St-Francis Jigger

The Lancaster pike tournament version 2009 has come and gone. As usual, Mother Nature provided us with some of her infamous Victoria Day weekend wrath. Saturday started off fairly nice with reasonable temps and a calm Easterly wind. However, the day quickly deteriorated and the rain (a load of it) came falling from the sky in a heavy torrent for hour upon hour. On two separate occasions throughout the day, my fishing partner Pat and I were forced to seek shelter as thunderstorms hovered ominously overhead. I can certainly handle the rain, the wind, the cold temperature and freezing fingers. However, when it comes to lightning in a 16′ aluminum boat out on lake St. Francis you quickly become aware of how very, very small you are in the grand scheme of things. If you are anything like me you realize those are times when even the best of fishing is not worth being fried like a piece of chicken over. Our escape from possible electrocution landed us in a lovely spot called King’s Marina located in the St. Regis Canal. Seeing as they didn’t sell coffee, we decided to order a poutine. We figured it would make it less obvious that we were only there for shelter. Aside from being a little bit shell-shocked to see the two of us there on a day when most wouldn’t even consider going outside to get the paper, these folks were great. When Pat tried to use his new Interac Microchip card to pay for his poutine the machine wouldn’t accept it. I suppose this is what the bank means by enhanced security features. The card is so safe, you can’t even use it! So there we were, completely soaked, and unable to pay for food. Trouble is, Pat’s poutine was already cooked and served up. In what I think was a grand gesture, King, the man who owns the joint and sits behind the cash register offered to front Pat the poutine. That didn’t really work for us as we had no plans to be back there for quite a while so King was ready to give Pat the poutine free of charge. “You’ve gotta eat” he said sternly. Seeing as Pat felt quite uncomfortable with this entire situation I paid for his poutine with my credit card. No microchip in that one! That’s what I call hospitality. King was kind enough to offer the food free of charge to help out a couple nutcases crazy enough to be fishing in that weather. For this reason, King is now in my good books. Props to you King!

As for the fishing part of our little adventure, we started out the morning of day 1 targeting shallow water. We did quite well doing so the week before. Well, this time the fish weren’t exactly what I would call responsive. In fact, we caught nothing but snags in spots we did quite well pre-fishing the week before. So we reluctantly headed for the deeper water. I say reluctantly because if you know me well it’s a bit of a dirty secret that I am no expert jig fisherman. In fact, I tend to avoid jigs whenever possible. I’m not sure why, I’ve just never been able to master the fine art of jigging. I’ve seen people have 40-50 fish days fishing jigs exclusively so I know they work. It’s just a personal phobia I guess you’d call it.

At this point it was about 10am and we had yet to catch a pike so I started working a pattern that drew some follows. Essentially, we had one guy throwing jigs in the deep pockets around Islands while the other focused on the shallow eddies beside them with spoons, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. On one Island in particular we managed to get  a number of pike to follow lures right up to the boat but they simply did not want to commit to striking the bait. I knew there were quite a few pike on this particular flat in the eddy I was working so I kept at it until whammo! I was finally able to say “fish on”! At first I thought it was a hammer-handle but then she decided to head straight for deep water and I immediately knew this fish had some weight to it. The fish sure was putting my new 7′ Medium Heavy Quantum PT Tour Edition and the Abu Garcia Ambassador baitcaster to the test. I have to admit the outfit handled the large musky really nicely. She made two or three really strong runs and had me running around the lenght of the boat a few times but I was able to keep the fight relatively short, which is something I really endorse when it comes to large muskies. I had her out of the water for about 15 seconds which is just enough time for a picture.  Before you could say see you later she was back in the lake with a giant swish of her tail leaving me soaking wet and shaking with adrenaline. Luckily the hook was set perfectly right in the corner of the mouth making the release very smooth. Unfortunately, other than a few more follows and this decent walleye caught on a 1/2 oz jig tipped with a Berkley 7″ Powerworm , that was the highlight of day 1.

When I woke up at 5:30 the next morning I actually strongly considered staying in bed. It was 4ºC and  the wind was howling from the Northwest. Pat and I launched the boat near Glengarry Park, where the lake is at its widest. We wanted to hit some of our spots on the big water early on before the wind picked up too much. That idea only ended up costing us an hour. It was a bad decision. We were forced to turn around and head back in to go launch somewhere else where we were more protected from the waves. Speaking of which, we were looking at 4 foot or better waves in some parts of the lake that day. We put the boat in the water near Summerstown, which sits in a portion of the river that is littered with islands thus providing a bit of cover and shelter. Although it still didn’t make handling my 16′ boat in 50 km/h wind any easier at least we were out of mortal danger. Ok, maybe not mortal danger but at the very least major discomfort. It wasn’t possible to fish the big lake with my boat that day.

It didn’t take long for us to realize this is the type of day you normally stay in. It was freezing, extremely windy (gusts up to 70 km/h) and very difficult to control the boat. Any fisherman will tell you that you can’t catch fish without at least a minimum of boat control. With the aid of a drift sock, a trolling motor and an anchor I was at least able to work some areas well enough to catch a few pike. Trouble is, they were all small enough to be used as bait. So at the end of the day we once again reluctantly (although eagerly in a way because we could certainly use warmth) headed back in. I filleted a small walleye Pat caught on a 4″ grub, had a beer, and we were off to the Raisin River Marina where the weigh-in station and prize tent were. The tournament was won with a pike weighing in at 11lbs 4oz. This had Pat and I a little discouraged seeing as we had a 14 pounder in the boat the weekend before. That’s just how the dice roll sometimes though. I had time to discuss with other fishermen and most faced the same weather-related problems we did. Those who did well had 19 foot bass boats with large engines and stronger trolling motors. Those boats are heavier, lie lower in the water and are easier to control than a 16 foot aluminum that acts like a sail on the water in the wind. Some of the guys who usually do quite well also came up short and the winning fish wasn’t near the 18 pounder caught last year. The larger fish in the system were tough for everyone to catch that day.

In all events, at the end of the day when meeting up with the other folks who braved the condidtions and made the best of it Pat and I realized that despite it all, we had an absolute blast. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. We didn’t win the tournament, a door prize, or even weigh in a fish for that matter.. But we sure did have an adventure we aren’t about to forget and a story to share. I’ve heard somewhere not too long ago that the very point of fishing is to create stories to share with friends and loved ones. That night, over a beer and a bonfire at a friend’s house, Pat and I told the story of the big musky, our new friend King, the crashing waves, the blistering cold and howling winds. We were satisfied and we were ready for more.

Until next time, stay outside! Jigger.

I’m pleased to announce I’m back in business and ready for another fun and fish-filled season out on the big lake. It’s been a long winter and a busy spring in terms of getting setup for this season but we are now officially underway. Pike season has been open for 3 weeks and perch and walleye are also there for the catching as of this past Saturday.
I would like to thank the guys over at Bridgeview Marine in Delta BC for their great service and Mike Prieur over at Mac’s Marina in Lancaster who did a fantastic job getting my boat ready for the water in a very short time. Over the winter months I purchased a 2008 75HP 2-stroke Optimax with 250ish hrs use from Bridgeview Marine and I must say I was quite impressed with the service Barry and Tim offered over the internet and over the phone. I was a little wary of ordering an engine from so far away but the price was quite reasonable and they had precisely what I wanted for this boat. I have now installed the engine on the new Rebel and it is running beautifully. The result is a very responsive setup with tons of fishability and much more speed and control than I had with the 50HP on it. The Optimax is also really quiet. So far, so good!

Although I absolutely love the boat, I still need to make a few changes. For example, I will be switching to a 24 Volt system for the bow-mount trolling motor for added power and battery life. I will also add a Lowrance X15 unit with downloadable maps and GPS to the boat. I am tired of paper maps and hand-help GPS units. Although that system does work perfectly well, it has run its course and I like the idea of having the GPS, sonar and map on the same unit. It is time to focus solely on fishing. I also don’t have the rod storage of a 19 foot boat and I need to figure something out. I’m thinking it will have something to do with Velcro straps. I’m just not sure where I’m going to set them up yet. I am a far cry from my old Sea Nymph and trust me, I’m going to really enjoy getting used to fishing from this boat.
Speaking of which,
Pat and I were like two kids going out on their grandfather’s boat for the first time Friday night. After the maiden voyage and a few high fives we grabbed two rods and eagerly headed out to one of my favourite spring pike haunts. I picked up 3 or 4 half ounce jigs, a small variety of large trailers, a one ounce five of diamonds spoon, some spinnerbaits, a Zara Spook and headed out. The lake was beautiful and calm on that sunny evening after the rain subsided. The only other boats we saw were Laframboise checking his nets and a few guys looking for pike (presumably) tight in on shore near Greg Quay. This is why I love getting out there early in the season. You have the lake virtually to yourself.
As we approached our honey hole, I started throwing and swimming a large jig with a 5″ flat tail minnow imitating plastic trailer while Pat covered water faster alternating between spinnerbaits, lipless rattle crankbaits and spoons. On my fifth or sixth cast I saw a large shadow following my jig to the boat. I let it drop to the bottom and swam it up 5 feet fairly quickly. The fish inhaled the bait but bit short and I wasn’t able to obtain a solid hook set. You know, with a name like Jigger you’d think I actually were a good jig fisherman. I did get a good look at him though. It was definitely in the 10 pound range and it looked like a musky because I could see the vertical stripes on it reflecting in the sunset light. He came up really close to the surface causing a giant swirl and then disappeared back into the dark, murky waters. I was disappointed in my inability to hook the fish but was encouraged for two reasons: my bait was drawing interest and there were large fish hunting in the area.
After a fiery start, a few more follows from smaller fish, long minutes went buy and just as I was thinking about trying another spot Pat tells me he’s snagged on bottom. Or so he thought. When I heard him say “wait a minute this is a fish” and subsequently saw his rod pump in long and powerful sequences I knew he had a nice fish on. I reeled in, paddled towards his fish a little (didn’t have the battery connected to the trolling motor yet) and watched him battle the fish. My first look at its shoulders almost made my knees buckle. After a few minutes of incredible runs, testing out the drag on Pat’s PT Tour Edition, and even a jump we had her in the boat. She registered 14lbs on the Normark scale. The fish was perfectly hooked in the corner of the mouth. After a few pictures and no longer than about 30 seconds out of the water she was off in a hurry soaking Pat with a cold 50°F shower. Not bad for a year’s first!

Although the weekend looked really promising, this was unfortunately the only real highlight. We headed out the next morning and the fishing was brutal. A cold front had moved in, bringing constant rain and dead calm waters. I managed to catch and release a nice smallmouth (although we were looking for pike) and that was it. We ended up wet, cold and frustrated so we headed in after only about 2hrs on the water. On Sunday when I woke up the thermometer registered in at a whopping 6°C and it was rainy and windy. I reluctantly opted for a warm cup of coffee, a blanket and fishing shows instead of the real thing. It’s unfortunate because this weekend was also the walleye and perch opener and last weekend was warm enough to water ski. But hey, what can you do about weather except complain right? I supposed all I can hope for now is for this week to go by quickly, better weather for the Lancaster pike tournament next weekend, and hopefully another fish anywhere near this size.

Until next time, have a good time on the water and stay outside! Jigger.

Oh, and send me your pics of fish caught in the area. I love to see what others are catching.

Perch and Walleye opening season is a month away. I for one can’t wait…

In the meantime, please take the time to sign the OFAH’s petition to end the waste of tax payer funds that is the long gun registry. Sign petition here.

Jigger.

Hunting was a little slower this year, and my two-year buck streak has come to an end. A few of the regular guys in my group weren’t able to make it out and the weather was less than ideal. When using the technique of “pushing (or dogging) bushes”, (which simply put is using half of the group to walk through the bush in order to “push” the deer towards the other half waiting in ambush) you have to eliminate the distance between the “pushers” or the deer easily find their way between them back to safety. And believe me they are very good at sliding between pushers very quietly. In addition to this numbers problem the temperature actually increased as the week went on and by the final day we were in T-shirts and working up a sweat. Ideal conditions are as cold as possible yet we were looking at 17-20 degrees Celsius by mid-day for the better part of the week. Not only is this non-conducive to enticing deer movement because it pushes the rut back a few weeks, but it’s very uncomfortable for the type of hunting we do which involves walking through many Kilometres of thick bush. I was told by some of the local, more experienced hunters in the area that deer were moving almost exclusively come night-fall, and when it comes to deer hunting, at least the hunting I’m accustomed to, the animal needs to come to you. I can tell you that I noticed much fewer tracks, scrapes and other fresh signs than I’m used to seeing. What the reason is seems to be a combination of us being to few hunters in the group, bad weather conditions during the hunting week and a considerable winter kill of deer during the particularly difficult winter conditions of 07-08. There were fewer tags available this year which leads one to speculate that the ice cover and heavy snowfall last year took their toll on the deer populations of Southern Ontario. Keep in mind that I am merely relating what I’ve been hearing locally. I am by no means a deer expert. Factual reasons for the lower harvest of deer in WMU 65 this year may be entirely different. Despite all of this, as does every hunt, this one had its fair share of memorable moments and time well spent.

Take for example day 3 of the week. It started off promisingly enough with Pat and I seeing a monster buck standing in an empty field about 100 yards from us as we turned a corner. As luck would have it both of us weren’t quite ready and never got in a position to shoot before he took off. It sure had us pumped though. However after only two pushes and a few very small deer pushed most of the guys had to leave for the day and morale was getting low. The two of us who had the rest of the day to ourselves decided to stick around and find spots to sit in for the afternoon hoping deer would move in close enough for a shot. I chose a fence-line location between the open field in which I had seen the buck earlier that day and a thick bush composed of a mixture of hardwood and cedar in the higher grounds and a lower swampy area. My buddy Ray decided to head uphill into the open hardwood where he could see well into the bush. As I sat there peacefully juggling thoughts I started to hear ruffling leaves inside the edge of the bush but I couldn’t see what was there. If any of you reading this have hunted before you know this puts you on your toes in a hurry. I slowly grabbed my shotgun and stared towards where the sound emanated from ready to fire. But much to my surprise a wild turkey hen came out into the meadow followed by about 5 or 6 more birds. I sat there without moving wishing I had my camera on me for the next 30 minutes or so. The birds had no idea I was there. One of them kept creeping in closer and closer to where I was sitting until I could clearly see the purple glow in its neck feathers. They really are beautiful birds. I had never seen one that close up and have only seen them on a few sparse occasions in my lifetime. I felt truly privileged to be able to savour a rare moment with such an elusive bird. As I mentioned, I unfortunately didn’t have my camera on me that day, (and I probably would have scared it off trying to get a picture anyway) but I took this shot of the turkeys crossing the field the next morning. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the MNR have truly done some great work in the restoration of Southern Ontario populations of this once almost eradicated native bird. If you are interested in reading more about the ongoing history of this success story this link would be a good place to start; Wild Turkey Management Plan for Ontario

I sat there mesmorized by the sight of a wild turkey roughly 20 feet from me when I was brought back to reality by a group of hunters who started pushing the bush two lots down from where we were towards the west. They barked and yelped and whistled as they made there way south through the dense growth of small Birch. The turkeys took off in a hurry back to the safety of their cedary home and I turned 180 degrees to face the direction of the commotion hoping that deer would get pushed to my location. I waited about two minutes and heard a single gun shot up the hill where Ray was. He then let me know on the radio that he had a deer down. I found out later that Ray had fallen fast asleep sitting against the base of a large tree and that three small bucks running by had awakened him. He had no idea about the other hunters, the noise, the whistling until I mentionned it well after his deer was down because he was, well, passed out. We got a pretty good chuckle out of it. The small buck was far from a monster but after three empty handed days we were both happy to at least have one deer down.

A few days later I managed to get this decent doe (see picture at the top) as she ran away from pushers on a different property. There were more deer in there at the time but they turned back on the pushers and evaded capture as they often do when there are to few hunters in the group.

That was about the best the week had to offer deer-wise this year and that’s just fine by me. Although a big buck would have been nice I certainlly fully appreciated the time off work, scenery, fresh air and time to think. Sometimes it’s nice to realize that fishing and hunting is really all about spending time in the outdoors and getting to know yourself and those around you in a different light. For me spending time outside offers us a sort of primal return to our origins and the opportunity to discover our local environment up close. It’s also tons of fun and always an adventure. As I’ve said upon returning home from many an empty handed fishing day, it sure beats staying in and watching fishing shows. I’ll leave you with a view from a treestand I had on the last sunset of the week.

Until next time, stay outside. Jigger.