Scott and Frankie got permission slips again this year and we headed over to Southern Ontario for our annual smallie trip this past Monday. We were concerned about how it would turn out this year, as Canada has experienced the same drought conditions most of the mid U.S. states have seen. The timing turned out to be as close to perfect as could be. They had gotten rain for about the last week and a half prior to our arrival, so the water levels were manageable.
We did our usual Monday float and it was OUTSTANDING. We caught several fish near the bridge where we put in. Then it became apparent the topwater bite was on due to a light wind and overcast skies. This 19" fish sucked in a FPOC (modified Gurgler) and didn't want to come to the boat...what a fight!
All three of us caught 18"+ fish that day. It was truly amazing. Here's a 20" brute that ran up and down the pool three times before finding my net.
Tuesday we ventured to another river known for bigger fish and less numbers. Well, Scott caught a hog of a fish - 17 1/2", but right at 4 pounds on the Boga.
Me, I was the Mayor of Dinkville. Didn't catch many, and none over 13". But, it was a great float and I saw 3 beaver. It kind of reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry talks about coming out even. I counted it up to having caught such good fish the day before...a reality check was in order.
Wednesday was ________ (pick your favorite adjective for a truly awesome day). We fished the same river as Monday, but a different stretch immediately upstream. It was a longer float and we rowed out in the dark, but it's just so hard to leave when you're catching all kinds of fish. At one point I came to a spot and sat for over an hour. While fishing the FPOC the fishcount went over 30 (before losing count) from that same spot (ranging from 10 to 17 inches). My best guess is that it was well over 40 fish in the same hole...an experience I've never had while fishing smallies. Upon leaving I rowed over to the spot to see what kind of structure would attract so many biting fish. There was nothing unique. It looked exactly like the rest of the river. Hmmm. If someone told you the number of fish we all caught that day, you wouldn't believe it. Needless to say, there were a lot of photo ops:
Thursday we fished the same stretch as Monday. Here' the crew getting ready to unload -
The water level had dropped 5 to 6 inches since Monday and pushed most of the fish downstream or into a couple of the deeper holes. The wind also blew about 25 mph all day. We drug our boats through a lot of low water. We came to the last major hole and took turns fishing it. 10 casts or a fish and it was the next guy's turn. Frankie caught a 17 1/2" smallie. I caught a 19 incher, and Scott caught this healthy fish:
We then drug our gear up the tortuous hill and into the trailer
, then headed for a burger and a beer.
I've decided that more fishing trips are needed, as I lost 9 pounds this week. It's also great to have good friends who share the same passion. I've been truly blessed.
Thanks for reading along.
Fred
Topic: Ontario 2012 (Read 3798 times)