Chaudiere Lodge Report - Upper French Opener Trip 2014

[Jigster]

Thanks to a prolonged visit by Old Man Winter, my anticipation for an encounter with Ole Opal Eyes on the French was matched only by an ongoing obsession with pork fat. Yes I was getting sentimental, but who wouldn’t knowing they’d be spending five days with their dad up in shield country. It was time. Time to respool the reels, calibrate the jaw spreaders, and to create a playlist worthy of the soulful, mystical Upper French: Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, and plenty of Dvorak were loaded for the drive up with the old man.

Knowing cold water would be deactivating fish, our plan of attack was to target areas in and around bays and bay mouths with temps approaching 50 degrees, rather than the try the frigid lower 40’s found in the main channel. Our approach was bottom-centric; ¾ ounce bubblegum jigs, bottom bouncers, and lindy rigs rigged with fat minnows or 3” gulp emerald shiners tipped with a piece of crawler. Stinger hooks were added to all live bait rigs, which proved critical.

Our first couple days were spent hitting our traditional walleye spots, and we hit pay dirt early at Johnson Hole: a narrows between two islands flowing into a bay basin of 40-60 ft. We hammered a specific area with depths of 18-22 feet with live bait and jigs, producing hits or hookups on almost every drift. Although this spot was the main contributor to two consecutive 15-20 fish days, we also had good luck at other island narrows, and bay mouths exposed to the big water main channel. In the of absence enough wind to create decent walleye chop, the key was to find narrows creating wind funnels (oftentimes blowing in the oddest of directions) and to drift them with jigs. We were also paying attention to the tips of feeding shelves protruding into bay basins, which paid off with hard fighting Walters and brief visits from Sir Esox, who took off with his share of jigs. Speaking of visits, on our second day, while at Johnson’s, we were approached by an unmarked boat with three McGuyver-looking hosers wearing aviators. Good dudes, those CO’s.

On our last couple of days we were assaulted with brutal cold front, zero wind conditions. Despite this setback, we, after much experimentation, adapted by slowing our presentation down, dragging the bottom with slight twitches, cutting the motor whenever possible, and targeting deeper waters (40+ feet), again close to bay mouths. With these tactics, we managed to scratch up 7-10 fish per day, with too many light bites and missed hook sets to mention.

At the very end of our trip, at around 8pm, my dad and I were fishing some narrows close to the lodge, and weary from four days of nonstop fishing, were ready to head back to our cabin. Although I managed some decent eyes on minnows, my dad, who had been working a tired looking Gulp minnow for the last three hours without a bite, was telling me he wanted to call it a day. “One more pass”, I said, and maneuvered the big Alaskan in low gear for another start-stop drift through the narrows. Before we knew it, dad is fighting a 27” healthy male bulldogging its way into a nearby shoal. We landed the fish, the biggest of my dad’s life, and with a fading wet grey sky behind us, realized those final moments would replay themselves in our minds forever… Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air, and deep beneath the rolling waves in labyrinths of coral caves, the echo of a distant tide comes willowing across the sand, and everything is green and submarine….

 

[Muskieman]

Great report !

I know that place VERY well

[lew]

Great report for sure and it sounds like an outstanding trip with your dad !!

[solopaddler]

Great report Mark! (I finally know what you look like )

 

By all accounts Chaudiere is a heckuva place.

 

Hope you don't mind me posting this here Mark, but I've got a great working relationship with the owner of this lodge. If anyone might be interested in a trip to Chaudiere please drop me a line!!

[mattybculp]

Steve is a great host, and runs a good ship at chaudiere lodge! Looks like you had some decent fishing and good memories to reflect on !

[fishindevil]

great report & pics too !!! you guys did well,and your dad got his biggest eye ever !!! cheers...

Edited June 4, 2014 by fishindevil

[Hank Jr]

Great report and nice pictures . We have been to the lodge and like the upper French . Looks like Dad enjoyed it as well .

[Joeytier]

Awesome report and excellent fishing. I'm sure most didn't have them dialed in like you guys given the tough conditions

[Jigster]

Many thanks for the kind words everyone!

 

Joeytier - you're right about the conditions being tough. the most common mistake people make up there in is 1 -not to stick with the jig and minnow and 2- not to use a stinger hook. The other invaluable tool we had was a lowrance split screen gps/sonar, which was absolutely huge on those slow days. Sometimes I'd just put around contours until we found a pod of fish, and with no wind, we'd just sit there and twitch the bait right off the bottom. I did mark a ton of suspended fish though and was thinking maybe a spoon would have been effective. Anyone have a productive no wind/sunny condition technique for eyes? As for being "dialed in", I'd say at the upper french that would mean 30+ fish days (especially when bass opens)... was there last year when a hailstorm hit and it was one after the other walleye on the main channel using gulp... awesome

 

[Maverick]

Looks like an awesome trip.

[can u fish]

Looks like a great trip and congrats to your dad on that 27 inch walleye great way to finish the trip.

 

Cheers Mitch.....

[davey buoy]

Great looking area,thanks for the report!!

[Pigeontroller]

Great report! Chaudiere is a great Lodge and Steve is a gracious host, I highly recomend it to anyone looking for a nice getaway!

 

Which rapid was that?

[Jigster]

Pigeontroller - those rapids in the first two pics are at Recollet Falls, which is at the end of a great hike starting at the French River Visitor Centre. We stopped there on the way up to Chaudiere and I highly recommend both the hike and the exhibits. The hike takes about 30 min one way, follows the French River Gorge and is stunning. It's a great way to break up the trip and get some exercise. If I ever do that hike again I'm definitely packing some gear as the water around the falls looks amazing.

 

http://www.visitgeorgianbay.ca/scenic-vistas.cfm?action=1&things_to_doid=59&category=0

[Pigeontroller]

One year I was on the Lower French, meant to make the run upstream to see those rapids...Once a paddler, always a paddler!

[Ralph Field]

Great looking area,thanks for the report!!

x2