mepps Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 (edited) This is gonna be a long one! 2007 has been a busy year. Jon and I had only been out fishing once together before the trip to LV, and we were both in need of catching some fish. Our first trip to LV in 2005 was incredible - 7 Pike over 40 inches, and we got a quick glimpse at the elusive 50 incher as it attacked a 20 incher near the boat as I was reeling it in. We had high hopes for 2007. We we didnt bother bring all the lures we did last time though, since 95% of our pike were caught on inline Mepps spinner baits. I made about 10 of my own inlines before the trip and planned to use them majority of the time, unless of course they didnt catch fish - but boy did the catch fish! We covered the 2000km+ in a single drive, only stopping for gas and food. It was suprisingly cold, but we had plenty of layers to keep us warm. Our first fish came shortly after a quick bite at the local bar "The Bomb" from the very dock we would be catching our plane the next morning. We ran in to a group of OFNers as we arrived, and got the bad news that the weather was making pike pretty lethargic. After we arrived, we spent a little time catching up with Connie and then headed straight toward our favorite spots from the last trip. We searched for that first pike over 40inches, but all we found were small pike under 30 inches and it wasn't until later in the day that we caught our first fish over thirty inches. A sub par result compared to our previous visit to the lake where we boated several fish over over thirty two inches in our first day. The wind was cold and our were hands numb, we stopped a few times to admire and film the bald eagles that populate the surrounding area of the lake, but most of all we continued fishing in search of giants. Since Clive has started making his own in-line spinner baits we thought it would be a good opportunity for a bit of side competition, so for this trip Jon would stick mostly to the big Mepps spinners (#5 Black Fury/Aglia, #7 Magnum) and Clive would use mostly his own custom made ones. The goal, of course, to catch the most fish over 40 and hopefully find a 50 incher! Day three started brilliantly, with Jonny 'Depp'Marshall catching one of the longest pike i have seen in person, easily passing 45 inches. This fella was caught trolling a #7 silver Mepps. At this point I was switching back and fourth between #5 Mepps lures and my own #8s. This little guy had taken some serious damage recently, but still hit my spinner with full force. Day four was very rainy, and we started off wet from the day before. We spent some extra time at the dock and caugth a few nice pike. The next couple of days you couldnt buy a spot on the dock, apparently someone let word slip that there were big pike close to home! Despite rain, we continued on in search of giant pike... We had a late start on day five after drinking a majority of our beer. We rolled into the boat sometime after 11am and trolled the same area Jon caught his monster a couple days before. Aprox 150 yards from shore, in 8 feet of water. I used an inline I had made the night before, made very heavy specifically for trolling - and withing five minutes of dropping it in teh water was setting the hooks into this fatty... The rest of the day wasnt terribly exciting, but we explored the northern area of teh lake and covered shallow weedy bays moving a few big fish. We decided we woudl return and catch those big fish the next day, and thats exactly what we did. We pulled into the bay to find it crowded with four other boats, luckily non were in our spot. I had what looked like a big fish surface and slam my lure very hard and take off in the opposite direction - without my lure - so i made another cast wuickly in teh direction he was heading and BANG - fish on, no doubt about it this time! Another fish around 45 inches. And then another big one, this one shorter and thinner. Then soon after, Jon landed another 40+ We moved out when things quieted down and found a few more fish while trolling, including a nice walleye. Our fishing charms really did the trick! (you can see them in many of the pics) That ended our last day on the water. The time passed so quickly, the trip was really jsut a blur until we got to sit and watch footage and look at photos. As we were getting on the plane to leave, we ran into some more OFNers (or maybe lurkers since i havent seen a report yet) We chatted a while, and gave them some tips from our experiences. They asked what lures were cathing fish, so I reached into my tackle box and pulled out my lucky trolling spinner which had caught 2-3 pike over 40 inches and handed it to them - "Just use this, and you will do alright." In hindsight, and should have asked for some cash to cover our gas costs! The price was $1.29L near Red Lake - not to mention Jon managed a speeding ticket going 120 in a 90. It became a pricey trip, but it was more then worth it. In the battle of Mepps spinners Vs. Clive Mathias spinners it was a close match, but I think I edged out Jon by 1 or 2 40 inchers!! We'll have video up soon, and more pictures can be found on our website as usual... Edited June 23, 2007 by mepps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mason05 Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Now that was an awesome post Mepps. You sure know how to dial in on those pike. Great to hear that the hard work you put into your spinners has resulted in some of the most fantastic pike I've seen. Great job dude. Corn Nug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Glynn Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Great Report Guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whopper Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Awesome report Clive! At least you got to fish in your shirt sleeves, that didn't happen the week before. You and Jon did well. I didn't catch any big fish on the lure you gave me but I did catch a couple small pike and one walleye on it Thanks! Tell Jon I know how he feels I donated to the OPP fund myself, don't want to see em go hungry. Thanks for the report Whopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mepps Posted June 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Theres no way the OPP are goign hungry! Hopefully that lure will catch you plenty of fish in the future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfisher Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Wow, what a trip, what a report!!! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunfish Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Wow great report mepps. By the way...what does that lucky charm say? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mepps Posted June 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 the charm says: On the left: “Prayer and hope for good catches” On the right: “Safety while fishing” Along the bottom:”Tomioka Hachimangu’ (the name of the shrine) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntervasili Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 thats an awesome report and great fish.... Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeGuy Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Nice job guys. How can the two of you even consider skipping next May at LV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyk Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 amazing report. Thanks for sharing. Whats the name of the lodge you stayed at? I wouldnt mind making the trip there one day my self. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Nice work Clive. Great read and mony cool pics. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Awesome, now those are some big pike. thx for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douG Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 (edited) Clive, that was a superb report, rivaling the best I've seen on the board. Those four pike in the middle of your post were stunning - who sez you can only catch fish like that in Holland or Ireland? The pictures were well done (gotta play with depth o field tomorrow at Lakair), but the prose was even better. Nice writin'! I enjoyed that very much. You and Jon made the trip to the west arm once, hope you get to do it again. A big welcome to the new fambly member, too. Best to you and Jillian, hope all goes very well for you. Thanks, as well. Edited June 23, 2007 by douG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mepps Posted June 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 I would make the trip several time a year if I could affor it! Although the price is great for what you get, it wont be a yearly even anytime soon! MattyK: the lodge is called Sportsmand Lodge - there had been a few posts from ther already this year - the pike fishing is top notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeontroller Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Great report! You got into some nice Pike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherriff Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Incredible report Mepps. Enjoy this one as a new baby seems to make these amazing trips vanish...LOL... Sherriff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Wow guys! Even in the tough conditions you's did awesome. And the heads on some of those pike were something fierce. Gread read too! Nice going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drufis Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Speechless.....Congrats!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster4 Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 great report im gonna head down to the tackle shop and pick up some mepps spinners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1leggedangler Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 One of the best pike reports I have ever seen!!!! Congrats boys some awesome trophy's to say the least. Already looking forward to your next year report from Sportsmen Lodge. thanks, 1leg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b2kptbo Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 WTG, thats some good fishin boys... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosebunk Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Now, had that been me I'd be grinning from ear to ear in most of those pics. But that's me. Couple old pros like yourselves appear to take it as just another day at the office. Must be the "Fury" in your fishing. Two thumbs up doods. Great report. Great success on the pike. I too am a big fan of the inlines for pike, and hope to show ya's in the coming weeks with a couple pike of my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mepps Posted June 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 That is my grin! Most of the time we were too cold to grin - but that doenst explain the rest of our pictures. In real life we laugh and smile no stop, the camera hide it though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickGG Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 Awesome report and nice pics, looks like you guys did really good even in bad weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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