On the Water Online

Angler Young Angler International Championship Adopts CR&R Format

gordpyzer — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:29:19 +0000

This past weekend (Aug.14th) I had the opportunity once again to participate in the LUND Angler Young Angler (AYA) International Walleye Championships on Lake of the Woods and it was an eye opener to say the least.

In the event, the winning teams (comprised of an adult angler and two young anglers under 17 years old) from the 28 Regional Qualifying Tournaments from across North America gather in Kenora, Ontario and fish in the Championship. Because of the size of Lake of the Woods and the fact this is a one day, winner-take-all-championship, the regional winners are paired with ”local pros” who run the boats and guide the teams, but otherwise do not fish.

The smiles tell you everything you need to know. The 28 winning teams from the 2010 LUND AYA Regional tournaments, held across North America, take to the stage under the Harbourfront Tent in Kenora, Ontario.

For the first time ever, the AYA Championship was run on a Catch, Record and Release (CR&R) format and it proved to be amazing in terms of fish care, fish survivability, angler interest, spectator appeal and tournament organization.

Indeed, I have fished American Bass Association (ABA) events, BASSMASTER tournaments and multiple tournaments/circuits across North America on the standard format where the fish are placed in the boat’s livewell and eventually weighed in at the end of the day.

The C R & R format, on the other hand, was designed by the AIM Professional Walleye Circuit in the United States, which is comparable to the Bassmaster and FLW series on the bass side of things. As soon as a fish is caught, it is measured using an exact, tournament-provided, metal, bumper-board-scale, a digital photo is taken of the fish on the tape so the length is clearly visible and a second photo is taken of the angler holding the fish before it is immediately released. The measurements are then recorded on a score card, not unlike a golf pro recording the number of strokes on a hole. The measurements are then initialed by the angler(s) and in this case the guide. The entire process takes less than 60 seconds to complete.

By the way, at the rules meeting the evening prior to the event, each team submitted a blank SD card from their digital camera which was formatted by the LUND tournament officials and returned to the team. The first photo of the day was then taken on the docks prior to take off so that all of the photos of the fish thereafter corresponded with the fish on the scorecard and were clearly caught and released that day.

I cannot say enough about the benefits of this format and how well the system works. It is simply amazing. It is like comparing the 21st Century to the Stone Age.

At the end of the day, instead of bagging up highly stressed fish and carrying them to a weigh in scale, the score card and SD card are handed over to the tournament officials who then use a standard formula to convert the measurements to weight (pounds and ounces). It is so efficient and so effective! And lest any one think this is complicated, remember, these were often kids doing this and they had no trouble whatsoever. Indeed, the teenagers were often better at it than the adult anglers! :<)

There are simply no drawbacks to the system and yet so many positive benefits.

First of all, things like slot limits, minimum and maximum size limits, one-over-size limits, and special bag limits are totally eliminated from the equation. Because all of the fish are immediately released, at the end of the day, the teams simply tick off the 6 biggest fish they want to “weigh in” and the “weigh master” converts the measurements.

Let me give you a good example of the benefits.

On Lake of the Woods, the best “big walleye” sections of the lake from a tournament perspective are 15 to 30 miles away from Kenora. Last year, between 100 and 300 or so large walleye (from 4 to 10 pounds) were caught in these sections of the lake, placed in livewells, culled over other sections of the lake over the course of the day and then transported all the way back to Kenora where they were then bagged, weighed in and released.

As LUND’s Ryan Sproule, who was in charge of organizing the event told me, because of the time of year, water temperature, depth of water in which the fish were caught and distance travelled in very rough weather, many, likely most, of the fish died after being release. Even many of the pro guides and tournament anglers were “concerned” that so many big fish were being moved so many miles away from the prime lake areas and not surviving.

This year, however, teams were able to weigh in their best 6 big walleye, and because all of the fish were immediately released, there was no worry about the “one-over-18-inch rule”. This meant, as the AIM professional tournament circuit in the United States has shown repeatedly, and remember these are the top pros in the business , that events can be held on almost any water across North America despite the lake specific regulations.

Indeed, I have spoken with many of the top professional walleye anglers … people like Gary Parsons (the winningest professional angler in walleye tournament history) and John Butts, the only Canadian walleye angler ever to win a Professional Walleye Trail tournament and to a person they will tell you they love the C R & R format. Having seen it in action, I can understand why.

So what are the draw backs?

Ever since the tournament I have been wracking my brain, talking to the organizers, guides and anglers alike and quite frankly I can’t find a single one!

With the C R & R format, there is no need for large numbers of volunteers to handle fish at the weigh in site. There is no need for fish holding tanks, no requirement for expensive on-site water and oxygen systems, no need for fish to be trucked or boated back to specific parts of the lake, no anglers arguing with tournament officials as to whether a fish is dead, alive or stressed and no long waiting lines of 100 - 150 teams of anglers waiting 2 or more hours to weigh in their fish. Everything just goes so fast, so slick, so efficiently and so effectively that it is silly.

Indeed, the only thing I worried about a little before I saw how efficiently the weigh in procedure ran, was whether or not a tournament would offer the same “spectator appeal”. It not only does, it actually improves it! I kid you not.

First, because the weigh in doesn’t go one forever, with fish being dumped into weigh in tubs and the like, spectators don’t drift away and leave. It is like a one hour concert. At the LUND AYA event, the Top 10 teams were notified in advance and assembled behind the weigh in tent. The Top 10 teams were then randomly assigned to a LUND boat and brought into the tent. Our team was lucky enough to have 30.1 pounds (we didn’t know it at the time) for our best 6 walleye and we were assigned to be the second last team to weigh in. (We finished 3rd by the way).

Jason Gauthier, the best professional tournament Emcee in the business had the crowd up on its feet cheering and hollering as each boat was brought in with the appropriate music blaring in the background. Next year, the LUND folks are anticipating using the Kenora Arena, having a live band and blackening out the arena as the boats and anglers are paraded into the building amidst a laser light show and fog machine.

The only thing different between the C R & R format and the standard weigh in process is that there are no fish to handle and worry about. Instead, life size photos from the day’s catch are displayed on a background screen / jumbotron as the anglers go up on stage. Then the team that is leading and currently sitting in the “hot seat” stands up, while the Emcee hypes up the crowd just as he does at an actual weigh in. He heightens the drama and the weight is announced and flashed across the screen and the crowd either cheers wildly as a new leader takes over the “hot seat” or groans if they fail to overtake the current leaders. The hype and excitement is identical to an actual weigh in.

BUT …. the fish are all alive, all swimming in the lake on the same points, bars and shoals where they were originally caught. There are no dead fish penalties to be assessed, no teams of anglers upset with a weigh master who “read the scales too quickly or too slowly”. No complaints that the scales ”weighed our fish too lightly”. No irate cottage or property owners screaming that, “the fish that was living under my dock was caught by that tournament angler and moved 30 miles” and no Natural Resource Agencies worrying about the fact that bass or walleye were caught in 20, 30, or 40 feet of water, brought to the surface, placed in oxygen deprived water that is 20 degrees warmer and then moved an any number of miles away from their critical spawning and or summer habitat. And, inordinate numbers of fish are not being stockpiled around release sites, unable to find their “way home”.

Quite frankly, this is one of the very few opportunities I have ever seen where, from the tournament organizers’ perspective, anglers’ viewpoint, spectators’ perspective and Natural Resource agency’s point of view that everyone wins.

Thanks to the AIM tournament folks who first developed the CR&R format and the LUND folks who have demonstrated both at LUNDMANIA and the AYA International Championship, comparing the old style live fish weigh in system to the innovative C R & R format, is like comparing a 1960s performance by the Rolling Stones in black and white on the old Ed Sullivan Show to a Rolling Stones Concert today at the Air Canada Centre.

There simply IS no comparison.

Quite simply, the AIM and LUND folks have brought tournament angling into the 21st Century with the CR&R format and opened up an array of exciting new possibilities.

If I was a tournament organizer I’d embrace the benefits of the C R & R format fully, given how efficient, effective, time and labour saving it is. And if I was a tournament angler I’d demand its use given how perfectly it works. Heck, you can go back to a spot on Day 2 and Day 3 of a tournament and reasonably expect to catch a big fish again if you handled it properly the first time you caught, photographed and released it!

The Jensen family from Timmins, Ontario (Emily, Mark and Tara) along with LUND Pro Guide, Behn Gustafson (left) and LUND AYA Special Events Coordinator, Ryan Sproule (right), pose proudly with the second place LUND AYA Championship prize, an all expense paid trip for four to Miminiska Lodge on the Albany River. The first place winners won an all expense trip to Disney World, including a fishing excursion on one of the Disney World lakes.

Roughing It In Velvet - At La Reserve Beauchene

gordpyzer — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:34:18 +0000

If a picture is worth 1000 words, this one is worth 2000!

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am going to be short on words today and long on pictures. I have just returned from another fantastic trip to paradise, or as they prefer to call it in Quebec, La Réserve Beauchêne and the pictures speak for themselves.

Beauchêne is the stunning 50,000-acre paradise lying immediately east of the town of Témiscaming, Quebec on the upper Ottawa River about 50 kilometres east of North Bay, Ontario. This makes it one of the most accessible trophy fishing locations on earth. I mean you can literally drive to the front door of the resort, yet it offers remote, fly-in, wilderness quality fishing.

As I mentioned, the accomodations at La Reserve Beauchene are not too shabby. This is truly, roughing it in velvet

But lest you think you’re going to be roughing it, let me assure you that is not the case. The accommodations are nothing short of plush, the five star meals are as good as anything you’ll get at a fancy restaurant in Toronto, Montreal, New York or Los Angeles and the fishing is out-of-this world.

Indeed, it is always trophy time at La Réserve Beauchêne with walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, speckled trout, lake trout and splake sharing the marquee in the 36 lakes that make up the carefully managed private preserve.

I was at Beauchêne researching some upcoming magazine features on trout fishing. Putting into practice some of the things I’ve learned from world-renowned fly fisherman, John Horsey, who captained the 2008 Gold Medal winning Team England at the World Fly Fishing Championships in Scotland.

A beautiful Beauchene brookie caught on an English style "buzzer"

Outdoor Canada Editor, Patrick Walsh and I had the good fortune to meet John earlier in the year when, by pure coincidence and good luck, we were all fishing guests at Wolf Lake Lodge in the Yukon. As anglers are accustomed to doing, we immediately became the best of friends.

As a matter of fact, John was so helpful and engaging. He showed Patrick and me several “insider” techniques – like the Czech nymph technique and Loch style fishing with “buzzers” … that helped him and his English team mates win the coveted World Championships. I’ll be sharing those hitherto secret methods with readers in upcoming editions of Outdoor Canada Magazine. And just let me say, based on my experience at La Réserve Beauchêne last week, Canadian trout enjoy the presentations every bit as much as their European and British cousins.

Indeed, the proof of the pudding is in the pictures.

Just another day in paradise! Contact La Reserve Beauchene (888) 627-3865 www.beauchene.com

Livin’ On The Edge - Shark Fishing Off Halifax With Captain Art Gaetan

gordpyzer — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:51:25 +0000

Art and Aaron with an "average size" blue shark

Now tell me, honestly, how do you ever get excited again about catching 5 and 6 pound walleye, 3 and 4 pound smallmouth bass, even 20 and 30 pound northern pike, muskies, lake trout and salmon after you battle a 12-foot long, 279-pound blue shark for 1 1/2 hours and then hand land it by grabbing the leader inches from its gigantic tooth-filled mouth and pulling it through the back door of the boat in a wild, crazy, frothy mass of Atlantic ocean sea water?

It is all enough to blow your mind. But that is exactly what Outdoor Canada Managing Editor, Aaron Kylie and I did on Wednesday and Thursday this week when we fished with Captain Art Gaetan. Art operates Blue Shark Charters www.bluesharkcharters.com out of Halifax, Nova Scotia and for an outdoor writer like myself, he creates a terrible dilemma. I mean, the last thing I am suppose to be is at a lost for words, but Art left me speechless.

The fishing is that good!

If you don’t believe me, consider this. Since July 1st, Art and his clients have landed more sharks than the entire charter fleet operating off the eastern coast of the United States. Aaron and I landed 17 giants on Thursday alone, and we would have caught many more had our behemoth blue not tied us up for 1 1/2 hours! I mean, this is crazy fishing for giant fish!

After 1 1/2 hours our big blue shark is about ready to come into the boat with us

And it gives an entire new meaning to the term, toothy critters!

Part of the reason for the phenomenal fishing is that few anglers know how good the shark fishing is off the coast of Nova Scotia … so Art and his clients have it all to themselves to enjoy. We never saw another boat the entire time we were fishing. It just may be the last virgin saltwater sport fishery left on earth.

Indeed, the Maritime provinces of Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland) are much better known for their blue fin tuna, cod, haddock, mackerel and a whole host of other species, but the reality is this is also the best place on earth to catch monster sharks. Partially because the Gulf Stream is right next door, blowing up a vast steady stream of warm, tropical water. When we were fishing this week, the water temperature off the coast was 72 F.

Another reason for the phenomenal fishing is that it is 100-percent catch, tag and release. Not a single shark is injured or killed. Indeed, Art works closely with the senior staff at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Halifax, so after he hand lands every shark (the bigger brutes are pulled in through the back door) they are measured, carefully tagged and the data is recorded. So, not only is a day with Art Gaetan the fishing adventure of a lifetime, you’re actually collecting valuable scientific information that is helping to conserve one of the most remarkable animals on the face of the planet. Talk about a win-win-win.

Art ... are you really going to bring that thing in the boat?

Then, there is Art himself. The man is a veritable store house of shark knowledge. I sincerely doubt there is anyone more experienced or well-informed. The fish are his passion and I am sure he’d throw anyone overboard if they intentionally injured one of his big babies. Indeed, after setting out two lines baited with a cocktail comprised of a hunk of herring and half a squid, a holey bucket of frozen ground bait fish (chum) is tied to the boat and allowed to milk out its elixir into the pristine blue salt water. Then the retired Canadian Navy sonar specialist, who worked on NATO missions all over the world, including the Bosnia crisis, (get him to tell you about the time his Canadian destroyer detected it had been “locked onto” by an enemy missle), cuts up herring and squid that he carefully ladles overboard. Eventually, an narrow oily chum trail is laid out over the ocean surface leading directly downstream to the boat.

“A shark can detect a single drop of blood in an Olympic-size swimming pool,” Art tells Aaron and me as our chum pot works its magic. “Eventually a shark will smell the slick and follow the trail. Sometimes they’ll swim away from the boat, but I’ve watched them turn right around when they realize they’re going in the wrong direction and then follow it to the boat.”

At 12-feet long it is the biggest fish Aaron and I have ever caught

Of course, with the chum pot oozing out its fishy fragrance and Art tossing chunks of bait overboard, black-back gulls, Shearwaters and ”Jesus birds”, so named because they seemingly walk on water, are attracted to the boat. Art calls them all “my friends”, for good reason. They help him detect the sharks.

Indeed, while we’re watching our giant floats trailing behind the boat, Art says, “There is a big fish around the furthest orange float.” He knows it because the birds appear agitated and lift off the water in unison squawking at whatever is cruising just under the surface.

“There it is,” Art says, pointing a finger right beside the boat. And Aaron and I look over just in time to see a huge blue shark open its mouth and crush the chum bucket. It is a scene right out Jaws!

Grandma, what big teeth you have!

But the fish is incredibly beautiful. And it is electric blue.

Art grabs the 12 weight fly rod, pitches it over the side of the boat and the shark swirls around to eat it. But it is cautious and only bumps the hook with its nose. It does the same again, two or three more times, so Art grabs a small piece of herring and adds it to the hook. Over the side it goes and the big blue devours it. My gawd, does it get any more visible or any more exciting than this?

Well, yes, it does, and that is the story Aaron is going to tell you about in the March edition of Outdoor Canada Magazine when he reveals the full story of our trip with Art.

Ummm, Art, do you count your fingers when you go home at night?

In the meantime, just let me say, if you have never caught a big fish before, give Art a call and you will not be disappointed. I can say that because when my arms started to ache at about the 20 minute mark into the fight with our big behemoth blue, I passed the rod over to Aaron so I could grab my camera and start shooting photos. I honestly thought I’d passed the rod to Aaron at about the half way point in the battle. But I was wrong. Aaron proceeded to fight the big toothy leviathan for over another hour. He started wearing his raincoat and bibbed pants, stripped to his sweatshirt and by the time the fish was almost ready to come in, he was down to a soaking wet undershirt and he was yelling for me to take the rod again because his arms were locking up and he could no longer turn the handle on the reel.

Folks, it just does not get any better than this. Which spoils you for everything else. I mean, really, have you ever heard of a man-eating walleye?

The scenery back on shore is not too shabby either. This shot was taken from the bedroom window.

Angler Young Angler International Championship

gordpyzer — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:45:32 +0000

Brett Eberts (left) and Braeden Welcher (right) were two great young men and great anglers

If you’ve lost faith in today’s youngsters, you’d have regained it in spades if you had attended the Angler Young Angler (AYA) International Championship held this past weekend (Friday and Saturday) in Kenora, Ontario on the shores of world renown Lake of the Woods. It was simply fantastic.

The Angler & Young Angler Walleye series began in 1998 when Andrew Klopak, President of LUND boats wanted to fish a competitive style tournament with his young son but couldn’t find an event that catered to adult and young anglers. Everything was geared to the highly competitive pro style of fishing. So, Klopak created his own tournament series with the objective being to introduce and educate young anglers to competitive sport fishing in a fun-filled environment surrounded by family and friends. Klopak also wanted to create memories that would last a lifetime and believe me, on that score, he has been wildly successful.

From its humble beginnings in 1998, the AYA movement has grown by leaps and bounds, while other tournament series have struggled or failed. AYA events are now being held across North America and this weekend the 26 regional champions from across the United States and Canada gathered in Kenora for the 2009 National Championship on Lake of the Woods. The first place prize included an exclusive fly-in fishing trip to Miminiska Lodge on the Albany River in Northwestern Ontario, as well as a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

The LUND Pro Staff/Guides included many of the best walleye anglers in North America including PWT winner, Perry Good

Each regional championship team in the tournament consisted of a adult angler and two young anglers, 17 years old and under. Many of the kids were 5, 6, 7 years old but believe me, age meant nothing. These kids are keen and, man, can they ever fish.

For safety reasons and logistics, all of the teams were paired with a local Lake of the Woods LUND Pro staff guide, who drove the team in his boat to the various fishing locations and assisted the regional winners out on the water. But the pros didn’t fish. In-Fisherman television was also on the scene and filmed the entire weekend of festivities for future broadcast to a world-wide audience in the tens of millions.

Do you think the kids were excited?

Team Travers Dam, Alberta waves to the crowd on shore as each of the 26 Regional winning teams files past the docks just prior to take off

I was privileged to be asked to present a short orientation seminar at the banquet and rules meeting on Friday night and to be paired up with Team Travers Dam from Alberta, which consisted of adult angler Brian Eberts, his young son Brett Eberts and Brett’s good buddy Braeden Welcher. Man, talk about nice people. Despite thunderstorm after thunderstorm rolling through the area on Saturday, and almost constant rain, there was absolutely nothing that was going to dampen the spirits of these anglers. Brian and the boys were flying sky high, on Cloud 9, from start to finish, and despite the fact they looked like drowned rats at the end of the day, their smiles stretched from one ear to the other.

For good reason, too. We hit the walleyes big time.

Primarily using Lindy Max Gap and X-Change jigs and live bait, (we caught a couple of fish pulling spinner rigs as well), we stung a bunch of big ‘eyes. A lot of experienced anglers have never caught 5, 6 and 7-pound plus walleyes but these kids were nailing them like pros. As well as a bunch of really nice 2, 3 and 4 pound fish. By 11:00 o’clock in the morning we had a fantastic three (3) fish limit of big ‘eyes swimming in the livewell. And here is the best part, Brian, Brett and Braeden each caught one of the big fish. You couldn’t have scripted it any better!

Then, Braedon set the hooks into a near 30-inch giant that in a few more weeks time, after it fattens up, would easily weigh close to 10-pounds. And he did it on cue, as the camera boat was filming us. It was the fish of a lifetime and it was also time to start culling. Imagine, the boy’s excitement as we “balance beamed” 5 and 6-pound walleyes to see which ones stayed and which ones were let go. Heck, I’ve been doing this sort of thing all of my life and I was as pumped. Every time one of the boys hauled in a big fish we hugged each other, exchanged high-5s and pounded fists. Talk about an adrenaline rush!

Then, before we knew it, it was time to head back to Kenora to weigh-in our fish. I figured our 3 biggest walleyes weighed 17-pounds but Brian thought they weighed closer to 20-pounds. I secretly hope he was right. We’d know soon enough.

Jason Gauthier interviews the boys at the banquet and rules meeting on Friday evening

Andrew Klopak was the weigh master and while all the teams waited in their boats outside the giant Harbourfront tent and stage, Andrew inspected the livewells, mentally calculated the weights in each boat and arranged for each team to come up on stage amongst the glare of television cameras and the flashes of cameras from family, friends and the press in a manner that heightened the drama.

You think the Bassmaster Classic is glitzy? It doesn’t compare to the excitement at the AYA International Championship weigh-in. And none of the tournament emcees you watch on television can hold a candle to Jason Gauthier. Let me tell you, this guy rocks! Jason had the crowd roaring, up on its feet cheering wildly as each team walked onto the stage. He, literally, brought down the house.

Jason …. you are the man, brother.

The smiles tell the story. An AYA official inspects our fish to ensure they're alive and well before we head up onto the stage

Because we had a “pretty good” weight we were held back toward the end of the weigh in process. But then the time came. The announcement was made for Team Travers Dam, Alberta to “bag up your fish and bring them up onto the stage”. To say that Brian, Brett and Braeden were wound up tighter than coiled springs is an understatement. I know, because my knees were shaking too.

Up on stage, in front of the crowd, we passed our bag of fish to Andrew. Braeden’s 30-inch giant walleye was so big it wouldn’t fit inside the basket! Team Dryden Ontario was sitting in the hot-seat as the current leader and we needed 17.6pounds to take over the lead. Andrew put our fish onto the scales, waited for the needle to settle, hit the “lock” button and up flashed 18-pounds 8-ounces. With only two teams left to weigh in we were the new leaders and Brian and the boys took the honoured hot seat at the front of the stage.

Unfortunately, our excitement didn’t last as long as we’d have liked, as Team South Dakota weighed in a marvellous limit that was 8-ounces heavier than ours. Ouch! Then Team Green Lake, Wisconsin, the final team to hit the scales weighed in a prize winning 19-pounds 15-ounces. We came close, finishing third and missing the top spot by a mere 23-ounces. Had Braeden’s 30-inch (7-pound 7-ounce) monster weighed anywhere close to what a 30-inch walleye would normally weigh, the boys from Alberta would be on their way to Disney World.

With only 2 teams left to weigh in, Brian, Brett and Braeden take the "hot seat"

Still, as I said at the end of my seminar on Friday evening, when you fish an event as special as the Angler Young Angler International Championship there are no losers. There are only winners.

And speaking of winners, I take off my hat to Andrew Klopak who had a special vision and saw it through to its wonderful conclusion. Take my word for it, the Angler Young Angler tournament concept is the hottest thing going and there is no question in my mind but that one day soon, we’re going to be seeing AYA teams from Europe, Asia and South America participating in the event. By the way, if you’re interested in fishing an AYA tournament next year, or organizing a tournament for your region or local area, here is the link to the AYA website www.angleryoungangler.ca/

I would also be totally remiss, if I didn’t give a big special thanks to AYA Coordinator, Michelle Trudeau, for inviting me to be a small part of the weekend events.

And finally to Brian, Brett and Braeden, let me say, boys, you’re very special. You can share a boat with me any day!

Algoma Country Magic

gordpyzer — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:25:41 +0000

Here is the attraction. Wild steelhead in all the rivers.

What a find. I am talking about The Voyageur’s Lodge and Cookhouse located on the TransCanada Highway, about an hour’s drive north of Sault Ste. Marie, on Batchawana Bay of Lake Superior. I was in the area (officially known as Algoma Country) last week scoping out the spectacular steelhead fishing in the many rivers flowing off the rugged Canadian Shield and into Lake Superior, between the Soo and Wawa. If you’re a trout angler and you haven’t fished the area, you simply do not know what you’re missing. It feels a lot like being in British Columbia or Alaska only it is a lot closer to home for most folks and a lot cheaper. I’ll tell you all about the fishing in upcoming editions of Outdoor Canada Magazine.

Right now, though, I’ve got to let you in on one of those rare hidden gems that you only find every once in a while and that you come to treasure. The Voyageur’s Lodge and Cookhouse is a combination motel (offering suites as well as rooms) and a dining room but with a big difference. The whole place caters to anglers and outdoor enthusiasts in a big way. I knew it the minute we pulled in the driveway and saw the sign - Rainbow Are Running, Snow Is Melting, Spring Is Here.

The sign says it all

Frank and Gail O’Connor run The Voyageur’s Lodge and bend over backwards to cater to your every need. And the Cookhouse dining room is to “die for” - featuring fresh caught local lake trout and whitefish from right across the road in Batchawana Bay. In a fancy fish joint in downtown Toronto, you’d expect to pay $25 - $30 for a tiny bite-size piece of trout or whitefish that has undoubtedly spent part of its latter life in a deep freeze somewhere. At the Cookhouse, on the other hand, I feasted on a plate with three huge, totally deboned, fresh trout portions that were “out-of-this world”. And get this: the price for the luncheon special was $7.95. When I got the bill at the end of the meal, I thought our server had made a mistake. I won’t dare tell you about the fresh pies and home made butter tarts.

But here is what tells you everything you need to know about the place and its owners. As most anglers, we were there to go steelhead fishing and we were up most mornings by 5:30 and did not back to our motel rooms until 10:00 PM or later in the evening. The dining room was closed and we were “dog-tired”.

But don’t worry, Gail told us. What we do for visiting anglers is put one of the daily evening dining room specials in the refrigerators in your room and then you can microwave it when you get back in the evening? Are you kidding me? We had fresh crispy Caesar salads awaiting us, home made soups, buns, bread, and entrees that were scrumptious. I am sure when the staff collected our plates the next morning when they cleaned our rooms they thought we had rinsed them clean. We hadn’t - we’d licked them spotless! I mean, this kind of service is like having your cake and eating it too. Ditto for the lunches. Gail and the restaurant staff made them up each day in advance and put them in our refrigerators the night before. So, we were ready to go first thing in the morning. Let me tell you, as an angler, it is small things like this that put the finishing touches on a great trip.

The Lodge (and Cookhouse) also lives up to its name - it is a total Voyageur theme throughout - with murals on the walls and authentic Hudson Bay artifacts hanging everywhere. Frank also told me that one of the fastest growing segments of his and Gail’s clientele is comprised of “adventure kayakers” who explore the incredibly beautiful and rugged north shore of Lake Superior in their boats. The resort even has an authentic 26-foot long, voyageur-style, birch bark canoe available

I wonder if you can troll from this thing?

for guided evening and twilight adventures out on Lake Superior. I am definitely going to come back and try that sometime, but with all the fabulous steelhead rivers and fishing available, I am guessing it is going to be quite a while yet!

If a friend ever discovered a place like The Voyageurs Lodge and Cookhouse and didn’t tell me about it I’d be sorely disappointed. That is why this friend is telling you to check it out at http://www.voyageurslodge.com/homepage.spml or The Voyageur’s Lodge and Cookhouse, P.O. Box 129, Hwy. 17 North Batchawana Bay, Ontario P0S 1A) Telephone (705) 882-2504 info@voyageurslodge.com

Even if you’re only traveling along the TransCanada and looking for a place to spend the night, trust me, this is it!

As I said, what a find!

Luck Be A Lady Tonight

gordpyzer — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:41:51 +0000

A few years ago I wrote a feature for Outdoor Canada Magazine and interviewed good friend Aaron Martens for the story. Aaron is a “Valley Boy” from Los Angeles, California and one of the top ranked bass anglers in the world. I’ve known him since he was a teenager, fished with him and watched him over the years win tournament after tournament and amass several millions of dollars in winnings. You simply can’t believe how good an angler he is. Awesome is the only word that comes to mind.

Interestingly, though, immediately after I interviewed Aaron for the Outdoor Canada story, he won second place in the BASSMASTER CLASSIC, the most prestigious fishing tournament in the world!

Now, I didn’t think too much about it at the time, but then a year or two later, I interviewed another bass pro friend, Kota Kiriyama, from Japan. I first met Kota at an ICAST convention in Las Vegas and we talked at length about all of the hot new finesse techniques that were coming out of Japan.

At the end of our discussion, I thought the topic would make an interesting feature one day in Outdoor Canada Magazine. So when I was given the go-ahead to write it, Kota was the first person I called. I subsequently won a National Communications Award for the story, but get this, Kota immediately went on to win the Bassmaster Elite event on Lake Erie using the very techniques he had explained so carefully to me for the benefit of Outdoor Canada readers.

This is becoming more than a coincidence I started thinking.

With an amazing two Bassmaster Classic crowns and four BASS Angler of the Year titles to his credit, Kevin Van Dam is currently in a league of his own.

Then, last year, I called another Bassmaster Elite friend, well known pro, Kevin Van Dam. I was working on another Outdoor Canada feature, this time focusing on Kevin’s amazing exploits. Super human feats that had propelled him to the number one position at the top of the BassFan World Rankings. In fact, I chatted with Kevin only two days before the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. He had sequestered himself at the time, at his brother-in-law’s house in North Carolina, where he could escape the media and crowds and practise in relative peace. He gave me an exclusive interview.

Well, guess what, four or five days after the interview, Kevin finished second in the BASSMASTER CLASSIC, just barely missing the win. In case you don’t know it, the Classic winner takes home a cool $500,000 but the spin-off benefits, in the form of endorsements and product sponsorships are enormous - reputedly worth millions more. Kevin, by the way, won the Bassmaster Classic in 2001 and 2005 and has four BASS Angler of the Year honours to his credit.

Hmmm, I wondered. There really is a trend here? Well, hit the fast forward button to two weeks ago.

I am currently working on a feature for the upcoming Summer Edition of Outdoor Canada Magazine on fishing with soft plastic frogs in heavy cover for giant largemouth bass. It is one of the most exciting forms of fishing - heart stopping really - and one of the best frog fishermen in the world is Brent Ehrler. I first met Brent a few years ago when I was working on another assignment and we fished together on Lake Guntersville in Alabama. (I know it is a dirty job but somebody has to do it!)

To make a long story short, Brent is one of the nicest, politest, most accomodating anglers you would ever want to meet and right off the bat we became friends. We’ve kept in touch ever since and I was thrilled when not long after we fished together, Brent won the FLW Championship and the first place half a million dollar prize that goes along with it.

Not a bad payday, eh?

It is easy to see why Brent Ehrler is one of the best top water anglers on the planet. He caught this beauty on a Lucky Craft Gunfish while we were fishing together on Lake Guntersville in Alabama.

Well, Brent is such a phenomenal top water angler, he was the first name that came to mind when I started working on the upcoming frog story for the Summer Edition. So I called him two weeks ago and set up an interview for the following Saturday. But on the Friday night, I received a urgently scrawled text message from him on his BlackBerry while he was sitting in his boat bobbing on Lake Havasu, Arizona. It read, “Gord, I just made the Top 10 cut for tomorrow’s Tour final. We’re going to have to postpone the interview.”

I laughed and hastily sent Brent a return message telling him not to worry about the interview. I also related the above three previous incidents with Aaron, Kota and Kevin. I went on to tell Brent he didn’t have a care in the world. The FLW Tour victory was in the bag. Well, imagine my surprise when I watched the final day weigh-in live on streaming video over the Internet. I just about fell over when Brent plopped down one of the biggest sacks of the tournament and jumped all the way into first place. He won the FLW Tour event and $96,000 in cash plus a $25,000 cash bonus from Ranger Boats.

Afterward, Brent sent me another text message ordering me to send him a e-note prior to every tournament he fishes in the future. I just might do it, but not before I go out and buy a 649 ticket for this weekend’s lottery!

Brent Ehrler grabs a frog rod rigged with a Stanley Ribbit from his rod locker. Be sure to read the upcoming 2009 Summer Edition of Outdoor Canada Magazine to learn Ehrler's secrets for fishing a frog.

Winter Walleye on Lake Winnipeg

gordpyzer — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:01:45 +0000

A 10-pound walleye is the perfect start to an ice fishing day

I was out on Lake Winnipeg this past week researching an ice fishing feature I am working on for the Winter 2010 edition of Outdoor Canada Magazine. I was also filming two walleye segments for the 2010 In-Fisherman Ice Guide television season. I had the good fortune to fish with friends Mike Schamber and Tom Van Leeuwen from Winnipeg and a new friend, Roger Sterns, who is the Vice President of the Walleye Anglers Association of Manitoba (WAAM) fishing club. No one knows where, when or how to catch walleye on the big lake better than Roger. And what a super nice guy!

We were caught in a snowstorm out on the lake on Thursday but with reliable Lowrance GPS units in our 4×4 trucks there was no worry about getting back to shore safely. Even in the dark.

Mike and Roger fishing in white out conditions

Speaking of the weather, we needed extensions on our ice augers to get through the almost 5-feet of ice that has built up this winter. Even then we barely hit water. And get this, we probably drilled 100 or more holes in several different locations each of the days that we fished. Talk about running and gunning on the ice!

Mike's auger is almost as tall as he is

We drove our 1/2 ton 4×4s everywhere on the lake and got stuck two or three times every day and had to pull each other out of snow drifts with tow ropes.

Then, Thursday night coming off the lake in the darkness, we were following our GPS trail in our trucks and discovered that a huge ice ridge about a mile or so offshore that we had crossed the day before, had moved on us and had opened up 50 feet or so of wide open steaming water.

We wended our way along the side of the ridge in our trucks looking for a place to cross and get back to shore. We finally found a spot to get over the ridge, but it was hairy to say the least, with a sheer drop down of at least 3 to 4 feet from one side of the ice ridge to the bottom. But we made it over unscathed and none the worst for wear.

As always it was an adventure!

The first fish of Day 1 was an 11-pound walleye that Mike caught even before we had the television camera set up to record. We caught a couple of others in the 10-pound plus class and lots of 23 - 27 inch fish ranging between 4 and 7 pounds. In fact, I’d say the average walleye was between 21- and 24-inches.

Mike's 11-pound walleye was big fish of the trip

We caught the fish on spoons (Lindy Rattling Flyer Spoon, Northland Buckshot Rattle Spoon, HT Hawger Spoon and William’s Ice Spoon) baited with salted emerald shiners, Rapala Jigging Shads, Puppet Minnows and Storm Walleye Jigging Minnows. We also caught some fish on Northland Whistler jigs, Lindy X-Change Jigs and HT Hawger 2000 Laser jigs.

I was using Rapala Ice rods fitted with 2000 series Shimano Stradic reels loaded with 8- and 10-pound test Fireline to which I’d attached a 2- to 3 foot long 8-pound test Maxima fluorocarbon leader.

Roger also showed me a trick I’d never before seen. He drilled two holes side by side and set a deadstick rod baited with an HT Hawger Laser 2000 jig and a salted minnow across a pail. In the neighbouring hole he ripped a large, noisy, LIVETARGET Golden Shiner lipless crankbait. This is the same kind of lure you’d use in open water for bass, pike and lake trout.

Roger with one of his pet LIVETarget Golden Shiner lures

Roger ripped the lure aggressively and I was amazed how many walleye he coaxed to chase the bait. About 20-percent of the time, the walleye clobbered the aggressive presentation. The other 80-percent of the time, the fish chased the rattling bait and then swung over and nailed the shiner under the deadstick rod. It was a deadly presentation and one I’ve never before seen practised for walleye.

All in all, it was a marvellous three days of catching and releasing trophy size walleye with good friends, on perhaps the finest winter walleye lake in the world.