Summer 2017 by Real Fishing

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F I S H I N G

Canada Post Mail Product Agreement No. 40015689

VOLUME 23 â&#x20AC;¢ ISSUE 3 Just $4.95

Summer 2017

DISPLAY UNTIL OCTOBER 15, 2017

V I S UA L

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Contents Features 30 TWEAKING JIGS AND TEXAS RIGS Quick and easy modifications that will increase the effectiveness of your favourite bass baits. By David A. Brown

40 JASPER’S TALE OF TWO WHITES Tips and tactics for cashing in on Jasper’s abundant mountain and lake whitefish. By Mark Forabosco

48 HARDWIRED LAKE TROUT Wire lining for lake trout still has a place in today’s high-tech world of deep water fishing. By Geoff Coleman

56 FISHING BUDDIES Langara Lodge is home to memorable fishing and lifelong friendships. By Val Hunter

Summer 2017 Volume 23, Issue 3 Editor Jerry Hughes Art Production Rossi Piedimonte Design Publisher Fred Delsey National Advertising Izumi Outdoors Tel: (905) 632-8679 President Wayne Izumi

Columns

20 6 OPENING LINES

26 BEST FISHING TIMES

By Jerry Hughes

Doug Hannon’s moon phase calendar

Contributors David A. Brown, Geoff Coleman, Patrick Daradick, Mark Forabosco, Val Hunter, Bob Izumi, Wayne Izumi, Ryan Lamothe, Steve May, Dave Taylor Real Fishing is published by Izumi Outdoors Inc. 940 Sheldon Court Burlington, ON L7L 5K6 Tel: (905) 632-8679 Fax: (905) 632-2833 Privacy Policy: Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies whose products and services might be of interest to our subscribers. If you prefer to have your name removed from this list and not receive these mailings, please write to us at the above address.

We welcome manuscripts, but will not be held responsible for loss of manuscripts, photos or other materials. Published four times each year: January (Winter) April (Spring) July (Summer) October (Fall) One year subscription is $12.95. For USA add $10 all others add $30. Subscriptions: Real Fishing 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington ON L7L 5K6 Subscription inquiries Please call: 1-877-474-4141 or visit www.realfishing.com Canada Post Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40015689 Customer Account No. 2723816 GST Registration No. R102546504

10 SPORTSMEN’S ALMANAC News, trivia, event listings and more from the world of fishing

14 WHAT’S NEW The latest in fishing tackle, gear and accessories

16 FISHING By Bob Izumi

18 FLY FISHING By Steve May

20 THE WATER’S EDGE By Dave Taylor

22 THE VINTAGE TACKLE BOX By Patrick Daradick

24 REAL FISHING FISH FACTS

Northern Pikeminnow

60 TALES FROM THE ROAD

Postmaster: Please return front cover/label only of undeliverables to: Real Fishing 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington ON L7L 5K6

The trials and tribulations of life as a professional angler By Bob Izumi

On the cover: SUMMER BASSIN’ Photo by Izumi Outdoors

28 THE HOT BITE

64 WHAT’S COOKING

66 ART OF ANGLING

opening lines By Jerry Hughes

Have It Your Way We’ve always said that one of the reasons fishing is such a great sport is that it can be enjoyed in so many ways. Competitive or casual, high-tech or low; whatever floats your boat, so to speak, is perfectly fine. The enjoyment you get from fishing is the real reason you go, so you should absolutely fish the way you like, within the rules of the game of course. This issue of Real Fishing salutes some of the diversity that makes fishing so appealing to so many. Since we’re all about fishing, we’re starting this issue with something for the hardcore anglers, namely, a look at some of the ways the pros modify their bass jigs and Texas rig setups when the money is on the line. David A. Brown spoke to a number of top anglers to learn how they adapt their baits to the water conditions and to the moods of the fish, and he shares what he learned in his article, Tweaking Jigs and Texas Rigs. If catching a few more big bass this summer sounds appealing to you, you’ll definitely want to give David’s article a thorough read. If you like to explore a variety of different fishing experiences, Mark Forabosco’s story about fishing for whitefish in Jasper should be right up your alley. From mountain whitefish in the Athabasca River and some of its tributaries to lake whitefish in Talbot Lake, Mark sampled them all on both fly and spinning gear. Settled in some of the most spectacular scenery in Canada, the Jasper area offers a truly unique adventure to anglers of all skill levels who are looking for something a little different. Fishing can be great therapy when the hectic pace of day-to-day living gets to be a bit too much, and sometimes it’s fun to get back to the basics. And what could be more back to the basics than wire line trolling for lake trout? Without the need 6 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

for things like downriggers, heavy cannonballs and temperature probes, it’s a system that can be used out of small powerboats and canoes, and it’s relatively easy to pack in to out-of-the-way back lakes. Best of all, this old-school technique still works like a charm. Geoff Coleman’s article, Hardwired Lake Trout, gives a great overview of this technique and how it can put lakers in the boat without the need for a lot of extra gear. For a lot of us, fishing is something best shared with friends and family. Catching fish is just part of it, and the fishing never overshadows the camaraderie built by spending time together on the water. If you’re nodding your head right now you’ll want to read Val Hunter’s article, Fishing Buddies. Set against the backdrop of a salmon derby held each August, out of British Columbia’s Langara Lodge, it shows how the act of fishing with someone close is truly the greatest prize the sport can offer. Whether fishing is an occasional pastime for you, or it’s the main reason you get up every morning, we hope you find this issue informative, interesting and fun to read. Most of all though, we hope you have a great summer and that all of your fishing trips go just the way you like them to. ?

berkkley-fish yng.com

THE ULTIMATE BASSMASTER 8 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2017

Anyone can catch a bass with a rod and reel, but it takes a real pro to snatch one right out of the water. This alligator is definitely experienced at the latter but, unfortunately for this largemouth, catch and release is not part of his fishing vocabulary.

Summer 2017 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Real Fishing 9

LIFEJACKETS & LUCKY FISHING HATS A timely reminder from the Canadian Safe Boating Council July 1st - 9th, 2017 marks National Fishing Week in Canada. On designated days within this period, thousands of Canadians will take advantage of their ability to legally fish without a license. While this opportunity has been a catalyst for many of us to catch the fishing bug, angling has been part of our Canadian heritage for countless generations. So popular has this activity become that well over 50% of the boats sold in Canada are used, at least in part, for fishing. By far, the most popular boats for this activity are small, open powerboats under six-meters in length. Coincidentally, between 2009 & 2013, boats of this type were involved in 26% of the boating-related fatalities according to the Lifesaving Society’s 2016 Drowning Report. Contrary to popular opinion, simply having a lifejacket aboard the boat isn’t necessarily going to be enough to prevent a catastrophic outcome. In approximately 80% of boating-related fatalities, victims weren’t wearing their lifejackets. Often times, a wave or wake from another boat can not only knock a boater into the water but also carry their boat away, leaving them in the middle of a lake without any floatation. In this day and age, there really isn’t any excuse not to wear a lifejacket. Manufacturers have designed purpose-built units that not only provide comfort and allow ease of casting but also have pockets and clips to keep tackle, tools and other necessities at arm’s reach. Inflatable lifejackets, too, provide a great option for anglers. They are cool, comfortable, allow for full arm motion and are completely adjustable. They can be deployed either manually or automatically and come in both vest and fanny pack models. The only conditions associated with inflatable lifejackets are that they must be worn to be legal 10 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

and they aren’t legal when the wearer is engaged in an activity where they could be knocked unconscious. Also, the wearer must be 16-years of age or older. No matter what type or style of lifejacket an angler chooses, it should be treated like their lucky fishing hat in that they only work

when they’re worn. The Canadian Safe Boating Council understands that we’ve gotten our families hooked on fishing. We just want to get everyone hooked on lifejackets as well!

HOW FISHING HELPS As anyone who’s ever picked up a rod knows, fishing is a wonderful sport and we’re fortunate to have so many opportunities to enjoy it here in Canada. But anglers do a lot more than just catch fish. For decades, fishermen and women have been some of the best stewards of the sport, working tirelessly on lake and river rehabilitation, fish stocking programs and lobbying governments to ensure that

fishing remains acceptable and accessible for future generations. In recent years angler groups have also become involved in a number of charitable causes, raising funds that benefit people from all walks of life whether they fish or not. For example, this year the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association’s annual golf tournament raised $8,000 to promote National Fishing Week; Fishing Forever raised over $25,000 at their golf tournament in support of the Kids, Cops and Canadian Tire fishing program that introduces youngsters to fishing; the Perchin’ for MS ice fishing tournament raised over $20,000 towards helping people afflicted with multiple sclerosis and the Fish 4 Charity bass tournament raised almost $20,000 that will go towards supporting the R.S. McLaughlin Durham Regional Cancer Centre. That’s over $72,000 raised by just four events in southern

Ontario and there are a host of similar fundraising events held by angler groups across the country every year. We’d like to tip our fishing caps to all of the organizers and anglers who support various charities across Canada and we’d like to encourage anyone who fishes to consider getting involved in an event that benefits a worthy cause in their area. It’s just another way to show that fishermen and women do a lot more than catch fish.

EVENTS Calendar KIDS AND COPS FISHING DAYS

PRO-BASS CANADA

CANADIAN OPEN OF FISHING

Year ‘round youth oriented fishing events Various dates and locations www.kidsandcops.ca

June - August Various locations in Quebec www.probasscanada.com

July 7 - 9 Lake Simcoe Orillia, ON www.csfl.ca

NEW BRUNSWICK SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION

QUINTE FISHING SERIES

Bass Tournaments March - September Various locations in New Brunswick www.nbsportfishing.net

Bass Tournaments June - August Bay of Quinte, ON www.quintefishing.com RENEGADE BASS TOUR

TEMISKAMING SMALLMOUTH BASS SERIES

May - August Various locations in North-Central Ontario www.temiskamingsmallmouthbass.com BERKLEY B1 BASS TOUR

June - September Various locations in Ontario and Quebec www.berkleyb1.com CSFL BASS TOURNAMENTS

June - August Various locations in Ontario www.csfl.ca FLW CANADA

Bass Tournaments June - August Various locations in Ontario www.flwcanada.com

June - August Various locations in Eastern Ontario www.renegadebass.com SHOOTOUT FISHING LEAGUE

Bass Tournaments June - September Various locations in Eastern Ontario www.shootoutseries.ca GREAT ONTARIO SALMON DERBY

July 1 - August 19 Lake Ontario www.greatontariosalmonderby.ca

FORT FRANCES CANADIAN BASS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 20 - 22 Rainy Lake Fort Frances, ON www.canadianbass.com CHANTRY CHINOOK CLASSIC

July 29 - August 13 Lake Huron Kincardine, ON http://64.177.125.54/Chantry/index.htm KENORA BASS INTERNATIONAL

August 10 - 12 Lake of the Woods Kenora, ON www.kbifishing.com OWEN SOUND SALMON SPECTACULAR

NATIONAL FISHING WEEK

July 1 - 9 Events scheduled across Canada www.catchfishing.com

August 25 - September 3 Georgian Bay Owen Sound, ON www.sydenhamsportsmen.com

Summer 2017 – Real Fishing 11

READER’S PHOTOS

Send us a photo of your best catch and you could see your picture in a future issue of Real Fishing Magazine! Send photos to: Real Fishing, 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington, ON L7L 5K6

Mario Messore Mississauga ON Rainbow Trout

Courtlyn Suszko Petersfield MB Lake Trout

Allan Nagel Selkirk ON Channel Catfish

Carolina Maia Cambridge ON Bluegill

Brad Chisholm Burlington ON Northern Pike

12 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

Catch BOB on the Tube! Tune in every Saturday morning on Global, and weekly on WFN, as Bob Izumi and his guests show you where, when and how to tackle the biggest fish from the hottest Canadian and international destinations.

STATION LISTING & AIRING TIMES* MARKET

PROV./STATE

STATION

DATE & AIR TIMES

Atlantic Canada

Global (CIHF)

Saturday 8:00 am

Calgary

Global (CICT)

Saturday 10:30 am

Edmonton

Global (CITV)

Saturday 10:30 pm

Ontario

Global (CIII)

Saturday 8:30 am

Quebec

Global (CKMI)

Saturday 8:30 am

Regina

Global (CFRE)

Saturday 7:30 am

Saskatoon

Global (CFSK)

Saturday 7:30 am

Vancouver

Global (CHAN)

Saturday 10:30 am

Winnipeg

Global (CKND)

Saturday 7:30 am

Canada/USA

WFN

Check www.wfn.tv for dates and times

* Station listings, airtimes and show descriptions are subject to change. Please refer to your local television listings for the latest show schedules.

What’s

NEW

2017

BIG SCREEN FISHING The new Lowrance HDS Carbon™ 16 fishfinder/chartplotter has a massive 16-inch, 1920x1080 resolution high-definition, multi-touch screen that can be set to display up to four-panels, giving anglers the equivalent of four, seven-inch screens on a single display. Live Network Sonar gives anglers the capability to view and control two independent, live sonar sources at different locations from a single display. A dual-core processor provides the power to run features like StructureScan® 3D with SideScan and DownScan Imaging™, StructureMap™, Broadband Radar™ and SiriusXM® Weather Chart Overlay effortlessly. The HDS Carbon 16 also features Bluetooth® control of multiple Power-Poles® and Bluetooth audio streaming from the SonicHub®2 marine entertainment system. The unit features a 10 Hz internal GPS antenna, dual microSD card slots, and is compatible with most electronic mapping products.

www.lowrance.com

TOOLS OF THE TRADE Cuda Brand has introduced a new lineup of tools built with freshwater anglers in mind. Constructed with titanium-bonded stainless steel for added corrosion and adhesion resistance, the six new tools also feature Cuda’s signature non-slip scale pattern grips. The new freshwater line includes: 9” Cuda Pistol Grip Needle Pliers – Designed with pistol grip handles and a long nose for removing hooks, along with integrated crimpers and titanium, fluorocarbon and mono cutter. 8” Cuda Needle Nose / Split Ring Pliers – Features a long nose for removing hooks, ring splitter, integrated crimper and titanium wire, fluorocarbon and mono cutter. 10.25” Cuda Needle Nose Pliers – Designed with a long nose for deep hook removal, also includes integrated crimper, as well as titanium wire, fluorocarbon and mono cutter. Cuda Forceps – Featuring serrated jaws for cutting mono and fluorocarbon, non-slip, full-tang oversized thumb bows and an integrated hook sharpener. The high leverage, spring action forceps is perfect for easy hook removal and de-barbing hooks. Cuda Clipper – Ideal for clipping mono & fluorocarbon line, features integrated hook de-tangler, eye opener/cleaner, wire wrapper and diamond grit hook sharpener. Cuda Jaw Spreader – Includes a built-in auto-lock for safety and storage. The innovative spatula-tip design pries and opens jaws easily while also holding the jaw open for hook extraction.

www.cudabrand.com

CHILL OUT The new Coleman® 42 Can Marine Cooler is large enough to hold 42 cans and it retains ice for over 36-hours at temperatures up to 32°C. Built to withstand the extra demands of a marine environment, this cooler's heat-welded seams prevent leaks and the water resistant material and reinforced bottom add extra protection. An antimicrobial liner resists odour, mold, mildew and fungus. Adjustable, padded shoulder straps and a soft-grip top handle make it comfortable to carry and D-rings let you securely tie it down to your boat deck or truck bed.

www.colemancanada.ca 14 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

We welcome submissions from manufacturers and distributors for our New Products section. Products that appear in this section have not necessarily been tested or endorsed by the staff at Real Fishing. Submissions can be sent to: Editor, Real Fishing Magazine, 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington, ON L7L

RIGGED AND READY New for 2017, Ranger® Boats is offering exclusive Ranger Cup® upgrade packages on their Z520C and Z521C bass boats as well as on their 620FS and 621FS Fisherman models. The Ranger Cup packages for the Z520C and Z521C bass boats include a Mercury 250 ProXS outboard, a Lowrance HDS 12-inch electronic display at the helm and a Lowrance HDS nine-inch display at the bow, two eight-foot Power-Poles, a Minn Kota Fortrex 112 trolling motor, three trolling motor batteries, a fourbank battery charger, an OXYGENATOR livewell system, an external L.E.D. battery gauge, a trailer parking brake, RIGID backup lights and a Raptor wheel upgrade. For walleye anglers, the 620FS and 621FS Fisherman models share many of the same upgrades as on the Z500C models but instead of Power Poles, the Fisherman models receive a walkthru windshield and bow rails along with a Minn Kota 112 Terrova trolling motor in place of the Fortrex. The 620FS Ranger Cup package comes equipped with a 250 Verado outboard while the 621FS is available with a 300 or 350 horsepower Verado outboard.

www.rangerboats.com

DIG DEEPER Designed by legendary pro angler David Fritts, the Berkley Dredger is a smaller profile crankbait that dives deeper, faster than other baits on the market. A combination of body shape and a weighted bill drive this bait deep and allow it to stay in the strike zone longer. The Dredger is equipped with Berkley Fusion19™ treble hooks and comes in 14 standard colors with six additional “trophy case” colors created by Fritts himself. The Dredger is available in five sizes ranging from 2¼” to 3¼” with diving depths from 10½ to 25½-feet.

www.berkley-fishing.com

CAMPFIRE DEFENDER The Campfire Defender protects campfire coals from rain and snow while reducing or eliminating fire hazards by preventing hot embers from escaping the fire. The pinwheel vent on the cover allows controlled airflow into the firepit, allowing the coals to remain hot for up to eight hours so you will have hot coals in the morning to easily re-stoke your fire from. Made from a high-tech, military-grade fabric, the Campfire Defender can withstand temperatures up to 2500°F, well above the average campfire temperature of 1500°F, so it can also be used as an aid in extinguishing a campfire without using excessive water and or dirt.

www.campfiredefender.ca Summer 2017 – Real Fishing 15

fishing

Bob Izumi is the host of The Real Fishing Show.

By Bob Izumi

High Sticking In this column I’m not going to talk about how to get fish to bite, but what to do after they’ve hit your bait. If you’ve ever watched any of the TV tournament shows, especially the Bassmasters, you’ve probably seen the pros flipping big bass into the boat. It definitely looks cool, but you have to realize that these guys do it for a living. In Bassmaster tournaments the anglers are not allowed to use nets so it’s very common to see them hoisting fish over the gunnels of the boat. In a lot of cases these pros are using medium-heavy to heavy action baitcasting rods and 40, 50 or even 65-pound test braided fishing line. When they set the hook on a four-pound bass they’ll instantly pull it out of the cover, crank it up to the boat and then swing it on board. There isn’t much fighting of the fish going on. If you watch closely, you’ll notice that the pros keep their rods at a low angle when they flip the fish so that they get the maximum leverage out of their rods and they avoid get-

A low angle rod position is best for flipping fish into the boat or guiding them into a net.

16 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

ting “high-sticked”. If you try to boat flip a fish and your rod is pointing up past 11 o’clock, (or one o’clock, depending on how you’re looking at it) chances are you could break your rod. I don’t care if it’s a $500 rod or a $50 rod, rods are not meant to be bent straight around. They are meant to be bent parabolically, from the handle to the tip, not in a way where the tip comes around and touches the rod blank. Case in point: I’m not going to mention any names, but on a recent TV shoot my guest was using a very expensive rod and catching bass on topwaters. When he tried to boat flip about a 2 ½-pound largemouth his rod got to be right at 12 o’clock and all of a sudden we heard, “ping” - and about 18inches of the tip of his rod snapped off. He got high-sticked. Before trying to lift the fish he should have reeled down closer to it, until his rod was in the 9 or 10 o’clock range, and he could have easily swung the fish over the side of the boat without breaking his rod. If you’re going to boat flip a fish, be careful about your rod angle and try to lift the fish by sweeping your rod up and to the side rather than directly above your head. Of course the best and safest way to get a fish into the boat is to use a proper sized landing net and the proper technique to get the fish into the net but that’s a column for another day. Getting high-sticked isn’t something that only happens when you’re landing a fish – it can happen when you’re setting the hook too. I always get a kick out of seeing people who set the hook and their rod and reel ends up above their heads, or even behind their heads. Let’s say using your rod to work your bait and, as you bring your rod up into, say, the

11 o’clock position, you feel a “tick”. In a case like that, it’s always best to turn the reel handle while lowering your rod to the 9 or 10 o’clock position before setting the hook. You’ll get a stronger hookset and you will be in a better position to fight the fish than if you tried to set with your rod too high and ended up with your rod and reel above or behind your head. You will get a much better hookset if your hands are at belly level and you can use your forearms to snap the rod up when you feel a hit. Trying to set the hook from above the 11 o’clock position is sort of like trying to pull up your anchor by starting with your arms at chest level and lifting from there; you don’t have a lot of power and it’s just not natural. Of course there are times when, if the fish are biting short, you’ll miss a couple, but in the long run you’ll get more solid hookups and land more fish if your rod is in the right position when you feel the bite.

Keeping your rod below 11 o’clock helps with hook setting and reduces the chance of getting “high-sticked”.

The best piece of advice I can give you on this topic is to pay attention to the position of your fishing rod at all times. Try to keep the tip below 11 o’clock when you’re working a bait, setting the hook or landing a fish. You’ll see your success rate rise, and you’ll probably never break a rod on a fish again. ?

REEL IN THESE BEAUTIES CUTTER 90 These hard baits capture the essence and action of artfully handcrafted wooden baits with exactness and durability delivered in a synthetic bait. The balanced designs throw straight and far and are consistently ready to run right out of the package without tuning.

FLICKER MINNOW Flicker Minnows are pro designed and tournament proven. Using the same strict development standards from Flicker Shad, these minnow baits dive deeper with maximum flash and tail action. The Flicker Minnow body design, in combination with its impressive dive curve, get you to the fish quicker.

FLICKER SHAD Berkley® has worked with the Pros to design multiple sizes of Flicker Shads to match the hatch. The unique action creates a “Flicker” that imitates a fleeing baitfish.

SAIL.CA BELOEIL - BROSSARD - BURLINGTON - CAMBRIDGE - ETOBICOKE - LAVAL - OSHAWA OTTAWA - QUÉBEC - VAUDREUIL-DORION - VAUGHAN

fly fishing By Stephen May

Seeing Great Fly Fishing Fly fishing is a very visual sport. The surroundings, the fish, other wildlife and action all add to the overall fishing experience. Taking the time to look at things in detail when you are fishing can increase your success and enjoyment of your time on the water. Fly fishing has historically involved beautiful things. The artistry of handmade flies and the craftsmanship of bamboo rods and carefully machined reels are often described as works of art. Even the flowing arc of a fly line during a good cast can be described as artistry. The areas that people commonly chase fish in can also be scenic wonders. Trout, and many other sought after gamefish, tend to live in pretty places. I enjoy all of the beauty of fly fishing, but there are certain things that I watch more closely - especially the action near the fly tied to my leader. Many people describe the sight of a trout taking a dry fly as one of the most rewarding visual experiences in fly fishing. Tracking a fly through an area where fish have been rising, along with the anticipation of a take, is a well-known highlight of the sport. But, there are many other types of fishing where keeping your eyes peeled is worth the effort. As much as I like dry fly fishing, my favourite is watching a streamer swim through fishy waters. I often intentionally use fly patterns that are big, and that contrast with the water colour, so that I can track them and the fish that suddenly appear out of the depths to attack them. Watching an oversized fly work in the water is a super anticipation builder and you can learn how to impart just the right action into your streamer presentations. Big fish like well-presented streamers, Fishing on the flats offers another sight fishing option that can result in oversized fish. When fishing on a shallow water flat you need to wade quietly, be observant and present your fly in the path of a cruising fish 18 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

without alarming it. Again, you can learn a lot about a good presentation and fish behaviour by tracking how the fish react to your fly. In freshwater, cruising carp, trout, bass or pike are common targets. In salty environments, bonefish, tarpon, redfish, permit and striped bass are all perfect flats targets for fly anglers. Below the surface you can also “see” what is going on with your presentation. When fishing still waters the unmistakable twitch at the end of your fly line indicates a take. Even watching your indicator plunge below the surface can be an adrenaline building visual clue. Seeing flashes of fish eating nymphs in

a deep run can also help you focus on extra fishy waters. These are certainly things to watch for when on the water. Looking at potential fish food when on the water helps refine your fly selection. If you tie your own patterns you can even take this observation a step further at your own fly tying bench. Whether it is a mayfly, minnow or crayfish, observing and imitating these creatures will help you to hook up. The next time you are out fly fishing make sure you take in all of the sights. It will not only make for a memorable experience, it might just help you hook up with more and larger fish. ?

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Dave Taylor is a well known photographer and naturalist from Mississauga, Ontario

water’s edge By Dave Taylor

Northern Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota)

On a morning or evening in May or June, anglers, as they move along a stream or shallow river, might hear something like this: “banjo-plunk” or “glunk, glunk, glunk”. It is the call of the male northern green frog. Once the temperature reaches 10°C the males of this species begin to call. They will select a location along the bank of a shallow waterway (river, stream, or pond) to begin their seduction of the females. It takes two or three-weeks before the males have carved up their breeding areas and during this time fights are frequent. Breeding season may last into August but is most apparent in the late spring and early summer. Both sexes emerged a few weeks earlier from hibernation from the muddy bottom which they sought out the previous fall. This is one of the more common frogs that can be seen and heard across their range. They can be found in southern Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and the

20 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

eastern half of the continental United States. They have also been introduced into British Columbia and Newfoundland. They are tolerant of urban areas as long as there is a permanent, year ‘round body water. As North American frogs go they are medium-sized. They somewhat resemble bullfrogs, however, when seen together that species is much larger, averaging 10 to 15centimeters in length versus the green frog’s 6 to 9-centimeter size. Both of these species have large tympani - the large circular shape behind the eye that serves as the frog’s eardrum. In green frogs there is a ridge which extends the length of its body. Bullfrogs also have a visible ridge, but it extends around the tympani. Green frogs can be “sexed” by the size of their tympani. A male’s is large than his eye whereas the female’s tympani is slightly smaller than her eyes. The male’s yellow throat expands when he calls as well. This provides a visual signal to both females and rival males. The action really picks up when a female approaches as other males will follow her and will try to dislodge any male who mounts her. Frogs are amphibians and, like most amphibians, fertilization of the eggs is external. When breeding the male clasps onto the female’s back, a behaviour known as “amplexus”. The female then releases her eggs into the water and the male releases his sperm to fertilize them. During breeding she will release 3000 to 5000 eggs in a floating mat that may be 15 to 30-centimeters wide. The tadpoles hatch in three to seven-days and make their way to the bottom of the pond, stream or river. Mortality in this stage is high with losses to large insect larva (e.g. dragonfly larva), fish, turtles and herons. If they survive, the tadpoles will complete

metamorphosis. Some will emerge late that summer while others, the late arrivals, may over-winter and not complete their transformation until the following spring. However, the greatest danger to the frog’s tadpoles is the drying up of their watery incubator. Toads and some salamanders select vernal ponds to breed in. They time their breeding when these ponds are at the fullest and their offspring develop quickly. By ensuring that they breed in these temporary ponds they also ensure that there are no fish and only a few aquatic insects found there. But green frogs have evolved their behaviour to select permanent waterbodies, but that comes with its own price as noted above. Green frogs are creatures of shallow waters. Adults are almost never found far from water; however, young green frogs will migrate overland to less crowded areas, sometimes travelling half a kilometer from their natal waters. Not a bad idea, given that mature frogs have no inhibitions about dining on the young frogs. It is a decision not without its own risks though, as foxes, skunks, mink, herons, hawks, snakes and other predators may find them. Green frogs are not always green. Their colour may range from olive-green to brown, often with small dark spots. In the southeastern United States there is a bronze coloured subspecies (Lithobates clamitans clamitans) called, not surprisingly, the bronze frog. While many other frogs prefer areas away from too much human activity, the green frog seems to tolerate us. That should not take away from the joy of encountering one though, as their presence indicates a fairly healthy ecosystem. ?

the vintage tackle box

Patrick Daradick has been collecting vintage fishing tackle for over 25-years and is a specialist in Ontario made tackle. He enjoys sharing his passion and knowledge and can be contacted online at www.ontariolures.com or by phone at 613-398-7245.

By Patrick Daradick

Arbogast,“The Bait of Champions” With largemouth and smallmouth bass season upon us, it seems only fitting to pay tribute to lure inventor and fisherman extraordinaire, Fred Arbogast. Fred was a pioneer in developing many famous bass lures that a wealth of fisherman still store in their tackle boxes and cast today. Arbogast lures are referred to as “The Bait of Champions” and this saying can still be seen embracing their lure packages today. Fred Arbogast began his lure making business from the basement of his home on Barwell Street in Akron, Ohio. The first lure he produced was a metal lure called Tin Liz. Fred described this lure as “the most natural crippled minnow ever made”. Fisherman agreed, and the demand for this lure pro-

22 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

gressed so far that Fred left his employment at the Goodyear Rubber plant in Akron in 1926 to start a business in sport fishing. Like most lure inventors, Fred designed lures to attract both fish and fisherman. As a fisherman, he tinkered with ideas that came from problems he encountered while out fishing. One such invention was the Hawaiian Wiggler. This lure featured the new and revolutionary Hula Skirt - a flexible rubber skirt attached at the rear of the lure, which provided a lively swimming action. This line of lures and the Hula Skirt made the company instantly famous.

One of the most famous of Fred Arbogast’s inventions was the Jitterbug, and I would say there isn’t a bass fisherman who hasn’t tried this wobbling surface lure that drives fish insane. The Jitterbug was introduced in 1938 and fisherman loved it. Many enthusiastic anglers sent letters of praise to Fred, wanting to share stories of their success with the Jitterbug lure. With the popularity of the Jitterbug, Fred’s inventions just kept coming and, in 1941, he invented another surface lure called the Hula Popper. It quickly established itself, alongside the Jitterbug, as a classic surface lure. The Hula Popper was the first topwater lure to feature the Arbogast Hula Skirt. When twitched, this lure would create a popping sound and, with the added skirt, it was irresistible to any fish. In 1946 Fred took his Hawaiian Wiggler and modified the lure, and its name, to create a new lure he called the Sputterfuss. In 1946 this lure was ahead of its time. It was designed to be quickly retrieved or “skittered” across the water’s surface. This noisy surface bait had a large double front spinner and was equipped with a large rubber skirt. Fred recognized its effectiveness and it is known today as the original buzzbait. Sadly, while ice skating near his home in 1947 Fred Arbogast collapsed and died suddenly. At the time of his passing the Arbogast Company had just expanded to a new, two-story brick building near his home. The new building would accommodate extra manufacturing space for a growing business that employed over 100 people. Fred Arbogast’s commitment to producing quality fishing lures continued to live on as the Arbogast Company produced hundreds of styles of lures for the fresh and salt water fisherman. Quality, expertise and commitment were Fred Arbogast’s goals and they continue to be the trademark of the company he founded in his basement in Akron, Ohio. ?

real fishing fish facts

Northern Pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis)

The northern pikeminnow has an elongated, slender, pike-like body that is generally dark green, green-brown or grey-green along the back with lighter, often silvery sides and a white to cream coloured abdomen. The head and snout are relatively long and flattened, and can account for between 22% and 23% of the fishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total length. The northern pikeminnow has a large mouth that can extend to the front edge of its eyes and its upper and lower jaws are equal in length. Its tail is distinctly forked and the fins are clear, although the lower fins of males take on a yellow/orange hue during spawning. The native range of the northern pikeminnow includes the Pacific slope of North America, from western Alberta and northern British Columbia south to northeastern Nevada, as well as parts of Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. In British Columbia it can be found in most of the major river systems including the Fraser, Skeena and Columbia as well as in numerous smaller streams and interior lakes. In the upper northwestern United States its range includes the rivers of Puget Sound as well as Lake Washington, the Columbia, Snake, Willamette, Spokane, Pend Oreille, and

Kootenai river systems and their tributaries. The northern pikeminnow is considered to be a freshwater species but it can also be found in many costal river estuaries, especially after spring flooding. The average size of the pikeminnow is between 10 and 20-inches in length and weighing 2 to 4-pounds, but there have been reports of specimens reaching over 36-inches and weighing over 20-pounds. The official IGFA All Tackle World Record for an anglercaught northern pikeminnow is 7-pounds, 14-ounces. Spawning takes place between May and July on shallow, gravelly riverbeds or along lake shores or river banks. They gather in large numbers and each female will spawn with more than one male. Females will produce from 12,000 to 100,000 eggs depending on the fishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s size, and the eggs are randomly deposited. Hatching takes place approximately one week after spawning. The Northern pikeminnow has a varied

diet that includes terrestrial and aquatic insects, various larvae, plankton, crustaceans and fish eggs as well as other fish like sculpins, minnows, and suckers. In addition to feeding on coarse species, the northern pikeminnow is considered to be a serious predator of game fish including various species of salmon and trout. For this reason it is often seen as a nuisance species and some fisheries agencies undertake efforts to control its numbers. As a sport fish, the northern pikeminnow gives a good account of itself on light tackle and will readily hit small lures and flies. Although edible, they are not particularly sought after as a food fish so angling pressure is relatively light. ?

DID YOU KNOW? The northern pikeminnow has a voracious appetite and will often feed on young salmon and trout.

FAST FACTS Colour: Dark green, green-brown or grey/green along the back, becoming lighter and often silvery along the flanks. The belly is white to cream coloured. Size: The average size of a northern pikeminnow is between 10 and 20-inches in length with a weight of 2 to 4-pounds.They are said to occasionally attain lengths over 30-inches and weights of over 20-pounds. Life Span: Up to 11-years. Habitat: Lakes and slow moving sections of rivers. Occasionally the northern pikeminnow will be found in estuaries of large rivers. Spawning: Spawning takes place between May and July over gravelly sections of rivers and lake shorelines. They may also spawn along suitable riverbanks.

RECORD The current IFGA All-Tackle World Record northern pikeminnow stands at 7pounds, 14-ounces and was caught in the Snake River in Almota, Washington, on May 15, 2008.

24 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2017

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SEPTEMBER

Best Fishing Times 2017

DOUG HANNON’S

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SUNDAY

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When Bob Izumi visits Florida he often takes a break from bass fishing to sample some saltwater fishing with his friend Paul Michele, from Navionics. On a recent trip to the Sunshine State the guys decided to take a break from tarpon fishing and try something a little different. They switched to lighter gear and were fishing around some docks when Paul caught this beautiful 12-pound snook on a jerkbait. If only all of our fishing trips turned out that well!

28 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2017

30 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2017

By David A. Brown

TWEAKING JIGS and TEXAS RIGS Flipped, pitched or cast, jigs and Texas-rigged plastics offer a gold mine of versatility with broad geographic applicability. Specific baits and color selections vary by water body, but the general design of a jig and/or Texas Rig follows a common pattern; the main elements of which present a wide range of adjustment and customization potential. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hodgepodge of rigging tips, divided into logical groupings, that will help improve your presentations.

Summer 2017 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Real Fishing 31

TEXAS RIG WEIGHTS Center Stage

If you prefer pegging sinkers with toothpicks, use a small finishing nail or a piece of stiff wire to remove the pegs as needed.

Legendary bass pro Denny Brauer insists on precise Texas rig alignment and he does so with a strategic pegging process. Snugging a rubber pegging nail through his tungsten weight (bottom-to-top), he’ll snip off the broad end flush with the weight’s bottom and then pull the nail into the top half. Next, he’ll cut the rubber nail flush with the sinker’s top edge. This arrangement frees up the back of the sinker and allows the line to center under the weight and keep the bait properly aligned.

Room to Move Bassmaster Elite Series pro Todd Faircloth pegs his Texas rig sinker about an inch above his hook to provide himself the benefit of a fixed weight, while allowing his bait plenty of room to move. For this task, Faircloth uses a piece of toothpick at the top of his weight and another at the bottom. “I like to have about a quarter-inch gap between the bottom of my weight and my plastic,” Faircloth explained. “I feel like it makes it more lifelike. It’s a lot simpler too; you have a toothpick versus rigging a bobber stopper. But I don’t want that big weight crashing down on my plastic Pegging a sinker above the hook allows more flexibility for a Texas-rigged bait.

32 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

because it’ll wear it out and I’ll eventually have to change it out because my bait won’t stay up on my hook.” To remove a toothpick peg, Faircloth can usually reach the bottom piece with a hook point, but the top one requires a gentle shove with a thin finishing nail or a piece of stiff wire. This easy adjustment promotes time effi-

ciency, especially when diverse habitat takes him in and out of the cover requiring a pegged sinker. “If I can fish a bait with my sinker sliding up and down my line, I feel like I get more bites,” Faircloth said. “I don’t peg my weight unless I have to and there are certain situations where you have to; like flipping heavy cover.”

Notably, Faircloth said that pegging his weight above the hook actually improves his hookup percentage because this separation deprives the fish of its hook-throwing leverage.

JIG SKIRTS A Little Trim Full jig skirts have their place, but sometimes a trimmed-down version fits best. Elite pro Mike Iaconelli bases his choice on forage size (full skirt for big bait fish, trimmed down for small stuff) and fall rate. “The longer and bigger the jig skirt, the slower the rate of fall; the shorter the jig skirt, the quicker the fall rate and the more likely it is to get a reaction strike,” Iaconelli said. Jason Christie, the Elite pro from Oklahoma, likens skirt trimming to haircuts. It’s all about precision, so a consistent trim starts with a measured grip.

Slim Down Decreasing a jig’s profile is far less complicated. The key is understanding when/why this may be appropriate. “In cold water, I want a bulkier, thicker skirt,” Iaconelli said. “In many scenarios, I’m even going to use a skirt with Living Rubber because I want a slower fall, a bigger profile in that colder water. In warmer water, when I want to make a fish react, I actually want a thin skirt. Along with trimming down the skirt to right behind the bend of the hook, I’ll actually pull strands of skirt material right out of that band. A lot of times, I’ll remove up to 30 percent of that skirt material to increase the rate of fall.”

Choosing to use a full (left) or a trimmed jig skirt (right) is a matter of water conditions and/or bait size.

Color selection “When it comes to jig color, I think of one thing - forage,” Iaconelli said. “If you look at my jig box, everything in there is designed to mimic something natural in the environment. If it’s shad, I want white; if it’s

when you see those antennae, you can go back into your tackle box to mix and match a few skirt color variations to try to pinpoint that particular color. The same goes for bluegill or sunfish - there are a lot of color variations and if you can get a sense of what that fish is eating, it will help you match the hatch. That’s a key deal to getting those extra bites; and especially those quality bites.”

Front and Center When Brauer uses a skirt with a strip of accent colors, he’ll make sure those vivid strands align with the jig’s hook shank. “The accent color is always a lighter or brighter shade than the main skirt,” Brauer said. “Everything that swims in the water has a lighter colored bottom, or belly. Aligning the accent colors with the hook shank makes the jig look more natural.”

TRAILER TALK Free Swinging

“I’ll hold the skirt between my first two fingers (forefinger and middle) like a barber holds your hair when he trims it,” Christie said. “I’ll keep it nice and even so I can cut right above my fingers and keep all those strands the same length.” For a flaring look, Christie holds the jig by its head, so the skirt dangles freely, and then he trims each side at an upward angle.

bluegill, I want the greens and watermelon; if it’s crawfish, I want the browns.” Elite pro Stephen Browning offers this tip: “Every now and then, take a peek in your livewell or take a peek down a fish’s throat (for regurgitated or recently eaten meals). There are several different shades of crawfish with any given area, so if you take a pair of pliers and pull a crawfish out of a fish’s gullet

Rather than threading chunk-style trailers onto his jig hook, Todd Faircloth opts for a more mobile arrangement with his chunk impaled laterally on the hook. First, he cuts the body down to about a half inch. This allows him to maintain the kind of compact profile that appeals to bass in cold, or otherwise tough conditions. Next, Faircloth trims the top edge of the recently cut-down chunk. With precise snips, he removes angled chunks of plastic until he’s created a blunt point, which moves through the water in a more streamlined fashion. Summer 2017 – Real Fishing 33

TESTED T TOUGH OUGH WHERE E A BAD DAY Y OF F FISHING G STILL BEA AT TS A G GOOD DA AY Y WORKING. RKING

Use a closed-eye flipping hook whenever possible.

they turn 90-degrees to the line on the hookset. This, he says, gives him a better chance of snaring fish, even if they open their mouth on the hookset.

To keep chunk trailers from slipping up the jig hook, thread a piece of worm onto the hook shank.

Lastly, Faircloth strengthens the trailer to hold its position on the jig’s hook by inserting a toothpick sideways across the plastic body - about 1/16- to 1/8-inch down from to top edge. This creates a catch point that prevents the hook from pulling out of the trailer. Breaking off both ends of the toothpick keeps it concealed within the plastic. This strategy promotes efficiency, as the jig trailer lasts far longer than one threaded onto the hook. Worn trailers tend to sag and slip, but Faircloth’s method eliminates a lot of replacement time.

Space It Out Chunk trailers impaled on jig hooks occasionally ride up the shank and, if the plastic turns outward, it can cover the hook point and mar any bites. FLW pro Terry Bolton prevents this by threading a piece of used worm on his jig’s hook shank before rigging the trailer. This impromptu spacer keeps the trailer from wandering and thereby keeps his hook free to do its job.

FLIPPING HOOKS Snell & Tell Elite pro Greg Hackney knows that big weights can pop a fish’s mouth open on the strike, so he snells his hooks to make sure 36 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

Close Your Eyes Elite pro Timmy Horton insists on flipping hooks with welded eyes for two reasons. First, if fluorocarbon works its way into the

A flared weed guard, left, catches more water and slows the jig’s rate of fall.

gap of a non-welded hook eye, it’s likely to suffer weakening abrasion. Second, thinner, slicker braided line can work its way into that gap and actually slip free under heavy pressure. Even if you don’t suffer breakage or slippage, when fishing line gets jammed in a hook eye gap, it can mar your presentation and cause line-twisting lure spin. In the absence of a welded hook, Horton offers this piece of advice: tying a double Palomar knot increases knot mass and helps prevent slippage.

JIG WEED GUARDS Water Resistance Fanning or flaring a jig’s weed guard creates more resistance to slow the fall, while thinning the fibers increases the fall rate. Use these strategies according to depth and seasonal preferences. We’ll close with this nugget of wisdom from Denny Brauer. Following a multi-step jig preparation regimen, he adds a final modification that ensures quick identification of jigs ready for action. “Once I’ve finished preparing my jig, the last thing I do is cut the top edge of my weed guard at a 45-degree angle toward the hook point,” he said. “This doesn’t affect the weed guard’s ability to protect the hook point, but it allows me to instantly identify which jigs I’ve prepared.” ?

38 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

40 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2017

By Mark Forabosco

JASPER’S TALE OF TWO WHITES They are an iridescent pearl in colour, their meat is firm yet mild in flavour, and their taste is exquisite when wrapped in tinfoil with butter, a squeeze of lemon and a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper. They are the wallflower of the sportfish fraternity, always considered a bonus catch, but rarely mentioned in the same sentence alongside the likes of steelhead, smallmouth bass or the mighty muskellunge. This is a tale of two cousins, Prosopium williamsoni and Coregonus clupeaformis, translated into modern vernacular as the mountain whitefish and the common lake whitefish. These humble fish offer the everyday angler an out of the ordinary alternative. Not only are they a pleasure to pursue, they are also highly challenging and to land one is a true testament to one’s angling prowess.

Summer 2017 – Real Fishing 41

Little Cousin and a Trophy Lost The mountain whitefish inhabits rivers and lakes west of the Rocky Mountains, from the Fraser River and Jasper Park south to Idaho. Smaller than their lake cousins, Alberta’s mountain whitefish record stands at 5-pounds, 10½-ounces. They subside on a diet of plankton and insects, making them a first class adversary for the dedicated fly fishermen. A decade ago I had my first experience angling for these elusive fish while on a family trip to Jasper Park. The majority of the streams throughout Jasper have healthy populations, with the fish averaging in size between one and two-pounds, but there some trophies to be had if the timing is right. The Athabasca River, which flows through the park, is where the largest mountain whitefish thrive. As late summer turns to fall, many of these fish journey into some of the smaller feeder tributaries to prepare for spawning. Lazy by nature, mountain whitefish will hold adjacent to fast water, playing the opportunist and picking up insects as they drift helplessly by. It was on one of those barren grey mornings, the kind that requires a wool sweater to fight the northern chill, that I had one of my most celebrated encounters. I was drifting sinking flies through a slow pool and had already landed and released half a dozen whites when I had a take with much greater force than any before. The fish stayed deep and for a moment I thought I 42 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

may have hooked into a bull trout. After a few anxious minutes I was amazed to find that this was no bull, but a very large mountain whitefish that weighed in at just over four-pounds. Being a novice to this species, I did not fully comprehend what a trophy I really had and I brought it home for the smoker. It wasn’t until a fellow angler later explained to me what a rare catch it was, in regards to its size, and what a memorable mount it would have made. The best analogy I can make is that it would be comparable to going trout fishing your first time and landing a 20-pound steelhead. Since that time it has been a goal of mine to once more Spinning rods and light line are just as effective as fly fishing for river whitefish.

land a mountain whitefish of similar size. These tricky fish have no sympathy for those who lack concentration. Their take is as deliberate as it is delicate: you get one quick tap and then they are gone. I’ve always been of the mindset that flyfishing is truly an art, unfortunately, I am no Rembrandt. The good news is that even a novice can reap rewards as these silver sportfish are not fussy with regards to any particular style of fishing. Using a light action spinning rod with four-pound test line is just as effective as casting weighted bead-head flies, with a sinking tippet, on traditional fly gear.

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for its northern pike. Every time I mentioned fishing there for whitefish, local anglers would give me an odd stare and reply, “Wouldn’t you rather catch pike?” The sun’s shimmering light stretched out across the still, clear water, cutting through the morning mist that shrouded the lake. Nothing but bluebird skies above, without even the slightest whisper of wind. The only partial shade came from the snow-topped mountain behind us. My son Rowan smiled and said, “Well, what do you think dad?” It was a case of the blind leading the blind. Back home, minnows or roe bags would be the designated baits of choice but today we’d have to figure things out as the morning progressed. Primarily, I was going to rely on an assortment of flies and small spoons. The ecosystem of this pristine place is truly remarkable and I watched huge schools of minnows moving in unison, providing a forage base perfect for producing heavyweight whitefish. Then the lake’s surface took on a life of its own. No more than

As luck would have it, on this last visit heavy rains somewhat nullified my quest for trophy redemption as the Athabasca waters had lost their normal clarity. In spite of that setback, I placed my faith in some of the shallower feeder streams and it turned into a fishing adventure for my young son and his cousins. The memories made that day - watching a future generation of new anglers who had been bitten by the fishing bug, their smiles a mile wide, debating who caught the biggest fish and asking if they could clean the catch and when we could return - reminded this old salt that some things are far more important than landing a trophy.

Talbot Heavyweights I was down to my last day and still had not gone after the prized lake whitefish that inhabited some of the nearby waters. I thought it would be a prudent move to pay a visit to the local tackle shop, Online Sports, to search out some advice from an authority who could best guide me down the right path. My thanks go out to the 44 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

courteous and seasoned staff who suggested that Talbot Lake offered me the best opportunity for a large lake whitefish. I rented a boat for the day and purchased an assortment of sinking flies and other artificials needed to tempt some of the wise trophies that called Talbot Lake home. What really surprised me, coming from Ontario, is how little angling pressure was placed on this species. Talbot Lake is a fairly well known body of water that is famous

50-yards away, minnows were clearing the water, trying desperately not to end up as a midmorning snack for a number of large whitefish. The entertaining show only got better when my son excitedly pointed out a pack of whitefish in the five to eight-pound range as they cruised alongside our boat, an occurrence that repeated itself many times that day. I quickly rigged up and, using a sinking tippet and a strike indictor, let my fly out about 50-yards. These fish are so well fed they can afford to be choosy, and an angler can sit for hours between strikes. One fish was later lost on a fly and, as an act of desperation with time running out, I dug into my bag of tricks and

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David Robson holds two IGFA line-class records for whitefish caught from Talbot Lake.

switched to an old Ontario method - jigging small spoons. This technique did garner some semi-positive results when a very thick fish aggressively did a 180° downward twist, inhaling the descending spoon. With eyes wide and pulse racing I hung on tight, praying my luck wouldn’t abandon me. This old white gave a spirited account of itself, eventually dislodging the spoon while bulldogging its way to freedom. That was enough to deflate what was left of my fragile angling ego. Standing in the boat I couldn’t help but feel somewhat like Charlie Brown on the pitcher’s mound after giving up a home run. A slight breeze began to grow, and with it a song that drifted downward from the mountain. I could swear it was the melancholy voice of Patsy Cline singing, “I Fall to Pieces”. Somehow, my son found it all rather amusing. By the end of the morning I can conservatively say I saw well over 250 whitefish, a number of them over the seven-pound mark. To say that this is an untapped fishery would be a grand understatement. Even though my creel was empty, I considered the day a qualified success. Through some trial and error I was able to form a better understanding of this fertile water and which techniques to apply on my next trip that would provide this fisherman with a happier ending. I viewed this opportunity as a true gift simply due to the fact that back 46 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

home in Ontario I would never be able to pursue whitefish in this distinctive manner. David Robson is what you could refer to as a premier angler when it relates to catching whitefish. In fact, he has been recognized by the International Game Fish Association for holding two world line class records, both of these fish coming out of

Talbot Lake. His passion is unsurpassed when it comes to pursuing this elegant species and David was kind enough to share some of his wisdom with me. His two favourite flies are the Royal Humpy and the Royal Wulff. Another of his secrets is to fish a San Juan Worm attached to a sinking tippet underneath a small float and simply let the bait sit a good distance behind the boat while it moves up and down with the motion of the water. This method can be extremely effective but patience and concentration are required as there can be long intervals between subtle strikes. On the upside, as you can see by the photos of him in this article, the prize is well worth the wait. Jasper Park is one of Canada’s most popular tourist destinations for a number of reasons. Its rugged landscapes and high mountain peaks offer nature enthusiasts, wildlife photographers and hikers haunting scenery and a chance to see nature in its purist form. If you love to ride the rapids, the mighty Athabasca River will give you all the excitement you can stand. But, if you are a humble angler who wants to experience peace and solitude while chasing two clever silver cousins, both of which will leave you with long-lasting memories and an internal longing to return, this place is definitely one for the bucket list. ?

Productive flies include the Royal Humpy, Royal Wulff and San Juan Worm.

Royal Humpy

Royal Wulff

San Juan Worm

48 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2017

By Geoff Coleman

HARDWIRED LAKE TROUT It is well known that lakers can be caught in shallow water after the ice melts, while they take advantage of uniform, top-to-bottom temperatures. I include myself in the legions of fishermen who are keen to put a boat in the water as soon after ice-out as is humanly possible to flat line troll and cast spoons or minnowbaits for the first time in months.

Summer 2017 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Real Fishing 49

However, this shallow migration is easy to miss. In my experience it doesn’t occur immediately after the ice melts. It can take a couple of weeks to fully happen and, if Mother Nature isn’t cooperating, it can peak and be over in even less time. Simply getting a report that the ice has left doesn’t automatically mean the fish are in, so timing a trip during this preferred time is as much “hit” as it is “miss”.

an extra sturdy rod and reel, and some metal line. It is as suited to big inboard boats as it is to a canoe or cartopper, and it sure beats having to portage a portable downrigger into the back lakes. Steel lining is generally associated with summer fishing, and for good reason. By late spring, in almost all developed parts of Canada, the sun has warmed the shallows enough to rob the water of the oxygen con-

Eager anglers start searching for spring lake trout as soon as possible after the ice has left the lakes.

Luckily, there is a technique that produces regardless of when your holidays fall, and it doesn’t require a major investment of cash or time. It catches fish before they go shallow, after they have been forced deep by warm weather, and at just about any other time of the year because there are always some lakers occupying deep water. We are talking about steel lining. To the uninitiated, steel line trolling may look like a lot work, and in some ways it is. The gear - rods, reels, line - is heavy and tiring to use for a full day. And, whether letting line out or recovering it, care must be taken to avoid kinks and overruns. If a monofilament overrun creates a bird’s nest, a steel line overrun makes an osprey’s nest. This is patient, workman-like fishing. However, like many things that take effort, there are rewards. For starters, you can access, on the simplest of terms, fish that are out of reach by the usual methods including - dare I say it - downrigging. There are no new boat control techniques to master, no new casts to learn and no new baits to buy. If you have trolled for walleye you have all the experience you need to troll wire line for lake trout. You just need to get 50 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

Summertime lake trout are prime targets for the steel line approach.

centrations lake trout require. So, after a short season following ice-out when the entire water column is inhabitable, the fish are deep again. By June 1st, steel line becomes the most popular game in town. “Steel line” is a catch-all term that refers to a variety of metal lines that get lures deep and still make you feel like you are fishing in a way that downriggers, or monofilament and sinkers can’t. Wire line keeps you in contact with the action of your bait, the composition of the bottom, and most importantly, the strike of the trout. The four main line choices are steel, copper, lead, and monel. Steel is the thinnest, least expensive and most widely used. Typically it has a single-strand construction, though braids are available in three, seven, and even 49 strands if you feel you need that much strength. Line kink and fatigue are less common with braided steel lines but you need a larger capacity reel to hold enough of it due to its thicker diameter. That is the knock against copper and lead as well. They are both heavy and sink well - better than steel in fact - but you are into a bigger and heavier rig than the big

and heavy rig that is already required for steel. With that said, both the thick diameter and extra weight of copper and lead can be used to your advantage since they respond quickly to changes in boat speed. When you increase your trolling speed, the greater water resistance throughout the length of these lines makes them respond much more fluidly than steel, cutting a graceful arc vertically toward the surface. And, when the speed is cut, they drop more quickly than steel, giving them a slight edge around steep drops. Leadcore is the most user-friendly of the bunch - easy on the hands, gentle on rod tips, and harder to kink. It also has some stretch so is a little more forgiving when snagged. Probably the most endearing thing about it is the colour-coding which indicates how much line is dragging behind you. Generally, each time a new colour appears it means another 10-yards of line are out. Like copper, it will rise and sink on turns depending on what side of the boat you are fishing, so always be ready for a hit when changing course.

The Cadillac of lines is made of monel, a nickel-copper alloy that is harder and thinner than copper lines of the same breaking strength, and sinks faster than steel. It is costly, but shines when bumping bottom and when fishing around gnarly structure because it is so tough. It carries a Cadillac price tag too. Regardless of the line you choose, keep it constantly under pressure so the opportunity for kinks, or worse, a birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nest, is minimized. Always thumb the spool, and feed the first several feel of line out by hand until the bait digs in. Like Peter Mansbridge, steel line and trolling rods have been around for decades with little noticeable changes. However, reels have seen significant refinements, and the must-have, game-changing option is a line counter. Whether built with one at the factory, or retro fitted with an aftermarket

add-on, line counters let you precisely and repeatedly run a lure at a specific depth once the fish have told you just what that is. The old method of counting passes of the level wind still works, but that mechanical record keeper lets you take your eyes off the reel to steer the boat, check the depth finder or watch an osprey dive. And, you can let line out more quickly without fear of losing count.

Summer 2017 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Real Fishing 51

At least five manufacturers make a dedicated line counter reel and some will retrofit existing trolling reels to ensure that if fish are hitting when there are 458-feet of line out, (or maybe “units” of line is more correct) you can confidently get back to that depth again. Penn reels have long dominated the steel line market, but there are other contenders including Abu Garcia, whose reels have an impeccable reputation for quality and longevity. You can also pick up a line counting device that mounts on the rod, between the reel and the first eye, if you feel a dedicated reel is not in the cards. Speaking of rods, my grandfather’s wire lining rod, which liberated hundreds of lakers from Lake Superior near Thunder Bay over its lifetime, was literally sawn from a sturdy piece of pine that had to have started out as a 2x6. Over the years, steel and fiberglass have replaced wood, but even today a

brand new trolling rod is still short and stocky and wouldn’t look out of place in a pool hall if the guides were stripped off. Solid glass rods are the most common, and the best modern ones are actually fairly limber. While backbone is needed to set the hook, there also needs to be some give somewhere. It can come from the reel drag, the rod flex, or the line stretch. That last one is not going to happen when wire lining, so the rod has to give when the headshakes start. After finding a suitable rod action, the next decision you will face is whether you want a roller or a spring tip. This comes down to personal preference, but rollers alleviate wear and tear at the point where the line has to basically bend to enter the rod. Some will even rotate to help the line remain seated. These are the choice for the person who pays attention to every little detail and will ensure the line will stay centered in the

Cody Byles has become extremely adept at the old school method of wire lining for lake trout.

52 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

roller. Spring tips are much friendlier in terms of line management, but they abuse the wire more since there is more friction at the tip. When rigging up, some anglers have been known to lodge a large bead in the tip and feed the line through it, thinking it creates a smoother transition point.

It’s a bit ironic that one of the best practitioners of an old-school technique like this that I know was born after the line on my trolling reel was spooled up. Cody Byles lives in central Ontario cottage country and when he isn’t fixing cars or hanging out with friends, he’s likely fishing. His dad and brother are both good multi-species fishermen, but Cody gets bragging rights when it comes to summer lakers. Faced with a new lake, Cody likes to use electronics as much as anyone to narrow in on classic structure, but if depthfinders or contour maps are out of the question, he will aim the boat first for a steep cliff wall and start the troll there. If it’s a long stretch of cliff, so much the better. When steel lining, you cannot precisely follow contours like you can when you are downrigging. A long-standing rule of thumb holds that every 10-feet of 12-pound test steel line released results in a one-foot drop in depth, so your bait will often be dragging a distance equal to at least a football field behind you. Obviously, a quick turn along a

small structure is not going to translate into much of a change in the lure’s path. You are confined to lazy curves at best, so structure that doesn’t have a lot of zigs and zags is best suited to this method. Byles points out that, even if you are confined to a relatively straight troll, there are still ways to put some variety in the route. Vertical changes, for example, are quickly and easily made. The simplest is to increase the throttle to raise the bait or slow down to drop it. That may not sound like a significant move, but it is worth doing any time you see a mark indicating fish suspended on your finder. I have seen enough Great Lakes charter boat captains “pop” a downrigger release when going over fish - allowing a lightweight spoon to flutter up and away from fish - to understand that lakers hate seeing anything leave their face. If cliffs aren’t present, Cody looks next for deep troughs between islands and rubblecovered, tapering points. He keeps an eye on the ‘finder, watching for those obvious suspended fish as well as those innocuous bumps along bottom that indicate the pres-

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ence of cellar-dwellers. These bottom-hugging, neutral fish are the ones that steel liners can catch when downriggers rarely do. While downrigging does give you the advantage of more precise trolling runs along structure, you don’t necessarily have the advantage of precise vertical presentations over the structure. Because you are actually manipulating the rod and line, you can lower the lure as needed, even pounding it over rocks and into the mud. And, because your lure is trailing well behind the transducer, you have sufficient time to make adjustments - just let more line out until you feel the bait skipping across bottom periodically. Stories of boats being flipped by snagged cannonballs are enough to keep most skippers from getting baits really close to bottom, however, a steel liner can drop his bait right into the silt and muck or bounce it off boulders. Or, they can retrieve line to send the lure arcing over a mark on the finder. It is much more like fishing than downrigging can ever be. Another overlooked spot is a massive flat. I admit that this sounds like something

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a New Age healer might say, but lack of structure is structure. If that flat tops out between 45 and 70-feet of water, it is worth a few passes. Regardless of where you decide to troll, arrive when it’s getting light. Byles is adamant that from the break of dawn until an hour after the sun clears the treeline is the golden time. If you think about what it takes to get a 22-year old out of bed on a Saturday morning after a Friday night out, then you know how significant that advice is. An evening bite also comes on, but experience has taught me that any mechanical or equipment issues that might unexpectedly arise are 10-times as challenging after dark. When you can, set the alarm early and take the morning shift. If he was forced to, Cody would pick early summer as his best time to fish with steel line. By then the water is warming but isn’t too warm, and all manner of aquatic life is stirring, getting the food chain in motion. A south-facing bay with a narrow entrance that cuts it off from the rest of lake can be a real sleeper when the spring is slow arriving. That water will warm faster and you may find the fish so concentrated that you get bit on literally every pass.

Rigging Up Steel line exerts a lot of pressure on a fishing reel, so don’t skimp on quality when choosing one. Some form of backing, like Dacron or a braided line, should go on the reel before the steel to absorb some of the pressure the tightening steel line creates as it is retrieved. Use an Albright knot to join the backing to the steel.While the steel line can be twisted directly onto a bait, it is smarter to tie in a three or four-foot fluorocarbon leader so that when trout start rolling in the line at the boat, like they inevitably do, less damage is done. You can also buy pre-rigged copper or steel line that has the backing, the line itself and a leader all ready to go, right out of the box.

54 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

For some people, there are two types of lake trout trolling lures: Williams Whitefish and Williams Wobblers. However, the Byles family are tackle junkies, and they have found some very reliable spoons to augment those old faithfuls. In fact, there are dozens of proven producers and it seems that some baits just work better on some lakes. If your favourite lures aren’t getting the action you expect, experiment with different shapes and colour patterns until you find the one that works best on the day you’re out there. If spoons aren’t working, a change to a floating body bait may make the difference. Just be sure to allow for the bait’s dive depth

if you are trolling close to the bottom in order to avoid constant hangups. Muskie and steelhead have well-deserved reputations for turning otherwise sane anglers into fanatics, but lake trout - probably because they can grow so big, fight hard, and thrive in beautiful and unspoiled places - can mess you up too. Once you feel that direct, hard-wired connection to a big trout, and every headshake and power run is transmitted instantly up the line, you will be happy for the slower pace of steel lining, and you’ll welcome the fact that the fight - just like a summer day - lasts a bit longer. ?

By Val Hunter

FISHING BUD Few experiences in life can match the thrill of landing a derby-winning Chinook.

56 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2017

DIES

A couple of times a week, from the end of May until early September, Vancouver’s South Airport terminal buzzes with salmon fishers heading up BC’s north coast to the pristine waters of Haida Gwaii. A short hour and fifteen-minute flight lands them at the airport in Massett. There they board helicopters to fly out to Langara Fishing Lodge in Henslung Cove, off Langara Island. At the end of August each year, a couple of dozen women make this trip to Langara Fishing Lodge for the Lady Anglers Fishing Challenge. The women come in all stripes, from novice to expert, and they range in age from very young to vintage. Some travel solo, some fish with a husband or partner, others with a group of girlfriends. What all these women share in common is a love for the sport. The ladies’ derby commences upon arrival at the lodge, and it ends at 8 pm several days later, when the tournament

Summer 2017 – Real Fishing 57

“We’ve caught rock fish, halibut, snapper, and ling cod, as well as several salmon species,” Julie says. They always fly home with their fish, which has been cleaned, flash frozen, and then packed in Styrofoam travel boxes at the lodge. “We usually overnight in Vancouver on the return flight, and then fly out with the fish. There’s only been one time we missed our flight and the fish made it home before us, but I was able to have someone pick it up for me.”

Julie Flynn with a solid, 28-pound Chinook.

Julie and Larry pose with a pair of hefty Chinook salmon.

winner is presented with a silver and gold bracelet carved by a local Haida artist, and the bonus prize of a return trip. August 26 to 29 this year marks the 19th Annual Lady Anglers Tournament. For information on the tournament, contact Langara Lodge at info@langara.com. Julie Flynn, last year’s winner, had more than earned her bragging rights. This summer will mark the 14th year that Julie and her husband of 41-years, Larry, will have travelled from the desert of Tucson, Arizona so Julie can take part in the women’s tournament, with Larry fishing alongside. Larry, an Oregon native, has fished most of his life; though Julie, born in Louisiana and raised in Arizona, took up fishing in the ‘90s when, Julie says, “One day Larry asked me if I wanted to go fishing, and I said, ‘Sure, where are we going?’” On Julie’s first trip they fished marlin in Mexico, and on later trips to Mexico and Panama they fished sailfish and tarpon – all catch-and-release. About 10-years ago in Panama, Julie caught a 500-pound black marlin. The big fish was difficult to land. “It was a rush because I could see the fish jumping out of the water and dancing while I reeled it in, and I had to pull together all the strength I could.” It took about 45-minutes for Julie to get the fish into the boat, and when it was all over she says she collapsed! After fishing together a couple of years for big fish in the south, Julie and Larry were at a Safari Club International convention looking for new fishing adventures. They heard about Langara Lodge’s ladies’ tournament 58 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

at Haida Gwaii, where first prize goes to the woman who brings in the largest Chinook. “I’d never fished for salmon before,” Julie says, “but we went for it, and fell in love with all of it – the fishing, the people at Langara Lodge – and we’ve been back every year since. Everyone has become a closeknit family, even though we only see each other once a year.” While Julie fishes in the ladies’ tournament, Larry is in the boat with her, and he catches his share. “We have had several double hook-ups and all we can do is laugh. It’s inevitable our lines will get tangled up, and it’s like a fire drill when both of our lines hit at the same time,” she laughs. In the last 13 summers, they’ve caught plenty of salmon as well as fish they had never seen before.

More than once over the years Julie has come close to winning the tournament, having been in the running with 25 and 26pound fish, only for someone to weigh in with a larger salmon at the eleventh hour. With her characteristic positive outlook, Julie says, “That’s okay! I was on the board for a little while!” Then, two years ago, Julie won a bracelet when she tied with another woman for the largest halibut.

She laughs and says, “That was something. Catching a halibut is always like pulling up a cement door from the bottom of the ocean!” That bracelet was the first prize Julie had won in all her years of fishing. And that win primed Julie for last year. Early in the tournament, on the afternoon of the first full day, it was cold, it was raining off and on and very few boats were out. “We were basically the only ones fishing, somewhere near Coho Point. I pulled in a fish at 28-pounds, which was the biggest fish up until then in the tournament,” Julie says. Over three days, Julie landed two big fish. The first was that 28-pounder, which actually held for the duration of the tournament. Then on the last day, after engaging in a thrilling test of wits, Julie reeled in a 32pound Tyee. Her competitors chided, “Now you’ve got a target on your back!” Julie thought her fish could possibly win, but she also knew there were a lot more fish out there! Through it all she maintained, “it’s okay, either way, not a problem.”

least we’re going home with fish.” We’ll be back again this year, with the fantastic guide we’ve had for a number of years, Stevie “O”, so it could happen. But I’m going there to fish, have a good time, and enjoy.” We wonder if there’s a particular memory that stands out. Julie reflects, “All of my memories are pretty special because Larry and I fish together. It’s our time where there’s no phones or television. No distractions and it’s so peaceful on the water.” This mother of four, and grandmother of seven says, “Coming from Arizona, not having an ocean or water around, when we get out on the water at Langara it’s a thrill. Larry and I have fished in every condition and had a blast. We enjoy being out there whether it’s sunny or rainy, and maybe I have a dare-devil streak inside me because I enjoy those days when the water is rough and wild – even more than when it’s calm.” No matter the weather, Julie can count on Larry to be alongside her in the boat. There is a smile in her voice when she says with pride, “He’s my fishing buddy.” ?

As it turned out, none of the other women were able to catch Julie, although she wasn’t ready to accept that her fish had actually won until late in the evening of the last day of tournament. We asked her, “Once you’ve tasted success like that big win, what’s your attitude about the upcoming tournament? Are you gunning for first prize?” It doesn’t take Julie more than a moment to answer, “No, I’m not competitive like that. There were a lot of years I’d say, “At

Julie and Larry with the derby-winning, 32-pound Chinook.

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Summer 2017 – Real Fishing 59

Tales from the Road By Bob Izumi

This column starts with us trying to shoot a show to finish the 2017 series. We decided to go out to the Niagara River for a few hours of fishing but for some reason the fish just didn’t seem to be set up and we didn’t get the footage we wanted. Since we had an unseasonably mild couple of days in February, I called up my old tournament fishing buddy Jack Levert, from the Cornwall area of Ontario, and asked him if he had ever fished on the St. Lawrence for walleyes in the middle of the winter. Jack said that he did once and the bite was tough, but he did catch a few dozen fish. That sounded promising, so I asked if he would like to go out and try the walleyes again. Jack replied, “I’d love to go but my boat needs some service work and I can’t use it right now, but if you’re bringing a boat that would be great”. So we loaded up the truck and the boat and set out to meet Jack down in Cornwall. We got out for about an hour and a half on the Friday night and it was game on. We got six walleyes that evening, including a seven and an eight-pounder. The next morning there was a big storm coming, but we managed to get in about four-hours of fishing and ended up catching 30 walleyes up to nine-pounds before the black clouds rolled

60 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

in and a monsoon rainstorm hit us. That’s right, rain in February! We used 3/8-ounce Berkley Essentials jigheads tipped with five-inch Berkley Power Jerk Shads to catch most of our fish. The key was to use a very slow, steady retrieve, gliding the bait just a few inches off the bottom. What can I say; the fish were absolutely thumping it! Then it was back home to finish editing the final TV shows and to get the last of the Real Fishing radio shows in the can. After that, my wife Sandy and I headed down to Florida for five-days of fishing at Streamsong Resort with our friend, and the Recreational Director at Streamsong, Tyler Ramsdell. On the first evening out I caught an eightpound, six-ounce largemouth on a 30-something year old Devil’s Horse topwater lure. It’s a little wooden bait with a prop on both ends of it, and this giant bass absolutely exploded on it – talk about exciting! We ended up catching a lot of five to eight-pound fish during our five-days of fishing there. I left the boat and truck down in Florida

and hopped on a flight back to Ontario for an appearance at the SAIL store in Burlington. It was fun to meet a number of fellow anglers and other folks there. The next day I did an appearance at the Columbia Sportswear booth at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show. It was the first time Columbia had ever put a booth at a Canadian Sportsmen’s Show and, once again, I had a good time meeting and talking with a lot of fishing folks down there. After the show I jumped on a flight back to Florida to pick up the truck and get in a couple of more days of fishing before heading home for an ice fishing trip I had scheduled in Northern Ontario. We caught a bunch of bass over the next two days and then jumped in the truck for the drive back to Ontario. When I got home I had to pack up the SnoBear, while my brother Wayne packed up another one, and we set out on our trip to Big Abitibi Lake, just outside of Timmins, Ontario. One of the cool things about Northeastern Ontario is that they have an extra month of ice fishing than what we have here in Southern Ontario, and the folks from Ontario Tourism wanted us to do a show up there to talk about this extended season. Our home base was Halfway Water Lodge, which is a new lodge that Bill Froud and his son Mark had built on the northwest corner of Big Lake Abitibi, near the village of Low Bush. Access to the lodge is by an old, decommissioned railroad trail that you can drive in on during the spring, summer or fall. In the winter you need to use a snow machine so our group of 14 used the two SnoBears along with seven or eight snowmobiles. When we finally got to the lodge we were very pleasantly surprised to see that everything was brand new and very clean. Big Lake Abitibi is huge and it has somewhere in the neighbourhood of 800 or 900miles of shoreline. The lake has an average depth of eight-feet and you’ll never run out of places to fish on it. There’s a lot of colour to the water, which means fertility, and fertility means lots of fish. This lake is an absolute walleye factory and there are numerous ling, sauger and pike to be caught as well.

I took a lot of jigging-type baits with me on this trip including Sebile Flatt Shad lipless crankbaits, Sebile Vibrato jigging minnows, and an assortment of jigging spoons and regular jigheads. My intention was to jig up these walleyes, but most of the fish we caught through the ice were caught either on tip-ups or deadsticking with an ice fishing rod set in a holder. The colour of the water made live bait more effective so our lines were baited with either a half of a minnow or a whole minnow and we just sat and waited for those fish to come and bite. And bite they did. We ended up catching a pile of fish over the course of our 2½-days of fishing. Although we didn’t get any of the really big walleyes or pike that the lake is known for, we caught lots of decent ones and the action was pretty steady. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a trip like this and I have to say that it was a lot of fun. Halfway Water Lodge is the perfect place to go with a group of friends or family who are looking for clean, comfortable accommodations and great fishing in a true wilderness setting. On the way back from Abitibi we stopped at Horseshoe Resort, just outside of Barrie, to meet up with the folks from Mystik. I had an appearance to do there at the Mystik Lubricants National Championships snowcross event. I’ve never been to one of these races before and it was quite impressive watching how much “air time” these guys get. Mystik also had Levi Lavallee up there signing autographs and we got to have dinner with him and the crew from Mystik that night. If you don’t know who Levi Lavallee is, he is the Evel Knievel of snowmobilers. He holds the record for a jump of 412-feet on a snowmobile and he’s broken just about every bone in his body. He told us that one time his

snowmobile conked out right at the top of a ramp and he ended up in the hospital in a coma for three-days. Even though he’s just in his early 30s this guy is a legend with the snowmobile crowd and it was a lot of fun to get to know him. I’m planning to take him fishing and shoot a show with him so I’m excited about that. After I got home it was time to do a little wine tasting down at Between the Lines Winery in the Niagara Region to pick out next year’s Izumi branded white wine. It’s always fun to taste the various concoctions that the boys come up with at Between the Lines. This year they had four different wines that we had a chance to sample and choose from. There were about 30 people tasting the new wines and afterwards we all ended up having dinner at the winery. Then I flew up to Montreal to do a new SAIL store opening in Vaudreuil-Dorion, which is on the west side of Montreal. It was unbelievable to see how many people were at this store, waiting for it to open. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express next door to the store and when I drove over I couldn’t find a parking spot! I ended up having to drive back to the hotel to park and then walk over to the store. The lineup from the store went all the way from the front door around to the back of the building. It was incredible how

busy it was. Judging by the amount of people that were there, I’m sure the grand opening was a huge success. After a quick flight back home that afternoon, it was time to pack up and head down to Hawks Cay Resort in Florida to do some fishing with Paul Michele from Navionics. Paul lives in Florida so he brought his centre console boat down to Hawks Cay, which is located in Duck Key, about halfway down the Florida Keys. Hawks Cay Resort is a beautiful place. It’s one of those places where you can bring your fishing buddies or take the whole family. There are a number of restaurants on site, a lovely marina, and all kinds of fishing in the area. I’d mentioned to Paul that I’d really like to get some big tarpon on video so we went out and managed to land four in the 60 to 80pound range. We lost a number of tarpon too, but we got some really cool video for the TV show. Paul even caught a 12-pound snook on a jerkbait under a dock for good measure. If you’re looking for an exotic fishing location that you can drive to, I’d highly recommend Hawks Cay Resort - I know you won’t be disappointed. After Hawks Cay Resort we went back to Streamsong Resort, which is just outside of Fort Meade, in south-central Florida. It has

Summer 2017 – Real Fishing 61

two of the top golf courses in all of the United States along with some of the most incredible bass fishing in the world. We ended up fishing for a day and a bit with Tyler Ramsdell, and what can I say, the fishing was amazing. We got over 200 bass on topwater lures, including a number of big fish pushing eightpounds. It was like dying and going to heaven. Streamsong Resort is an incredible facility with first-class accommodations, gourmet food and incredible fishing and golf.

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62 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

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Then it was time to load up the boat and head back home to get packed for our annual pilgrimage to fish the Sturgeon Bay Open bass tournament in Wisconsin. Derek Strub and I have fished this tournament for sixyears now and we’ve done well in four of those six-years. Unfortunately, this year was a tough one for us. We caught a lot of decent fish in practice, in fact, we had one of our best practices ever. We caught probably 22 or 23-pounds for our best five fish on most of our practice days. We were catching them pretty shallow but we made the wrong decision come tournament time. We fished some pretty cold water areas that were affected by a cold front that moved through prior to the tournament. Day one was cancelled because of high winds so we ended up fishing Saturday and Sunday instead of Friday and Saturday. It was unbelievable on day one. We literally had one bite all day but did not put it in the boat. A wave hit the boat just as I lifted to feel the fish and it threw me right off the front deck and onto my rear end. The next day we had three bites all day and caught them all for just over 11-pounds. Now here’s the crazy thing. There was a hidden weight prize each day and the hidden weight for day two was 12-pounds and change. We had 11-pounds and change and, if you can believe it, we lucked out and won the hidden weight prize. We got two fishing rods and two hats, which was pretty funny because both Derek and I are sponsored by rod and reel companies. Our cook at the

cabin really appreciated the rods. The cool thing about this tournament was that our roommates, Darrin Bohonis who is a fishing equipment rep from Winnipeg, and his tournament partner Terry McClymont, an Air Canada Captain, ended up putting together two solid days of fishing for 48-pounds and change and got second place overall. The irony is that Terry’s neighbour, Dave Bennett, who is a fishing guide and boat salesman, and his partner won the tournament and the first place Ranger boat prize. It was pretty strange that two neighbours on different teams were fishing completely different areas and they ended up getting first and second place. So the Canadians did very well finishing in first and second, but Team Canada did not beat Team USA this year. We won by a whopping weight last year, but this year we got beat by a whopping weight since one of the teams (no names mentioned) didn’t fish the second day because they wanted to get back home to Winnipeg. Yours truly and his partner only weighed three fish for the entire tournament so we certainly didn’t pull our weight. Hopefully next year will be a different story. Unfortunately Derek and I did not qualify to be on Team Canada next year because only the top five teams from each country represent their country’s team in next year’s tournament. I literally got home for one night and then it was off to Brennan Harbour Resort, at the mouth of the Spanish River on the Whaleback Channel in northern Lake Huron, to shoot some footage for the Real Fishing TV series. We ended up with basically three-days of rain but still caught a ton of walleyes. One of the cool things about Brennan Harbour Resort is that you can drive to it in about five-hours from Toronto and it’s got fly-in quality fishing, which is unusual for a drive-to resort. We caught dozens of walleyes up to sevenpounds during our three-days of fishing there. We literally caught walleyes right in front of the dock that our boat was moored at, right in front of our cabin. We caught a lot of pike up there as well. Smallmouth bass season hadn’t opened when we were there, but they say the smallmouth fishing is off the charts. You also have muskie fishing and, if you want to venture out into the big water,

Bob and Danny McGarry with a nice Brennan Harbour walleye.

you’ve got salmon and trout fishing as well. James and Casey, who own and operate Brennan Harbour Resort, are two of the nicest people you will ever meet. Not only are the food and accommodations great, but these two people are outstanding hosts. If

you’re looking for an affordable, drive-to fishing vacation with family or friends, you should really check this place out. When we got back from Brennan Harbour, we made a quick run up to Cameron Lake in the Kawarthas to meet up

with guide Taro Murata and, once again, we hit a rainy, windy day. Despite the weather, we scraped out about a dozen walleyes and about a hundred big bluegills and some crappies. Unfortunately we didn’t get what we wanted for the show because the rain and the wind kept the camera under wraps, but the fishing was certainly good. The next day I was at the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association’s Golf Fore Fish annual fundraiser up in Bolton, at Glen Eagle Golf Club. We were -9 in our golfing, which was pretty good, but our friends on the Nobis team beat us by one stroke. Robin Yates and his crew were -10 so what can I say, nobody remembers who came in second place. As I wrap this column up I’m feeling the urge to take advantage of the nice weather we’re having and see if I can’t catch a few fish. With that said, I think it’s time for me to hook up the Ranger and get back out on the water. ?

Summer 2017 – Real Fishing 63

What’s COOKING

DUCK EGG MAPLE WHISKEY CRÈME BRÛLÉE This classic dessert makes a perfect ending to any dinner party and is sure to draw rave reviews from all of your guests. INGREDIENTS 6

Duck eggs (substitute 12 chicken eggs if you can’t find duck eggs) vanilla bean

2 ½ cups cream ½ cup

maple syrup

½ cup

brown sugar

3 oz.

maple whiskey (any whiskey will do just fine)

DIRECTIONS Pre-heat oven to 300°F. Separate the yolks from the egg whites and place the yolks into a mixing bowl. In a medium size sauce pot add the cream, brown sugar, maple syrup and maple whiskey. Take the vanilla bean and split in half. Use the tip of a knife to scrape the paste out and place the paste and the bean into the pot. Set the pot on medium heat and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, take the pot off the heat and pour the liquid into the mixing bowl with the egg yolks. Do this very slowly while whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Place four, three-inch ceramic ramekins inside a turkey roasting pan. Pour the liquid egg mixture into the ramekins, filling ¾ of the way to the top. Pour water into the roasting pan, making a water bath, and place in the oven for 20 to 25-minutes. To test if the crème brulee is cooked, give the ramekins a little wiggle. If the liquid does not move it’s done. Set the ramekins in the fridge to fully cool. Once the custard has fully cooled, take one tablespoon of white sugar and spread it over the top of the custard. Take a cooking torch set on medium and slowly melt the sugar as evenly as possible. The sugar should be caramel coloured when finished. Use sliced strawberries and whole blueberries to garnish. Thanks to Ryan Lamothe, Sous Chef at Graffiti's Italian Eatery in Kanata, Ontario, for providing this recipe.

64 Real Fishing – Summer 2017

Brin nging him in took six hours h . Why r ush dinner? COME ANND GET IT. Our wines are only available direct — either in person or by delivery from our vine eyard d in Niagara-on-th he-Lake, Ontario. It’s taken 14 years to get it right, to perfect the craft ft of making wine that is drinkable, accessible, and affordable. It all happenss here in our Big Red Barn. Our modern-rustic space houses our cellarr and is part tasting ro oom,, part clubhouse. There e’s no pre etension or mystery here e. All that we kknow, we e’re ready to share with you, to delight the novice wine lover and the veteran oenophile alike. Visit us or order d ahead for your nex xt big trip and for each purchase of an Izumi wine ne, Betwe een the Lines will donate $1 to the Fishing Forever Foundation, a non-pro ofit organization commit c ted to the pre eservation of Canada’s fishing resources.

BetweenTheLinesWinery.com m

Artist: Scott Van Vugt Medium: Rosewood and walnut Contact: scottvanvugt@gmail.com

“Making my own lures is a craft I started at a young age when I would sit on my dock and whittle lure shaped objects out of sticks and branches. I became a professional woodworker for my career, however, my love for fishing never died and, after finding a bunch of antique lures in my grandfather’s old tackle box, I thought I’d try to replicate them and put my own style into them. This lure was inspired by a Lucky Strike pikie minnow, with a bit of my own twist on it. The wood used is rosewood with maple inlays and the lure and box both have a hand rubbed varnish on them”. – Scott Van Vugt

66 Real Fishing – Summer 2017