My 2013 open water season.

[Water Wolf]

Hi guys,
Here is my first 2 fishing reports for this new 2013 open water season.

The destination for the first trip of this season was at the N end of Good Spirit Lake where I fished from shore from 4:30pm - 8:00pm.

The weather was +9 deg C / 48.2 F with sunny skies and a bit of a wind from the NW.
This area was clear of ice. I could see ice in the distance on the main lake, but over half the lake looked to be ice free.

The location I chose had a nice sandy shoreline, moderately clear water, not bad depth and some current.
In theory it looked like it should hold some fish.

It seemed to be quite a popular spot and throughout the afternoon and into the evening there were no less than 8 anglers out fishing at any given time.

About half an hour into the fishing the local conservation officers paid us all a visit.
They checked the for fishing licenses, asked each of us how the fishing was and chatted briefly.

The action that afternoon / evening was OK and I landed my first fish of the season within the first 10 minutes, a smaller pike.
It sure felt good to feel that tug on the end of the line again.

In the end I was able to catch and release 5 pike {0.5 to 2 lbs} and 1 walleye 2lbs.
I also had 1 fish that got away.

I didn't snap a photo of all of them, but got most of them.

Here is the first fish of the season.


The other fish.


This is the big pike of the day.


This walleye was the last fish of the day.

It hit near sunset.

This area was rich in bird life and as I fished a good number of wading, diving and fishing birds entertained me with their presence.

The only nasty little hitch were the mosquitoes and ticks that were out, not lots, but enough to be bothersome.

The fish were eager to bite, but with the cold water they were a bit sluggish. I had the best luck when I moved the lures slowly along.
The pike went for a wildeye swimbait and sassy shad + a small Len Thompson spoon.  The walleye also hit on the spoon.

One of the pike I released swam a short distance and rested on the bottom in what looked like an ambush spot. On my next cast I moved my lure past the pike and it rushed out and hit the same lure all over again. Another short fight ensued, but it threw the hook just at my feet.  He's not going to get much bigger if he keeps that up!,lol.

Most of the anglers there were using pickerel rigs and it seemed like everyone was having some luck for pike and a few walleye. I didn't see anyone leave skunked.
The biggest pike I saw caught would roughly have been 4 - 5 lbs and the other pike and walleye looked to be the same size as the ones I caught.
One of the anglers said there was a 15lb pike caught off shore near opening day.

In the end I was happy with the results for my first trip out.  I will have to try this area again some time and look forward to see what the rest of this season brings.



The second report is from this Monday {May 20th, Victoria Day Holiday} and for the first time in quite a few years I was going to try some river fishing.
The river in question - the Whitesand.

I found a nice looking spot along the river and fished from 3:10pm - 7:15Pm. It was a nice warm day with temps at +21 deg C / 69 F, a mix of sun and cloud with a strong wind from the NE.

It also appeared to be a popular spot and there were usually 10 or so anglers coming and going all afternoon.  I found a nice shady spo, out of the wind and sun, and, proceeded to catch fish.  Man, the fishing in that area was crazy good.  The fish were stacked in there!  On my third cast I land my first fish.

A feisty little river pike.


This action would go on all afternoon and into the evening, with fish coming thick and fast, and, many fish following my lure just to turn right at my feet. I even had luck just holding my lure at the rods length and letting it flutter in the current. I could see fish sneak up to the lure and just hold behind it, one little jump and they were on it. Other times, all I saw was a flash and the lure disappeared. After 5 fish I switched to a barbless hook, which I feel is a bit easier on the fish.  At one time, I had just caught a pike, got it unhooked, and, was just going to release it from the net when I saw my rod bending. While unhooking the first fish I let the lure blow with the current and a walleye grabbed it, so now I quickly release the pike and fight the walleye.
I also noticed the fish were very active above the surface with pike and the odd sucker jumping out of the water here and there, some of them no more than a rod tip away. Most of the fish has scratches, bruising and split fins from their spawn.

Here area a couple of the other fish, no time to take photos of them all.
2 of the bigger pike of the trip.


This one had a nasty mark on it's back.


The first of the 2 walleye.


A shot of the river.

It was a peaceful spot to fish and relax.

In the end I quit at 35 fish, 33 pike and 2 walleye. The fish were still biting and chasing lures when I left.

The other anglers were also catching some fish, mostly pike, but, and odd walleye was also caught, and, one group beside me hauled in a medium sized white sucker.

The pike in this area were not large, most of them at 1 -1.5 lbs with the bigger ones at 2.5 lbs.  The walleye at 1.5 lbs or so.  Regardless, this was some of the best spring fishing I have had in quite a long time.

The fish were not too picky and went for anything that was brightly colored. I mostly used single and double tail grubs, and the fish really tore through them, destroying 7 rubber bodies. I switched to a small colorful spoon near the end and that's what the 2 walleye went for along with a few more pike. It was new when I started, but now it's really chipped and scared up, a sign of success.  
My own homemade lures were of interest to the fish as well, but were a bit too large for the little nippers to get a good hold.

In the same area I enjoyed watching a pair of osprey throughout the afternoon. I didn't see them fishing, but watched them as they came and went from their big nest on top of a power pole overlooking the river. It should be a great spot to raise fish eating chicks.

Overall I'd have to say I've a good start to this fishing season and look forward to what' next.

WW

[Raquettedacker]

Way to get the season going WW...  Congratulations...

[Water Wolf]

Thanks Raquettedacker.

Hi Guys,
Here is my shore fishing report for Sat. June 1st.

I have been eager to try Last Mountain Lake for a while now.
On this day I tried a new location I have never been there. 

Last trip I was on the river this time I was up the creek, literally,lol.

I first spotted it on Google Maps at LML and I was hoping there would still have a few fish in it.

My family and I arrived at the lake at 3:10pm where I fished until 7:15pm, others were just along for the ride and to see the new sights.

The weather was a mix of sun and cloud with just a very light wind from the N switching to E near sunset. The temps were a nice +20 deg C / 68 deg F.

As we got to the creek I found out that it was a very popular spot and there were 20 or more anglers shore fishing on both sides of the creek. There were also  6 boats fishing not far off.
As I got set up I saw several nice fish landed on both sides, a good sign .
I found a spot on the bank where I was not going to be crowding the other anglers.

The fish were fairly active, and, roughly 5 min into the fishing  I hook into the first fish of the day, a nice walleye.
Ten minutes later and another walleye is landed this would be the biggest walleye of the day. 
One of the anglers comes over to admire my fish and he tells me that it's very rare to get one walleye in this area let alone 2.

The fish hit off and on all afternoon and into the evening with some fish getting off and some being landed. 
The final results for the day were 10 fish for me 3 of which were walleye and 7 pike. All the fish caught were a good average size.
I also catch a new steel leader and spoon still attached to it, finally I am gaining lures instead of loosing them.

Half way through the fishing I land my largest pike of the season so far.
She hit hard and fast and gave quite a few good long runs before she was stubbornly netted.
She gets a quick photo and tape measurement and I send her on her way.

As I was removing the hook, I momentarily went too close to her weapons, and, in a quick instant she turned and ripped the knuckles of my right hand, OUCH, does that ever smart, and bleed. .  Fingers looked more like good used rubber jigs than fingers until I got them cleaned up and bandaged.
I have heard if your not bleeding your not pike fishing, and so it seems,lol.   Oh well that's a part of fishing sometimes.

The fish.
First fish of the day, not a bad walleye.


The rest of them.












This is my last fish of the day and I end it like I started with a walleye.


The big walleye.

It was 23.75"  x 12".

The big pike.

She was 36" x 14.5".

I kept 2 of the smaller pike and the first walleye,  all the others go back including the big pike and walleye.
One thing that I found a bit odd was that one of the 2 pike still had a good double row of eggs in her. I would have though all the fish would have been done spawning by now.

We cooked the fish up tonight and boy, were they good. Even though the water was getting warmer the fish are still as fresh as when you get them in the winter.
They were nice treat for the whole family.

The only annoyance in this area were the large swarms of biting mosquitoes and crawling ticks. They were both down right awful and I was bothered by them the whole time I was there.
I applied some bug spray but it just slowed them slightly.
I hope to look into some alternate non spray insect deterrents like the OFF clip-on Mosquito Repellent, the thermacell biting insect repellent or that bug repellent patch that has vitamine B1 in it.

All in all I was impressed with the size of the fish in this area of the lake and  I will have to try it again sometime, perhaps a bit earlier in the season.
I also hope to try a few other areas of this lake during open water season to see what else is out there.

As always, I am looking forward to my next adventure, wherever that may be.

WW

[Raquettedacker]

Now that is a great update....     I see the Fire Tiger pattern it working well for you..  Its my fave....  And that sweat shirt is also cool...       Nice job..

[Fat Boy]

WW thanks for the wonderful stories and pictures.  Keep 'em coming.

[Water Wolf]

Thanks Fat Boy & Raquettedacker.

Hi Guys,
Here is my fishing report for the rest of June including the Canada Day long weekend.

June 9th.

After the luck I had before, the family and I decided to try Last Mountain Lake again.
On this day we drove until we found a new spot - Big Arm Bay, where we fished from 2:10pm to 6:00pm.

It was a windy, cloudy afternoon with rain and thunderstorms predicted for this area.

The temps were a bit down and were in +18 deg C / 64.4  F  range.

We found an interesting looking spot in the bay and started fishing.
It took a while before the first fish bit.  It went to my uncle.
A 2 lb. pike, and, his first fish of the open water season.


It would be half way though our day before I catch the 2nd fish.

This 2.5 lb. pike.

As the day went on large black storm clouds gathered on the distant horizon and began closing in toward us.  Felt like we were in the path of an impending storm.
We were right! By 5:50pm we could hear distant thunder and seen fork lightning.

We fished for a few more minutes.  My uncle had another strike, lost the fish, and threw back to where he had the strike.   A fish, or the same fish, hit again and we landed it  just before the storm really started to get nasty.


We kept the three fish and packed up the gear quickly.  The wind really started to howl and whip the waves into large whitecaps, even in the sheltered areas.

The 6 -7  boats who were in the area fishing all cleared out quickly, and we did the same.
As we left the lake the lightning began to intensify and the rain came pelting down.  The storm raged like this all the way home.

Although this day was not as productive, I still got to see a new area and neither of us got skunked.  
Even the folks in the boat, who I chatted with earlier, were having trouble finding fish that day.  Most only had 1 to 2 fish for their efforts.
I think this storm pressure played a part in the fish's negativity.  

I hope to try this area again sometime, hopefully under more favorable fishing conditions.



My next fishing ventures take place on June 22nd and 23rd.
I decide to try my usual spot at Fishing Lake to see what it is like out there this year.

Day 1 and 2 were both nice days.  There was a mix of sun and cloud with an average temp of +20. deg C / 68 F.

The water at Fishing Lake is the clearest I have seen it, for this time of year. I could see fish following my lure right to shore.
Over the 2 days quite a few fish did this without even a nibble.  


Some fish did bite however, and on day 1 I fished for a few hours in the afternoon and a bit past sunset.

At one point in the afternoon there were some ominous storm clouds in the distance, but they skirted the lake and made their way to the S.

They looked like they could be nasty. :blink:


I was concerned that it might develop into a tornado.


The supermoon that night also provided me with a unique fishing opportunity, which I tried for a while.


A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth.

The transition between sunset and the supermoon rising is when the fish really turned on.
Through the afternoon I only had 2 fish bite, both pike, but by the time I was done I caught and released 7 pike & 6 walleye.

Here are a few of the fish from day 1 as my camera died and I didn't have my battery charger with me.
First fish.


A few more.









Day 2.
Over the night a series of thunderstorms rolled through with a good amount of rain at the lake. The next morning I was back at it and fished off and on throughout the day, waiting out a few minor showers that passed quickly.

The temps were still nice in the + 20 deg C range  / 68  F again.  The lake was flat calm.  The fish were still quite negative and I really had to work to get them to bite.
The fish were again just following the lures and not that interested in my offerings.
A few did bite and in the end I caught 4 pike and 1 walleye.  


First fish of the day


The only walleye of the day.

It seemed to be the most aggressive following right behind the spoon.
I see it coming behind the lure, and, just before it reaches shore, I let the lure flutter, and, that's when it hit.  
It hit a PK flutter fish.

There were again some interesting looking clouds when I left the lake and by the time I got home it was raining again!


The fish were not too large.  Both the pike and the walleye were at the 1 - 2 lb range, but, they were healthy looking.
There were lots of freshwater shrimp and minnows swimming about so they had no shortage of food.

The fish went for swimbaits, spoons and double tale jigs both light and darker colors.

All in all it was an interesting 2 days and I was happy with the fish I did find.
I hope this unstable weather clears out for my next outings.



My last days out were over the  Canada Day long weekend. I could not think of a better way to celebrate it than being by the water fishing.  On June 30th and July 1st {Canada Day} I hit Fishing Lake for a few hours each afternoon and stayed until dark to see the fireworks displays.

Both days were great at the lake fishing and weather wise. The temps were in the high 20 deg C.  There was a mix of cloudy and sunny periods.  For most of the day only a light breeze created gentle  ripples across the water and by nightfall - mirror calm.

The water was slightly greener now with light algea bloom, but I could still see a good way out and watched as some of the fish follow my lures. Some hit and some didn't - thats the way it goes.

The first day was the more active day of the two.  The fish were hitting hard and often. They were aggressive - not just tapping the lures but smashing them. In the end I caught 7 pike and 27 walleye.

The fireworks lasted for over an hour on various beaches around the lake. Sometimes there were fireworks going off in 4 different locations around the lake all at once -  impressive.


The 2nd day the fish were still quite active.  Another good day of shore fishing brought in 17 pike & 10 walleye.  They were hitting hard.

The Canada Day fireworks, didn't last as long. I guess they had the big celebration the day before, so those who had to travel on Monday wouldn't miss them.

I only took a few photos of the 2 days of fishing but here they are.

First fish of day 1.






Smallest walleye of the year,lol.

This little guys eyes were bigger than it's stomach.

Sunset on the first day.



First fish of day 2.






The big fish of the 2 days.

It was 31" long.

Interesting sunset and cloud formation.


The active lures on this trip were spoons in various brands and colors, but it seemed spoons that had yellow, red and or orange were the most popular.

I kept 2 walleye the first day and 1 pike the 2nd, all the other fish went back to fight another day.

All the anglers that I talked to reported good fishing as well.

This was another successful 2 days of fishing for me with the bonus fireworks displays at night.

I hope you all had a good Canada Day long weekend, and the folks in the USA, 4th of July as well!



WW

[muskyon46]

Man the pike and walleyes have been treating you well WW  Great reports and thanks for sharing, keep up the good catchin

[Raquettedacker]

Another, way to go WW......   Those are some great fish and pictures.....

[Fat Boy]

Thanks for sharing WW!  Very nice!

[Jakep138]

Nice looking eyes !!

[Raquettedacker]

Fishing been slow up there or what?   No report in a month....
Hope your having a great summer WW....

[Water Wolf]

Thanks muskyon46, Fat Boy, Jakep138 & Raquettedacker. 

Fishing been slow up there or what?   No report in a month....
Hope your having a great summer WW....

No, the fishing has been quite good actually.
I haven't had the chance to post my reports and photos from late July and Aug. yet, but hope to soon.

WW

[muskyon46]

ill be keeping an eye out for them WW, you know I have that same laid back fishermans association button in your signature line. It was in some of the fishin stuff I got when my grandmother passed. Do you know much about it?

[Water Wolf]

ill be keeping an eye out for them WW, you know I have that same laid back fishermans association button in your signature line. It was in some of the fishin stuff I got when my grandmother passed. Do you know much about it?

I got my button in a fishing hat when I was young. The hat said on it "if this hat's missing, I've gone fishing'"
I am not sure where the hat is now, but I still have the button.

I like that button and it's kind of how I fish. I am not really a competitive angler, and am happy to fish for the sheer joy of it.

WW

[Water Wolf]

Hi Guys,
Here are my shore fishing reports for the last part of July and into the Aug. long weekend.

The first one was July 23rd.
On this trip I got to the lake early in the morning and shore fished from 6:30am until 8:15am.
It was a bit cool with alot of morning dew, but once the sun moved a bit higher in the sky it warmed up nicely.

The lake was calm with only tiny ripples.


It was great to be out fishing that early, and, I think I was the only one up in the whole area.
I enjoyed sitting on the shore waiting for the fish to bite, seeing the sights and listing to the various bird calls all mingling together around me, the purple martins,
Jenny / house wrens and robins were the most common calls.

On the way to the water I noticed a robin's nest, with the young just hatching.

I took a photo and left quickly so as not to disturb the mother robin any more than I already did.
I hope to document their progress as I visit the lake over the next few weeks.

At the lake shore I noticed the water was a bit greener than it was the last time I was there in early July, but, still nothing like it was at this time for the past 2 years.

I didn't have to wait long for the first fish to bite, in fact on my first cast I got one.
This walleye was the first fish of the day.



This was the 2nd pike of the day.


Cheese!


In the end I catch and release 3 pike and 7 walleye.

Just before I quit I chat with another angler.
He said that the shore fishing has slowed a bit over the last few days, but the boat fishing is still good.
I am happy with my results.



The 2nd shore fishing report is on July 29th and is also from Fishing Lake, but this was a totally different day than the others I had so far.

As I got to the lake I was greeted with these fishing conditions.

The  3 - 4 foot white caps were coming from the NW and there was a mix of sun and cloud.  Temps were in the + 21 deg C / 69.8 F range.
With the high winds it felt alot cooler.

I decided to try the lake anyway and hope for the best.
I fished from 3:00pm - 7:00pm.  By then I had enough of the wind and quit just before another ominous black rain cloud moved towards the lake.

I found it quite hard to cast and could only cast the heavier lures half the distance. It took half an hour to find the right lure and have a bite, but once I did I stayed with that lure the whole time.  I caught all the fish that day on a Storm Wildeye Swimshad. Unfortunately, I also lost my lucky lure the same day to a snag just before I quit.

Here are the fish of the day.
This one was also 2nd biggest of the day.



2nd fish caught, and big fish of the day.


In the end I caught 1 pike & 6 walleye and lost 1 other.

I was pleased with the final results, despite the tough fishing conditions.

The young robins have grown in the few days since I have seen them.

They are starting to get feathers, particularly on the wings.
It won't be long before they are flying.

On a different note,
I was out feeding my rainbow trout the evening of July 31st and at one point I noticed a small garter snake roughly 4 - 5 inches swimming across the surface towards the area where the rainbows were feeding on the floating trout food. For some reason the snake stopped in the feeding area, not sure if just getting it's bearings or wanted to eat a bit of food it's self, but as it sat I watched in shock as one of the larger rainbow trout in the dugout came racing up, grabbed the garter snake by the head, and in one large splash both of them were gone. This all happened just a few feet to the right of where I was sitting.

I never saw the snake again, nor did I see it float up either, so I guess it must have been eaten right there and then by one or more trout.
What a shock, I knew trout were active surface feeders, but didn't think they were aggressive enough to take that big a prey compared to the size of the trout that ate it.
I always thought that was more of a pike, musky or bass behavior.

I wonder what size of prey the really large trout {10 lbs and up} can eat?

I was also wondering if any of you have ever seen trout take a larger prey item off the surface or have found larger unusual prey items in their stomachs?
If so, what did you see the trout eat or find in it's stomach?

What trout species was it?


This next report is for the Aug. long weekend shore fishing report for Fishing Lake.
During the long weekend I was able to go fishing for a few hours each day on Sat., Sun. & Mon.

The weather cooperated Sat and Sunday with nice temps in the + 22 deg C / 71 deg F and for the most part just small waves to calm conditions.
Monday was a bit different with a storm rolling in the afternoon limiting my fishing time to just an hour an a half or so.
I waited for the storm to pass. By this time I had about an hour to fish, so I did just that.

The lake was quite busy each day with a fair number of angler, pleasure boaters and jet skier out and about. 
It was hard to find a good shore fishing spot as most of them were taken, but I did manage to find one, and, over the 3 days caught 12 fish, 5 pike & 7 walleye + losing 4 more, mostly pike.

I learned from the other anglers that the shore fishing in Aug. has been quite slow, but there are still some good catches to be had by the boat anglers.

Once it got dark a few cottage owners set off fire works on both Sat. & Sun. nights for an hour or so.
During the night there were also a few shooting stars adding to the effects.

Here are some photos of a few of the fish caught.
First fish of the 3 days.


A couple of the other fish.


A sunset walleye.








Biggest fish of the 3 days.

It was also the last fish caught.

Over all it was an enjoyable long weekend at the lake and I am happy to have been there.

I also have to report that the young robins are now fully feathered and are starting to get very restless in their cramped little nest.


On the 2nd day the young robins have began to explore the area outside the nest.

The last 2 get a bit of encouragement from mom.

By the time I packed up all the young were gone.
It was interesting to see their progress over the few weeks.
I now hope they will survive the trials that are yet to come for them, only time and luck will tell. :blink:


WW