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.

My destination: the middle of nowhere, just the way I like it

I’m just heading out the door for the airport. This afternoon I fly up to Fort McMurray, Alberta, where I’ll catch a floatplane in the morning for Lake Athabasca. My destination is Spring Bay Lodge, run by Lakers Unlimited. The plan is catch my personal record pike (over 45 inches) and lake trout (more than 37 pounds). And to make things even more interesting, I’m bringing my nine-weight fly rod. I even took a crash course in fly tying to bring up my own streamers; thanks go to my associate editor Scott Gardner for the great lessons (and tying materials). Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting back up to the North and into some giant fish — for an entire week, no less. And please stay tuned: I hope to have satellite access, which will allow me to blog and post photos.

Bigger than Patty! Trudell and his marlin

Work those guns! Baker and his mahi mahi

Steaks all around! Baker and his tuna

It looks like it’ll be a while before I get to tease my neighbours and good fishing buddies, Jon Baker and Pat Trudell, about catching wimpy little fish. In fact, they now have me beat for personal best big fish. Last week while the rest of us honest hard-working souls were busy making the world turn, these two guys were down in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. They took a one-day break from the beach and rum-based drinks to hit the water, and what a day they had, landing a yellow-fin tuna, a mahi mahi and a blue marlin. And now, just to rub it in, they’re making me post their brag photos on my blog. Where’s the justice? Payback will come one day, boys.

Do you fish for Atlantic salmon? If so, the Atlantic Salmon Federation wants to learn your thoughts on catch-and-release angling for wild Atlantics. The ASF is currently conducting a survey on the practice for anglers in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and P.E.I.

The survey, which can be completed or downloaded from a special ASF Web site, includes questions such as:

• Do you think the practice of live release angling is an important contribution by anglers towards conservation of wild Atlantic salmon?
• Do you voluntarily release salmon and grilse that the law allows you to retain?
• Are you confident that you are able to release angled fish safely to maximize their survival?
• Would you be more inclined to purchase a live release license if it were to be offered at a lower cost than a regular license?
• Barbless hooks are easier to remove from angled fish and they do less damage to young salmon (parr and smolt) that might inadvertently be caught. Should they be required in all provinces?
• Should non-resident (out of province and out of country) anglers be restricted to live release fishing?

Responses can be anonymous, but if a name and address is included, the respondent will be placed in a draw for a $375 limited-editon print—”Restigouche Evening”—by renowned New Brunswick artist although Bruno Bobak. The survey must be completed by April 15 to qualify for the draw.

Cool fish: My first ever wahoo

Silver beauty: Jimmy Jack and a wahoo

This past Thursday, I joined my wife and three kids on a five-day getaway to Barbados (we head back to Canada today). The deal was she would write about the island’s offering for kids (Jackie works for Today’s Parent magazine), while I would cover off the fishing end of things.

One big problem (for me): Saturday and Sunday were the opening days of the Barbados Game Fishing Association International fishing tournament, and that meant most of this small island nation’s charters had already been seconded to the competition. In turn, that meant there were few available boats to take me fishing

The solution? Thanks to the BGFA’s president, Frank Armstrong, I was invited to join Brave Heart, a boat from St. Lucia that was short on crew. And so I ended up fishing the weekend with boat owner Jimmy Jack, a Scotsman (hence the name of the vessel), and his captain, Griffith David from St. Lucia, where Jimmy keeps his boat. In all, we logged some 19 hours on the water together.

At any rate, our two days out on the roiling Atlantic made for quite a tale, and one you’ll have to read about in an upcoming issue of Outdoor Canada. In the meantime, special thanks also must go to Maria Bovell, marketing executive with the Barbados Tourism Authority, for teeing me up with Frank Armstrong at the BGFA.

And, of course, thanks go to my new fishing buddies, Jimmy and Griffith, not to mention Frank Armstrong. You guys are top drawer. (And Frank, special congrats also go out to you and your associates for the BGFA’s 50th anniversary.

If anyone’s looking for a now slightly experienced crew member for next year, you know where to find me. Jimmy, you get first dibs.

Honoured: Bob Izumi is the public face of Izumi Outdoors

The folks at Izumi Outdoors Inc., along with Normark Canada’s retired head honcho, Roger Cannon, were honoured this morning at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show during the annual general meeting of the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association.

Bob and Wayne Izumi and their crew at Izumi Outdoors, along with Cannon, were this year’s recipients of the CSIA’s Chairman’s Awards for their contributions to the Canadian angling scene. Cannon, who spent 33 years putting Rapalas into the nation’s tackleboxes, is a champion of sportfishing in Canada and continues to serve on the CSIA board.

Izumi Outdoors, meanwhile, produces TV’s Real Fishing Show starring angling icon Bob Izumi, as well as Real Fishing magazine. The company is also the driving force behind the Fish For Ever Foundation, which raises funds for fisheries conservation projects in Ontario, and the popular Kids, Cops & Canadian Tire Fishing Days, a grassroots program designed to get children interested in fishing. Congratulations, folks! Well deserved.

Also during this morning’s AGM, Shimano Canada executive Phil Morlock brought CSIA members up to speed on the controversial plans in the U.S. to potentially ban  sportfishing in so-called Marine Protected Areas—giant swathes of ocean and inland waters—under the guise of conservation. Morlock wrote about the issue in the Fishing 2010 edition of Outdoor Canada; he was also interviewed about it on ESPN (click here for that story).

Finally at this morning’s meeting, the slate of directors for the next year was formally approved. Set to serve one more year in their current two-year terms are:

• Kim Rhodes (President), Lucky Strike Baitworks, Manufacturer
• Tom Brooke (Chair), Shimano Canada, Manufacturer
• Steve Dorey (Vice-President), Maurice Sporting Goods, Distributor
• Ray Sriubiskis (Sect/Treasurer), Cnd National Sportsmen’s Shows, Media
• Roger Cannon, Normark Inc Manufacturer
• Cam Thomson, Pure Fishing Canada Ltd., Manufacturer
• Shawn Glowka, KTL Canada Ltd Distributor
• Nelson Murakami, Natural Sports, Retailer
• Jim Estabrooks, Fishing World, Retailer
• Mark Harrison, Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., Retailer
• David Johnson, The Fishin’ Hole, Retailer
• Jim Gourlay, Eastern Woods & Waters, Media
• Mark Stiffel, Brecks International Inc., Manufacturer
• Brent McCallum, Redl Sports, Distributor
• Salim Sachedina, Canadian-Sportfishing, Media
• Steve Sherman, Shimano Canada, Manufacturer

Not the giant: one of my little fellas

A young 'un: Ted with a smaller Tobin northern

Tobin tubby: Kyle with the big fish of the trip

I’m sitting here in the Saskatoon airport, sun-burned and tired, but with fresh fishing stories to tell. We’re about to board, and I know I’ll be way too tired to post another blog once I’m back in Ontario, so here are the photo highlights. To be honest, the fishing was a tad slow for Tobin Lake (up north at Nipawin, Saskatchewan), but we had a great three days running-and-gunning. Kyle Grona got the big fish, a 21-pounder (pictured here), plus the second biggest (16 pounds) and the third (15 pounds), all proof positive as to why Tobin is renowned for producing massive northerns. I guess Kyle had the hot tip-ups! My old fishing buddy Ted Cawkwell and I followed up with the smaller guys, including three eaters (under the 27-inch slot). In all, we landed 15 fish and put up almost as many flags that didn’t produce. I swear I got the monster of the trip, but got stumped (literally) when my fish wrapped around a chunk of timber and broke off. Okay, looks like we’re about to board. Enjoy the snaps!

Hall of Famers: (left to right) John Kerr, Reno Viola, Dave Mercer, Bruce Park and Angelo Viola

The first day of the Spring Fishing and Boat Show got off to a busy start before the gates even opened yesterday morning. Many of the who’s who from the fishing community were on hand at the annual industry breakfast to honour the latest inductees into the Canadian Angler Hall of Fame.

This year’s inductees include:

• John Kerr, conservationist, outdoorsman, Toronto Sun outdoors columnist and editor of Ontario Out of Doors magazine.
• Bruce Park, southern Ontario pro angler, fishing charter owner and founding president of Muskies Canada.
• Angelo and Reno Viola, founders of Barklays Outdoor Store, and the founding hosts of the Fish ’n Canada TV show and radio’s The Outdoor Journal show.

As well, the 2010 Rick Amsbury Award of Excellence was presented to Facts of Fishing host Dave Mercer for his work in launching the Casting for a Cure, a non-profit group raising money for cancer research.

Congrats to all.

To anyone heading down to the show this weekend (on through Monday), don’t forget to drop by the Outdoor Canada booth to check out our Rapala prize pack giveaway. Fishing Editor Gord Pyzer will also be on hand to sign autographs and hand out some valuable fishing wisdom.

The only thing I can think of that would beat going fishing this weekend is taking a trip to the International Centre out on Airport Road in Mississauga for the third annual Spring Fishing & Boat Show. Actually, the best scenario for this weekend would be to go fishing and go to the show.

Yeah, I’m banging our own drum a tad here—Outdoor Canada has a booth at the show, and our very own Fishing Editor, Gord Pyzer, is hosting the Master Angler seminar series. And let’s not forget the $50 Outdoor Canada Show Bucks, handed out hourly to lucky visitors. But seriously, if you’re into fishing, boats and some smokin’ deals, you can’t miss this show.

I was talking to show organizer Andy Pallotta this morning, and he was even more excited than he usually is. “It’s going to blow your mind,” he promised, described the various bells and whistles he has in place to great the public. Click here for a sneak preview.

And when you do go to the show, be sure to stop by the Outdoor Canada booth. Gord Pyzer himself will be on hand at appointed times on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday to provide one-on-one angling advice and sign autographs.

Plus, we have a great contest going: if you subscribe to the magazine (or renew your subscription) at the show, your name will go into a draw to win one of four Rapala rod, reel and tackle kits. Each kit will include a Rapala TS2 fishing rod, Rapala Volt fishing reel. Sufix Fuse fishing line and an assortment of Rapala, Storm, TriggerX, Terminator, BlueFox and Luhr-Jensen lures. Many thanks to our good friends at Rapala Canada/Normark for providing these great prizes.

Watch this space for reports from the show over the course of the weekend. I hope to see you down there.