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Author Topic: My 2015 open water posts.  (Read 13629 times)

Water Wolf

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My 2015 open water posts.
« on: May 14, 2015, 12:10 AM »
Hi guys,

Well another open water season is upon us.  I had a chance to get out on May 9th, where my uncle and I went looking for a shore fishing spot around the Fishing Lake area.

The afternoon was a mix of sun and cloud with a fair wind from the SW and + 12 deg C / 54 deg F temps.

We finally found a suitable spot just arriving at the same time as another angler, so, we chatted as we fished.

I was the first one to have some action, roughly half an hour into the fishing.

I was able to land it and this was the results.
This pike.

It sure felt good to feel that tug on the line again. ;D

Just as I snapped a photo of it another angler showed up this turned out to be Killemfish from Myfishfinder & Ice Shanty.
Nice to meet you Killemfish and put a face to the name. 8)

A while later 2 other angler show up.  One angler gets a pike on his 2nd cast and another one a short time later.
His 2 fish would be the only other fished landed. My uncle did lose a pike right at shore and the rest of us all had a nibble or two but that was it. :-\

As as it got later in the afternoon anglers began to leave. My uncle and I were the last to leave at around 5:40pm.

Before leaving the area completely we decided to try my usual spot at Fishing Lake, just to see how the bite would be there.

We fished for an hour and in that time I was able to land 3 more pike.
If I would have been keeping them this would have been my limit for Fishing Lake.

The first pike in my usual spot. :)


The pike went for spoons and a swimbait.

All in all I am happy with the results of my first time out.
Hopefully they keep on biting for me.

P.S. all the lakes around that area are ice free. ;)


WW

Raquettedacker

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2015, 05:03 AM »
Nice way to start the season.... :clapping: :thumbup_smilie: :clapping: :thumbup_smilie:
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own.....<br />Strangers stopping strangers just to shake there hand...<br />\"Dying is the easy part. Learning how to live is the hard part....\"

muskyon46

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #2 on: Jul 15, 2015, 11:33 AM »
Very nice way to start the season WW. I never did get a chance to use the quick strike rig I won that you donated to I.S. this last winter but I will next winter for sure as soon as I can get down to the pike spot at ice up
                                                             

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #3 on: Jul 23, 2015, 01:32 AM »
Thanks Raquettedaker & muskyon46. ;D

Good luck with the rig muskyon46. I hope it works for you. :)


Hi All,

Here are my May and June fishing reports.

On May 22nd I went to Louis Creek on Last Mountain Lake.

I arrived about 2:00pm and fished until the mosquitoes and black flies persuaded me to quit at 8:30pm.

It was a nice afternoon to be out by the water.  The temp was 24 deg C / 75 deg F with sunny skies and a light wind that shifted throughout the afternoon from the W, N, E and finally
at the end W again. A few times the lake and creek were calm.


There were a few anglers out enjoying the afternoon as well. When I got there 2 were on the far side, and 2 beside me, and, a while later 2 more joined the shore fishing.

The creek itself was only slightly flowing, but it was quite clear and over the afternoon I saw a few nice sized carp go by.  There were 3 pike that followed my lure right to shore but would not hit.

At around 4:30pm, and, several lure changes later, I finally found something the fish wanted, a larger Len Thompson spoon.
I cast out and halfway back got a nice solid hit. This fish also did a few good runs before I netted it.
It turned out to be a 33" pike. :)


Four casts later and I am hooked up again. This one felt even stronger than the last one.  It made several good runs and a couple of jumps to shake the hook.
It turned out to be an even larger  pike at 35.5"
I tried to get a photo of this one also, but for some reason, my camera flashed, but it didn't take.  :/

Most of the folks left at 6:30pm.  I stayed out a bit longer hoping for a few more hits, but alas, the 2 pike would be it.

All in all it was a nice afternoon to be out and the size of fish made up for the slower action.

If those carp stay for a bit, it might be an interesting spot to try for them as well.

While sitting on the bank that evening I took in all the sights and sounds. The buzzing croak of a toad across the creek, local bird calls, and, "what's rustling behind me?"  Three cautious deer came ever so gingerly along the bank peering over at me as curiously as I was peering back at them.  How interesting to see them so close and calm.  Upon looking a little longer at them I notice one little doe had some old fishing line tangled all around one ear and her head.  She was raising her hind hoof and attempting to get free of it - hopefully she could.  Discarded line can be very hazardous for all wildlife. :blink:



May 24th, my uncle and I went back to the Fishing Lake area, where we started our season.

On the way to the lake we spot 2 moose. 8)

They look like last years calves - recently abandoned by the cow moose before her new calf arrives.  They seemed lost.

We got to our spot and fished from 2:30pm - 7:00pm.

It was mostly sunny in the afternoon with just an odd cloud in the sky and a temp of 26 deg C / 79 deg F.  A light wind from the W kept things cool and comfortable.

There was no one else out the whole time we were there.

I set my uncle up with a promising looking lure, and, as I was just getting to my own line, he said he had a bite, not 3 minutes into the fishing.
He indeed had a bite and it turned out to be this scrappy pike.


While releasing his fish, I saw a pike, in the shade not far from me, so, I slowly walked over to the area, and cast past it. The pike never moved. I swam my lure slowly over it from behind, much like an unsuspecting baitfish might do. When the bait got directly above and slightly ahead of the fish, it tilted slightly up, locking on it's prey, and, in a blink of an eye, inhaled the small green minnow  swim bait. This area had some current, so when the fish bolted for the flowing water, it created an notable extra drag. After a few runs, and jumps the fish was netted.

That afternoon proved to be one of the better fishing days in a long while. Fish after fish could be seen moving through that area. Most were pike but a odd white sucker and walleye could be seen.
The pike seemed to like to hang out just off the main current area and sit motionless, but always watching. If I cast right at them the splash spooked them, but if I cast some distance past or to the side of them they would usually turn and at least look at the lure. It was really interesting to be able to see fish in the shallows like that.  We could watch all their under water reactions as we cast toward them, and, a good number of them followed and struck the lure.

At one point, a cast produced 6 pike all following the lure at once. The fish were jostling for a position to grab the lure, when finally, one from the rear, streaked past the others, and, hit it hard.

We had 2 double headers that afternoon, and, I was also able to catch 3 fish on 3 back to back casts. With one of my casts, I  had a fish get off the line, and, while I was reeling in, another one hit it.

The fish bit consistently all afternoon and in the end my uncle and I caught 41 fish.  He caught 15 pike and I caught 25 pike and 1 walleye. My walleye was the last fish I caught just as we were packing up.

Between the 2 of us, 8 fish threw the hook, a long distance release.

We kept the 1 walleye and 5 pike for a fish fry.  The rest of the fish went back, and were easily released using the barbless hooks.

I was too busy netting, unhooking or fighting fish to take many photos, but here are a few more from the day.

One of the fish my uncle caught.


I caught the 2 big fish of the day the first pike was 29".


The other was a bit bigger at 29.5"


The only walleye.


The pike's average size was in the 24" - 26" range.

The fish went for double and single tail grubs and swimbaits, but 3 were also caught on spoons. Color didn't really seem to be a factor that day, if they saw it at all, they went for it.
The only lure that they did not go for at all was a surface lure.

It sure felt great to finally have a day of "catching".  I hope I can come close to that again this year.



May 31st. 
My uncle & I went out to the same spot as last time. We got there at 1:05pm.  Again, no other fishermen were out.

The temp is sitting at 20 deg C  / 68 deg F with a strong wind from the S and variable clouds. The wind make the temps feel much cooler.

The wave action made it harder to see into the water.

We set up and fish for an hour and a half without so much as a nibble. Hard to believe how an area that was so good before could be so dead now.  That's fishing for you.

After the hour and a half we pack up.  There has to be more action elsewhere. . .

Fishing Lake is really rolling.  White caps, foam lines, and, real nasty conditions even making casting difficult.


I select a heavy lure for both my uncle and I. No more than 5 min into the shore fishing and I feel a tap followed by a strike and am into a fish.
I land the first fish of the day, a healthy looking walleye.


My uncle makes a few casts in the direction I found the walleye and is soon rewarded with this pike.


The action proves better at this spot.  We both catch fish off and on the whole time, and, even get 1 double header.

This would be the average size of pike that afternoon.

This pike had a bit of black-spot disease on it.
I have seen this on a few northern fish but, this is the first time I have seen it on a fish from Fishing Lake.

We pack up at 5:00pm.  Both my uncle and I caught 5 fish each. 5 pike for him and 4 pike and a walleye for me.

My uncle used one of the small Little Cleo spoons for all his fish.  I went with a Storm Wildeye swimbait. Both were the best to cast in those windy conditions and seemed to
work equally well.

The walleye and 1 pike stayed and the rest went back.

Overall I am happy with the action that afternoon and May fishing in general. Hopefully June produces as well, we shall see.






It's June 7th.  I'm at my usual spot on Fishing Lake.

The family joined me for a bit of relaxation. My uncle and I were shore fishing from 3:30pm until 8:40pm.

It was a good day to be by the water with temps in the +28 deg C  / 82 deg F with mainly sunny skies, but, there was a bit of a haze due to some forest fires burning in province. There was a medium wind that shifted from N to W off and on.
When it was from the N we could smell the smoke.

Ten minutes into the fishing, and, I tie into the first fish of the day, this pike.


Not too long after that, my uncle gets a strike, and, another pike is netted.

"Fish on" again for me.


While we fished we were joined by 2 other anglers out in their boat.  They were still fishing, but, didn't seem to be having much luck.
The few shore anglers around seemed to have better luck, with a some pike and walleye being caught.

Over the afternoon we get one double header. At the end and I also cach the only walleye of the trip.


The 2 big fish of the day.
27".


26".
.
It was not as long as my other one, but alot heavier. I would discover why later on.

The final results were 12 fish, 4 pike for my uncle, and, 7 pike and the 1 walleye for me.

We kept a 1 person limit of 3 pike. All the others went back.

The fish were mostly going after spoons, but, I did get 1 pike and the walleye on swimbaits.

While filleting the fish, I noticed one pike had a really large stomach.  After filleting was done we checked the stomach content.  The bulge in question turned out to be a walleye roughly 10" long. Wow, what an appetite.

It was nice to be out on that warm day and I am happy that we had some luck besides.


Hi all,
June 13th & 14th.

I start at my usual shore fishing spot at Fishing Lake.

It's cool and windy with intermittent brief rain showers, clouds and sun. The temp is +15 deg C  / 59  F and the wind is brisk from the N to NW.

With the off and on rain showers, I get to the lake and start fishing around 4:10pm to 7:10pm, have a snack, and, then go to 10:00pm. My uncle joines me later, just before dark.

It takes a while to see any action, but,I get the first fish of the day, this pike, an hour into the fishing.


The rest of the fish that my uncle and I land, bite just before sunset.




In the end I land 4 pike and 3 walleye. My uncle lands a walleye.

The next day is more of the same cold windy weather mixed with rain and sun with temps only at +13 deg C / 55 deg F and a very strong wind again from the NW.

The family and I would like to go to the lake, but, when we get there the lake is has large waves and white caps.
Not the most welcoming sight for sure.

We decide to find an area with a bit more shelter, and end up along the banks of the Whitesand River.

We get there at 3:50pm and shore fish along the river until 6:00pm.

Not too far from the river a pair of osprey are nesting. As we draw closer I can see one of the birds peeking just above it's massive nest.

Osprey use the same nest each year, adding a few sticks or other debris to it each season. Judging by the size of that nest, they must have been coming to that area for quite some time.
While we fished we had one of the birds circling us, probably keeping an eye on us, so we didn't go near the nest.

The area we picked to fish was a nice sandy spit of land and jutted out into the river channel. The river itself was quite low and was flowing at a medium rate. It must have been flowing fast and hard earlier this year as part of the sand spit we were fishing on had a steep bank down into the water and the near by trees had bits of old sea weed hanging in their lower branches.


My uncle was the first to get a strike. He set the hook and a walleye came jumping out of the water. It did that several more times before it was netted.

It was no monster, lol. :laugh:

My uncle also feels something grab his lure, but this time it feels rather strange. He feels a bit of resistance, like a fish, but not a lot of tugging. The object also leaps from the water.
The thing he hooked turned out to be a freshwater clam. He must have dragged the lure past it and it closed on the hook. When he set the hook, the clam was swept up by the current and felt like it was tugging.
The leaping was also from water resistance on the shell.

I have never heard of anyone catching a clam in this way before. That was a new catch for us.

While my uncle took a warm up break, I started catching . . .

The first fish was a small, lean and lightly colored pike as were my other 2 fish.

Pike # 1


Pike #  2


Pike #  3


I also had 4 perch sized walleye take a swipe at my lure close to the river bank. They were a bit too small to get the lure all the way in their mouth and just gave the grub tails a good tug.

Over the 2 days, the fish go for spoons like the regular and new dimpled series Len Thompson, Pelican Lures spoons and a PK spoon. They also hit double tail jigs and storm wildeye swimbaits.
It seemed that I had to keep switching my lure presentations for the lake fish and after one fish on that particular lure I had to switch up again to get them to hit. I caught my river fish on a double tail grub and my uncle got his on a blue fox spoon.

Despite the less than ideal weather conditions we were still able to find some fish both days. All the fish, including the clam, were released.

Hopefully the next time out the weather is a bit more favorable. ;)


WW

perchgypsy

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #4 on: Jul 29, 2015, 03:56 PM »
Good times...few good trips...nice write up

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #5 on: Nov 09, 2015, 06:57 PM »
Thanks perchgypsy. :)


Hi All,
Here are my fishing reports for July & August. ;D

It's Canada Day (July 1st).   The family and I head off to Fishing Lake to do some shore fishing and relaxing.
The family did the relaxing and I did the shore fishing, lol. :laugh:

We arrived at 4:25pm, and, stayed until after the fireworks, late that evening.  Smoke haze, carried on the winds from the northern wild fires, added a little different viewing dimension this year.  A thick smoke haze covered all of Sask., alot of Manitoba, bits of Alberta and even extended down into several US states.  Air quality advisories were issued throughtout
Saskatchewan and even familiar placed looked foreign through what appeared to be an orange curtain.  Wild fires consumed many acres of forest in Northern Saskatchewan, Northern Alberta & the North West Territories this year.  It was difficult to see across the lake, and for some reason, the song "Smoke On The Water" just kept running through my head. . .  ;)


It was a +21 deg C / 69.8 deg F day with a light wind from the NW.
The temps were predicted to be a bit warmer, but the smoke haze was actually blocking the suns rays a bit - everything seemed more subdued.  Having said that I don't think it was a bad thing.  It seemed that the fish responded well to that atmosphere.


All the anglers that trolled past in boats and most of the other shore anglers seemed to be picking up a few fish each.
I was lucky to pick up 14 fish in total  - 8 pike and 6 walleye. :)

I kept 2 walleye and 1 pike.  The others went back - until we meet again.

Here are a few photos from the afternoon.


What better lure to use today than this one.







I fished up until the fireworks started, at about 9:50 p.m.  We were all treated to a good show here and there around the lake for over an hour.


Nice way to end a good Canada Day. :)

I hope you all had a good Canada Day as well. ;D



July 4th & 5th weekend.

Saturday, (from 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm) was a nice +23 deg C  /  73.4 deg F evening , with a light wind from the NW, calming right down at sunset.
Smoke haze was ever-present.


The fish didn't let me down and I managed to coax in 9 fish in total - 7 pike & 2 walleye.  :)

Both walleye were this size.

Sitting at the 20" mark.

Before I left I was once again treated to a few fireworks, for 15 min or so, on a nearby beach, "nice".

Hopefully you guys had a good 4th of July. :flag:


The next day, Sunday, I gave it another try from 4:30pm to 9:15pm.

It was cool with overcast skies and  a strong N wind that whipped  the lake up enough to leave a frothy foam all along the shoreline.    It was only +19 deg C / 66.2 F.  I was glad that I packed my light jacket.  One good thing about the wind that day was that at least it helped dissipate some of the smoke haze in the air.

Despite the hard to cast shore fishing conditions, I was able to pick up another 9 fish again. This time, 5 walleye and 4 pike.  :)






The pike and walleye were a bit larger, on average, than previous trips.
I lost one nice big pike (of course).   


The fish, so far this July, have shown preference for Storm Wildeye swimbaits, Len Thompson, Pelican Lure spoons and single or double tail grubs.  It seemed I had luck on a variety of colors, but bright colors were better in the day while darker colors seemed a bit better toward evening and in the dark.

All in all I had a good weekend of shore fishing and I am happy with the 18 fish that I did land. All the fish went back to be caught another day.


July 11th & 12th weekend.

Shore fishin' from 10:05am - 12:00pm at my usual Fishing Lake spot.

Weather was a mix of sun and cloud with winds from the S and temps at 23 deg C / 73.4 deg F.

There were a few boats out and most that went by had a fish or two.

Off shore the fish were biting in little spells followed by a bit of a lull.

By day's end I was able to catch and release 3 walleye and 5 pike.
Most of them were caught using Pelican Spoons.






Another shore fisher joined me and inspected my catch.  I don't know if I impressed him, but he sure impressed me. . .

This little mink landed 3 very small fish that he quickly turned into an instant shore lunch, and, very pleased with himself, moved on.


Sunday we went boating.

My uncle and I fished from 2:40pm - 5:15pm.

It was cloudy with the odd sunny break. The temp was at 25 deg C / 77 deg F and the wind was light from the S.
Weather reports warned of a thunder storm for the afternoon and/or possibly even a tornado.  We kept a wary eye on the sky as we fished.

Once we got out to the first location that we wanted to try I  rigged us up.   My first cast with a Storm Wildeye swimbait, I had a strike netting the first one of the day . . ."yes".


For the most part, we just drifted with the light wind, and, cast to the fish.  For the last hour and a half we trolled. 
Last winter I picked up a Berkeley Flicker Shad and was eager to try it, but didn't want to loose it on the snags near shore, so, this was my chance.  It worked well and both pike and walleye struck, attracted to it's tight wobble and internal rattle.  I was I able to pick up at least half of my fish with it.

When we were trolling I let enough line out so it was occasionally ticking bottom, and, with the no stretch line, I could tell when it was fouled in weeds.

At around 4:30pm we could see storm clouds moving in from the S and the W, so, we began to troll toward home. At 4:50 pm the lighting started, and, we could now see rain coming out of the dark cloud.  Time to pack it in for the day. We quickly reeled in, and, sped for the boat launch, just getting off the lake in the nick of time.  As we left the lake, it began to rain, thunder was booming just over head and the waves were rolling high, "phew - close one".

It had been a good day of fishing on the water.  My uncle enticed 4 pike and I caught 8 pike & 3 walleye.

Here are a few photos of that day's action. :)
The big fish of the day at 28".


The others.








All in all, it was another good weekend at Fishing Lake.  This was our first trip out in the boat - felt good to be out on the water again.  Looking forward to more of the same.



July 24th.

It was a nice, mostly sunny, warm, evening, with temps hitting + 28 deg C / 82.4 deg F, and, with the humidx it was 31 deg C / 87.8  deg F, with a S wind.

The lake was calm, so I took the boat out and did some trolling and casting from 5:15pm - 8:00pm.
I picked up 2 pike on back to back casts.

 The fish hit here and there, and, in the end I netted and released  10 pike & 5 walleye.  :)

Various hard and soft lures  worked, but, it seemed that the Berkley Flicker Shad was the favorite that evening.
The fish hit it hard and fast, as it ticked along the lake bottom.

Just a few photos of the action.




End of another day. 8)


WW

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #6 on: Nov 09, 2015, 07:03 PM »
This next report is for Aug. 1st - 4th, where the family and I were able to spend a few days at Fishing lake.

In general the weather was nice ranging from +20 deg C / 68 deg F to +25 deg C / 77  deg F, with the humidx making it feel a bit warmer. Most of the days were sunny to partly sunny, except at the end of the last day clouds rolled in. The wind was mostly from the NW, with reasonably strong wind gusts at times.

I fished off and on for the 4 days.
When the wind was calm I took the boat out, but when the winds got up I did some shore fishin'.

Over the summer the lake has continued to get a bit more green with algae bloom, and now  it's fairly green.  It dosen't seem to bother the fish though.  I was able to get good action both on shore, with back to back casts, and in the boat.

While in the boat the family and I were able to explore parts of the lake that we had not tried before.

My final results were 25 pike and 18 walleye, all caught and released. ;D
There were, no giants this time out, but, quite a few in that eater size range, and, a couple a bit larger than that.

In the late evening, folks along various beaches would set off fireworks, not very long, but, still nice to watch all the same.
The 2nd night was the best for fireworks around the lake.

Here are a few photos from the trip.




These 2 ravens watched us as we trolled past.




It was nice to be out on the lake for a few days again.
Hopefully the fishing and weather stays good.

Aug. 17th was the next off shore day at Fishing Lake.

The weather was cloudy for the most part with  +20 deg C / 68 deg F temps. The wind switched from the W, NW, N and finally SE with a bit of rain mixed in.

I fished from 11:17 am to 6:00pm.

Over the afternoon I had 3 light rain showers move through, but I kept fishing. Most of the pike I caught fairly close to shore, and, one bit as I was jigging, right in front of me. I caught 2 on swimbaits, but most of the pike went for a bright double tail grub. The walleye went for a clackin' rap.

One of the pike had a nasty looking bite on it's side. It looked like another bigger fish or possible a pelican wanted to make it lunch.


In the end I caught 6 pike & 1 walleye plus had 4 others that threw the hook and a couple that nipped and tasted, but did not take the bait. :)






It's Aug 23 and I am back off shore at my usual spot.

I started at 5:00pm and went to 7:00pm.

It was a sunny evening with the odd cloud and summer like temps a + 20 deg C / 68 deg F, with some wind from the NW that calmed right down at dark.

The lake is still a bit green with algae, but, better than before.

While fishing I could see no other anglers out and the only boat was joy riding. The only anglers about were a flock of pelicans flying past me going to settle in for the evening.

This walleye let me know that they were around 10 min into the fishing.


The next fish, a pike came 5 min after that.

After those 2 quick hits it slowed right down and I had to wait to almost the end before the hits started coming again.

The final results were 2 pike and 2 walleye. I also had 3 pike that shook free. :)

One of the pike that I landed was more aggressive then the rest. It first ripped both rubber leg off my double tail grub and still followed the tattered grub body back to shore. I saw it sitting watching my lure so I jigged the rubber body just under the surface and it took 4 more swipes at it before it was hooked. This fish also looked like it was hooked before, judging a fair sized slash mark that ran along the thin skin of it's lower jaw and a few holes were also in it's lower lip.  No wonder he was a little aggressive. :whistling:


As usual all 4 fish went back.




The last trip of Aug. was on the 30th.  I'm back shore fishin' at my usual spot from 2:45pm - 7:00pm.

The weather was a mixed bag. It started off cloudy at first with 2 brief showers and then cleared at roughly 5:00pm.
The temp was +20 deg C / 68 deg F and when the sun was out was pleasant. The wind switched 3 times, first coming from the NW then W and finally S.

The lake still has a green tint with algae.

For most of the time it was just me, 2 pelicans and a grebe out fishing. At the end, I did see a group of 4 anglers fishing for a while down the shoreline.

I am not sure how they made out, but, I had some luck. It took a while to find what the fish wanted, but when I did, I had enough action to keep things interesting.
The first fish was as usual, a pike.

It hit on a double tail grub. The rest of the fish seemed to prefer the action of one particular swim bait, a Big Hammer swimbait, and, that's what caught the rest of them. These swimbaits really have a nice tail kick and roll. With braid you can actually feel it a bit on the tip, much like a small crankbait.

The final results were 4 pike & 2 walleye + 1 pike and 1 walleye that shook free, before I could net them.

By 7:00pm the mosquitoes again got really nasty and it was time to quit.

First fish of the day.


Here is the big walleye of the afternoon.

It was 20.5" and is now my largest so-far this season.  It inhaild the blue,black and yellow big hammer swimbait.


The biggest pike.

It went for the swimbait as well.


Overall it was a good summer of fishing, with action both on shore and from the boat.

Here's hoping for equally good fall fishing. Maybe I can find a big one or two, "fingers crossed". ;)

Good luck to all of you as well.  ;D

WW






Raquettedacker

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #7 on: Nov 11, 2015, 11:39 AM »
Very nice as usual WW...    :thumbup_smilie: :thumbup_smilie: :thumbup_smilie:
You do well on those swim baits...  I never had much luck on them.....
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own.....<br />Strangers stopping strangers just to shake there hand...<br />\"Dying is the easy part. Learning how to live is the hard part....\"

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #8 on: Nov 22, 2015, 09:31 PM »
Thanks Raquettedacker. :)

Which swimbaits were you referring to, Storm Wildeyes, the Bighammer or swimbaits in general?

WW

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #9 on: Nov 22, 2015, 09:37 PM »
Hi guys,
Well it's Sept. and fall is upon us. This usually means that the fish are now starting to put on the feed bag hard before another winter of lean times set in.

I started my fall fishing on Sept. 4th at Fishing Lake.

I didn't fish that long this time as I was just passing by, but did get out from 6:30pm - 7:45pm.

All around I noticed that just a few trees are starting to show their fall colors, most are still quite green, hopefully it will also mean a longer fall.

The evening was cloudy with some wind from the NW and temps in the + 14 deg C  / 57.2 deg F mark.  It feels like fall, and, frost warnings have been predicted - burrr. :-\

Despite the short time I had, the fish were still fairly aggressive.  If I would have landed all the ones I caught, it would have been good, but, for some reason they were able to throw the hooks with ease.
In the end I caught 3 pike and lost 3 pike. :)

I forgot my camera at home that evening so no photos this time. :whistling:

Hopefully I can get them to stay on a bit better next time out.



The next 2 reports are for Sept. 13th, from the boat, and Sept. 14th, from shore.

My boating partner and I get to the lake and we are out on the water by 2:20pm, staying until 7:10pm.

It's a nice sunny day with some wind that switched from the NW to W and back to the NW near the end. The temp was a dandy + 26 deg C / 78.8 deg F and it felt like summer again.

The lake is still slightly green with algae, and it's a lot greener where it blows in along the shoreline.

We slowly trolled with a crankbait covering different water depths looking for fish.  I recently picked up a couple of new crankbaits, and, was hoping to give each one a good try before ice up. The crankbait I wanted to try, this time, was a Berkley flicker minnow pro. As with all crankbaits I first drop it over the edge to see how it moves and at what speed it works the best. I did this and proceeded to troll. It didn't take long before the flicker minnow scored it's first fish a walleye.


This scene would repeat itself many times that afternoon in a variety of locations. Surprisingly, all the fish caught that day were walleye, no pike at all.
It is possible they may have been a bit shallower than where I was trolling, but I'm not sure. My final count was 15 walleye with several in the 20" - 20.5" range. ;D

By the time the day ended the flicker minnow was well broke in with a few scratches, chips and nicks from aggressive fish, always a good sign in any lure.

A few more photos from the day.










The next day was quite a bit more windy and cooler so I opted for the shore where I fished from 2:10 pm - 7:15 pm.

The weather was mostly cloudy with an odd sunny break. The wind was stronger from N to NW and the temp was +16 deg C / 60.8 deg F.

The fish were around, and still quite aggressive.  This time it was mainly the pike that showed interest. Maybe it was the new moon that day, but whatever, I will take it anytime.  I seemed to be the only angler out there for some reason.

My final tally was 15 pike and 1 walleye.  :)

The pike went for spoons, swimbaits and single tail grubs.
The one old spoon that was working, had most of it's paint scratched off of it, so, I repainted it in green,yellow and white, and they must have approved.


I also caught them on my home made 2 lure rig with a single tail grub and small minnow swimbait.

Overall it was a good 2 days of fishing and hopefully it continues into the fall.

P.S. -  The the trees are starting to get more color to them now around the lake.  Good flocks of Snow and Canada geese can be seen and heard.
The odd sand hill crane flock is also showing up and lazily go squawking over.



Sept 19th and I am back at Fishing Lake for some late afternoon / night shore fishin' from 3:35pm - 8:40pm.

The weather was a mix of sun and cloud with a fairly brisk wind from the SW and good temps at +20 deg C / 68 deg F.

The fish took a good while before I had my first nibble at around 4:50pm, just as the wind began to calm down a bit.
It turned out to be this walleye on my 2 lure rig.




The rest of the fish came in bursts of action after that. Once the sun set and the moon was already up the pike as usual shut right off, but there were still a few walleye lurking in the moonlight and I was able to find 2 night walleye.




My final results were 6 pike and 5 walleye. :)

The effective lures this time were again swimbaits and the double rig of a small swimbait and single tail grub. Large spoons and noisy lipless rattle baits worked on the night fish.

Hopefully the good fall fishing continues. :w00t:


The last 3 reports for Sept. were on 25th, 26th and 27th, where I try 3 different bodies of water.

The weather was quite sunny all 3 days, but quite windy with wind gusts 32 - 45 km/h / 19 - 27  miles/h. With these high winds I shore fished.
The temps were nice at + 23 deg C / 73.4 deg F, + 18 deg C / 64.4 deg F and + 16 deg C / 60.8 deg F.

The first trip was to Whitesand Lake, (locally known as Pelican Lake) from 4:10pm - 7:00pm.

I rigged up with a fire tiger storm wildeye swimbait and on my 3rd cast felt a strike close to shore. I set the hook and tussled a walleye into the net.


Four casts later and another walleye hits.

This one is bigger still, with a chunkier body. :)

Not too long, and, another strike, and, another walleye is netted.

I am happy with these quick results, but a bit surprised, as this spot usually only yields pike from my previous experiences here.

Twenty minutes into the fishing, and I am joined by a lady with her young grandson, who is just learning to fish. They move in beside me to fish and chat.
The young guy is full of questions regarding, fishing, wildlife, and the area in general. I answer them the best I can. While we are fishing, I pike up 3 more walleye and a pike for a total of 6 walleye and 1 pike. The lady lands 2 fish, 1 pike & 1 walleye. The folks leave just before dark and I stay a bit longer. I leave with the call of the loon echoing across the lake from the far side, and over head, calls of flocks of Snow geese, Canada geese and ducks as they wing their way in for the night.

The next day my traveling buddy and I are off to the mixed forest area to tour around, and also fish for a bit. We decide to go to Mc.Bride Lake and after a bit of sightseeing around the lake start fishing from 4:30pm - 6:30pm.

This area is a lot calmer than windy Fishing Lake, as it's a lot more sheltered with the tall spruce, pine, tamarack and poplar trees surrounding it.
This lake is known for it's good sized perch so I try a set bobber and drop-shot rig. I bait up, and within 10 minutes, I see my bobber twitch, bob, and then move to the side fairly quickly. I set the hook and feel the fish. This feels big for a perch, but maybe it's a dandy.  I bring it slowly in with anticipation, but somewhere between it biting and me landing it, my perch turned out to be a small pike,lol. :laugh:

That's OK, at least I am not skunked now.

After I get no other hits on the bobber I turn to casting a small swimbait in hopes I can find a dandy perch to go for it. I do get a hit, but feels like another pike, who gets off before I can get it in, just leaving a swimbait with no tail. :P

After a while, with no other hits, we drive to a spot down the lake, and try near some shoreline reeds. This time I try a small Len Thompson spoon. First cast and flutter to the bottom and I feel a pick up. I set the hook and once again Mr. pike is caught.

He would be the last fish caught that evening.

The third and final day is again windy, but this day it the worst of them all. Most lakes will be rough no matter where they are so I have to pick a spot that is small and hopefully sheltered.
The only area I can think of was a spot I know of along the Whitesand River. So my traveling companion and I are off again.

We find a spot, still a bit windy, but it will do, along the river, and I shore fish from 3:30pm - 6:00pm

Fishing starts off quite slow with no action at all. At 5:20pm I finally have a strike and land the fish.
The 2nd and final fish hits at 5:30pm just as it's getting dark with clouds.

These two guys are no river monster,lol, but, are still better than nothing. ::) :)




We pack up at 6:00pm and make our way home where we watch that evening's rising and transformation of the Super Blood Moon.

Did any of you see the transformation as well? ???

All in all I am happy how Sept. went in terms of fishing, now hopefully in Oct., I can find a few of those big girls feeding up for winter. ;)




It's October 18th and I'm in the boat at Fishing Lake.

I started at 1:25pm and went to 4:32pm.

It was one of the nicest afternoons of the year, wind wise. It started out just a light breeze from the NW and then calmed right down half way through the fishing.

The temps were decent at +11 deg C / 51.8 deg F and the sky was a mix of sun and cloud changing to full cloud later on and then rain.

The lake appeared to be experiencing fall turn over as it was quite discolored, despite the calm conditions, and there were weed clumps floating about.

The fishing was decent though, and in the first few min of trolling, I had a strike, and netted the first fish of the day, this pike, on a pumpkin seed sunfish colored spoon.


Not long after that, another pike strikes, and is also hooked.

I then head for deeper water to see if I can tempt any walleye into striking. I get out deeper and mark a fair number of fish, but the fish,( possibly walleye) were not interested in what I had to offer. I spent a fair bit of time trying to get their attention before 2 fish finally fall for a Berkley flicker minnow (a pike and a walleye).




As the afternoon progresses, I see that what look like rain clouds gathering in the distance, so I move closer to shore again, and am back into the pike.  
I maneuver the trolling motor slowly along the shoreline, fan casting to promising looking areas with a swimbait. One particular area was good, and resulted in the rest of my fish. At one point I noticed my rod bending while I was releasing a previously caught fish. When I unhooked the fish I let the lure fall over the side of the boat and another pike hit. This pike was not well hooked and got off after a few jumps, but is was still exciting to have that kind of action.

A few other fish.




A 4:28pm small drops of rain began to softly fall around me. I got a little closer to the launch, but kept fishing. By 4:32pm the rain was a lot harder and it was time to call it a day.  By the time I was all packed up I was quite soaked.

My final results were 6 pike and the 1 walleye. :)

This might have been my last boat fishing for the year.
Hopefully I will be out again a few more times, but it will probably be off shore from here on in.



October 24th, and I am at Fishing Lake, at my usual spot off shore, where I fished from 3:35pm - 6:30pm.

The weather is a mix of sun and cloud with temps at + 9 deg C / 48.2 deg F and wind from the N.

The lake was still a bit discolored, due to the turnover that was occurring in addition to the wind action.

The fish were quite active that day and I had several pike follow my lure nipping at it right into the shallow water near the shoreline.
I even caught one of the followers when I stopped my lure and jigged it at arms length just off shore.
Spoons and swimbaits were the usual hot lures that afternoon.

In the end I caught 9 pike and lost 2 others.

As I was packing up I could hear swans somewhere out in the dark on the lake.

Here are a few photos from the afternoon / evening.






One of the pike had it's jaw damaged, not sure what happened to it, possibly someone removing a hook forcefully, but whatever happened, left the fish with a crooked jaw. :unsure:

The injury didn't stop it from feeding though, it really hammered my lure. :o




My last report for Oct. happened to be on the 31st, (Halloween).

I was out from 4:33pm - 6:00pm.

The afternoon / evening was cloudy with the wind from the NW and not bad temps for this time of year, at +7 deg C / 44.6 deg F.

Since it was a bit windy I decided to try a different spot on the lake that would be a bit more sheltered from the wind.
The water was also a bit more clear in that area.

The fish were a bit off that afternoon, and it took half an hour before I felt a strike, set the hook, and pulled in this pike. :)


There was a lull in the action after that. As I fished, I had diving ducks flying just over my head as they came in for the night. Swans again were seen as well as families of grebes.
As It got darker I also hear the howls of a pack of coyotes somewhere just a bit NW of my area and to further add to the spooky Halloween feel a horned owl hooted not far from me in the trees along the shoreline. :w00t:

I caught another pike 20 min before I quite for the night.


I packed it in for the night when I lost my 2nd lure of the evening to snags. :P

The first pike went for a Len Thompson spoon and the 2nd pike went for a Storm Wildeye swimbait.

In the end fishing on Halloween was a more of a treat than a trick.

The weather is expected to stay above the freezing mark for a few days yet in Nov., so, hopefully, I will have a couple more open water days yet, fingers crossed.




My one open water trip for Nov. was on the 15th where I shore fished in 2 different spots on Fishing Lake.

This trip was the latest I have been out in Nov. The temps were above normal for this time of year, making it a good way to end my open water season.

On the way to the lake I spot 2 moose out grazing in a field. One would go down on it's knees, eat for a bit, stand up, and then the other would eat. That way while one ate,the other was watching. 8)



I would spot 3 other moose later on.

Six bald eagles were also spotted, and when we got to the lake, there were still good numbers of Canada geese, various puddle and diving ducks, and even a few swans.  All possible eagle food.

The weather was mainly sunny for most of the afternoon but then got cloudy an hour before dark.
The temp was + 9 deg C / 48.2 deg F for a while and the wind was fairly brisk from the S.

My first spot would provide me with a bit of shelter from the main blast of wind. I set up and fished from 1:32pm - 3:40pm.

The lake must have finally finished it's turn over as the water was fairly clear again and cold.

It was not long (10 min or so) before I felt a strike and set my hook into a scrappy pike that had quite a few jumps in it despite the cold water.
He was so full of energy that after I took the hook out it leapt out of the net and back into the water before I could snap a photo of it. Must have been camera shy,lol. :laugh:

No too long after that and pike #2 shows up and is landed. This one poses for the camera before I send it on it's way.


Right near the end of the fishing in this area I get one more strike and land this pike.

It's another fish with a deformed face from what looks to be, again, hooks. It's maxillary has been cut and free hanging for a while, now it has adhered backwards to the side of it's lower jaw. :P
Despite the injury it didn't seem to affect its feeding and the fish could open it's mouth wide and appeared to be in good shape. :o

A 3:40pm I decided that I would finish off where I fished for most of the season, at my usual spot on Fishing Lake, so by 4:05 I was shore fishing there again. It never lets me down, and, as usual, it was not long before an active fish showed it presence and was landed.

This would be my last fish of the open water season. :azn:
I did have 2 more strikes near dark, but they were both jumpers and flung the barbless hook free.

The last sunset.


So as the sun sets on this open water, a new ice fishing season is just around the corner. :tipup:



All in all I am happy with the open water season this year.
I am thankful for the time I could spend with friends and family while fishing.

I would also like to thank all of you for coming along with me this season and for your kind and encouraging remarks. :thumbup_smilie:
I wish you all a safe and happy ice fishing season this year. ;D
Until then, be safe and have fun. ;)

Water Wolf
out!!!

FlyRock

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #10 on: Feb 08, 2016, 08:22 PM »
Awesome Pics, can't wait for summer.

whistlepig

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #11 on: Feb 09, 2016, 02:16 PM »
Really great pictures, always love your posts

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #12 on: Mar 20, 2016, 05:55 PM »
Thanks FlyRock & whistlepig, glad you like them. ;D

The new open water season for us starts on May 5th, hope to be out sometime around then. ;)

WW

Raquettedacker

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Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #13 on: Mar 22, 2016, 01:58 PM »
Great report WW.. I can't believe your big lakes are open up there...
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own.....<br />Strangers stopping strangers just to shake there hand...<br />\"Dying is the easy part. Learning how to live is the hard part....\"

Water Wolf

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  • BE YOURSELF - everyone else is taken.
Re: My 2015 open water posts.
« Reply #14 on: Apr 06, 2016, 02:18 PM »
Thanks Raquettedacker. :)

Our lakes are still locked up solid up here and most will probably ice covered until just before opening day on May 5th.

These last few open water reports are not recent. They are from last Oct. & Nov. 2015.  :w00t:

WW

 



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