A tale of two openers

[tbayboy]

Hi all, been a while since I've had a chance to post but think I still remember how .

Had the lucky opportunity this year to do the Kawarthas walleye opener one week and then do the NW ontario opener the next week back home in Thunder Bay.

Rice Lake

The Kawartha opener meant getting the kayak wet for the first time this year and of course as many of you know the day ended up being cold and windy. 20k most of the day which for a guy in a 12' hunk of plastic and a paddle means a pretty limited selection of spots. I stayed in a back bay on Rice and stuck it out for 4 hours managing one smallish 'eye before getting bit off by a decent looking musky. Took that as a sign to fight the wind and waves and head back to shore. Oh well - I'll be back there next week to try again if the fishing gods shine on me.





Lac des Milles Lac

For the last several years the regular gang of buddies back home have been doing openers at Maki Bay on Lac des Milles Lac in the Thunder Bay region. I've always avoided making the trip up as I go up in August for our week long fishing trip and the weather is always so sketchy this time of year as to make the cost not really worth it for just a couple days fishing. But after years of ribbing by the guys and such a mild winter last year I decided to use some air miles and make it up there.

Sure enough we spent all of last week watching the satellite photos and phoning the lodges to see if we'd even be able to launch a boat. The bay was full of ice on Monday, we were going up Thursday night. Luckily a warm spell and some rain broke up most of the ice and by the time we got there the bay was open though much of the main lake was still patched over with ice until Sunday.

Friday we went out pike fishing and scouting (opener being Saturday morning). Turns out the pike were mostly on the spawn. This was confirmed by our boat being covered in pike eggs by the end of the day and being able to literally watch them doing the dance in the reeds at the side of the river banks.

 

We didn't see any sign of walleye in the regular spawning areas (river entrances, rocky shores, etc) so we were kind of worried but that wouldn't stop us.

What almost did stop us what the weather - it rained from early Saturday morning until well after we left on Sunday. Winds picked up just enough to make the wet rain that much colder - water temps ranged from 41 in the deeper areas to a high of 47 in the shallow river. Think my hands are still missing most of their feeling.

That said, we did manage to find the walleye - right where they were last fall. Looks like they weren't even ready for the spawn yet, no eggs seen and only one mail found alone in the river dumped his load in the boat. The rest seemed to be coming in from the deep and getting their feed on before the spawn. Most were taken trolling cranks at a fairly good clip though classic spinner rigs on the bottom worked as well. Size was also interesting - we had a problem finding fish under the slot (Lac has a 13-18 slot with one over allowed). We had numerous fish ranging from 19-26" throughout the 2 days of walleye fishing. Most pike were decent as well, 30-36" and pretty beefy. Of course lots of snot rockets but those don't count . Also picked off a few nice smallies in the 3- 3 1/2 lb range for a bonus and a fat perch just for kicks. These pictures give you an idea of the wonderful fishing conditions - fun fun fun!

 

 

 

 

Anyhow - good times had by all even if we were soaked and cold. Nothing a good bottle of cognac and serious steaks can't fix. Here's a quick video overview:

 

 

[danc]

You guys did alright considering the conditions. Nice report.

[davey buoy]

Pretty good results with that nasty weather. WTG!.

[Moosebunk]

Looks freakin' frigid Frodo! But ya done good on a variety of fishes. Thanks for posting!

[Joey]

Well you did pretty good considering the weather! Well done!!