Fishing report : A new era and a PB

[BassMan11]

Nearing the end of summer last year, I had started looking for a new boat that would better fit my needs as an angler. At the time I had a 94 Sylvan sea snapper 14 with a Honda 30 tiller which I had rigged out to feel like a larger boat. A plywood carpeted floor, dual fish finders, a Terrova, w/Ipilot, and a livewell made out of a truck box from princess are just a few of the options I had on this rig.

 

Many a fish had passed over the gunnels of her but if I needed to have more than 2 people in the boat it was a struggle logistically as well performance wise. It was so heavy with all the added gear I could not get it up on plane. This would just not suffice.

 

In November while on my daily kijiji search I came across a deal I could not pass up. The posting was 30 minutes old and I called immediately. I was the first person to contact the seller and went to look at it later that day. A 2014 Lund 1675 Pro Guide with a 75 E-tec was the boat and I fell in love with it at first sight. I had to have it.

 

Not getting the boat until mid November I did not have much time left to get out on the water for a maiden voyage. A quick trip to a local lake and also a trip to Haliburton for the weekend only yielded a few smaller smallies which at least broke the ice for the new boat.

 

 

 

 

 

By early December she was winterized and packed away for the winter. The bonus of this particular size of boat is it measures 19’2” with the swing tongue which will basically fit in any garage. I was even able to get both the boat and the wife’s Civic nicely tucked away for the winter months. Needless to say I couldn’t wait for the spring.

 

 

Over the winter I added a few items to the boat as the went on sale. An HDS 12 Gen 2 Touch w/LSS2 and 7 Touch for the console and bow, NMEA 2000 Network, Point 1 GPS, an Evinrude diagnostics connector to the N2K system, a Lowrance Sonic hub with Polk audio speakers, and an 80lb Ulterra. The boat was now complete and ready for the 2017 season.

 

Before the soft-water fishing season officially started for me I also was having a few issues with my truck. A 2008 Sierra 1500 All Terrain. I loved the truck but thought i'd get my money out of while I still could. As they say, out with the old and in with the new.

 

 

 

 

 

A 2017 Sierra 1500 Elevation edition Z71 . I absolutely love it.

 

With both new vehicles ready for the 2017 season I could not wait to get out on the water.

 

 

 

As the 2nd weekend in May rolled around it was the start of Pike and Walleye in the Ottawa area and I could not wait to go chase some fish. The first few trips yielded little success with the wife and I landing only a few small pike and walleye, along with some OOS smallies. At least this gave me the opportunity to play around with all the features on the HDS units. There is a lot to learn there when trying to dial it in for your needs. I am getting the hang of them though.

 

 

 

 

 

This brings us to this past weekend. Do you ever just get a hunch to go fishing? The forecast for Friday June. 9th was sunny and calm which to me was the perfect day to give jigging for lakers another try. So I took a personal day and headed out by myself to try again for some lake trout.

 

My first time doing this was about 2 years ago and I was successful. 2 Lakers in the 2lb range were brought to the surface. It was a success but I had to wonder, what would a 5lb or larger fish fight like?

 

Spending time on the Navionics webapp I had picked out my spots beforehand and made a game plan for the morning. Getting to the lake at 6am and launching the boat I had the 2 older gentlemen at the dock thinking I was crazy when they saw I had no rope tied to the boat! Little did they know I had the Ulterra plugged in and once the boat was far enough from the dock I deployed it with the remote and anchored it there until I had parked the truck. I swear it was just like the commercial.

 

Heading out to my destination I immediately started marking fish in about 100' of water. On the second drop a streak came firing up from the bottom....

 

 

At about 4-5 pounds I had my first trout of the morning 10 minutes into fishing! I was ecstatic! After quickly releasing that fish about 15 minutes later a another laker is brought up from the depths. This one being around the 3lb mark.

 

Moving around for the next hour I had a lot of lookers but no takers. Next spot I move to a drop down and a fish rockets off the bottom.... and it is heavy. The medium heavy Fenwick Ateos is doubled over. After about 10 minutes this big girl is in the net. weighing in at 9.5lbs it was my new PB Lake trout.

 

 

 

 

Soon after another solid fish in the 7-8lb range comes over the gunnels. This time I stopped screwing around with pictures and set up the tripod.

 

 

 

The fish shut off by 9am and I was done soon there after. 4 fish caught in about 2 hours of fishing on a pressured body of water had me feeling a sense of accomplishment. I had started to figure out the lake trout jig bite.

 

After sending a few pictures to a buddy of mine, he was adamant we tried to replicate this success the next day. I obliged and the alarm was set for 4am the next day. Of course things don't always go according to plan. A cold front had rolled through and we were chasing a few rain clouds all the way to the lake. Once a the boat ramp we were greeted with scenery at least.

 

 

Once out on the water again we started to mark fish right away, but today there were almost all lookers and no takers. In the 2 consecutive days of doing this sort of fishing you could tell by the arc of the fish streak on the screen if they were going to hit the bait or not. A after a couple missed hooksets I managed to get one to commit. Another solid fish.

 

 

 

The would be the only one though. Another few missed hooksets would round out our day. Lots of activity on the screen but not on the lures.

 

All in all it has been a solid start to the 2017 season. I can't wait for the rest of the year.

 

 

Tight lines,

 

BassMan11

[GBW]

Great report man and enjoy all those new toys too!

[BassMan11]

Thanks GBW. I am lucky enough to have a job and a great wife that allows me to fuel our fishing addiction.

[AKRISONER]

this is how you write a report...well done man.

 

and friggin gorgeous boat...im jealous.

[Joeytier]

Awesome report! Summer lakers are some of my favourite trips of the year. Really easy to dial in most times too.

[Rattletrap2]

Awesome report and some beautiful photos as well. That really is a very nice looking fishing rig you have there. I have not seen the wave wackers on the transom since back in the late '80's. Where did you come up with them?

Thanks for sharing the start to your season!

[OhioFisherman]

Great report, nice upgrade on the gear!

[Hank Jr]

Thanks for the report . Like your boat . Great pictures .

[Tjames09]

awesome report. nice lakers. never done lake trout fishing.

[RangerGuy]

Great report man! Sweet boat with a matching truck AWESOME!!

 

My wife caught a Laker this past May on her first cast of the year on a jig! They are a fun fish..I think I'm gonna have to learn more about them, they sure do fight... Looks like you got'm figured pretty good!

[leaf4]

Awesome report! Beauty truck too, I get mine at the end of the week. Stone blue elevation edition. Stoked to pick it up

[Pigeontroller]

Great report! Nice rig!

[misfish]

Maybe I missed it in your report, but that dash set up is sweet. Is that part of the boat set up when you bought it?

 

Thats a sweet tiller there.

[smithy97]

Great report and great pics! Love that rig!

[Old Ironmaker]

You go young man, you go. Besides all the nice stuff you just bought your personal best is that woman you have partnered with, now there's a keeper. You go young man, you go.

[BassMan11]

Awesome report and some beautiful photos as well. That really is a very nice looking fishing rig you have there. I have not seen the wave wackers on the transom since back in the late '80's. Where did you come up with them?

Thanks for sharing the start to your season!

Thanks Trap,

 

I actually ordered those wave whackers from a company called whitecaps in Minnesota. They custom make them to fit your boat. A lot of bigger tillers have them since they are great to back troll with.

 

Great report man! Sweet boat with a matching truck AWESOME!!

 

My wife caught a Laker this past May on her first cast of the year on a jig! They are a fun fish..I think I'm gonna have to learn more about them, they sure do fight... Looks like you got'm figured pretty good!

Thanks RangerGuy,

 

Honestly come summer time they are pretty predictable where they will be... it's just finding the right cadence to get them to commit.

 

Maybe I missed it in your report, but that dash set up is sweet. Is that part of the boat set up when you bought it?

 

Thats a sweet tiller there.

Thanks Misfish,

 

They all come with those dashes on them. Here is a video of my exact boat (minus the Merc) and all the features. Really it has everything I was looking for in a fishing boat

 

You go young man, you go. Besides all the nice stuff you just bought your personal best is that woman you have partnered with, now there's a keeper. You go young man, you go.

 

Thanks OI,

 

You are absolutely right. I found a partner who is starting to love fish almost as much as I do. She is already excited to wake up at 330-4am this Saturday for the bass opener.

Edited June 13, 2017 by BassMan11

[PUMP KNOWS]

Nice setup you got there. Good luck on bass opener

[4x4bassin]

Looks like you had those lakers dialed in . Some nice fish there :clapping:I am out jigging lake trout almost every week on my cottage lake

and love it . They get easier to catch and pattern the hotter it gets , a definite untapped fishing resource in a lot of Ontario lakes .

The boat looks great as well , thanks for sharing !

[David Chong]

Great report! Nice greasers!

[jimmer]

Sure looks like you're living the dream. Thanks for sharing!

[BillM]

Awesome rig! great choice.

[BlueEye]

Awesome report - congrats on the upgrade and fish!