Who needs a boat when you can just fish off of your third story balcony! Check it out below!
This Is What Happens When You Fish For Snook On A 3rd Floor Balcony!
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The majority of visitors to Northwestern Ontario’s Sunset Country come up to enjoy the great fishing the area offers. There are literally tens of thousands of lakes and hundreds of resorts and lodges visitors can choose from. Whether you are fishing a larger lake or a small remote fly-in lake you’ll want to enjoy a traditional Canadian shore lunch. After a successful morning of fishing, take a break for one of the tastiest delicacies found anywhere, fresh walleye for shore lunch. Ask anyone who’s been to Canada fishing, nothing can beat heading out on one of our beautiful lakes, catching some nice fresh walleyes and eating on the shores of a clear, Canadian lake.
A few years ago I was invited to a shore lunch with a couple of groups of fishermen during a fly-in fishing trip to Guardian Eagle Resort north of Sioux Lookout. We pulled up to a rocky shoreline where the other parties had already started to prep the lunch. It was a spot that the guides frequented a lot and there was everything there that we needed from the grates to cut wood to picnic tables. Three guides whipped up a delicious meal on the shores of De Lesseps Lake. The guides made the traditional deep fried walleye, but one of the guests added his own recipe to one batch of walleye. I’m sad to admit that I can’t remember the guest’s recipe. It was so good, and healthy too! I’m pretty sure he broiled the fish in tinfoil with butter, onions and spices (maybe seasoning salt?). It was a fantastic addition to our meal.
When the fish goes straight from the lake into the deep fryer or frying pan, there is almost an exhilaration among the lucky anglers who are about to sit down for the feast. In Northwestern Ontario, guided fishing packages often include a walleye shore lunch. Your guide will fillet the fish into nice sized portions and immerse it in a secret batter. Then it goes straight into the hot oil or into a pan above an open fire on the rocky shoreline. Shore lunch is a true part of the Canadian fishing experience and in addition to fresh walleye, pike, lake trout and black crappies can also be cooked up and eaten. Any of these fish, fresh out of the water are DELICIOUS!! When you take that first bite it will be like you died and went to heaven.
If you are headed out on the lake without a guide, don’t worry, it’s not difficult to do it yourself. Just remember to bring everything with you that you think you’ll need like oil or lard, frying pan, utensils and all the trimmings. (A good idea is to make a list that you can add to daily in the case something is forgotten.) You’ll often find the traditional shore lunch includes fried potatoes and a can of beans. If you’re staying at an American Plan resort, a shore lunch kit is often included. Many lodges will have also placed a fish cleaning table where guests often stop for a shore lunch. (Inside Tip: Remember to try and cook on rock rather than a beach or you’ll end up with sand on everything!)
Here’s one of my favorite recipes:
I crush up some Rice Crispies cereal and add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Then I drag the filets through an egg, flip it in the breading and fry for a few minutes on each side. Delicious! You can find more recipes from some of the lodges at http://ift.tt/2sGSGNM.
Catch and Release the Large Fish
You’ll enjoy catching the fish that you will eat, but we encourage you to do it with this in mind: The best eating fish regardless of species are the smaller ones, generally walleye between 14 and 17 inches in length. For larger fish like the one pictured above on the English River System at Halley’s Camps, it is important that you release them back into the lake. These bigger fish are the prime breeders and instead of eating them, release them so they can produce the ones you’ll eat a few years down the road. Dan Baughman from Bow Narrows Camp has a great article on his blog called the Stunning Reality of Keeping Big Fish. In the article, Dan breaks it down mathematically and in more detail, but basically if you take two anglers with one taking two 17-inchers and the other taking one 17” walleye and one 26” walleye the loss of eggs and potential fish are about 1,037,270 less over a 10 year period! So, please take a picture and put them back. It is a conservation principle that has worked for years to ensure a quality shore lunch experience.
If it’s been awhile since you’ve had a shore lunch or if you’ve never had one before, head up to Ontario’s Sunset Country and experience one for yourself. Order a free Vacation Guide and Map to start to plan which lakes you should have a Canadian shore lunch this year. Bon appetit!
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At the northern most point of the great state of Wisconsin lie the Apostle Islands; nuggets of pristine wilderness scattered throughout a tiny section of the great inland sea we call Lake Superior. Here, dotted amongst a horizon-less sea of clear, cold, aquamarine waters are islands with towering clay banks and forests as wild as legend; save a few lighthouses that once guided the captains of yesteryear safely to port. Wilderness. Solitude. Fish. Just another day at the office.
My name is Captain Tommy Hicks, Jr. I was born and raised in Ashland, WI and the great Gitche Gumee (particularly the Apostle Islands and Chequamegon Bay areas) is my home water. My father of the same nomenclature, a seasoned navigator and fisherman in his own right, started teaching me when I was quite young the skills necessary to navigate this formidable inland sea. Although I’m still fairly young, I have, nonetheless, spent a lifetime fishing Lake Superior. I am fortunate to have been able to turn my passion into my profession; starting Beyond the Catch Guide Service several years ago (beyondthecatch.com). It’s a great way to spend life; guiding people to lakers, brown trout, Coho salmon and the occasional steelhead in some of the most picturesque settings in all of Wisconsin.
During May way up here in the Apostles, the ice is long gone, but the waters of Superior remain cold, not only now, but for much of the year as well. On average, surface water temps at their peak in summer only climb into the 50s. Granted, there have been exceptions throughout the years, such as 2012 where water temps rose into the 70s during that particularly hot summer (one for the record books), but those are usually anomalies. On colder-than-usual years, water temperatures may struggle to get into the 40s.
So with cold water temps for a good portion of the year, and a fishery chock full of species that favor those temps, fishing for browns, Cohos and the like on Lake Superior in the Apostles can be done near shore for a good portion of the calendar. In May, the fish travel to near shore waters following smelt; a preferred forage.
Because of the target species’ affinity for pelagic baitfish, trolling is a preferred presentation method. Out of my 28 ft. Boulton (complete with heated wheelhouse and air-ride seats for those of you looking for a little comfort out on the greatest of Great Lakes) I run two mainlines, one port and one starboard. On the end of each mainline is a giant homemade planer board that pulls the mainline away from the boat. Through a series of clips my rod lines are attached to the mainline and sent back approximately 100 ft. with Rapala Scatter Raps, Countdowns, Husky Jerks, or your classic laker spoons on the business end. Most of my lines are flat lines, but I will sink a few lures on downriggers or dipsey divers if I want to fish deeper water. It’s good to cover all water and keep your options open.
When I have all my lines set (FYI it’s easier to set lines going into the wind) I typically will troll 2.5 to 3.5 mph depending on current and fish activity levels. Superior, being more of a great inland sea rather than a lake, is prone to currents known as a seiche; which is basically current caused by changes in atmospheric pressure. These currents will affect your trolling speed and proper bait presentation. Going into the current you can “slow your roll” because the baits will drive head on into the current and still produce the desired action at slower speeds. The opposite is true of trolling with the current; more speed to achieve optimal lure action.
This scenario plays out for most of May and June depending on water temperatures and forage movements. In June, fish can be found deeper as well as near shore, so it’s basically the choice of the fisherman if they want to battle a fish out of deep water, or stroll along the beautiful shorelines of the Apostle Islands. June is a month of opportunity for fishing success across all water columns as long as baitfish and water temps allow.
The Lake Superior regions around Ashland, Washburn, and Bayfield are some of the most beautiful regions in the state, and May and June can be prime time for both spectacular scenery and fishing. Catch and release trophy lakers and browns, with plenty of splake and Cohos for the table. The clear, cold waters of this giant oligotrophic freshwater inland sea harbor exceptional table fare as well as trophy caliber fish. Ashland, WI also caters to fisherman with superb bait shops and lodging; the likes of which can be found at the River Rock Inn and Bait Shop (riverrockinn.net) and Angler’s All (anglersallwisconsin.com).
If you’re looking for an adventure on BIG water with some of the most spectacular vistas around, the Apostle Islands might be the place you’ve had in mind. Wilderness and adventure way up at the top of the state; a place that feels as though it’s actually the top of the world.
Captain Tommy Hicks, Jr. has been a full time guide in the Ashland, WI area for the last 4 years. Considered to be one of the finest young captains in the area, he has expanded his career into several television appearances with various programs; most notably several outings with the Larry Smith Outdoors crew. Check out Beyond the Catch at beyondthecatch.com and also like them on Facebook.
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By: Gary Parsons and Keith Kavajecz
While current and wind can make for a great bite, they can also be a nightmare for trying to position the boat. Being in complete control when we are chasing walleyes hasn’t always been easy. This type of fishing was very tiring and hands-on in the past. It meant putting the anchor out and then having to toss it out again for a slight adjustment. It meant having a foot on the pedal of the bow mount trolling motor at all times and constantly making adjustments to the speed of the kicker motor. There were even days we had two drift socks out and still couldn’t go slow enough for our presentation to work!
The design of your boat can impact how well you can control it in adverse conditions. There are two things to look at when you are purchasing a boat. First, it should sit level in the water, so wind will affect the whole boat, not just one part of it, like the bow. This is really dependent on boat design, like tank placement, battery placement, floatation and hull design. The only way to see if a boat sits level is to see it on the water.
It is also important to have a boat with a good keel, which will help it track better in the water. When we are trolling sideways in the wind, or into the wind, the boat will not wander as much because the keel will keep tracking and hold the boat on course. You can often tell how well a boat tracks by running it backward and turning. If the boat just slips backward and doesn’t follow the engine, it probably won’t track well. If the boat follows the engine and can make quick turns going backward, it means that the boat does track well.
Advances in technology have really changed the walleye game when it comes to boat control, making it easier to position our boat. They also keep us from not becoming as fatigued as we would have been in the past after a long day on the water.
One of our favorite boat control features is the Anchor Mode on our MotorGuide Xi5 bow mount trolling motor. This comes in handy when we are casting jigs or Shiver Minnows. Instead of having to put out an anchor, with the click of a button the motor will act as the anchor and hold us in place while we work a spot over. Not only does this eliminate the splash and commotion that is usually associated with a traditional anchor, but also we can easily position the boat right where we want it to be.
If we are working a shoreline or bridge pillar, a feature that works great in conjunction with Anchor Mode is “Jogging.” Again, with the touch of a button, we can move in five-foot increments, forward, backward or sideway. The motor will then re-anchor. If we want to move 10 feet over, we just click twice.
You can also connect your Lowrance HDS sonar/GPS units to the Xi5 by using MotorGuide Gateway. The Gateway is a cord that uses the NMEA Network port so you can control your trolling motor right from your Lowrance unit. This allows you to tell the trolling motor to anchor on a specific waypoint, or you can move the cursor to a spot on the map and the motor will go there.
Another great boat control feature is “Heading Lock,”,which can also be found on the Xi5. We like to use this when we are pulling Slow Death rigs or spinner rigs on bottom bouncers. When fishing this way, it is important to keep your bait moving. If you make a sharp turn or slow down too much, the bait will fall to the bottom.
This is where Heading Lock comes in. We just point the motor in the direction we want it to go! The motor does all the work to keep us on course at the desired speed. If we want to move deeper or shallower, we just click a button to turn the motor in the new direction. As it starts to head in the new direction, the motor will actually straighten itself out, cutting boat control in half! Not to mention that the turns are very smooth, so your baits won’t drop to bottom.
If you have a Power-Pole on your boat, you definitely want to get the Drift Paddle attachment. The Drift Paddle attaches to the spike on the Power-Pole and can be used to create drag. If we are trolling open water in early summer using spinners, and the wind is up to about 15 to 20 mph, as we troll with the wind, it becomes difficult to maintain a good slow speed for the spinners because the wind is pushing us. With the Drift Paddle attached to the Power-Pole, we simply deploy it into the water creating drag that helps slow down our trolling speed.
We can even control the amount of drag it creates by how far down into the water we lower the paddle. If we deploy it only half way it slows us down a little. By deploying it all the way down into the water we have actually been able to slow the boat down as much as a mile to a mile and quarter when trolling with our big engines.
Another advantage of using the Drift Paddle in this scenario is that with the paddle down, it dramatically decreases the “surge” effect the waves have on the boat as we troll. That’s a big deal, especially when trolling spinners, as the surges can affect how the spinners are running, and in dingy water can make it difficult for the fish to track down your bait. By eliminating or at least lessening the surging, the spinners run truer and therefore are more effective.
The Drift Paddle is also useful when doing a controlled drift. It has seven quick-change positions that cover a full 180 degrees, allowing us to set the paddle at any angle we need to help the boat drift on the path we want it to.
We can control the boat’s path from the bow mount trolling motor. When we need to move in or out on a break, the Drift Paddle easily cuts through the water making positioning so much easier than having to drag a drift sock. By drifting with the paddle off the back and steering with our bow mount trolling motor up front, we have excellent control of the boat! By incorporating technology into fishing, you can have a less stressful day on the water and take control of your Next Bite!
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