had there...nice fish,indeed ...
solopaddler Posted October 11, 2012 Report Posted October 11, 2012 Beautiful fish and an even nicer backdrop!
Joey Posted October 12, 2012 Report Posted October 12, 2012 Beauty report, and those pictures are spectacular, very crisp and clean
Rod Caster Posted October 12, 2012 Report Posted October 12, 2012 I've never seen a trout look like that. That's quite the catch!
NAW Posted October 12, 2012 Report Posted October 12, 2012 Great shots man! Keep the reports like this coming
northernpike56 Posted October 12, 2012 Report Posted October 12, 2012 great report and amazing pics!!! I've just started getting into taking nice pictures of my fish, any photo advice?
Musky or Specks Posted October 12, 2012 Report Posted October 12, 2012 That is a spectacular example of an F1 splake. Nice report
nkuchmak Posted October 12, 2012 Author Report Posted October 12, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys. Im glad you enjoyed the report. NorthernPike56 - as far as general photo advice goes id say just keep shooting digital makes it easy to take hundreds of pics. Musky or Specks - what exactly is an F1 splake? are their different strains stocked into specific lakes? I was wondering this as most of the fish we were catching seemed to be closer looking to the specks.
SmokestackLightnin Posted October 12, 2012 Report Posted October 12, 2012 F1 - First generation Male Brook Trout, Female Lake Trout cross
Musky or Specks Posted October 12, 2012 Report Posted October 12, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys. Im glad you enjoyed the report. NorthernPike56 - as far as general photo advice goes id say just keep shooting digital makes it easy to take hundreds of pics. Musky or Specks - what exactly is an F1 splake? are their different strains stocked into specific lakes? I was wondering this as most of the fish we were catching seemed to be closer looking to the specks. As was mentioned an F1 is a first gen cross and it is now the only splake that is stocked. Ontario use to have a backcross program that was (F1 X Lake trout) so they had more lake trout characteristics. It was a waste of money for a lot of years.
ehg Posted October 13, 2012 Report Posted October 13, 2012 Those splake are really beautiful fish. Obviously well worth the trip! Thanks for taking the time to post this.
northernpike56 Posted October 13, 2012 Report Posted October 13, 2012 As was mentioned an F1 is a first gen cross and it is now the only splake that is stocked. Ontario use to have a backcross program that was (F1 X Lake trout) so they had more lake trout characteristics. It was a waste of money for a lot of years. you learn something new everyday..
northernpike56 Posted October 13, 2012 Report Posted October 13, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys. Im glad you enjoyed the report. NorthernPike56 - as far as general photo advice goes id say just keep shooting digital makes it easy to take hundreds of pics. Musky or Specks - what exactly is an F1 splake? are their different strains stocked into specific lakes? I was wondering this as most of the fish we were catching seemed to be closer looking to the specks. haha, that's what I've been doing, usually 3-4 pics of a fish. I will have to post a report at the end of the year to see what you guys think!!
davey buoy Posted October 13, 2012 Report Posted October 13, 2012 What a awesome area!!!,great report and pics!!
Donnie Posted October 13, 2012 Report Posted October 13, 2012 20121007-DSC_0346 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr I'm in awe when I see fish like this. Practically rivals tropical fish.
EC1 Posted October 13, 2012 Report Posted October 13, 2012 Beauty colours on these fish! Thanks for sharing!
Walleye'm Fishing Posted October 13, 2012 Report Posted October 13, 2012 BEAUTY male splake right there!!!
TroutnMuskieHunter Posted October 14, 2012 Report Posted October 14, 2012 Awesome trip you had...man you gotta love the colors on fall splake!!
Moosebunk Posted October 14, 2012 Report Posted October 14, 2012 That's some giving thanks at Thanksgiving for all the great things we're lucky to have in our back yard. The splake takes the cake!
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