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Water Wolf

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My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« on: Jun 09, 2014, 09:58 PM »
Hi guys,
Here are my open water reports for the month of May. :)

Well here it is, my first fishing report for the new open water season. ;D
Normally I am usually out on opening day, but this year I was delayed a bit.  The first day out was Sat. May 17th.

On the way to our first spot I see some other angler out fishing in a flowing creek.



My first stop is my usual spot at Fishing Lake, but find the lake still mostly ice covered, say for 100 or so feet of open water around the edge. :blink:

This is very unusual to still have ice this late in the year, usually it's gone around the beginning of May.
In fact this whole spring has been slow getting going, even the leaves are just starting to open. :-\ 
Oh well, onto spot 2 and the flowing waters of the Whitesand River.

On the way to the river we pass by the town of Rama where they are having horse drawn seeding and farming demonstrations.  My passenger and I stop to observe how they used to break the land and plant the crops in bygone days. 





Neat to see. 8)

We get to the river and to the spot I want to try.   A group of anglers are just leaving, with a few fish, so at least there might be some action.

I shore fish in this area from 3:30pm until 6:00pm.

It was a fairly windy day with gusts coming from the N. The temp was + 16 deg C  / 60.8  F with mostly cloudy skies.

I fish for 10 min or so before another group of angler join in too.
I finally get my first fish of the new open water season, this pike.

It's no, giant, but still it feels good to get that tug on the end of the line again. 8)

Another 10 min later and this other pike, a bit larger than the first, takes my bait right at the rod tip, with no more than 5 feet of line out.


A few more anglers show up and we line the river bank.

When I first arrived I could see fish jumping  all over the river.  While fishing along the bank I finally saw what they were, white suckers.
They were swimming past me no more than a foot away from my boots, but if I made any motion, they bolted. Cool to see them that close.

In one of these spots where the suckers were congergating, this guy strikes.

This male white sucker is in full spawning colors. Maybe the jumping is part of their spawning activities?

He was aggressive enough to hit my black and white double tail grub, he is also the largest white sucker I have caught to date, and I would feel that he was 4 - 5 lbs. :)

I am not sure if that's a big white sucker or not, but he gave as good a fight as a walleye of equal size and I did think I had a not bad walleye when I felt it run.

I fish for another half hour or so but with all of us out there our lines were getting entangles, so I decided to move to a creek, no too far off that I had heard about last year.

Enroute to the creek, we came across a large cow moose, in the tree line, just off the road.
 She slowly walked into the bush and just stood perfectly still.  I snapped a photo of her, but she blended so well with her surroundings that she is difficult to see among the willow and underbrush.

We get to the creek at 7:10 pm and I fish until 8:00pm.

The creek slowly flows into a nearby lake down stream.

There were only a few other anglers here and we exchanged our fish stories of the day.  All of us caught 1 fish including myself. Another pike, about the size of the first one I caught earlier.

Half an hour before we left we all got checked by 2 conservation officers.
They told us that fishing had been slow everywhere.

At 8:00 pm we all packed it in.

This time the fish went for Len Thompson's new lemon and flame colored 5 of diamonds spoon and a double tail grub.

On the way home we come across another moose and this neat little church.

This is the smallest country church I have ever seen. It probably no more than 10' x 15' and almost resembles a large ice fishing shack,lol. :laugh:

There is a small, cemetery nearby.

All in all it was an interesting first day out, with lots of things to see, be it nice scenery, horse demos, fish and wildlife or just a unique little church on a small country back road.

I had planned on going fishing again on Monday {Victoria Day}, but the rain put a damper on that, but that's OK there is always another day.

I am not sure what the next trip will bring or where I will go for sure, but its always good.




Report #2. . . May 24th. . . In the afternoon I decide to check out my usual spot again at Fishing Lake to see if it was ice free.

On the way to the lake I spot 2 adult turkey vultures.

They must have been feeding on something in the ditch.
This photo taken at a fair distance.

When I get to the lake I find that it is now ice free, so I shore fish from 2:34pm - 5:40pm.


The weather was a mix of sun and cloud with a fairly light breeze when I started from the S then switching gradually to the NW by the time I was done.

The temps were a respectable 24 deg C / 75.2 F.

I was the only one out shore fishing as far as I could see.
Two men in a row boat went out the same time I did and anchored just off shore 60 or so yards down from me.

Fishing that afternoon was good.  I caught 6 walleye & 7 pike. ;D

The walleye started things off, even under the bright sun they still hit.
Some hits were hard others were soft, like the lure was suddenly gone.

This is the first walleye of the day and of the year. :)


This is the largest one.


4 of the 6 walleye were male and released milt when I picked them up, much like what happens late in the winter.
I wonder if they are spawning or have yet to spawn. :unsure:

The pike, on the other hand, appears to have already spawned. They are quite beat up looking with numerous split fins, cuts, bumps and scrapes.
One pike had what looked to be a bite to it's lower pelvic fin, and a good slash running along it's lower jaw.
The pike spawn must be quite a violent affair. :o

I was going to take a photo of the pike, but the camera battery died. :-\

Half an hour before I quit, the 2 in the boat paddle back to shore and leave with 2 fish.

All my fish went back to feed and maybe, spawn shortly.



The 3rd and final trip of the month was on May 31st where my buddy and I went up to the mixed forest of the Hudson Bay area.

Along the way I snap a photo of an interesting old barn that has see better days.

A caption for this barn might be "Oh my aching back".

We get to the area in the afternoon and decide to try several different lakes.

The weather is great, with sunny skies, a light wind from the W that's not too strong but cools you down and + 26 deg C  /78.8 F temps.

Our first stop, Mc.Bride Lake.


I fish at Mc.Bride for 2 hours and in that time I find 2 pike.

The first one is quite small.

At first I though I had one of the nice perch this lake is known for. :w00t:

The 2nd one is a bit bigger.


While I am there I loss a spoon when my line wrapes around the rod tip and breaks. This is my best cast of the day I see it sail far out into the lake, there goes the new Len Thomposn. :blink:
I do catch a break though, and find an older spoon hanging in the reeds just off shore and I can just reach it with the rod tip. One spoon lost one spoon found, not bad trade I guess.

After that I check out another spot, this time at PeePaw Lake.


I try this lake for 1.5 hours and in that time find another smaller pike.


There is also another friendly group of angles who had fished earlier in the day and were going out again to do some evening fishing.
They said that the fishing was OK with both smaller pike and walleye caught.

My last stop for the evening was at Parr Hill Lake where I fish for 2 hours until dark.

About an hour in I feel a nibble and then a strike. I set the hook and this feels a bit better then the others.

It turns out to be the big one of the day, and also the last one for me. :)

By the end of the day, there there was no breeze at all, the lake calmed right down, and, the only ripples were jumping fish. 8)
[

It was very calm by the water listening to the loon's cry echo off the trees and down the lake and the gentle gurgle of a near by creek flowing into the lake just a few yards down from me.

I get 2 more strikes but, they both get off near shore. :whistling:

We leave as the sun begins to sink behind the trees and hills to the W.

The setting sun signals an end to a good day of exploring and I am happy to have found fish in each of the spots I tried.

The fish again go back to bite another day.

The only nuisance I found were the biting insects. This area does not have many ticks and less mosquitoes than around the lakes I usually fish, but they do have an abundance of black flies and no-see-ums. ::)
The pesky little insects definately gave me more bites than the fish did,lol.

I now look forward to what fishing the month June will bring. :azn:

WW


Raquettedacker

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #1 on: Jun 10, 2014, 05:31 AM »
Great report and awesome pictures WW..   Sure is beautiful country up there...
What are those white birds in the first picture, pelicans??
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 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #2 on: Jun 16, 2014, 11:10 PM »
Thanks Raquettedacker. :)
Yeah, we live in quite a diverse area. You can go from flat planes to the tall timbers in just a few hours time.

The big white birds are indeed pelicans and are one of the largest birds we have around.
They can down a good sized fish also. ;)

WW

muskyon46

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #3 on: Jul 01, 2014, 07:37 PM »
That is some pretty country up there WW, looks like the pike are pretty plentiful too. Cool colors on that spawning sucker  ;D
                                                             

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #4 on: Jul 23, 2014, 10:59 PM »
Thanks muskyon46. :)
Yeah, pike are, for the most part, quite plentiful in our water bodies.
That's the first time I caught male sucker in fill spawning colors, neat to see up close. 8)

Hi All,
Here are my open water reports for June.

The first report in June is from the 7th, and, I start out, up the creek, literally.  I went to do some shore fishing at one of Last Mountain Lake's creeks.

As I head to the lake I can see storm clouds gathering in the distance I am hoping that they hold off for the afternoon.

Along the way I encounter quite a few deer, some with young ones. I didn't get any photos of the fawns but did get a photo of this one as she trotted off across the field and likely to her young one in the clump of trees.



Once I get to Last Mountain Lake I make my way to the creek mouth on a rather rough and bumpy trail and do some fishing form 3:50pm - 8:00pm.

As I arrive a group of anglers are just packing up. They said the the fishing was slow and they had been out since early morning for just a couple of pike.
They told me "you should have been here last week, they were biting like mad". They wish me luck and leave.

It's a dark and windy day with cool temps, only 15 deg C  /59 F temps. There are dark storm clouds in the distance, I hope they miss me.

As I get to the waters edge I see a pike basking in the shallows not too far off shore. I do a couple of retrieves past it and it looks like it might strike. It then slowly moves toward the middle of the creek. I cast way past the spot were the fish was and half way in I get a good hit. A brief tussel ensues with the typical head shakes of a pike.
This one is netted. :)


It may be the same fish that I saw before. I let it go after the photo.

This is a good start so far, however, as it turned out, that's where my luck ran out.  That turned out to be the only fish of the day.  I am not sure if it was the storm making them sluggish and not hungry or that the pike and walleye may have already moved out of the creek in favor of the lake, but that was that. ::)

The only other fish I saw go by was a school of good sized carp, some of them were real beauties. I wish I would have brought some corn or worms for them.

The one pike went for a Storm Wildeye swimbait.

I hope my next trips yield a bit more action. ;)



Report #2.

June 22nd.

I was hoping to get out a bit more in June, but, it has been a very rainy month. It would be OK for one day and then rain 3- 4 days.  The month kind of vanished.
The 22nd was no different with rain predicited for the day, but I took my chances and went anyway.

I got to the lake by 2:30pm and was greeted by a thunder storm and heavy rains.  Luckily they were just finishing and I only had a few minutes wait to get fishing. The temps were + 18 deg C  / 64.4  F, the wind was from the NW.

Half an hour later another heavy rain rolled through and again I took shelter. This storm only lasted 5 min or so and was gone again. It did this many time throughout the afternoon.

Some of the rains were heavy and I had to take shelter others were light and I fished though them.

The fishing was also a bit mixed with a few fish following but not nibbling. My first 3 fish I caught were pike and they all jumped just as I got close to shore and pitched the barbless hooks.

I thought this luck might continue thoughout the afternoon, but, half way though, FINALLY, I net one.
This walleye.



A short time later a bit larger walleye is hooked and landed.


Towards the end of the day the skies began to clear and the wind calmed down a bit, this is when I land the first pike of the day.

This was also the last fish of the day.

The fish went for spoons and swim baits.

Although it was slower than normal, I was just happy to find anything in spite of the wind and rain.

Hopefully the next trip will yield better weather and fishing. ;)





My last report for the month of June...  I was fishing off shore at Fishing Lake on the 28th.

On the way to the lake I pass the same group of anglers in the same spot as before.


I get to the lake and fish from 3:15pm - 6:00pm.
The sky was dark with a large band of what looked to be storm clouds all around.

The fishing started off not too bad, with a few fish chasing and nipping at the lure just out a ways from me.
In my 8th cast I net this first fish of the day.
This pike. :)


I pick up another pike 10 min later and then the fishing turns off.

Around 6:00pm the sky really darkens and it  rains hard for an hour and a half.

After that it is still raining, but quite a bit lighter, so I try my luck and land this walleye.


Just as I release it the the sky opens up again and doesn't stop. I take that cue and leave, driving home in pouring rain.

Sunday also brings more down pours, as well as Monday, the last day of June. During this time the area I live in gets hit hard - there is water lying everywhere!

More rain than any one around here has ever seen in one event. This leads to flooding and major damage to roads, bridges, culverts, homes and fields.

All the creeks, even the ones who rarely ever flow, are now white water torrents. There are lakes that have shown up in the middle of farmers fields. This flooding will likely kill large portions of the crops around here.  Many towns have now declared a state of emergency in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

My own house as well as family members are all dealing with ground water flowing into the basements from the walls and floors. We have sump pumps, but they can't handle the influx of water. We have been vacuuming up water around the clock and are now just finally starting to win the battle.

Here are a few photos from the floods. ::)

This road eventually washed out and took the culvert with it.


Bush and grasslands have flooded.

Lots of trees and native wildflowers will drown.

Roads to people's yards are underwater.
There are water birds swimming up what used to be driveways to their yards.

A good number of grain fields have some areas with water sitting on them or flowing through them, carving out deep ruts, and channels.

Not good for this harvest. :P


The family and I took a few hours break from the vacuuming on Canada Day to see some fireworks, it was a nice distraction and the fireworks were quite good.


In early July, there were 75 local states of emergency in Saskatchewan & 43 in Manitoba. :o

In conclusion June has been a very wet month with rainfall totals way above normal.
I hope the rest of the summer is a lot dryer and the fishing continues to improve. :blink:


WW




Raquettedacker

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #5 on: Jul 24, 2014, 05:50 AM »
Great reports WW..  Glad to see you made the best of it considering the conditions... :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....\"

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #6 on: Jul 29, 2014, 12:13 AM »
Thanks Raquettedacker, yeah it's been a bit tough, but hoping it gets better now. ;)

WW

muskyon46

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #7 on: Jul 30, 2014, 05:46 PM »
Good times out for what you have had to deal with WW, I too hope you guys dry out up there a bit. That's some crazy new water ways  :-\
                                                             

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #8 on: Sep 07, 2014, 08:17 PM »
Hi muskyon46, thanks. :)
Yeah all the flood waters receeded in a few days after they peaked, thankfully, but our ground still has lots of water in it and it don't take much for all the streams and creeks to flow again. Some sloughs around the area are still high that are normally dry.

Hi All,
Here are my open water reports for July.  I spent all my fishing days at Fishing Lake.
 
Report # 1.
I was at my usual spot doing some shore fishing on July 5th and 6th.
 
On the 5th I went from 2:35pm - 5:00pm and the next day, the 6th, from 1:15pm - 7:00pm.
 
The weather both days was bit of a mixed bag.  The first day was cloudy with a bit of lightning in the evening, and, the next day was a mix of sun and cloud and a strong wind from the NW creating white caps.
 
The fishing was fair with 3 walleye and 1 pike the first day. The 2nd day yeilded 2 pike and 2 walleye. :)
 
I did notice that a good number of the fish were close to shore and seemed to be just on the edge of the mud line that developed.
 
Here are a few photos from the 2 days.
First fish of the 2 days.

 
A nice evening. 8)

 
First fish of day 2.

 
 
Report #2.
On July 7th and I am once again back at my usual spot where I shore fish from 2:00pm - 5:00pm.
 
This afternoon is a mix of sun and cloud with nice temps in the + 22 deg C   / 71.6  F and again strong wind from the NW creating white caps on the lake with the water being quite stirred up.
 
Pike and walleye are the usual targets in this lake and it's not long before before I land my first fish of the day.
This walleye.

 


 

 
The wind continues to pick up throughout the afternoon and I have to cast hard to the right in order for the lure to go where I want it to. In this case I went with heavy spoons, which aid in casting into the strong winds.
 
There was quite a good sized mud line forming just off shore from the strong winds, and that's where I seem to have the most luck. In the end I land 6 pike and 2 walleye.
 
 
 Report #3.
July 11th, I fish for a few hours in the afternoon from 4:00pm - 5:00pm then from 7:10pm - 8:50pm.
 
This is another really windy afternoon at the lake with the waves crashing into my usual fishing area, so, I decide to find a nice shady spot, out of the wind, somewhere else on the lake. :-\
 
I finally find a spot. It's quite a bit more shallow and weedy than where I usually fish, but, I am hopeful to find something in the bull rushes near shore. :)

 
My hunch pays off, and, in the hour I fish, I land 3 pike, and, have 1 throw the hook.
Most of them where hanging around the bull rushes and I just plop the lure close to them and slowly wind it back.
 
After an hour in that area I stop for a bite to eat and head back to my usual spot to see if it has calmed down.
 
I am in luck, and, although it is still a bit windy, it is definitely less than it was earlier, so I give it another go.
In that time I land 4 walleye.
 
I have not kept any fish so far this season.  So,for the first time this year, I keep my limit of 2 walleye.
The largest walleye of the bunch. :)

The other 3 were very close in size.
 

The next day, (July 12th 2014), I attend "The Anglers Breakfast" at Katepwa Lake's Sandy Beach community.  The pancake breakfast was a fundraiser for playground equipment for the kids.  After breakfast, Jason & Jeff Matity hand out Berkley soft plastic lures to the kids in attendance, and talk fishing with the crowd for and hour or so under the shade of the gazebo.
At the end there were draw prizes handed out.
 
I enjoyed the breakfast and what Jason & Jeff had to say. :)
They gave me a few new tricks I look forward to trying sometime. ;)
I also got to chat one on one with Jeff  for a while after the show. 8)  
 
For those of you who don't know Jason & Jeff, they are the hosts of the new website "Matity's Get Fishing" where every month they try and add a short video clip on some aspect of fishing. Their website can be viewed at matitysgetfishing.com
 
Did any of you attend this event also? ???
 

Report #4.
July 13th.
This day was much like the other days this July, with a strong wind from the NW and good sized white caps. :P
 
I was shore fishing from 4:08pm - 7:15pm.
 
The fishing was not too bad this afternoon even in the high winds.  I landed 3 pike & 1 walleye and had 2 pike throw the barbless hooks while jumping.
By the time I called it quits for the day, the lake finally started to get calm.
 
Here are the first of each species. :)

 

 

Report #5.
July 19th & 20th are my last fishing days for the month.
The first day was cloudy with a fair wind from the S and + 18 deg C / 64.4  F temps. The water was quite stirred up creating a good mud line again. :P
Windy days at the lake this year seem to be the norm. ::)
 
I fished from 4:20pm - 7:00pm on the 19th and caught 1 pike & 4 walleye.

 

 

 

 
This time I kept my limit of 2 walleye. ;D

 
July 20th was nice and sunny but still quite windy (from the SW, changing to W later on). The temp was + 22 deg C / 71.6  F
I fished from 12:50pm - 2:00pm, took a bit of a break and then went from 3:00pm - 6:30pm.
 
The shore fishing was on and off throughout the afternoon. I caught 2 on back to back casts. The mud line was really prominent and the walleye were, for the most part, moving right through the middle of it or just along it's outer edge. I had 2 follow me right to shore.

The wind again made casting tough so I used heavy lures to compensate. As a results the heavy lures got into the snags quicker and I did loose a few lures, but I was able to net 8 walleye, not a bad trade off. ;)

 

 
The fishing seems to be picking up a bit as it get later in July.
One of the other anglers I chatted with said a group of them were out earlier in the day from the boat and picked good numbers of fish just a bit deeper than where you can cast off shore. He also said they got one that would be in the 5 lb range, nice.
 
Later that week the family and I tried the 2 walleye I kept, along with burbot fillets, from last winter.  We tried a new recipe that uses crushed potato chips as the batter, in our case dill pickle potato chips. We first soaked the  fish fillets in milk for a bit, crushed the chips and rolled the fillets in them.  It gave both fish species a unique flavor and one we will try again in the future. :w00t:
 
Overall July was a good month for fishing, but wind was a big factor.
It was interesting  how the fish utilized the mud line to their advantage.  Even though the winds were discouraging, if you stuck with it - there were biters. :w00t:
 
Most of the fish this month went for spoons, they were the easiest to cast into the wind, but, heavy swimbaits, and, single & double tail jigs also caught fish.
Bright colors during the bright light conditions and darker colors during the evening or cloudy conditions seemed to work.
 
Hopefully the fishing continues into the month of Aug. and the winds won't get any worse. :azn:

 

WW

wally13

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #9 on: Sep 07, 2014, 09:54 PM »
NICE FISH NICE PIC GOOD JOB

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #10 on: Sep 10, 2014, 10:05 PM »
Thanks wally13. :)


Hi guys,
Here is my fishing report for Aug., starting with the long weekend.

Report #1.
The first day, Aug 2nd, was a nice sunny day with light winds from the W and  22 deg C  /71.6 F. I fished from 5:15pm - 8:40pm.

As I got to my usual fishing spot, I was surprised by how much more algae was in the water since the last time I was out.
I guess the warmer temps we have had lately must have contributed to the increased algal growth. :P

There were a few anglers out that evening, both on shore, and, in boats, all enjoying the fine weather and active fish.
Everyone that chatted with me reported that they had good fishing, be it in the boat, or off shore.  Good to hear.

The other report I got from them is that the fish are starting to taste a bit "muddy" due to the increased algae bloom. It will probably be mid to late fall, before
that clears up.  No matter, I will be practicing catch and release fishing anyway. ;)

I too had good fishing. They hit hard and fast. In the time I fished I caught 10 walleye and 1 pike. :)


The walleye are definately moving into the area now.


On the 2nd day, Aug 3rd, I was up early and out on the water by 7:40 am - 12:00pm and then from 2:00pm - 3:00pm.
This was another dandy day with temps in the + 26 deg C / 78.8  F, but with the humidex it was more like 32 deg C / 89.6  F  with a mix of sun and cloud.
The light breeze from the SW was welcome and kept things cooler.

The fish were also quite active that day, and, I landed 8 walleye & 2 pike. :)

The fish again seemed to come in waves, both days, with several walleye being caught in short order, then a bit of a lull only to start up again.

On day 2, I got to test one of the new swimbaits that I received a few weeks ago from the SK dealer, for Big Hammer swimbaits.
I was very pleased with how they operated in the water. They had good movement with well defined tail kicks that ripple down the bait.
The size I used was 4" and the color was Margarita paired with a Hammer Head jig, also made by the same company.


This combo worked well.  I caught several of my total numbers on this pattern, and, it held up well to the teeth from both pike and walleye.
I did have one pike bite the tale off, ending the test.  They come in packs of 4 for the 4" models so I have 3 left to try. I will definately be getting more of them in the future.

I think this walleye wanted it, lol.

Little fish with a big appetite. That lure is down the hatch. :blink:

Thumbs up for Big Hammer swimbaits. :thumbup_smilie:


The fishing was so good it blew my socks off, literally, lol. :w00t:

When I started, I had a heel in this pair of socks, after the fishing, it was gone.

I also took a few photos of the the local bird life on my fishing break. Along with robins and purple martins there were these guys around picking up fish flies, mosquitoes and other flying insects.

A pair of Eastern Phoebes  were nesting near by.


Action shot.


The young phoebes would eyeball me every time I went by the nest. The camera flash, probably didn't help either,lol. ;)

There were 4 of them in that small nest.

This yellow warbler was also looking for food in the area.


Hopefully the fishing either stays like this or continues to get better this Aug. ;)


Report #2.
The 2nd report is for Aug. 23rd.  I was shore fishing from 3:15pm - 7:40pm.
This was one of the colder days we have had for quite some time, with temps only in in the +14 deg C  / 57.2 F range, but, with the wind factor it was more like +9 deg C  / 48.2 F.
It was also cloudy and fairly windy with a bit of damp mist from time to time, so, I set up on the sheltered side of the lake.

I am not sure if it was the direction of the wind, or, the storm that came the next day, but, the fish were not active. I did have a few follow, and, the ones that did nibble, just tasted the tale end of the baits and that was it. It was almost 2 hours before I finally had a hit.  It was a very light bite.  It felt like my lure just got a slightly bit heavier, but, I set the hook anyway, and, this pike was the results. :)

This fish was not very long, but fairly thick across.

It would be toward the end of my outing before my 2nd and last fish hit.

This one was longer than the first, but thinner.
Both of them went back.

I guess the water they were in was a lot warmer than the air that day and I found it a bit odd to feel the fish were warm to the touch, compared to my hands at least.

There was a boat trolling and drifting as well,but without luck either.

I am happy with what I did find, and at least I avoided the skunk, that I was beginning to suspect might be coming.


Hopefully September livens up the fishing action once again. :blink:

WW

filetandrelease

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #11 on: Sep 10, 2014, 11:25 PM »
Great pics , thanks for sharing

Fat Boy

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #12 on: Sep 25, 2014, 04:57 PM »
Great pics and reports WW.  I always enjoy the read as well as the pictures of fish, scenery and other interesting things you share.  Well done.

Water Wolf

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Re: My 2014 open water reports. >*})))))>{
« Reply #13 on: Nov 14, 2014, 10:14 PM »
Thanks Fat Boy. :)

Hi guys,
Here are my fall fishin' reports for the months of Sept & Oct.. ;)

Report #1.
Sept. 1st (Labor Day).
I was back at my usual spot doing some shore fishing from 2:40pm - 6:00pm.

There was a mix of sun and cloud with strong winds and white caps. The temp was +16 deg C  / 60.8 deg F, but, with the wind chill it felt even cooler.

Here is a photo of what it was like out there. :P


In the first 10 min of fishing I had a good strike, but, the fish bit right through my fluorocarbon leader and was gone - lure and all.  Too bad, felt like a nice pike.

Half way through the day I finally land one, this walleye. :)


The action then slows.  All I land is one more - a walleye - 20 min before I decide to quit for the day.

The final results are, 2 fish on and 1 bite off.  A slow day, but, better than a skunk.
Not exactly sure, but the low pressure system that was rolling in might have been a factor in their disinterest.


Report #2.
I decide to give the Qu'Appelle River a try and see what was biting.
I heard that it held channel cats and carp. That sounded good.  I always wanted to catch a good sized one of each species.
Sept 6th, from 3:40pm - 7:28pm I tried my luck in the valley.

It was a nice warm afternoon with mostly sunny skies, temps in the +19 deg C / 66.2 deg F and a fair wind from the NW.

I started fishing  with earth worms on a 2 hook dropper rig system with a pyramid sinker on the bottom.
I hoped this might appeal to both carp and cats.

The Qu'Appelle River was running hard for this late in the year.  The the 2oz sinker I used was no match for the strong currents, and, it bumped and bounced along until it would hang up in some weeds on the bottom or snag in undergrowth and debris in the water.
I am not sure what size of weight I would have needed for the job, but, this was not it, so, I just cast out up stream and let it bounce down stream.
While doing this I did have a few taps off and on.  Every time my bait was gone from both the hooks.
I am not sure who the culprit was, but, they were delicate and precise in getting the worms off without being hooked.

My supply of worms finally run out.  I switched to a hook, attached to a length of line with a barrel swivel and sliding pyramid sinker - a more common rig I have seen catfish anglers  use.  I baited it with a gulp alive bait, thinking it might stand up better to the river nippers.  Not long after using this rig, my drifting lure stops moving, and, I feel a tap. I set the hook, and, a brief fight takes place. The water is quite full of algae and drifting sea weed so I can't quite see what I have on the hook until I net it, and, it turns out to be this guy, a river walleye.
:)
Even though it was little, it was fairly chunky.
After a photo it goes back quickly.

I also get another hit on this rig and am just reeling the fish into shore when it spits the hook.  I never seen what I had, but it fought like the previous walleye.

So alas, that was the extent of bites I got that afternoon. I may have stayed a bit longer, but, those darn mosquitoes were coming out in hordes, forcing me to leave, just as the sun dipped behind the valley's hills.

I did see a group of other angels on the other side of the river, and, a bit up stream from me.  They appeared to have landed one pike, but that's all the action I seen in their camp as well.
I am not sure if the carp and cats were there and just not hungry or if they are in a different location this time of year, but, whatever the case, the hunt for them goes on.

That was my first walleye from the Qu'Appelle River - not what I went looking for, but that's OK. 8)


Report#3
It's Sept.14th and I'm on another river bank.  This time I though I would try the Whitesand River.

I was there in mid May and though I would see what the river conditions and the fishing was like in late summer / early fall.

I fished on the river's edge from 3:23pm - 7:10pm.

The afternoon was a mix of sun and cloud with wind from the NW and a + 14 deg C / 57.2 deg F temps.

The area around the river had changed significantly from when I was there last. The late June, early July floods had left their mark.  The river had obviously burst it banks, far into the nearby farmer's fields and washed out the trail leading to it.  I was shocked to see dried grass and other debris still hanging 6 feet up in nearby trees. It looked like wash outs along the shoreline and road had been replace with nice fine sand again.  Most of the underbrush was washed away. 
There were mounds of pure sand and clam shells strewn all the way from the rivers edge way out into the field.
The river appeared to be flowing as strong as it had been in mid May. :o

Fishing started off a bit slow.  I did hook up with a walleye an hour into the fishing, only to lose it when the fish wrapped around one of the many snags along the shoreline.  A bit more time, and, several lures later, I get another bite.
This one turned out to be my smallest pike of the open water season at 12".
I was just going for the camera when the little guy flipped out of the net and into the water, so no photo of that one.

Towards the end of the day I get one last strike and it was another walleye.  :)
:)
It was about the same size as the one I lost earlier.

I donate a few more lures to the river's snags before I call it quits at dark. :P

I as I was leaving I saw an interesting looking area a bit up stream from where I was.  I was too late to explore, but if it doesn't wash away by next spring I think I might try to get out onto it.  ;)


Report #4
It's Sept 21stl, at my usual spot on Fishing Lake.  I'm doing some shore fishing.
The trees are really starting to display their fall splendor making a colorful drive out to the lake. The wind is taking it's toll and there are already a few bare looking trees showing up.

Although the signs of fall are all around the temps are still great. We have had several days with above normal temps, and this day was one of them, with nice sunny skies, a fair wind from the W that calmed down in the evening, and, temps at  + 21 deg C / 69.8 deg F.

This afternoon I fished from 2:30pm - 7:00pm

The lake was fairly stirred up by the wind, and, there was quite a bit of floating sea weed that occasionally got caught up in the line and lures as I reeled in.

The fishing started out a bit slow.  I just got nibbles for almost half the time I fished. I threw quite a few different styles, types and colors of lures at them, but ,they were not buying what I was trying to sell them.
Finally I found one lure that they had some interest in. It's a lure I use more often ice fishing, but, it works for open water also, the PK flutterfish. The fish were quite aggressive with this lure and hit it hard and fast.
A couple of times I had a fish pick a way at it as I brought it in, finally giving it one hard hit and being netted.
My final results were 5 fish, - 3 walleye and 2 pike.  I lost one other pike when it jumped out of the water as I was raising the spoon above the surface. It only got hooked in the very edge of the mouth and in 2 good leaps, threw the
hook back at me.

The fish. ;D










The only other angler I saw that afternoon was this young grebe, who, slowly swam up and down the shoreline all afternoon, picking up a tiny meal from time to time.

It kept a wary eye on me, but did not leave the area.


I quit at sunset, but not before snapping a picture of the horizon.

An end to an OK day of fishing.

Hopefully I can get out a few times this Oct. - weather and time permitting. :-\




Report #5.
It is Oct. 12th and I'm fishing from shore at Good Spirit Lake.

The weather was quite nice with the temps + 16 deg C / 60.8 deg F, sunny skies, and a good wind from the NW.
Even though it was windy it was warm.

When I got there I noticed that the main lake was really rolling, so I opted to fish the bay to be out of the wind a bit.
This was a good choice as the bay was much calmer.

As I arrive I see a few fish jumping, so, I know at least a few are in the area.  I walk down to the shore and spook a fish that was sitting very near the shoreline leaving little puffs of silt as it bolted. I figure this spot looks promising and I wade into the same spot.

It took half an hour, and, a change from a spoon to a swimbait before the first fish hit.


Another 20 or so min later and the 2nd fish of the day struck. This one gave me quite a start as I had cast my lure, and, was just bringing it back with weeds on the hook. I was attempting to remove the weeds by dabbling the swimbait just on the surface, trying to shake them free, well all of a sudden, I see the waters erupt to the left of me and a fair sized wake smash into my jig and take the lure, weeds and all, in one gulp, and, bolt towards my feet. I step to the side and it flies past me and almost onto shore. It then turns, and, pulls drag for the safety of the middle of the bay, adding a few acrobatic jumps as it leaves. After a few more runs, I finally get it close enough to net. It turns out to be a decent sized pike and the big fish for the day. 8)


After I released it I thought I would measure the depth of the water where the fish was tucked up in the weeds - it was 5". That's the shallowest I have ever hooked a fish. I knew they went shallow, but that still surprised me. Even though it was only a few feet away from me, it was sitting in a thick weed mat right near the shore. Amazing camouflage!!! :w00t:

Ten min after that the 3rd pike is landed.

This would turn out to be the final fish of the day.

There were lots of sights and sounds along the shoreline.  I could hear cattle on the far side, ducks winged their way in and out of the bay, sometimes only a few feet from me, and, as the afternoon wore on, large flocks of snow geese began to lift off of the lake to the W and fly over me to the E to feed in nearby grain fields. At times the geese were so loud they drowned out all the other noises around.

I left the lake as the sun began to sink along the horizon, to the serenade of a pack of distant coyotes echoing across the bay.

Overall it was another satisfying afternoon and I was happy that I was able to get out and experience it all. 8)

Hopefully the weather holds out for at least 1 more open water trip. ;)


Report #6.
Oct 19th.   
It was a dandy afternoon with sunny skies, a slight wind from the W and + 17 deg C / 62.6 deg F temps. It felt more like a summer afternoon - I'll take it.

This was more of a sight seeing trip with my family and friend.  We probably done as much driving as fishing, but, I did stop at a few spots to wet the line.

My first stop is at Whitesand / Pelican Lake. The usual area where I fish at the lake had several vehicles parked and quite a few anglers all fishing in close quarters, no room there, so, I set up a bit further down the shoreline, along the bulrush beds.
When I arrived I saw a young ruffie / ruffed grouse doing it's best camouflage routine. I must admit it was pretty good and all that moved was a blinking eye.
I shot a few photos and was able to get roughly 12 feet away before it finally though it should fly for it.  :laugh:


After my encounter with the young ruffie I got my gear and walked the shoreline looking for a place to fish. I found one spot where the rushes thinned a bit and gave a few casts. My first cast snagged and I lost my lure. I then switched to a swimbait that I had rigged weedless. This was a better option, and, I was able to slowly swim it through the bulrushes with only the line snagging from time to time.

I fished that area for half an hour or so and in that time I caught 4 pike - 2 got off and 2 were landed. The 2 that got off wrapped themselves tightly amongst the rushes and just twisted off the hook.

Here are photos of the 2 pike I did net. :)




I tried further up the shoreline, in a new spot, but, this area had no fish activity and after 10 min I though I would try my usual spot back on Fishing Lake.

By the time we got to my usual spot it was 4:30pm and I fished from then until 6:00pm. The fish were also quite active at this lake and I had several that would follow just a few inches from the lure and either turn away just as it got to shore or make a quick grab and just get the rubber of the swimbait and not the hook.
The fishing was not too bad however, and in the end, I caught 4 pike and lost 3. :)

I got a photo of 3 of the fish. On the last one the camera's batteries died. :P






The water was quite murky despite hardly any algae.
The water felt very cool now.  It appears that the fall turnover is occurring - probably why it was as murky as it was.

All in all it was a dandy afternoon to be outdoors, be it fishing or just sightseeing.

With the frigid temps we have had the last few days and nights already this Nov., it's time for me to start thinking about the new ice fishing season.  It was a great open water season - I have enjoyed hearing from everyone.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe upcoming ice fishing season. :tipup:
Talk to you next on Ice Shanty. . .  ;D

WW


 



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