Summer 2018

Canada Post Mail Product Agreement No. 40015689

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Summer 2018

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Contents Features 30 ONTARIO’S MUSKIE ARTISANS Ontario’s best muskie lure makers discuss the art of creating beautiful and effective baits for Canada’s top gamefish.

By Mark Forabosco

40 ROCK ISLAND LAKE Learning to Master a New Body of Water How one angler used his existing skills along with some new knowledge to become a local expert on a new cottage lake.

By Charlie Ricottone

46 THE NIGHT BITE Night fishing can be one of the easiest ways to enjoy a great walleye bite and these tips will get you in on all the action.

54 SPOON FEED THEM Spoons are primarily used for open water trolling these days, but that could be a mistake. Here’s how to use these baits in rivers and lakes for warm water species like pike and walleye with great success.

By Wes David

By O.P. “Buster” Howard

20

Summer 2018 Volume 24, Issue 3 Editor Jerry Hughes Art Production Rossi Piedimonte Design Publisher Fred Delsey

Columns

National Advertising Izumi Outdoors Tel: (905) 632-8679 President Wayne Izumi

6 OPENING LINES

24 REAL FISHING FISH FACTS

By Jerry Hughes

Smallmouth Bass

Contributors Kevin Browne, Patrick Daradick, Wes David, Mark Forabosco, Bob Izumi, Wayne Izumi, Ryan Lamothe, Steve May, Charlie Ricottone, 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 Postmaster: Please return front cover/label only of undeliverables to: Real Fishing 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington ON L7L 5K6 Contents copyrighted.

All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any material without prior written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

Printed in Canada

On the cover: HAPPY DAYS! Photo by Izumi Outdoors

10 SPORTSMEN’S ALMANAC

26 BEST FISHING TIMES

News, trivia, event listings and more from the world of fishing

Doug Hannon’s moon phase calendar

28 THE HOT BITE 14 WHAT’S NEW The latest in fishing tackle, gear and accessories

24

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

18

60 TALES FROM THE ROAD The trials and tribulations of life as a professional angler

By Bob Izumi

64 WHAT’S COOKING 66 ART OF ANGLING

opening lines

By Jerry Hughes

Tried, True And Totally New Fishing has gone through many stages since the first human used a bone hook attached to an animal-sinew line to catch his dinner, but the basic fundamentals of catching fish remain the same. Put the right bait in front of a fish at the right time and you’ll be successful.

Sometimes a new lure will do the trick, sometimes a high-tech mapping system will put you on the fish and sometimes getting back to basics is the way to go. It all depends on your motivation for fishing and the expectations you have when you hit the water.

In this issue of Real Fishing we touch all the bases, from the tried and true to the totally new, beginning with Mark Forabosco’s look at a new crop of muskie lure makers who craft incredible baits that are as much works of art as they are fishing tools. Starting with a love of fishing, these artisans began making baits to catch fish, and have now graduated to creating lures that are as much at home on the water as they are hanging over a fireplace.

Whether you’re looking for some great looking baits that are certain to catch the eye of a marauding muskie, or just trying to choose the perfect something for the cottage wall, you are sure to find it among the creations coming out of these Ontario-based lure makers’ workshops.

Then we move on to a personal story we can all relate to – trying to figure out a new lake. In it, Charlie Ricottone tells of his struggles with catching fish on a new, small lake while using tactics that had served him well in the past. After a few humbling outings, Charlie became determined to unlock the secrets to success on this unfamiliar waterbody. By learning some new techniques, fishing different lakes with other anglers, and adding what he learned to his existing bag of fishing tricks, he was finally able to crack the code to his new lake. Charlie’s article contains some great insights that all of us can use when 6 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

faced with fishing on unfamiliar waters.

Next up is a new approach to a tried and true tactic – night fishing for walleyes. It’s no secret that these fish become more active when the lights are low; anglers everywhere have been catching ’eyes in the dark for decades with rigs, jigs and live bait fished along rocky shoals, points and dropoff areas.

In this issue, O.P. “Buster” Howard foregoes the traditional approach and takes things down a different road with some new bait choices, locations and fishing techniques that may just change the wheres and hows of night fishing for walleyes.

Rounding out our feature articles is Wes David’s take on fishing with the venerable old spoon. Once a favourite of anglers everywhere, new lure materials and designs have pushed these all-metal baits to the lower shelf of most anglers’ tackle boxes – if they are included at all. Nowadays it seems that spoons are primarily used only by big water salmon and trout trollers, despite their long history of being ideal baits for pike, walleye and other species. Wes knows the power of the spoon still exists and he explains how, when and where they can be the most effective choice for targeting some of Canada’s most popular gamefish.

Along with our feature stories, this issue contains our regular lineup of columns, news and new product features that are sure to help you on your quest for a bigger and better fishing experience. We hope you enjoy the magazine and we wish you nothing but success on the water this summer. ?

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BEAR CROSSING

8 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

We’ve all seen those yellow signs along the highway warning of deer and moose crossing areas, but have you ever seen a bear crossing sign? This bruin didn’t care if there was a sign or not when he decided to saunter across the highway – and his glare seems to be daring anyone to challenge his choice.

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 9

RECORD SNAKEHEAD Back in 2002 the first sighting of a northern snakehead occurred in the United States and since then they have spread to a number of other states. Now firmly established, snakeheads have become a target species and there are groups of both anglers and

bow hunters who enjoy pursuing these fish. Andy Fox is one of those folks and, while bow hunting on May 24, he shot a new Maryland state record snakehead that weighed in at 19.9-pounds. Maryland allows any type of legal recreational gear to

be used in the invasive species division of state records. The current IGFA rod and reel world record for northern snakeheads stands at 17.75-poundss and was caught in Virginia in 2014.

Photo courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources

10 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

B O AT P R I C E S M AY R I S E In response to the United States’ announced plan to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian steel imports, and a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum, the Canadian government has responded by announcing it will impose a 10% surtax on motorboats, sailboats and inflatables imported from the U.S.A. Rick Layzell, CEO of the Boating Ontario Association, a counterpart to the National Marine Manufacturers Association of Canada, said that the tariffs could increase retail prices by up to 25% while the National Marine Manufacturers Association of Canada says the tariffs will “cause irreparable and disastrous damage to the industry, from which it would likely never recover”.

Photo by Andy Hagedorn, courtesy of FLW Outdoors.

EVENTS Calendar KIDS AND COPS FISHING DAYS

PRO-BASS CANADA

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

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

NEW BRUNSWICK SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION

QUINTE FISHING SERIES

Bass Tournaments May - 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

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

Bass Tournaments June - August Various locations in Eastern Ontario www.shootoutfishingleague.com CANADIAN OPEN OF FISHING

June - September Various locations in Ontario www.csfl.ca

July 6 - 8 Lake Simcoe Orillia, ON www.csfl.ca

NATIONAL FISHING WEEK

GREAT ONTARIO SALMON DERBY

June 30 – July 8 Events scheduled across Canada www.catchfishing.com

July 7 - August 25 Lake Ontario www.greatontariosalmonderby.ca

CSFL BASS TOURNAMENTS

FORT FRANCES CANADIAN BASS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 19 - 21 Rainy Lake Fort Frances, ON www.canadianbass.com CHANTRY CHINOOK CLASSIC

July 28 - August 12 Lake Huron Kincardine, ON http://www.chantrychinook.com KENORA BASS INTERNATIONAL

August 9 - 11 Lake of the Woods Kenora, ON www.kbifishing.com FLW CANADA CUP

Bass Tournament August 16 - 18 Bay of Quinte www.flwcanada.com OWEN SOUND SALMON SPECTACULAR

August 24 - September 2 Georgian Bay Owen Sound, ON www.sydenhamsportsmen.com

Summer 2018 – 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

Samantha Reynolds Ear Falls, ON Walleye

John Whyte Orillia, ON Lake Trout Valentina Hepfner Cambridge, ON Largemouth Bass

Derek Strub Elora, ON Smallmouth Bass

Andrew Caruana Burlington, ON Red Snapper

12 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

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

Atlantic Canada

Global (CIHF)

Saturday 8:00 am

Calgary

AB

Global (CICT)

Saturday 10:30 am

Edmonton

AB

Global (CITV)

Saturday 10:30 pm

Ontario

ON

Global (CIII)

Saturday 8:30 am

Quebec

QC

Global (CKMI)

Saturday 8:30 am

Regina

SK

Global (CFRE)

Saturday 7:30 am

Saskatoon

SK

Global (CFSK)

Saturday 7:30 am

Vancouver

BC

Global (CHAN)

Saturday 10:30 am

Winnipeg

MB

Global (CKND)

Saturday 7:30 am

Canada/USA

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

2018

KEEP IN TOUCH Globalstar Canada Satellite Co. has introduced the new SPOT X™ 2-way satellite messenger. The new standalone, portable and lightweight device features 2-way messaging capabilities, an onboard backlit keyboard, GPS location tracking, social media linking and direct communication with emergency services. With SPOT X, users can use 2-way satellite messaging to keep in touch with family and friends or, if necessary, emergency personnel, and it provides users with a unique, personal mobile number that allows either party to initiate conversations at any time. SPOT is a trusted technology which has been used to initiate more than 1,800 rescues in Canada, and is relied upon by tens of thousands of recreational and business customers for safety and peace of mind beyond cellular. www.findmespot.ca/spotx

www.findmespot.ca/spotx

OUTDOOR SAFETY Coleman’s new line of first aid kits are the ideal addition to any outdoors person’s list of must-have gear. Whether fishing, hiking, camping or simply as a safety measure in the car or home, these kits are indispensable for patching most small injuries that may occur. Each kit contains the most commonly used first aid components including adhesive bandages, gauze, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and more. The kits are available in 40, 94 and 106-piece versions to suit any size group. The All-Purpose, Family and Personal Survival kits come in a crush-resistant tin case, the Sportsman kit comes in a waterproof, floating package and the Survival and Emergency Prep kit is packaged in a durable, semi-hard case.

www.colemanrepellents.ca/firstaid-en

WACKY JIG Ultra Tungsten has just announced their new Wacky Jig weighted stickbait rigging system. Ideally suited for fishing deeper water and for getting baits to sink through weed cover, the Wacky Jig consists of a 100% tungsten weight attached directly to a super sharp hook. The Wacky Jig features a rounded nose to help it glide through cover and a concave back side to help slow the fall and add action to your bait on the drop. Wacky Jigs come two to a package and are available in 3/16, 1/8 and 1/4-ounce sizes.

http://www.ultratungsten.com

14 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

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 5K6

POWER TO SPARE Mercury Marine has announced the addition of four new 4.6L V-8 Pro XS outboards to their 2018 line of outboards.

These powerful new engines deliver higher performance, better fuel economy, uncompromising reliability and durability in a light-weight four-stroke design. The new 200, 225, 250 and 300hp Pro XS models are built on Mercury's new V-8 engine platform and boast a class leading 4.6L powerhead that delivers phenomenal torque. During performance testing the 250hp Pro XS set new standards for high performance, outpacing the leading competitor for heavy load acceleration and top speed while delivering up to 16% better fuel economy at cruise speeds. The new V8 Pro XS models also feature a robust 1.25-inch diameter prop shaft and are available with a next-generation Torque Master gearcase that offers a 1.75:1 gear ratio along with low-water pickups on the nosecone for added mounting and trimming flexibility.

www.mercurymarine.com/en/ca

SPIKE IT JL Marine Systems, Inc., makers of Power-Pole, have introduced two new spike options designed to be used manually or with the PowerPole Micro spike driver: an ultra-light version for canoes, kayaks and small boats and a heavy-duty model designed for bass boats, aluminum fishing boats and pontoon boats. Both are backed by an unconditional lifetime guarantee.

Power-Pole Ultra-lite Spike The new Ultra-lite Spike is strong yet lightweight. This 3/4” spike is made of a composite material and features HollowCore™ technology to reduce weight yet provide a secure hold for most canoes, kayaks, paddleboards and boats up to 1500 lbs. The Ultra-lite Spike is available in 6 and 8 ½-foot lengths and features a push-grip comfort handle that includes a 1/4-20 threaded insert at the top for adding accessories like a flag, light or camera. The Ultra-lite Spike also includes a 6-foot lanyard made of 3/8" braided dock line with a loop at each end.

Power-Pole Heavy-duty Spike The Heavy-duty Spike is super tough and super strong. Made of solid composite material, this spike provides a secure hold for flats boats, bay boats, bass boats, aluminum and pontoon boats. The new 3/4" Heavy-duty Spike comes in an 8 ½-foot length and also has the pushgrip comfort handle with a 1/4-20 threaded insert. The Heavy-duty Spike also includes a 6-foot lanyard made of 3/8" braided dock line featuring a loop at each end.

www.power-pole.com

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 15

fishing

Bob Izumi is the host of The Real Fishing Show.

By Bob Izumi

Summer Fishing Patterns The age-old question in fishing is, do you fish shallow or deep during the summer months. Well, there are a lot of factors to consider.

The species you’re going after, the type of lake or river you’re fishing and what the fish doing at that particular place and time.

Let’s go through a few of the different species and talk about how to catch them when the temperatures soar.

If you want to catch big pike or muskies during the summer months, my recommendation would be to look for deep weeds or rock structures. Since a lot of the fish have moved out to their summer haunts, deep weeds, especially fresh, crisp, green cabbage, are always a good place to look,. But don’t forget rock drops and breaks. We fish a lot of points and rock humps for big pike and muskie in lakes that are devoid of good weedbeds.

A lot of the bigger fish will be feeding on cisco, whitefish and herring so they will be near or over the deep water where these baitfish live. This is where trolling for them can be effective. You can also get them by

16 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

casting in deep weeds or around deep, rocky areas with big swimbaits, deep diving crankbaits and big hair jigs tipped with live bait or soft plastics. The real key to consistently catching big pike and muskie during the summer is spending time on the water.

Those fish have a lot of water that they could be in so the odds are definitely in your favour if you spend time on the water figuring them out.

When it comes to walleyes, here in Ontario we get a lot of them by fishing weeds in the summer, usually deep, green weeds. We also get a lot of fish on humps.

Basically we’ll start in the mid-depths and work our way progressively deeper. When I say mid depths, we might start in 10 or 12feet of water but usually end up in anywhere from 18 to 30-plus feet. Jigs, soft plastics and live bait rigs all will work for summer walleyes. If you’re fishing the middle of the day remember that a walleye’s strike zone will be very small, so you’ll want to fish slowly with an “in-your-face” type of technique that keeps your bait in that small strike zone. Under low light conditions these same fish will be much more active and you can get them by working a jig more aggressively or by fishing a crankbait to entice them.

Summer lake trout fishing can be like shooting fish in a barrel. Trolling with wire line or downriggers works, but we prefer to jig for them. We’ll drive around until we mark them on the graph and then lower a 3/8 or ½-ounce jighead tipped with a white swimbait, tube or curly tail grub, down to them. Always try to keep your bait above the fish. As soon as we see a fish starting to streak up, we’ll engage the reel and start to retrieve the bait. Most of the time the lakers will chase after the jig and hit it before it

gets away. Sometimes the faster you reel the better it is. If you’re into video games, you will have a lot of success this way.

Bass fishing in the summer months means you’ve got both largemouth and smallmouth in both shallow and deep water.

Largemouth seem to relate to targets so we like to fish them around cover if we’re fishing in shallow water. Cover could be weeds, weed mats, overhanging trees, wood in the water, lily pads, arrowheads, reeds – there are so many obstructions that will hold largemouth.

Largemouth also get into deep weeds during the summer months. You can catch a lot of fish if you flip a jig and chunk or a Texas rigged bait into the deeper weeds or along weed lines. Look for transitions around the weeds – things like points in the weeds, inside corners or places where the weeds meet rock or sand. These are definitely high percentage areas.

When it comes to smallmouth, on big lakes like Simcoe, Ontario, St. Clair and Erie, as well as on the St. Lawrence River, you’ve got both deep and shallow fish during the summer. When it comes to catching shallow fish, it seems that calm, flat, sunny days are the best. The key to catching shallow water smallmouth is stealth, so you need to stay back from the fish and make long casts to them. Dropshots, tubes and small swimbaits will all work on these fish.

For deep water smallmouth, we like to look for them on the graph before we start fishing for them. Sometimes they’ll be bellyto-the-bottom, other times they’ll be about a foot suspended off the bottom. Look for rock outcroppings, boulders or areas where sand changes to gravel or rock – any type of transition like that will hold fish. The same baits we use for shallow fish will work for deep water smallmouth as well. .

In a nutshell, keep in mind that not all fish are doing the same things in the summer. No matter what species of fish you go for, keep an open mind and have some fun out there. ?

fly fishing

By Stephen May

Foam Flies Floating a beautiful summer river and casting easy-to-track flies through riffles and along cut banks is one of my favourite fly fishing experiences.

When fish are looking up for a juicy dry fly, you have one of the best fly fishing situations around.

In days gone by this summer fishing was the domain of awkward deer hair or hackled patterns that were tough to tie and even tougher to get to float well. But lowly craft foam has revolutionized big dry fly fishing.

The fish do not seem to mind the debate over the use of synthetic versus natural materials. Even if old school traditionalists often frown upon these modern patterns, they are a blast to fish.

Whether chasing trout, bass or panfish, foam flat out works, especially when accompanied with wiggly silicone or rubber legs.

One of my favourite patterns is the Chubby Chernobyl. Others, like the Club Sandwich, Fat Albert and Thing from Uranus, are equally attractive to fish that really do not care about traditional fly materials.

18 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

Giant foam flies are excellent at attracting hungry fish. They are big and meaty and easy to see on the water. They can also be surprisingly lifelike. These flies can imitate stoneflies, grasshoppers, large mayflies, beetles, cicadas and other tasty bits that end up in the water. Or, they can just look like the fish equivalent of a cheeseburger.

The foam craze started in two very different fly fishing groups, but they work on a wide variety of species. Bluegill anglers in the eastern and southern USA discovered the value of foam a long time ago. A piece of foam and a few rubber legs has resulted in bent rods from bull bluegills for a few decades. These flies are simple - even crude, yet effective.

Western trout anglers took these flies to the next level. Floating foam and rubber legs is now a guide classic, especially in the summer when stoneflies and hoppers are near

the top of the menu. Given the clear waters and angling pressure, match the hatch and attractor options have both really advanced out west. Today, many guides’ fly boxes are often dominated with a variety of foam flies.

My experience with foam flies in Ontario is that bass, panfish and trout love these things. Due to their size, easy casting, and their ability to stay afloat, they fish well and attract fish from long distances, allowing you to really cover water.

Foam flies will bring fish up through a good run, pool or flat. Fish will move a long way for a big meal. You can cover more river with a giant foam creation versus a more subtle fly that needs to be fished more thoroughly. This versatility is perfect for fishing on lazy summer days without having to constantly adjust to different waters.

Another joy of these flies is how easy they are to tie. Lashing some foam and rubber legs onto a hook is pretty simple. Foam is also readily available in any craft store. A plethora of colours are available and there are many methods to add body segments, wings and other features to take your foam to the next level and make these things look extra “buggy”.

Foam has certainly found a place in my fly box. If you haven’t already tried these types of flies you should do yourself a favour and see what foam is all about this summer. ?

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

water’s edge

By Dave Taylor

Pileated Woodpecker (Hylatomus pileatus)

If you are a person of a certain age you may recall a cartoon character named ‘Woody Woodpecker’.

The artist was apparently inspired by North America’s largest woodpecker, the pileated woodpecker.

Anglers are more likely to hear this bird than see it. Its call is typically a high-pitched nasal sound that is often repeated: “wuk, wuk, wuk” or “kyuk-kyuk-kyuk”. It is sometimes described as a loud laugh, hence the inspiration for Woody. Their drumming is also distinct. Their loud “drum roll” lasts a few seconds and is repeated up to seven times in a row.

As noted, the pileated woodpecker is a large bird. It grows between 16 and 19-inches long with a wingspan of between 26 and 30-inches. Males and females look alike except for their “mustaches”. Males have a red mustache while the female’s is black.

They mate for life and both sexes will defend their territory. The territory is large, running between 100 and 200 acres. If one of the pair dies the survivor continues to protect its home range, waiting for another mate to join it.

A clutch of one to six (usually four) eggs are laid in a large tree cavity that may be newly excavated or be naturally occurring. In either case, nests are not reused and the birds

20 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

will spend up to a month creating a new one.

The entrance to the nest is distinctive, with an opening of about 4.5-inches by 3.5inches. The cavity itself is 10 to 30-inches deep and up to 5-inches wide. The nest may be anywhere from a few yards above the ground to nearly 100-feet up and it is almost always on the east or south side of the tree, to take advantage of the morning sun.

Unlike most birds, the pileated woodpecker has been known to carry its eggs to a new site should a storm damage the original nest.

The male roosts in the nest cavity before the eggs are laid to protect the site from invaders. Both sexes will use tree cavities for roosting during the non-breeding period of the year. Males incubate the eggs during the night while females stay with them during the day. Brooding lasts for two to two and half weeks and fledging happens up to a month after hatching. When the cavity is abandoned by the pileated woodpeckers it may be used by owls, tree nesting ducks, raccoons and other woodpeckers.

The fledglings will stay with their parents for a couple of months before heading off to seek their own territories. They travel around 12-miles from where they hatched.

The species is not migratory but it continues to slowly expand its range as forests and woodlots mature, and farmland returns to a more natural state.

Pileated woodpeckers prefer habitats with large, mature hardwood trees. Wildlife managers will often leave large dead trees standing to provide both nesting places for these birds and as hosts for their preferred food; carpenter beetles and other insects. The practice of leaving these “snags” has helped the species recover in parts of their range that has been developed in the past. In North America they are found from the Mississippi River east to the coast and throughout the boreal forest. In Canada they are absent only from Newfoundland, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Nesting varies by location but typically occurs when prey is abundant. Unlike most woodpeckers, this species has no aversion to feeding at ground level. Besides various insects, it will also feed on berries, nuts, acorns and cherries when their preferred prey is not available. A sure sign that this woodpecker is around are the large, squarish feeding cavities found in trees. Other birds are attracted to these excavations as they provide access to insects and sap.

As a wildlife photographer I’ve photographed these birds in woodlots in Mississauga and Toronto, in the forests of Northern Ontario, and in the swamps of the southeastern United States. They typically work a tree, at least in my experience, by starting low and working their way up.

Predators of the pileated woodpecker include great horned owls, Cooper’s hawks, red-tailed hawks, barred owls, martens, snakes and even grey squirrels (when the young birds are still in the nest). If lucky, these woodpeckers can live to be over 10years of age. A chance encounter with this bird is always interesting and is worth the time spent watching it as it goes about its business. ?

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VRS enables subtle and precise steering adjustments and virtually eliminates torque steering feedback that can compromise boat stability and control. And with its oversized stainless steel outer shaft, composite inner shaft and wide breakaway mount, the stands up to the demands of tournament fishing.

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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

Johnson Fishing Reels One of the most notable fishing reels to be manufactured in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s was the Johnson reel.

These fishing reels couldn’t be missed as they held a unique design and the colour metallic green - was a trademark to capture the eye of the fisherman.

Two Mankato, Minnesota fishermen, Lloyd Johnson and Henry “Warren” Denison, loved to fish with spinning reels but their lines were always getting tangled and snarls and backlashes were common. So, in 1949, they decided to build a reel from an old alarm clock that would be tangle-free.

After several modifications, the world’s first enclosed spinning reel was displayed in Denison’s Sporting Goods Store.

In the spring of 1950 they took the reel to the Minneapolis Sportsman’s Show and sold their first big order to Janey-Semple-Hill in Minneapolis. The first operation produced 800 fishing reels and was carried on in the basement and kitchen of the two men’s homes, with Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Denison

22 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

completing the work force. The following spring they went into partnership and rented space in the back of a garage at 720 Minneopa Road. They hired one employee.

They later moved to a larger building, with Lloyd Johnson running the factory. Denison managed the sales force, which grew to employ eight manufacturer’s representatives who covered the entire United States.

Johnson reels now had a work force of 75 employees and a plant which was built to handle increasing business. In 1957 they produced 320,000 fishing reels.

The 1955 National Tackle Show, attended

by Denison-Johnson Corp., was the turning point for this new company. Early in the show they had the usual interest at the booth – and then came the deluge! Evidently wordof-mouth got around that there was something really hot at Denison-Johnson booth.

The booth was literally swamped with traffic for the remainder of the show. The Johnson “Century” fishing reel was a sensation and the Denison- Johnson Company never looked back.

The primary objective of the reel was to provide a fixed spool design that was simple and inexpensive, durable, compact and neat, and could be easily handled on all three types of fishing rods - baitcasting, fly and spinning.

The reel, furthermore, could be used and operated with just one hand.

The reel featured dual drags to assist in playing fish, to prevent line breakage and facilitate trolling. Also important was that the reel had a single, centrally located button conveniently operable by the hand holding and manipulating the rod itself. The durable Century reels are still used by many fishermen today.

In 1958 the sudden passing of Henry Denison, president of the Denison-Johnson Corporation, at the age of 56 brought to a close one of Mankato’s outstanding success stories. Lloyd Johnson passed away in 1970, at the age of 57, bringing closure to this corporation and the Johnson reel company was sold to Johnson Wax. Johnson reels are unique in design and very collectible. They were always sold in attractive boxes with paper inserts. They are a very inexpensive reel to collect with one exception - the pretty pink “Princess” reel which was designed to attract female anglers.

Today these reels, in mint condition and with the original box and paperwork, can command prices upwards of $200 CDN. ?

real fishing fish facts

Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu

Smallmouth bass were originally found only in eastern central North America but, since the 1800s, they have been introduced across the USA and Canada as well many places in Europe, England, Africa, Russia and Asia.

In Canada, smallmouth bass are now found in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, southern Quebec, across Ontario to latitudes as far north as Timmins, in Manitoba as far north as southern Lake Winnipeg, in southern and central Saskatchewan, and in parts of British Columbia, especially Saltspring Island and southern Vancouver Island.

The smallmouth bass has a laterally compressed body that is deeper than it is wide, giving the fish a generally narrow, oval shape.

The lower jaw is slightly longer than the upper and the gape of the mouth extends to the forward portion of the eye. Smallmouth have two dorsal fins that are joined, giving the appearance of a single fin. The front dorsal features ten stout, bony spines while the rear one is made up of 12 to 15 softer rays.

Coloration can vary depending on the fish’s size and its habitat. Smallmouth from clear or tannic-stained waters tend to be darker with pronounced markings while those from turbid lakes or rivers are generally lighter in overall appearance with faded or vague markings.

Smallmouth bass can appear brown, goldenbrown, olive or green along the back, fading to lighter shades on the flanks and then becoming creamy to milky white on the belly.

Smallmouth have a series of 8 to 15 thin, vertical bars along their sides which range from being very dark and noticeable to quite light.

The head also features darker bars that radiate backwards from the eyes. The smallmouth’s eyes are usually red or orange.

Spawning takes place in late spring or early summer, most often in water temperatures from 61°F to 65°F. The male builds a roughly circular nest over sand, gravel or rocky bottoms in proximity to larger rocks, boulders or logs; in water between 2 and 20-feet deep.

Some male smallmouth bass will use the 24 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

exact same nesting site year after year and over 85% will return to within 150-yards of their original nesting sites in subsequent spawning seasons.

One female and one male will spawn together in a series of short egg depositing/fertilization bursts that are repeated over a period of a couple of hours. After spawning, the female leaves the nesting site and may spawn again with another male in a different nest. It is the male that is left in charge of guarding the nest and caring for the fry.

Smallmouth eggs begin hatching 4 to 10days after spawning and the fry feed off of their yolk sacs for and additional 10 to 14days. They begin leaving the nest area about a week later but the male remains guarding them for several more days.

Although smallmouth are adaptable to a variety of habitats, they are generally found close to rocks or submerged logs, especially those on or near sloping bottom structure.

Smallmouth will also use weeds for cover but they don’t usually use the type of dense weed cover that largemouth bass prefer.

Smallmouth bass prefer cooler water than largemouth and are most comfortable in water between 65°F and 85°F with their preferred temperature range being 70°F to 71°F. Smallmouth bass are famous for their fighting abilities when hooked, a trait which makes them a favourite of anglers across their range. It has been said that the smallmouth is so popular among anglers that it is one of three or four species that are the mainstay of sport fishing and associated tourism businesses in central and eastern Canada.

Anglers can catch smallmouth bass on a variety of live and artificial baits as well as on flies fished throughout the water column.

While smallmouth will hit baits fished on the

bottom and in the mid-depths, perhaps the most exciting way to catch them is with surface baits. Smallmouth bass are known to attack surface lures from depths of up to 20feet and most anglers would agree that there are few moments in angling as thrilling as having a smallmouth bass bust the surface of a lake or river to eat a floating bait. ?

DID YOU KNOW? Smallmouth bass were fished commercially in Canada until 1936. From 1898 until 1902 they sold for between 6¢ and 8¢ per pound.

FAST FACTS Colour: Brown, golden-brown, olive or green along the back, fading to lighter shades on the flanks and then becoming creamy to milky white on the belly.

Size: The average smallmouth bass is between 8 and 15-inches in length and weighs up to 2 ½ -pounds. Smallmouth can grow much larger however, and fish over 20-inches in length and weighing over 5pounds are not uncommon.

Life Span: Up to 15-years across their Canadian range.

Habitat: Cool water areas in lakes and rivers with rock, gravel or submerged log cover, preferably near some type of sloping bottom structure. Smallmouth bass prefer water temperatures in the high 60°F to low 70°F range.

Spawning: Spawning takes place in late spring or early summer, most often in water temperatures between 61°F to 65°F.

RECORD The current IFGA All-Tackle World Record smallmouth bass is an 11-pound, 15ounce monster caught in Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee, in July, 1955.

The Moon Clock is also available as an app for iPhone/iPad/iTouch and Android Phones.

26 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

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SEPTEMBER

Best Fishing Times 2018

DOUG HANNON’S

To order your copy of Doug Hannon’s 2018 Moon Clock Calculator please visit www.moontimes.com or send $9.95 (USD) plus $3.75 (USD) for shipping & handling to: Moon Clock, Department RE, PO Box 28460, Atlanta, GA 30358

SUNDAY

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FUN IN THE SUN If you’re a regular reader of Real Fishing you know that Bob loves going bass fishing in Florida during the winter months. But there’s a lot more than great bass fishing available down south, including some of the best inshore saltwater fishing on the planet. Never one to pass up a chance to try something different, Bob recently had the opportunity to sample some of the incredible tarpon fishing in and around the Hawk’s Cay area with his friend, Paul Michele – and the results were definitely worth the trip!

28 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

PLED DGE TO PERFORM. Power-Pole P o er P e shallow ww water er a anchors are a e sstill the t e number n e one e choice choice of of Pro P o and a leisure s e angl a ers. e We We cont c inue nu to to deliver de v r swift, sw f silent si en and and secure secu hold ho d in in fresh fe ho s t water salt w e on a all bottom o tom surfaces. s f ces Our O latest a es C-Monster C M st r 2.

2 0 upgrades u des featur fe e a new ew hydra h aulicc p pump,, new new w rrem emote ccontrolss and a d heavy-duty he v t hydraulic hose. se And we e pro p mise se to to sstand db behind e nd each ea and nd ev every ve y Power-Pole Po er P e anchor. anchor They’re T ey’ e s ill the st eo orig ginal shallow a w water w ter anchors a c f rT for To otal Boat B tC Control on from P from Power-Pol we Po For complet For com ette e details de and tto o find fi d a d dealer ea e nea ear you o go to t power-pole.com. power-pol .com

ONTARIO’S MUS

30 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

There is something inherently different about those whose passion lies in the pursuit of muskellunge. True, it is the king of freshwater gamefish, and maybe it is for that reason it takes a special breed of angler to catch them on a regular basis - if such a statement actually applies to this unique fish which, at times, suffers from a most selective palate, causing anglers no end of frustration. But sometimes it is the greatest of challenges that can bring out the greatest in creativity. This article is about six special Ontario anglers who, in a sense, are firstly artists and secondly anglers. Patiently they toil away in their basement workshops or garages, working by hand to turn wood into smooth, streamlined shapes that come alive in an underwater world. Painted with rich, vibrant colours they can deceive the skeptical eyes of even the savviest of muskies. They are Ontario’s muskie artisans.

SKIE ARTISANS

By Mark Forabosco

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 31

Frank Thurston Frank Thurston comes across as a man with a calming wisdom. Growing up in Niagara, his love affair with fishing began at an early age. A craftsman who takes great pride in building baits, one would think Frank was an old salt with years of experience behind him. I was surprised, to say the least, when he informed me that he had been making his handsome lures for only a couple of years.

“I use cedar and run a through-wire design for the body, a loop hook hanger for the trebles and heavy gauge Lexan lips,” Frank said about his bait design.

Frank is very meticulous in his approach, applying two coats of protectant/sealer before and three more after the lure is painted in a way best described as “precision perfection”.

“The first muskie I ever landed on my

lures was 42-inches, on Pigeon Lake. The largest came out of Lake St. Clair by a friend, a bulky fall fish pushing 40-pounds. The perch pattern puts lots of fish in the boat, but my favourite is purple and yellow.”

Frank attributes much of his lures’ success to their slow, thumping movement that makes it easier for muskies to detect with their lateral line. Thursty Lures, as they are commonly called in muskie circles, average nine-inches in length and dive between 12 and 15-feet. Frank is humble when it comes to his notoriety in lure making, acknowledging that most of his business comes from word of mouth.

“I’m hoping to make 250 for some of the muskie shows next year. As far as the future goes, as long as I enjoy building, and knowing that my lure might contribute to some angler catching their largest muskie, that’s the best reward of all.”

Frank’s commitment to muskie fishing doesn’t end on the water. He is also an events coordinator for Muskies Canada

Noah Clark Noah Clark is a true virtuoso in the world of artificial baits, making a plethora of lures in a variety of shapes and sizes. A man with close to two decades of serious muskie hunting under his belt, 10-years ago he decided to try his hand at lure making and hasn’t looked back. The first thing that entered my mind when I first laid eyes on Noah’s lures was that I’d like to break into his house and steal his tackle box! Noah was very forthcoming when explaining some of his creative ideas with me.

“Much of my business comes from word of mouth and some from internet lure forums. I’m producing close to 300 lures every year.”

What Noah does is mass manufacture, so to speak. With the help of a template, he will cut out numerous lure bodies all at once, and then seal them with a resin hardener.

32 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

After that, on certain lures he applies prism tape and smooths the edges out. Then it is ready for the paint and lacquer application.

“I make six specific baits that dive from 10 to 30-feet down, and which come in a variety of sizes from seven to 12-inches.”

Some of Noah’s lures come with two pull eyes in order to adjust the running depth.

Noah fishes the infamous waters of Lake Nipissing, Georgian Bay and the mighty Ottawa River, pursuing some of the prodigious fish that dwell in their depths. His lures have fooled a number of trophies over the years but Noah cannot help but wonder about a certain fall Lake Erie fish that left him with an animated memory.

“We were trolling and the rod went off

and his personal goal is to get more young people involved in the outdoors. Frank can be contacted through Facebook or by email at thurstylures@gmail.com.

and doubled over, banging against the back of the boat with great force. The reel was just screaming. The power of the fish was incredible and the next thing you know she was gone.” (I believe that Noah told me that the lure was one of his prototypes.)

“With regards to colour, perch has always been my favourite but I have also done well with a firetiger pattern.”

Constructed with a through wire design, and covered with numerous coats of lacquer over a complex paint pattern, these handsome lures are made to take abuse and withstand the test of time. You can contact Noah on Facebook under Custom Clarkey Baits or text him at 289-686-3093.

Glen Gdanski Glen Gdanski is an angler with a superlative attitude when it comes to muskie fishing. This Lake St. Clair guide’s positive mindset not only translates to fish in the net, it also carries over into his ingenious approach to lure making. Glen had this to

Joel Graham After I laid eyes on Joel Graham’s lures the first word that came to mind was, “anomaly”. Though his creativity is still in its infancy, (Joel has been fashioning lures for less than two-years) his artistic and design side are a solid decade ahead of schedule.

“For me, it was a sense of pride that I could get from creating a lure by hand and catching a fish on it.

My goal in the coming year is to produce a hundred baits and then see where things go from there.”

Joel uses red cedar and runs a heavy wire through the 10-inch weighted body for maximum support and lure strength. Joel’s paint schemes are an eye-catching colourwash of flair.

“I have a variety of colours but my favourite is the classic perch pattern,” said Joel.

Joel runs a total of seven coats of lacquer sealer on his lures, providing maximum protection from wear and tear.

“My lures dive down between 10 and 20-

say when asked why he began making his own lures.

“I have been doing this for about sevenyears. I thought that I could build better lures than those on the market, for less money. My baits run from six to 16-inches.

In the summer months I run smaller, fatter baits, and in the fall I’ll run baits nine-inches and up, with a tighter wobble, and have found they really produce well for me. I prefer to make my body baits out of a two part plastic mix. I make up my own molds, run a through wire, and use different size Lexan lips so I can troll at varied depths.”

Glen makes single as well as jointed bodies, some with actual fish skin covered with four coats of lacquer.

“If I’m fishing dark waters I stay with bright colours and if it is a clear lake I’ll run natural colours like a perch pattern, which has done very well over the years.”

feet, depending on how much line I let out, which is perfect for the waters I fish, like Lake St. Clair and the Kawarthas.”

Because Joel’s lures are weighted they can not only be trolled, but also cast and used effectively like jerk baits. Joel laughed as he reminisced about the first muskie he ever caught on a homemade lure.

“We were trolling the Thames River in the fall and I was running a prototype bait.

I had just made the lure – in fact, the lacquer hadn’t even fully cured yet. Well, this fish hit and things got pretty crazy. Three times we had it in the net and then the hook got tangled in it while the fish was on the outside, shaking back and forth. But we finally landed it – a beautiful 50-inch, 30pound muskellunge.”

I was very impressed with Joel’s passion and modest spirit when it came to muskie fishing and lure building. These are well made lures that can stand up to rigorous abuse. In fact, for those who did not know, it was Joel who started the Muskie

Glen makes about three dozen lures a year but is looking to increase production.

“I can’t recall the first muskie I ever landed on one of my lures, but I do remember one of the biggest. It was a summer muskellunge, 49-inches long, and it put up a spectacular fight!”

Glen gave me an excellent tip with regards to prevent treble hooks from scratching up the lure body. Either take a pair of pliers and bend the treble into a T shape or use what they call a frog hook, which is a double hook. This type of hook will not dig into the lure body and will not negatively impact your hooking percentage.

If you’re looking to contact Glen for either his lures or his guide service call 519-5392555 or go to www.blastrcharters.ca.

Headquarters show, which took place in Guelph this year with over 30 muskie venders selling all Canadian-made muskie products. Joel can be contacted at joel_s_graham@hotmail.com or on Facebook.

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 33

Steve Elzinga It was roughly 12-years ago when Steve Elzinga completed his first muskie lure.

Inspired by lure builder Joel Kielbowich, Steve decided to put his artistic creativity to good use.

He slowly transforms a piece of red cedar into a form that mimics the local forage base, both in movement and appearance, that swim in the haunting depths of Georgian Bay. With a paint job that could rival Mother Nature, up to 30-coats of a UV stable clearcoat, and put together with a through-wire rather than screws to prevent the hooks from being pulled out from snags or giant fish, it is easy to understand why it takes up to 40-hours to make one lure.

These are big baits - some up to 13-inches - that can dive down past 40-feet and are built with more than one snap ring in order to run at varied depths. The first muskie Steve ever landed on his lures was close to 40-pounds!

When asked what his favourite colour was, Steve dryly replied “As long as it’s black it’s good.”

I commented that these baits would look nice on the mantle, but Steve quickly cut me off.

Brandon Cadeau If you’re an advocate for double-bladed bucktails there is one name that deserves special mention - Brandon Cadeau of Georgian Bay Bucktails. Brandon has all the attributes that are indicative of a first class muskie lure manufacturer including a studious demeanor and a zeal for building big bladed baits the kind that muskie purists love when hunting trophy fish on vast waters like Georgian Bay or the French River. He is a perfectionist, subscribing to the theory of making the highest calibre lure for the best value.

“My idea was to create a double-bladed bait that was bigger in size, something with a longer skirt. Most of my business at this point comes from word of mouth. But, I have long term goals with support from some pro staff members of partaking in future muskie shows to gain some positive attention.”

Even with nothing more than word of mouth referrals, Brandon is keeping very 36 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

busy with a lineup of eager customers.

“Next year my goal is to put out 200 marabou lures,” he told me.

The old adage, “things that look simple are simple to make”, does not hold true in this case.

“It takes me roughly four-hours to put together one lure by hand, with the majority of that time dedicated to tying the tinsel, marabou or feathers.”

Brandon fishes the haunting waters of Georgian Bay, where hooking the fish of a lifetime can happen on any cast.

“One of my most memorable days with my lures took place where I had four follows in a very short time from four separate muskies, each one over 50-inches.”

Brandon uses an assortment of colour combinations, his favourite being a black, white and chartreuse mix of marabou. He makes a 12-inch model that can be trolled with excellent results. One of Brandon’s secrets when fishing these lures is to run a size 8 blade over shallow water weeds and rocks and go up in size to a number 10 blade when targeting open water fish adjacent to structure. You can connect with Brandon on Facebook (Georgian Bay Bucktails) or email him at georgianbaybucktails@outlook.com.

“I’m flattered when someone wants to buy one of my lures so that it can be admired. I take great pride in my work, but they are made to catch fish, which is what means the most to me. If someone calls me and tells me about a muskie that they caught on my lures I get as excited as they are. My goal is to create a memory for every angler that buys my lures.”

These baits are as rugged as they are stylish and they are made to last a lifetime. You can reach Steve on his Facebook page for more information.

Anyone with a little drive can build their own muskie lures, even this artistically challenged author. I started out quite by accident. I had purchased a spinner for $20 that was endorsed by a well-known muskie celebrity. Well, the hair on the lure fell off after the first hour of use, which left me mad enough to spit nails. In those days 20bucks was a lot of money for a muskie spinner! So I began by making traditional body baits, similar to the old Pikie Minnows and Cisco Kids, from cedar. Then I developed an interest in making antique-style muskie topwater lures like Creepers, Surf–Orenos and Globes but, unlike my brethren in this article, my lures are nowhere near as complex or visually stunning.

Over time I have been fortunate and have landed some respectable fish on my baits with some muskies reaching the 30-pound plateau. The fish I remember the most is actually one that I lost on a cool autumn day as a storm front moved in. It was the biggest

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Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 37

muskie I have ever seen; I would guess 56inches on the conservative side with a very deep girth. She had one hook in the roof of her mouth when she gave a hard headshake, spit the lure, and drifted out of sight, leaving me feeling like Charlie Brown on the pitcher’s mound after giving up a homerun. That happened over a decade ago and, after sharing this story, I have come to the conclusion that some wounds just never heal!

What makes homemade lures so more special than the store bought variety? For starters, every lure is as unique as the man who created it, and every bait contains a small piece of each man’s spirit and special character that went into its creation. We know that these baits catch big muskies; the only question now is which one will be the first to crack the 50-pound club.

Should you decide to purchase any of these lures from any of these makers, be sure to buy two of each- one to patrol the depths, and one to hand down, many years from now, as a special angling heirloom to a son or daughter who has a passion for fishing. I consider it a true privilege to have had the opportunity to interview these gifted lure makers/artisans who were kind enough to partake in this article. ?

Sneaky Joe Walter J. Rowan was an angler who spent the better part of 25 summers fishing the Chippewa Flowage in Wisconsin - a body of water famous for its top water muskie fishery. Walter was a custodian for several apartment buildings and one day he spied an old wooden chair in a storeroom. Being creative, like most muskie fisherman, Walter stole the chair and cut five-inches off of one leg. He then screwed a globe type prop into the front, attached two sets of hook spreaders (like the ones on the Helin flatfish lure) and then painted his bait black.

Originally called the Chair Leg, he later changed the name to the Sneaky Joe. This lure hardly ever left Walter’s pole and over the years it accounted for dozens of muskellunge, some passing 30-pounds. The point that I am trying to make is that you don’t know if you don’t try. Don’t be intimidated when it comes to making your own baits. Here was a lure that by all accounts had the most basic of paint jobs, and would be classified as ugly at best, yet it was one of the top muskie producers on the lake.

38 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

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40 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

ISLAND LAKE Learning to Master a New Body of Water

By Charlie Ricottone

Before I was old enough to walk I received my first rod and reel as a gift from my grandfather and, over the next 20-something years, he taught me to fish - to the best of his knowledge. I only had a chance to fish for one to two-weeks per year but the memories of being on the water are unforgettable. Our cottage was on Greenbough Lake, located on the outskirts of Deux-Rivieres, Ontario, just north of Algonquin Park. It is shallow, weedy, loaded with largemouth and smallmouth bass, and it harbours some of my earliest memories of fishing. It also happens to be where I fell in love with the outdoors and everything to do with cottages.

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 41

In 2007, I met the woman who would later become my wife. She told me stories of the “hot water cottage” - aptly named for having a hot water tank installed when she and her sisters were just young kids - located on Rock Island Lake in Pointe au Baril, Ontario. Little did I know that this humble paradise would put my fishing knowledge to the test.

In the spring of 2008 I purchased my first baitcaster and casting rod. I was excited to use it so that summer my wife took me to the cottage where I could try my luck. I had been forewarned that there were no fish in Rock Island Lake but I assumed it was a joke, since the lake appeared to be in good health. Old pictures hanging on the wall in the cottage showed her grandparents holding stringers filled with pike and walleye. I would later find out that Laura - my mother-in-law - caught a record setting walleye while trolling no more than 100-feet from the edge of the dock.

Every night after dinner, in an ongoing tradition, the men would go out fishing. My father-in-law Neil and I set out one night for the narrows, a fishing spot that I had consistently heard stories about for the previous year and a half. It was a muggy night and the water temperature was just over 80°F. We had spent about an hour casting lines throughout the area, to no avail. After some frustration, I grabbed a three-inch green 42 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

pumpkin craw that was given to me by my brother-in-law, who happens to be an avid angler. He showed me how to use it at my cottage in Deux-Rivieres, so I had some confidence with it, if only I could remember how to rig it up. I finally figured it out and cast my line in the water. I had no idea how I should retrieve it so I simply drew it back slowly toward the boat.

The author with a nice Lake Erie smallmouth caught on a dropshot rig.

The bait was no more than three-feet from the gunwale when I felt some significant resistance. I hauled on the line, bringing to the surface what I thought was a log that I had snagged. To my surprise it was a 32-inch pike, a species, which I had never caught before. It didn’t head shake or put up any kind of fight. I just lugged it into the boat, removed the hook, and placed it back in the water. My heart was beating out of my chest, but all I could think about was the fact that there were actually fish in the lake - decent ones that were ripe for the catching.

Over the next few years I caught mainly rock bass and the occasional smallmouth, with little to no understanding of how to correctly fish a lake of this kind. Then, in 2012, I started working at SAIL, where I met some seasoned anglers. I learned about gear, baits, reading structure, and paying close attention to the time of day and weather patterns. I bought myself some quality equipment and began fishing regularly.

I took trips out to the Kawarthas for muskie and walleye, where I learned to vary my retrieval patterns with shallow to deep diving crankbaits. I also frequented Lake Erie with a friend, who happened to be a local bass guide. He showed me how to rig up a dropshot and fish it correctly, which allowed me to land my first smallmouth

This Pigeon Lake smallmouth hit a crankbait on an overcast day.

over four-pounds. On days that we didn’t feel like making the trip to Erie, we would fish the Hamilton Harbour for largemouth bass. I learned how to fish Texas and wacky rigged stick worms, a technique that has become the go-to setup in my arsenal and has landed me over 200 fish to date.

I took these techniques and new knowledge back to Rock Island Lake and it changed my success rate drastically. I began working the rocky structure and picking the fish right off the shoals. However, it wasn’t a guarantee for success as some fish were caught in some very surprising ways.

One night, around 1 a.m., my wife’s uncle Doug and I took a boat out to the narrows to try our luck. The air and water were dead calm and the moon provided just enough light to tell where we were casting.

We were fishing with topwater baits and I happened to be throwing a new green frog popper with a dressed rear treble, but I cast out a little too hard and ended up with a bird’s nest. I proceeded to pick at the tangled mess of line until I was finally able to get it straightened out. I started reeling up the slack and, at the instant the line pulled tight, a fish struck the bait. I set the hook and felt some weight, but the fish didn’t fight like a smallmouth. I assumed it was a rock bass but when I got it to the boat I saw that I had hooked a walleye, around one and a half to twopounds. I didn’t realize a topwater strike by a walleye was possible until I was informed that they will come to the surface to feed at night and when moving through shallow channels.

After that night I continued to fish topwater baits whenever I was at the narrows at night, and it rarely failed me. I have since caught another walleye on a topwater bait, but this time it was on a black jitterbug.

Passing the lure over a spot about a foot from a rock wall, I got a little strike but missed the hookset. I tried a few more times and eventually hooked and landed one of the most aggressive and lively walleyes I’ve ever witnessed. It was too small to keep; so back into the water it went.

As I continued to learn about the ideal times of day to catch fish, a trip to Pigeon Lake in the Kawarthas taught me another valuable lesson: fish can become very active during overcast and rainy conditions. I began to utilize this new information at the cottage and fishing has now become the activity of choice for Doug and I whenever the weather turns.

On one especially rainy day we were fishing the far end of Black Oak Lake, which is connected to Rock Island Lake via the narrows. As the rain began to pick up, and the sky turned black, we saw lightning in the distance, which was our cue to head back in. As we passed back through the narrows, which has to be done slowly due to the shallow water, I cast behind us with an offwhite coloured jitterbug. I dragged it for five-feet or so when a monstrous explosion on top of the water made me jump out of my seat! As I set the hook and began the fight the fish nearly pulled the rod out of my hand, and all I could hear was Doug saying, “Holy s--t, that’s a tank!”

I eventually got the fish into the boat, but it had hooked itself pretty badly so I loaded it into the livewell and we headed back to shore. We took it up to the deck of the cottage, where Doug helped me to cut the hooks. As I pulled that lunker out of the bucket, everyone who was watching through the windows couldn’t believe their eyes. It was the largest smallmouth they had ever seen. After a quick picture I put the beauty back in the water, revived it, and watched as it swam slowly back into the depths. It was an amazing feeling that I have only been able to capture on a few other occasions.

On one particular outing I took a friend of mine, who had no fishing experience, to all of my favourite spots throughout Rock Island Lake. After four-hours of being on the water, and no luck, I decided to take her Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 43

species that I longed for - and that craving would be fulfilled sooner than I expected.

Until 2015 Rock Island Lake held northern pike, walleye, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass. However, in late September of that year, a new discovery was made. While fishing off the rocks out in front of the cottage, I was toying with a new, five-inch, green/olive jerkbait. I got a bite, set the hook and felt a different fight than the regular smallmouth or pike that would normally be caught there. I fought the fish for no more than 20-seconds, landed it, and asked my wife to take a picture. She snapped the photo, I returned the fish to the water, and never thought anything of it until the ride home.

About a half hour after we left, I asked my wife if I could see the photo. Upon viewing it I realized that the fish I had just caught was a largemouth bass, not normally found in Rock Island Lake. I later found out from Neil that there had been reports of people catching largemouth occasionally throughout the summer. This revelation changed how I fished the docks and shallow weed patches.

to the narrows. Again, I found this spot to be much more productive. She caught a couple of smallies and was absolutely ecstatic about it.

At that point, we had had enough of the rain and decided to call it a day. As always, I threw a few final casts before we left the spot. I Texas-rigged a five–inch black stick worm on a red 3/0 wide gap hook and cast it into the middle of the narrows. I let it sink to the bottom and soak for a few seconds.

Giving it a little twitch I felt some heavy resistance, which almost convinced me that I had somehow snagged bottom. To my surprise, the rod bent to almost a 90-degree angle and the fight was on. Another monster of a smallmouth had completely devoured the worm!

I fought it back to the boat and, realizing that I didn’t have a net, I lipped the beast and pulled it on board. Once again, it went into the livewell and we headed back to properly remove the hook, get a picture, and release it back into the water. My hunger for a giant smallmouth had been satisfied once again, but there was another 44 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

The following Canada Day, while trolling through some of the bays on our way to the narrows, I decided I’d rather cast and try my luck against the shoreline.

As we approached a neighbouring dock I cast my Texas-rigged stick worm to within a foot of its edge. As it sank to the bottom

I felt a dull thud on the end of the line, set the hook and cranked in a quality largemouth. It was the second I had caught and I realized that there was a significant number of these fish in the lake now. I have since caught a few more, which has connected me with my childhood summers of

bass fishing on Greenbough Lake.

Over the past 10-years I have fished a number of bodies of water, but none more than Rock Island Lake. For me, it has been the most difficult lake to figure out, which in turn has made it the most rewarding. ?

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 45

By O.P. “Buster” Howard

THE NIGHT BITE “Walleyes are tolerant of a great range of environmental situations, but appear to reach greatest abundance in large, shallow, turbid lakes. They also thrive in clear lakes but the special layer of the eye is extremely sensitive to bright daylight intensities, so feeding is restricted to twilight or dark periods.”

– Excerpt from Freshwater Fishes of Canada, Bulletin 184, by W.B. Scott and E.J. Crossman.

46 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 47

Psssst….want in on a secret? Walleyes don’t like bright light. Hate it in fact. It makes ‘em cranky and moody. They won’t eat, won’t chase baits, won’t do much of anything but lay there sulking. Oh sure, there’s always the oddball that’ll crush a crank or spinnerbait at high noon, but they’re the exception. For the most part, if you want to catch ‘eyes during the day you’ve only got three choices. You can fish ‘em in the thick weeds with jigs, you can fish ‘em deep with jigs, rigs or live bait, or you can head out on an overcast or rainy day with some chop on the water. Either way, it’s slow going. You’ve got to pick and poke your way around and you’ve got to be ready to settle for a fish here and a fish there, unless you’re lucky enough to be on a lake with stained water. Then you can do okay during the day. Trouble is, since Zebra mussels came on the scene, most of the dirty water lakes have started to clear up.

Considerably. Add in the explosion of tournament fishing on a lot of the more popular walleye waters, the general increase in 48 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

recreational fishing pressure on those same lakes, pleasure boat and personal watercraft traffic, and you’ve got a perfect recipe for crummy walleye fishing.

Simply put, walleye fishing is getting tougher. A number of good walleye lakes are changing, getting clearer and less appealing to walleyes, thanks to our little filter-feeding friends from the Baltic. Weedlines are getting deeper and some shallow weeds are disappearing altogether, getting burned by the sun that used to be partially blocked by the once stained water. Walleyes aren’t doing what they used to do back in the good old days. They’re adapting to their changing environment. It’s true that, in some cases, lakes that were once considered walleye factories just aren’t suitable for large populations of them anymore. A lot of the time though, the fish are still there, but not where they used to be. They still feed, but not in the same places or at the same time as they used to. Trouble is, a lot of anglers are still fishing them like they used to. And the results are often anything but what they used to be.

So what’s a guy (or girl) to do? Well, in a lot of cases the answer is simple. Don’t try to force low-light loving ‘eyes into changing their ways. Instead of fighting them, go along with them. If they like low light, fish ‘em when they’re ready and eager to eat. It only makes sense that a hungry, feeding walleye is going to be easier to catch than a brooding, cranky one that’s laying belly to the bottom.

Night fishing for walleyes has always been a good bet, even back when stained water lakes had stained water. Trouble was, anglers soon caught on to the fact that these lakes would still kick out decent numbers of fish during the day, so they slowly got away

from fishing at night. After all, everyone else was out having fun with friends at night, or spending time with their families, or sleeping. Normal stuff like that. A guy who slept all day and headed out fishing just as the sun was setting could soon get a reputation. Or a divorce. It just seemed to be more socially acceptable to go fishing during the day so, rather than risk becoming one of those people that other people whispered about, night fishing slowly lost its appeal for a lot of walleye hunters.

Maybe it’s time to re-think things and give the night bite another go. But before you race off into the pitch black and drop your jig and minnow down to the bottom over a classic walleye shoal, there’s a few things you ought to know.

First off, fishing for walleyes after dark is a little different than fishing for them during the day. And I’m not talking about the fact that you can’t see anything ‘cause it’s dark out. I’m talking about how the fish act and react when the lights are out. Forget about puttering around looking for a sweet spot on a dropoff or an underwater point.

Forget probing the deep edges of shoals and

sunken islands too. In fact, forget most of your traditional daytime walleye tactics altogether.

You see, at night, walleyes are on the prowl, looking for something tasty to chew on. Because walleyes see better at night than baitfish do, they’ve got a real advantage when it comes to feeding in the dark, and that’s an opportunity that they don’t let slip by. They cruise around in big, loose packs, spread out over big flats or along dropoffs, weedlines or old river channels, itching for a shot at a drowsy baitfish. If your lake has smelt or alewife or shad or some other oily, open-water baitfish, walleyes will roam open water areas looking for them too. The point is, those fish that were sulking and skulking during the day get all fired up when the sun goes down. Kind of like a teenager.

Since walleyes are on the move at night, you should be on the move too. You need to cover water to intercept the schools of hungry ‘eyes. Sure, you could spend your time parked on a weed flat or extended point casting away, and eventually some fish might pass your way, but that’s not a very

efficient way to do things. You’ve got to find ‘em before you can catch ‘em and the easiest way to find ‘em is by trolling.

If it’s a calm night, nothing says “stealth” quite like trolling with an electric motor, so that’s they way to go, as long as Mother Nature allows it. Active walleyes will move surprisingly shallow when they’re on the feed at night, and the noise from even a small outboard can sometimes spook them.

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 49

predators, walleyes will prey on the sick and injured first.

There’s a few types of baits that seem to really do a number on walleyes after the sun goes down and you’ve probably got some of ‘em sitting in your tackle box right now.

One of the all-time best is a big, slender, deep diving crankbait. Another is a spinner rig and another is a small swimbait.

Nothing fancy really, but all of these baits give off lots of vibration, they can be fished dead slow, and they absolutely lay a spanking on big nighttime walleyes.

Deep diving cranks have big lips that make the lure dive deep on a normal retrieve. But when you slow things down there just isn’t enough resistance between the water and that big fat lip to push the bait down very far. Instead of diving for the bottom, a big-lipped bait will take on a big wide wobble when it’s crawled along at a slow speed. That wobble sends out a ton of vibration that walleyes interpret as a struggling baitfish and they can’t resist coming in for a closer look. A paddle-tail swimbait gives off a lot of vibration too and, by adjusting the size of the weight you’re using, you can cover different depths with this style of bait.

And, it’s a whole lot easier to follow weedlines or drop-offs with an electric motor, especially a bow-mount. Although the fish are moving, they will still travel along structure breaks and nothing beats an electric for precise boat control. Of course if the water is choppy or if there’s a strong breeze, a small gas powered kicker will keep you in control.

Once you get on to a group of fish you can shut things down and start chucking baits until you’ve picked off the aggressive fish, or until the school moves on. When that happens, and it will, you’ve got a cou50 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

ple of choices. You can hang around and hope that another school of fish comes by or you can saddle up and head out in search of another pack of biters. Take your pick.

One thing to keep in mind when you’re after night ‘eyes is that the baitfish won’t be moving too fast, so your bait should be moving slowly too. Creeping along actually.

Just fast enough to keep it from stopping.

You want it to be easy to track down and easy for a hungry walleye to catch and eat.

Although walleyes are actively feeding, you want to make it as simple as possible for them to grab your bait because, like all

When you’re draggin’ cranks or swimbaits around in the dark it’s a good idea to keep your bait moving along steadily. If you start twitching and ripping and stopping and going you’ll lose that nice, consistent vibration that attracts feeding walleyes in the first place. If the vibration changes or stops it could send a negative clue to an otherwise hot fish, and you don’t ever want to make a hungry fish have to think twice about eating. Keep it slow, keep it thumping, and sooner or later you’ll get bit.

The other ace-in-the-hole bait for night fishing is a spinner rig. That can be a simple in-line spinner, a custom built spinner rig or

a plain old worm harnesses, take your pick.

They all work on walleyes during the day and they all work even better at night.

They’ve got flash, they’ve got vibration and, if you add a little ‘meat”, they’ve got scent too. Talk about having all the bases covered!

For skinny water, specifically water that’s only a few feet deep, or deeper water with weeds growing up close to the surface, rigs or harnesses are the best choice. When you fish them un-weighted they’ll only run a few inches to a foot or so deep. And, since they’re tied with single hooks instead of trebles, you won’t find yourself getting hung up or harvesting salad nearly as often. Save the in-lines for cleaner, deeper water.

Fish spinner rigs the same way as you would fish cranks or swimbaits. Troll or retrieve ‘em super slowly, just fast enough to keep the blades turning. Big, round Colorado-style blades give off the most thump and are the best choice for fishing really

big areas like flats, because they’ll call fish in from a long way off. If you’re fishing along an edge, a long point, or some other smaller piece of structure a big Colorado blade might be too much and switching to a smaller blade or a different style, like an Indiana or French style, could get you more hook ups. Willowleaf blades give off the least amount of vibration but they run the deepest so pick the style that fits the water you’re fishing in.

There’s a couple of prime spots to look for when you’re after ‘eyes at night and one

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Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 51

of the best is a big weed flat that’s between about 4 and 8-feet deep with some deeper water nearby. Walleyes will move extremely shallow at night so four-feet is plenty, but it can be tough to find a really shallow weed flat that has clean water above the weeds.

Most of the time you’ll need to be fishing over 6- or 8-feet of water. If you really want to get sneaky, try running an un-weighted harness behind a small in-line planer board.

Mmmm, I can almost taste the fried walleye fillets now!

Another other top spot is a long point that leads from a shallow, weedy flat out to deep water. Early in the evening the fish will start moving up the point, eventually ending up right up on top. Start fishing the deeper water and gradually work shallower until you find out where they’re feeding.

Make a note of how deep you’re catching them. After you’ve bagged a few fish, you should be able to predict whether they’re moving up or down the structure - then it’s easy to stay on them.

While weeds are a great place for catching ‘eyes, especially in southern waters, they can be scarce in deeper, more northern lakes. That’s when you want to look for dropoffs and stair-step shorelines. Walleyes will cruise the shallow parts of these structures at night and they’ll often hunt in packs, trapping baitfish up against the shoreline or dropoff. Walleyes will really rip into a school of bait that they’ve got corralled like this and the action can be unbelievable. Rocky flats can be hot too, especially if they’re close to a good dropoff.

Night time fishing for walleyes can definitely spoil you because the fishing can be fabulous. But it can also be dangerous.

You’ve got to be prepared before you go tearing off across the lake. The law requires you to have working running lights on your boat if you’re on the water after dark and the time to test them is before you launch.

Every year someone gets injured or worse after a collision when someone didn’t see someone else. See and be seen at night.

Wear your PFD all the time at night. It’s too easy to bump a rock or stump in shallow water and if you take a tumble and crack your skull at least you’ll stay floating until your partners can fish you out of the drink.

Speaking of partners, never go out in a boat at night by yourself.

Besides all of the Coast Guard required safety equipment, you should also have a cell phone or two-way radio on board, just in case you need to call for help. It’s a good idea to let someone on shore know where you’re heading and when you plan to be back too.

Extra fuel, boat fuses, a spare prop and a tool kit are worth their weight in gold if you ever need them so pack ‘em with you. A few snacks wouldn’t hurt either.

If you’re finding the walleyes in your lake have moved beyond finicky and become just plain stubborn, maybe it’s time to try a different approach like night fishing. You just might take up golf during the day. ?

52 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

SPOON FE

By Wes David

54 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

Throughout North America, spoons are one of the most fished baits for a wide variety of fish species.

If you open any angler’s tackle box you’re sure to find a few spoons from various manufacturers it. In many cases those spoons are the angler’s go-to or confidence lures, and why wouldn’t they be? Spoons can be cast and retrieved at a variety of speeds, making them suitable for swimming at a variety of depths covering every level of the water column.

And, an often overlooked tactic is jigging a spoon. Yes, spoons can be jigged during the fair-weather fishing season and they are often a go-to bait during the ice fishing season. I’m willing to bet that at some point a spoon has caught every species of freshwater gamefish in North America. However, spoons are much more than a piece of metal with a treble-hook on one end that are simply cast out and retrieved.

ED THEM Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 55

Anglers who fully understand how a spoon works under a variety of fishing conditions will set the hook more consistently and make their time on the water more productive. Now don’t get me wrong, spoons are great lures for any angler, regardless of his or her experience level. However, once mastered, there is a fine art to fishing spoons that will increase every angler’s hookup rate.

One of the first things an angler should look at when purchasing a spoon is the shape of it. Regardless of whether I’m casting, trolling or jigging one of these lures, I like one that is concave, with a deeply dished body. This dished portion of the spoon creates a great deal of vibration as it moves through the water column. The vibration should be felt through the angler’s fishing rod and it is often seen at the tip of the rod as the spoon is trolled or retrieved.

Fish feel the vibration through their lateral line, in a similar way to how sound waves are heard through the air by humans.

Vibration through the water column tells a game fish a lot about their environment, and an erratic vibration often means a wounded baitfish and the potential for an easy meal. Once an actively feeding fish feels the vibration of a potential meal they will begin searching for the commotion.

The second thing an angler should look for when purchasing a spoon is what it’s made out of. Most modern spoons are made out of brass or stainless steel. These

clean metals provide a great deal of flash when fished through the water.

All anglers have their favorite colours for lures, but few pay close enough attention to the quality and finish of the paint used on the spoon. The flash of the spoon, combined with the paint quality, gives the fish the visual clues it needs as it moves in for the strike.

Without the vibration, flash, and coloration found on a quality spoon, the lure is nothing more than a piece of metal being pulled through the water. Quality paint, that is properly cured to the metal body of the spoon, also withstands scratching and chipping from toothy predator fish and from

being bounced off of structure while inferior finishes will quickly flake away.

Walleye Spoons are not a well-known or oftenused lure when fishing for walleye, but they can be extremely effective when fishing rocky shorelines, rocky points, and sunken rock humps.

Determining how aggressive the bite is is the key to selecting the right size of lure to use. Every manufacturer has their own sizing format; however, my favorite spoons are Len Thompsons in sizes #0, #1, and my alltime favorite, the #2. As for colours, I like 56 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

solid brass, brass & flame, platinum-nickel, platinum-nickel blue, and the new Super Glow five of diamonds. These patterns are my go-tos when fishing in rocky locations, especially in windy conditions. I cast the lure out, let it sink and then then retrieve it just fast enough to skim over the top of the rocks. The flash and vibration drives the walleyes crazy as they believe it’s a baitfish cruising among the rocks.

An often overlooked lure when fishing for suspended walleyes is a #2 spoon in five of diamonds, solid gold, or any colour pattern with perch yellows or whites that imitate whitefish, smelt or herring. Spoons are not common baits for walleye but trolling them through schools of suspended ‘eyes will often outperform other presentations.

You can also use your trolling motor or anchor to hold your position and then cast and retrieve or vertically jig the spoon through the suspended walleye.

Northern Pike Pike are one of the most aggressive freshwater predators in Canada and presenting spoons to these toothy predators is a sure

way to hook into one. In fact, spoons are commonly used to catch northern pike at a variety of depths anywhere in the country, throughout the fishing season. Over the years I have consistently caught my largest pike using spoons.

When fishing shallow bays in the spring of the year, or heavy weed cover in shallow water during the summer months, I forego the heavier spoons I generally use for casting and trolling in favour of a Northern King trolling spoon. This is a well known salmon lure with a narrow profile and it is

much lighter than a standard spoon. This allows it to sink slower and to be retrieved over the top of submerged weedbeds where it becomes an easy meal for hungry pike.

During the summer months large northern pike often go much deeper than many anglers realize. They move to deep water looking for cooler temperatures and following their prey - such as walleye and whitefish. When fishing pike in deep water (20feet or deeper), my go-to lure is a #16 Len Thompson Grey Ghost in the dimpled series pattern. This lure has a larger profile

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 57

Perch

that gives off a great deal of flash and vibration in the deep water. During the summer months I’ve found that, rather than burn a great deal of energy chasing small minnows around, large northern pike often go after larger, more substantial meals. However, in northern lakes where the shallow water is much cooler, this spoon works well throughout the year.

spoons while trolling for salmon on the West Coast, in water depths ranging from 60 to 120-feet. Salmon are more than willing to take a variety of flashy spoons that are trolled past them as the flash of the spoon imitates the baitfish that the salmon are accustomed to feeding on.

Lake Trout When downrigging, or three-way trolling for lake trout, I’ve had my best luck trolling a dimpled series spoon in the raspberry granite, holy mackerel, or brown trout colour patterns in a variety of sizes. The dimples on the body of this spoon allow water to hit the concaved side of each dimple, forcing water to race out and smash into the water racing out of the adjacent dimple. This gives off a thunderous vibration that lake trout can feel, and it doesn't take them long to home in on the lure’s location. This lure is especially effective in deep water and under low light conditions.

I’ve also had great success with these

58 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

Trout When fishing stocked trout ponds, trout lakes, and trout river systems, it’s almost impossible not to catch whatever trout species inhabit the particular water body when casting any of the Super Glow series of lures from Len Thompson in the #2 and #6 sizes. And it’s not uncommon to hook into bonus whitefish with these spoons.

These lures are hand painted with a patented Super Glow paint that is charged naturally from the sunlight. However, you can supercharge these spoons by turning on the flash of your camera or cell phone and taking a close-up picture of the lure. The Super Glow spoons allow fish to see their target from a long distance away and they work amazingly well when fishing in deep or stained water conditions.

I’m sure every perch angler has gotten into a school of undersized perch. Sure, it’s fun to drop down your jig and reel in a perch, especially if the kids are with you. However, it quickly grows old removing tiny perch from your hook when you know there's bigger ones out there – and it’s not uncommon for large perch to be patrolling the outer edges of the school. When I’m faced with a group of tiny perch I like to cast a small spoon to the outside edge of the feeding school and retrieve the spoon back through them. I retrieve the spoon just fast enough for it to flutter and create flash. I’ve caught aggressively feeding perch on a variety of spoons, in a range of sizes, and some of my biggest perch have come on a spoon.

The next time you’re faced with undersized perch, try casting a small spoon to the outer edges of the school and there’s a good chance you’ll pick up a few bigger keepers for supper.

River Systems Small spoons work extremely well in river systems, especially fast flowing river systems, throughout the season, however, my favorite time to use them is in the spring of the year during the spring run-off.

During this time period the water is moving fast and it is often extremely stained. Under these types of conditions fish have to make a quick decision whether to strike or not as hesitation allows their potential meal to be washed down the river. In high, stained water, the flash of a spoon will be at a minimum so the spoon’s ability to give off vibration is of the utmost importance.

One of the biggest misconceptions about spoons is that they are designed only to be cast and retrieved or trolled, however, I’ve had amazing success for a variety of fish species by jigging a spoon. As mentioned earlier in this article, I will often jig spoons through schools of suspended walleyes. I’ve also had great success casting a spoon out and jigging it back to the boat (or shoreline if I’m fishing from the bank) for pike. And jigging a spoon in deep weedbeds has accounted for a number of big northern pike for me over the years. Bass that set up on deeper ledges, rock humps or off of deep points can also be enticed with a jigged

spoon, and jigging with spoons is a timetested ice fishing presentation that works for a variety of fish species.

The next time you’re in your favorite sporting store purchasing some spoons, put some thought into how you will be using it.

Subtle differences in design can make a big difference in how each spoon performs on the water. Remember, a spoon is more than just a piece of metal with a hook on it. ?

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 59

Tales from the Road

By Bob Izumi

Will Kooy with one of the bass caught on the maiden voyage of his new Ranger Z520C.

In the last Tales column I was just about to fly down to Florida with my wife, Sandy, to bring the truck and boat back home but, before we started the long trek towing the rig home, I thought we’d get in one last Florida fishing fix.

As it turned out it wasn’t my last Florida fishing fix because I did fly down for a few more days of fishing but I’ll talk about that in a bit. Let’s talk about what happened on this trip first.

We decided to jump around a bit and fish some different places. I don’t like to fish the same body of water very often - I’d rather jump around and fish as many bodies of water as I can. That’s always been a fun thing for me to do. It doesn’t matter if it’s lakes I’ve never been to before or places I’ve been to in the past, I just like to fish different places. Given my druthers, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if I was on a five-day holiday to fish five different lakes. To me that just makes it fun and interesting.

We were staying with our friend Mike Jenkins, from Burlington. He and his family had a house rented for the winter in Cape Kristin with her personal best largemouth bass.

60 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

Coral and he had invited us to stay at his place. Our daughter Kristin was flying down the next day to meet up with us and when she arrived I decided to take her fishing in the phosphate pits at Streamsong Resort for a day. While we were there she caught her personal best largemouth, which weighed in at over six-pounds, on a Berkley General stickbait. It was pretty exciting to see her crank in this big fish on a spinning rod as it bulldogged under the boat and made a few jumps. Mission accomplished!

After our day of fishing Kristin stayed with us for a couple of days of relaxation before flying back to Toronto.

The next day we went over to Lake Okeechobee for some more fun fishing. We didn’t get any real big fish but we caught some decent ones in some of the areas that still had some clear water available. This year it seems like much of Okeechobee has been stirred up from a hurricane that was down there. A lot of the weeds, reeds and other vegetation got ripped up and it still hasn’t grown back. When it does get lush again the weeds will filter the water, making it clean like it used to be, but while we were there it seemed like only limited areas of clear water had fish available in them.

Then I joined up with Will Kooy, from Ontario, and Mike Jenkins and the three of us went out for the maiden voyage of Will’s new Ranger Z520C. Will and his family had towed it down for a vacation and he was excited to get it out for its first time on the water. We met in Fort Myers and the three of us drove to the town of Clewiston and launched. We fished the South Bay on Okeechobee and caught about 30-plus bass in about five-hours of fishing. We didn’t get and real big ones but we had a lot of fun fishing the shallow lily pads and hydrilla.

After fishing with Will and Mike I headed down to Streamsong Resort again to fish

some of the pits for a couple of days before it was time to make the journey home to Ontario.

After getting home I packed some ice fishing gear and set off to the SnoBear Migration in Gimli, Manitoba, on Lake Winnipeg. This annual event brings SnoBear owners from all across North America out to sample the great walleye fishing on this massive lake. My two biggest walleye on that trip were 26 and 29-inches long and I caught them on a Johnson Rattlin’ Scout spoon tipped with a minnow.

Professional walleye angler Ted Takasaki was at this year’s SnoBear Migration and he did a talk on the Friday night for all of the attendees. It was great seeing my old friend there and catching up with him. It’s been a long time since I’d run into Ted.

After a couple of days of fishing I had to catch an early morning flight back to Toronto on Sunday to hang out at the Columbia booth at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show. As always, I met a lot of keen anglers there and I certainly heard lots of great fish stories.

Then it was up to Georgian Bay with the SnoBear in tow to meet up with guide JP Bushey and my friend, John Whyte. JP guides all over the province and he’s got the lake trout dialed in on Georgian Bay. We ended up catching a lot of lakers as well as a bonus ling that was the biggest one JP had seen caught this past winter. JP wanted to keep it as his father’s birthday was coming up and he was keeping some ling for the birthday. I’ve never personally eaten ling, but I’ve heard that it is an excellent eating fish.

Then it was back home for a week of

ridges where the trees used to be. We caught a lot of bass that day, including a handful of three-plus-pound fish. The action was steady and the fish were biting on swimbaits, chatterbaits and stickbaits. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun.

The next day we decided to fish the canals in the city of Okeechobee that connect to the lake. We went out for a few hours and managed to catch some fish, but nothing to write home about.

Then it was back to Fort Myers, as I had a flight to catch that evening. Well, as it turned out, my down and dirty trip to Florida turned into a little bit longer of a trip.

Keep in mind this was the second week of April and southern Ontario had just gotten

pummeled by a snowstorm. Before going to the airport I had talked with my wife and she suggested that I stay in Florida because of the weather conditions at home. But, being bullheaded, I went to the airport anyway.

When I got to the airport Mike said that I should check on my flight and he would wait for me. Wouldn’t you know it, my flight was delayed. There was another flight that had been delayed for five-hours that was just taxiing out when I got there. I wasn’t sure how long my flight was going to be held up so I decided to blow it off and Mike and I went to P.F. Chang’s for supper. We enjoyed a nice meal and later that evening I checked to see if I could get a flight back to Toronto in a day or two.

Bob and Robert Greenberg with a couple of chunky Florida largemouth.

JP Bushey with a big ling destined for the dinner table.

work. After that I decided to fly down to Florida just to do some fun fishing.

Tournament angler and friend Robert Greenberg, from Ottawa, was in Florida and he invited me to come and fish with him. He had a boat down there so I thought, “Why not”. So I booked a flight and flew down to Fort Myers. Mike Jenkins picked me up at the airport and we spent three-days fishing with Robert.

On day-one we decided to fish on Lake Kissimmee. Although the wind was blowing at around 25-miles per hour we still managed to catch a number of bass. We targeted windblown points around the arrowheads and scattered hydrilla. Our two biggest fish that day came on a swimbait and a chatterbait. It was a lot of fun getting out there and trying to figure out how to catch these fish on a windy day.

The next day we went to Lake Garcia, a rather small lake which is actually a flooded orange grove. This lake is very intricate because you can actually see the rows where the trees were once planted. You have to be careful when you’re running the boat out there because there are several Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 61

As it turned out the flights were rather expensive and it was hard to get out with all the different cancellations, so we kicked back on Sunday. On Monday we met up with my brother Wayne, who had just got down to Florida, and we fished out of a little 12-foot aluminum boat in the phosphate pits. We ended up catching a number of bass up to six-pounds that day and had a lot of fun fishing out of the small aluminum jon boat.

The next day I caught the first flight back to Toronto. The day after I got home I had a meeting with Ontario Tourism, then it was back to the grind to get some production work done that week.

We had a surprise dinner party for friends Leo and Kathy Capobianco. Their two daughters, Stephanie and Gabriella, had arranged it and it was pretty funny. We were sitting in the restaurant and Leo and Kathy had no idea we were there. They thought their daughters were just taking them out for supper. We were all sitting at the table with the menus up to our faces so they couldn’t see it was us. When they got to the table,

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62 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

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JP Bushey and Bob with one of the many big lake trout they caught on Georgian Bay.

Kathy said to the person seating them, “No, we’d like our own table”. That’s when we pulled the menus away from our faces and they realized it was us. It was pretty funny and a great start to a fun evening.

Then we did a little white wine tasting for next year’s Izumi white with the Between the Lines folks here at the office. I think we picked a real winner for the next bottling.

And then it was back up to fish with JP Bushey on Georgian Bay again. I wanted to do an ice fishing/spring ice-out show with him based on the lake trout we had caught earlier through the ice. Well, within an hour or two we had more than enough fish to complete the show. The fish seemed to be averaging much bigger than the ones we caught through the ice. We had several fish in the eight to 10-pound category, we had a few double headers, and we caught more than enough fish on camera to complete the show. We ended up going for pike for the last three-hours of fishing. We caught a lot of them but, unfortunately, no big ones so I’m not sure how much of that footage will make it into the show.

Then it was back to get some more things done around the office before heading off

on my annual trip to Wisconsin, with my friend Derek Strub, for the Sturgeon Bay Open. This bass tournament draws some of the best bass anglers from the U.S. Midwest, Manitoba and Ontario. It’s always a big field and there’s a fully rigged Ranger/Mercury bass boat for first prize.

Our best finish at this event was third place – Derek and I did that in the first year we fished this prestigious tournament. This year we were gung-ho to do well.

As it turned out, this year’s tournament had record catches, but we ran north when we should have stayed south. We wanted to get away from the pack of boats that were all fishing less than a mile away from the blast off in Little Sturgeon Bay. Picture a shoal, or an extension of a point off the shore, that’s about five to seven-acres in circumference with about 70 of the boats on it. You would definitely hit boats wherever you were casting, they were that tight. As it turned out, that was the hotspot in this year’s tournament with loads of five to seven-pound fish caught in that area.

If I’m not mistaken, there were eight fish over seven-pounds caught over the two-day tournament; a five-fish limit of 29-pounds

and change was leading after day one.

There was an 8.67-pound fish caught on day two.

We averaged one fish over five-pounds on every day of our four-day practice, both north and south of the tournament site.

During the tournament we caught one fish over five-pounds each day but, the bottom line is, if you weren’t fishing in the crowd you weren’t going to cash a decent cheque.

We ended up 42nd out of 125 boats, with just over 43-pounds of bass for 10 fish. If Derek’s calculations are correct, we were the fifth best Canadian team. If that’s right we’ll be back on Team Canada next year as the top five teams get to represent their country. We were on Team Canada last year but didn’t do so well so we didn’t make it this year. If we do make it back on onto the team next year we’ve got to pull up our socks. Two bad years in a row is not cool, especially if you are as serious as Derek and I are about our tournament fishing.

As I wrap up this Tales from the Road, things will really start to get busy for me now. We’ve got three new boats in that all need to be rigged: a 19-foot Ranger aluminum multi-species that we are putting the new Mercury 175 V6 four stroke on; we’re waiting on a new Mercury 250 Pro XS V8 four stroke to go on a 21-foot Ranger and we’re also waiting for a Mercury 300 Pro XS for a 22-foot Ranger fibreglass bass boat. Next week I’m off to the Bay of Quinte to fish with the folks from Mystik and some Canadian Tire prize winners for walleye and pike. After that I’ve got a pretty full schedule of tournaments, shooting next year’s episodes of the Real Fishing Show and doing some work with Ontario Tourism. It looks like the summer will be non-stop traveling for me – but I wouldn’t want it any other way! ?

Summer 2018 – Real Fishing 63

What’s COOKING Panna Cotta Terrine With Cherry Dirt & Coolie Special thanks to Ryan Lamothe, Chef at Wild2Table Catering, for providing this recipe.

CHERRY DIRT 10 oz. fresh cherries

Squeeze the fresh cherries until all the juice is out. Place in a dehydrator set on low or place on a sheet pan in the oven at 100°F to completely dry the cherries. Once completely dry, place in a blender or coffee grinder and blend until very finely ground.

CHERRY CENTER AND CHERRY COOLIE:

PANNA COTTA:

Note: you will need one 2”x 8” terrine mold sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

Note: you will need two 2”x 8” terrine molds sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

16 oz.

4 cups 6 cups 2 oz.

1 litre 1 cup 1 6

1 1 lime

3

fresh cherries brown sugar water Chambord Liquor cinnamon stick squeezed and zested into a medium sized sauce pot gelatin leaves (place in a bowl and cover in cold water until gelatin leaves are soft as jelly)

Place all the ingredients, except the soft gelatin, into a medium sauce pan on the stove and bring to a simmer. Reduce for 10 minutes.

To make the cherry center in the panna cotta, strain half of the liquid into a mixing bowl.

Add the gelatin, stir and pour into one of the terrine molds. Set in the fridge until solid.

Take the cherry gelatin out of the terrine and cut in half length-wise and

64 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

again width-wise, giving you four equal pieces.

Place rectangles in the freezer until frozen.

For the cherry coolie, put the remaining half of the cherry sauce back on the stove and reduce until you reach a syrup consistency. Strain and set in the fridge to cool.

Serve cold.

Preheat oven to 375°F and bake for 30-minutes or until golden brown.

mixture and stir.

Add one cup of cream mixture to each mold. Put in the fridge until solid.

Place two frozen Add 2 cups of cream, 1 cup of sugar and half cherry sauce of the vanilla bean to a rectangles on top of the cream mixture in sauce pot and set on each mold, the stove. Bring to a length-wise. Put back simmer. in the fridge.

While the liquid Repeat the comes to a simmer, simmering process place three gelatin leaves completely into with the rest of the cream, sugar, vanilla water until the leaves and gelatin leaves. are soft like jelly. Add Once simmered, gelatin to cream 35% cream sugar vanilla bean gelatin leaves

take off the heat and stir constantly to cool (about 10-minutes).

Pour the second cream mixture into the terrine molds over the cherry gelatin and place in the freezer to cool, but do not freeze.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

To serve, take terrines out of molds and cut in half to get four portions. Sprinkle cherry dirt on a dessert dish, lay one terrine on top and serve.

Brin nging him in took six hours h .

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LILY PAD AMBUSH - LARGEMOUTH BASS

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66 Real Fishing – Summer 2018

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