Canadian Open champ: Derek Strub

A big shout out to my friend Derek Strub-the Elora, Ontario, angler won the Canadian Open of Fishing yesterday on Lake Ontario. Strub hauled in 60.75 pounds of bass over three days to claim top bragging rights and the main prize of $40,000 in cash. While he’s placed in the top 10 before at the prestigious catch-and-release event, this is the first time he’s owned the podium. Bravo, buddy. It’s well deserved.

Second place and $15,000 in cash went to Sault St. Marie’s Rob Laframboise, who bagged 56.60 pounds of bass, while Chris Johnston of Peterborough came third with 53.65 pounds, earning $7,500. As for the co-angler/non-boater division, Stuart Naylor’s 57.8 pounds of fish earned him a $20,000 boat, motor and trailer package. Remarkably, it was his first-ever fishing tournament.  Darren Izumi followed in second with 52.15 pounds, while Dave Miller came third with 51.75 pounds. Payouts were made down to 20th spot in both the Pro and Co-Angler divisions.

Held out of Kingston, Ontario, the three-day tournament raised $22,000 for Soldier On, an organization dedicated to helping injured Canadian soldiers and their families. Colourful hockey commentator Don Cherry did the honours, handing over the cheque to Warrant Officer Andrew McLean.

The Canadian Open of Fishing is run by the Competitive Sport Fishing League.

A Canadian lure maker is making a big splash this week down in Las Vegas at the 53rd annual International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, or ICAST, the world’s biggest trade show for all things angling. St Catharines, Ontario-based Koppers Fishing and Tackle Corporation has just received the New Product Showcase Award for best soft lure with its new LIVETARGET Hollow Body Frog (pictured here).

Rounding out the roster of award recipients were the usual suspects, including industry giants Rapala, Pure Fishing, Shimano, Frabill and Minn Kota. Upstart French lure maker Sébile also made it once again to the winners’ circle. In all, 14 companies took top honours in the annual Best of Show competition, selected from 210 different manufacturers exhibiting some 750 new products.

The overall star of the show, though, is undoubtedly G.Loomis with its NRX series of rods, earning the both the Best of Show distinction and the most innovative product in the freshwater rod category.

Outdoor Canada Fishing Editor Gord Pyzer is currently at ICAST surveying the myriad new offerings to find the top gear suited for Canadian anglers. His roundup will appear in the magazine’s 30th anniversary Fishing annual, to be published in January 2011.

Here is the complete list of the 2010 ICAST New Product Showcase Award winners:

• Overall Best of Show - G.Loomis - NRX
• Apparel - Frabill, Inc. - FXE Stormsuit
• Combo - Ardent/Lamiglas - C400/XC704 Fishouflage Bass
• Electronics - Lowrance-Navico - Lowrance Elite-5 DSI
• Eyewear - Maui Jim Sunglasses - Guy Harvey Collection
• Fishing Accessory - Adventure Products, Inc. - EGO S2 Slider Landing Net
• Giftware - Boating Expressions, Inc. - Fishfenders
• Kids Tackle - Pure Fishing - Pflueger-Spinning Combo-Apprentice
• Line - Rapala - Sufix 832 Advanced Superline
• Soft Lure - Koppers Fishing & Tackle Corporation - Live Target Hollow Body Frog
• Hard Lure - Shimano American Corporation - Waxwing Sub-Surface Swimming Jig
• Marine - Minn Kota-Johnson Outdoors, Inc. - Talon-Shallow Water Anchor
• Freshwater Reel - Shimano American Corporation - Stella FE
• Saltwater Reel - Shimano American Corporation - Trinidad A
• Freshwater Rod - G.Loomis - NRX
• Saltwater Rod - Shimano American Corporation - Terez
• Tackle Management - HYI, Inc. - Openwater Tackle Backpack
• Terminal Tackle - Sébile Innovative Fishing - Soft Weight System

Fish on! A quick reminder to everyone across the land that National Fishing Week kicks off this Saturday, running through to July 11. Coinciding with this great Canada-wide celebration of angling are family fishing weekends in every province and territory, complete with special events and other incentives to encourage folks to try their hand at wetting a line.

In Ontario, for example, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has more than 120 locations across the province for anglers to borrow rods, reels and lure through its TackleShare program. Several provinces are also offering licence-free fishing days.

If you know of people interested in taking up the sport, National Fishing Week is the time to get them out on the water-especially if they’re youngsters. The event is coordinated by the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association.

The people have spoken. Well, 802 Atlantic salmon anglers have, at least. And the word is this: catch-and-release works. According to the results of the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s recent live-release survey, an overwhelming 94.6 per cent of respondents said live release is important to Atlantic salmon conservation. Not only that, 94 per cent also said they believe they’re able to safely release fish to ensure their chances of survival.

Included in the survey, conducted this past April, was an opportunity for respondents to add their comments about catch-and-release. Here is one of the more poignant replies, a sentiment shared by many of the respondents:

“Anglers cast their flies out into the river anticipating a strike. The adrenaline rush is the strike and the sound of your reel singing in the wind, while the salmon leaps out of the water. Why kill something that gave you so much joy? This same fish just may be the salmon that gives another angler this same rush, and that angler just may be your child or grandchild.”

For the complete survey results and additional comments, go to the ASF Web site.

Ladies and gentlemen...Elvis has left the building: Ted (right) and Mr. Presley with our boat's last decent fish of the day

Today began overcast, much chillier and with 20-knot winds, which pretty much directed the plan for the day since a trip down to the Collin River, the Sneak Hole or the sand flats for lakers would have been bumpy at best. And so it was we fished Maurice Bay near camp, once again, for big northerns.

Not that we minded. In fact, we probably would have hit Maurice anyway, since it held out the best chance of topping our big fish for the trip. I almost did just that, too, early on in the day, when I tagged a beauty on a #5 blaze Muskie Marabou. I swear it was my 45-incher, but then again, I’m the only guy in the boat who saw it, so let’s make it a 50-incher.

Seriously, here’s the straight skinny on the trip’s big fish. Between Ted and I, we caught 30 pike longer than 40 inches (one 41-incher each on our fly rods, no less) and 27 lake trout topping 20 pounds. I’m not sure where else you can fish like such a king, but I do know this: I’m now completely spoiled when it comes to angling for numbers of big lakers and pike. It’s a good thing there’s no smallies here…

Well, it’s time to sign off and dig into our last big meal of the trip: ribs. So, now would be a good time to say a big thanks to all the folks here at Lakers Unlimited’s Spring Bay camp. Cheers all!

My fish is bigger than your...oops! One of our several double-headers

Nice pike: Ted with one of today's many 40-inch-plus fish

As I write this, I’m sitting on the deck at Lakers Unlimited’s Spring Bay Lodge with owner Jeff Perela, the guides and the five other guests, comparing notes on the day. All three boats, two anglers each, spent the bulk of today chasing northerns on Maurice Bay, just out front of the lodge. In the few days since our arrival on Saturday, the weed growth has exploded — and remarkably fast. Where before there were barren sand patches, there are now ever-expanding weedbeds, and they’re total pike magnets. We pretty sure, in fact, that the northerns are streaming in from outside the bay, attracted by the quickly growing, oxygen-rich environment. That’s one reason we spent the day on Maurice. The other reason is that Maurice is where Dave Drobny and Dwight Hottle caught the big pike in camp yesterday.

In the end, Ted and I caught some 14 or so 40-inch-plus northerns, plus an embarrassing number of teenagers. Honestly, we once again stopped counting, but based on a rough calculation, we easily brought in 90 fish between us. Still, we haven’t succeeded in our quest to catch a 30-pounder (and my personal goal of a somewhat more modest 45-incher). Nor have we managed to catch Hottle and Drobny. In fact, they pulled out even further in the lead today, when Drobny hammered home his personal best, a 29-pounder. Good going guys. But look out tomorrow — our last day.

As for playing poker again with those two sharks…

Trophy on the fly: Ted and Bryan (right) with Ted's 41-incher

Big pike in camp (so far): Dwight Hottle and his 27-pounder

Runner up: Dave Drobny and his 23-pound northern

Another morning of sunny, blue bird skies meant one thing: more pike on the fly. This time, we boated straight to a honey hole scouted out yesterday by Lakers Unlimited owner Jeff Perela and his two anglers, Americans Dave Drobny and Dwight Hottle. Their information was sound: Bryan put Ted and I on no end of northerns, which we were able to sight-fish in the shallows. I’ve never bonefished before, but it sure looked like the fishing-the-flats videos I’ve seen on TV. It was just awesome being able to cast to giant shadows and watching them turn and pursue our flies. In the end, we stopped counting after roughly 15 fish apiece, all caught with an hour. Best of all, Ted and I both brought trophy 41-inchers to the boat. Sweet.

Meanwhile, the fishing gods thanked Dave and Dwight, both of whom are Athabasca veterans, for sharing their hot spot with us. Dwight boated the big pike of the week so far, a 27-pound beast stretching the tape to 46.5 inches, while Dave notched up a 23-pounder. Well done, gents.

Tomorrow, if the weather holds, we’ll hit the pike again on the fly at the same spot — you just can’t pass up the opportunity to fish such a fly fisherman’s paradise.

Pike on the fly: One of my 20 northerns

Surprise catch: One of Ted's two eight-pound walleye

Guide pride: Me, Bryan and one of my 23-pound lakers

Today here at Lakers Unlimited started with clear skies and a hot sun. And so went the day, punctuated with frenetic interludes of high winds and driving wind. That’s Athabasca, they say. First off, we booted down to Collin River to hit northerns on the fly — my second time ever to throw thread, fur and tinsel at pike. Unlike my earlier hike to the skinny water near camp, however, this time the pike were, well, big (see photos). We didn’t hit anything over 40 inches, but I sure gave my new Sage nine-weight a good workout. And get this: I’m still on the first bunny leech I tied up back in Toronto.

Aside from my personal satisfaction of catching such awesome, wild fish on the fly (some 20 beauties each for Ted and me) the coolest thing of the morning’s session happened when we switched up to tin to troll back out of the river, just for fun. That’s when Ted nailed two eight-pound walleye — on a #4 Len Thompson Yellow & Red, no less. Now, we knew walleye inhabited the lake, and I’m pretty sure I’d seen some earlier up near the mouth of Collin, but it was still surprising when Ted caught the eight-pounders. Surprising because we had beat that same water pretty hard the previous day and all that morning, without tagging one walleye. Plus, it was high noon under clear skies — not exactly prime time for ‘eyes.

After pulling into the main lake and parking off for lunch (just sandwiches, so far; we haven’t wanted to take the time to stop and cook up shorelunch), we hit the lakers again thanks to Bryan’s wicked guiding. Ted kicked my butt, pulling in 13 fish, six of them over 20 pounds, on his hot pink T-60. I pulled up the rear with 9 lakers, two of which weighed 23 pounds. And from that tally, we recorded three double-headers, along with one triple after Ted released his first fish and picked up his spinning rod to drop down a big Bondi bait. Not bad for four hours of fishing. Too fun.

Fish on fire: One of our double-header moments

Today's big pike: Looks like I need to shave!

Day three here at Lakers Unlimited’s Spring Bay Lodge on Lake Athabasca did not disappoint. We hit the pike hard this morning for about three and half hours, putting five over 40 inches in the boat out of 60-plus fish in total. It was crazy good. I’m still waiting for my 45-inch plus monster, though. For lunch we booted out to the main lake and floated around eating sandwiches, then it was on to the lake trout: five over 20 pounds, plus another dozen or so in the teens, made it to the boat. And out of those, Ted and I scored three double-headers.

That’s a lot of quality fish, especially if you consider we had to cut things short when an ominous electrical storm rolled in. I say ominous because I started getting shocks in the boat, four in all from touching rods, the gunwale and Ted’s shoulder. Ted and Bryan thought I as BS-ing them until the tip of a rod started crackling like static on an AM radio. With thunder rumbling in the distance, that’s all the warning the three of us needed to hunker down in the bottom of the boat and book it back to camp.

Well, I have to cut this short, as the solar power here at camp is in short supply. Until tomorrow…

Lunker laker: My biggest trout of the trip so far

Leading pike: Ted and Bryan hoist Ted's 44-incher

"Night" fishing: Catching pike on the fly

I’m too tired to blog at any length, but I have to post just enough to tease my good fishing buddies and neighbours, Pat and Jon. Well, boys, yesterday here on northern Saskatchewan’s Lake Athabasca, my fishing partner, Ted Cawkwell, and I boated 13 lake trout topping 20 pounds (along with several teenagers). I got the big fish of the day, a 21.5-pound lunker. This was all pure bonus, since we had started out the day aiming to catch pike, which we also did: some 60 fish in all, the biggest of which were approaching 40 inches. But the weather cleared up nicely, so we took the opportunity to hit the big water on the main lake for a chance at the trout.

It’s a good thing we did go after the lakers yesterday, because today the forecast was for high winds, so we had to stick relatively close to camp. In the end, we caught no lake trout, but we did boat 12 big pike; Ted brought in the biggest one, a 44-incher we had spotted and nicknamed “Big Blue” due to the bluish tinge on its big shoulders. As for me, I lost what may well have been my goal for pike fishing-a 45-inch-plus bruiser-when my 30-pound braid snapped loudly above the leader. There must have been a nick. No mind: we still have five more days of fishing ahead of us.

As for tonight, we’re taking it easy here at camp (last night, we hiked several kilometres to a shallow river mouth to fly fish for hammer handles-my first-ever pike on the fly, eight in all, caught on the bunny leeches I’d tied up myself, no less). Before I sign-off for today, big thanks go to Bryan Parker, our kick-ass guide here at Lakers Unlimited, for his superb boatmanship, fish handling skills and good sense of humour. Hell, he even pinched off a pee midstream to unhook one of our many pike double-headers. Now’s that guiding.