Fishing With a Legend

Dan and Anne with mom and dad. 

Last week I had the privilege to guide and film with a fishing legend, Dan Gapen Sr.  Those of you not familiar with Dan, he is a writer (currently published in over 100 circulated sites and magazines), TV-host and hall of fame fisherman.  He has spent a lifetime of filming, educating and just simply enjoying the outdoors.  A quick search through www.gapen.com, you can read some of his famous stories and check out plenty of their great and effective lures they have to offer.  Now 82, Dan and his company partner "Bobber" Anne have spent the majority of their travels throughout the America's all the while journaling and filming their endeavours.

Filming during a sunset

We were honored when Dan and Anne first approached months ago us about visiting us at Central Lake to do some filming on the unique Opasquia Provincial Park.  This was one area of Ontario that they wanted to cross off their bucket list for filming. The remoteness and geology of the area intrigued him the most.

Overall, the weather cooperated enough and we were fortunate to capture some great moments on film.  Dan liked to focus on the outdoor experience as a whole, not on just the biggest and most fish we could put in the boat, which really impressed me. So many times people lose perspective on where they are and get tunnel visioned on that 40" pike or 27" walleye. Yes, we fished plenty however, we also focused on some things nature had to offer.  For example, an afternoon of blueberry picking.  Let me tell you, nothing is better than fresh blueberry muffins or pancakes.  We enjoyed plenty.

I'll keep everyone posted about our episode/videos when the editing and post production is finished.  I am especially excited to see some of our underwater footage of walleye stalking our baits on the TV.  We were fortunate enough to capture several hookups and numerous strikes in 10-20 ft of water.

Throughout the week with Dan I experimented around with his line of fishing tackle.  Three lures in particular, which I'll admit I never heard of, really produced well.  First, the Flub Dub. This unique crankbait pictured right, caught several pike over 33" and plenty of walleye.  I was a sceptic at first noticing the lone rear hook, however we never missed a single hit. Trolling this lure along 12' flats or breaklines is where it really produced.

The second lure, the Ugly Bug, looks like the name sounds.  It is a jig setup with a rubber tail that has multiple flanges darting every which way.  I had my best luck with this lure jigging along weed beds.  I had my fair share of bite offs from pike but I was out fishing everyone.

The Ugly Bug

The final lure I enjoyed for the week was the Spin-Bee.  The 1/4 oz or 3/8 oz was a blast to vertical jig on deep reefs.  Armed with a spinner instead of a twister tail, fishermen never have to worry about the rubber tail getting bit off from short striking fish.

Every year I try to find effective alternatives for walleye fishermen to try other than the straight lead head and 3" tail.  These lures previously mentioned are quality lures worth a try.  I now have several of each in my tackle box for my next outing.  Another lure that has been shining that I also blogged about is the Echo Tail.  This lure started the year sluggish however now that the walleyes are settling in deeper water it has been an absolute beast.  

The Spin-Bee

Fishing 

The walleye are well....going deeper, however to add some confusion, we found plenty in the weeds last week.  One day we would nail the fish in 12-20 ft of water on reefs and windblown points.  Only to return the next day and find nothing.  After some looking around we eventually found lots of fish hanging near the weeds.  The fish are obviously moving around so do not get discouraged if you strike out on a spot, try it again the next day and you could be rewarded.

Pike are starting to pack on the pounds for fall.  Most are hanging in foliage but I like to throw my big baits (depth raiders and bull dawgs) this time of year on deep reefs.  You just know they are hanging around stalking a lazy walleye. The topwater bite has been very discouraging this year, I have spent several evenings tossing with minimal action.  I would suggest focusing on bucktails or spoons during what I call the "magic hour" of 7-8 pm.  I have boated more big fish this year during that time frame.

Water levels have been falling due to lack of rain.  The surface temperatures are hovering around 67-69 degrees on most lakes. The nights have been fairly cool, dipping into the lower 40's.  This cold has had an effect on the weed beds over the last several days.  They are beginning to lose their bright green color, which means they are on the verge of dying.  Once the weeds start to fall pike will move to other areas to ambush prey.

Shine On

Central Lake evening troll.  Courtesy of Happy Pharwaha

The sun has been shining for about two weeks now on us in the Opasquia Provincial Park.  The lazy days of summer have finally graced us here in the north country.  Thankfully, the warmer temperatures have decreased the bug activity allowing fisherman to focus more on the fish instead of swatting flies. The bugs haven't completely vanished, but the annoying creatures have drastically reduced their assault on us fishermen. 

The current weather we are enjoying is typical for this time of year.  I have always enjoyed the last two weeks of July into the first two weeks of August.  On average, the weather during that time is the most stable and one thing fish love is weather stability.  

The great weather has allowed Dad, Tyrol and myself to complete several summer projects.  The boardwalk at Central Lake has now been completely renovated with pressure treated lumber.  Also, a new 32 foot floating dock is now in operation at the big cabin.  Cocos, Southwest, and West Lake each received a boost in power with an additional 240 Watt solar panel. Furthermore, all three camps refrigerators have been switched from propane to green and economical solar powered Stecca fridges.   

Fishing 

Remington party 30.5" walleye 

Typical summer patterns for walleye and pike are now in play.  Walleye have can be found hovering around reefs and wind blown shorelines in around 10-20 ft of water.  Larger fish have been caught in waters as deep as 30 ft.

The hot lures for walleye are rather simple.  I could stock my tackle box with just a couple of baits.  3/8 oz jigs with a variety of twister tails or gulp would take up most of the space, however I would have to leave some space for Shad Raps #5 and #7. Chartreuse and fire tiger are my favorite colors but they all work.

The Echotails I mentioned in a previous blog have really started to shine now that the walleye have moved to deeper waters.  Of all the six different color combinations I purchased all have been just as productive.  I highly recommend these baits for vertical jigging.  They take a little tuning as I have found the hooks will often tangle.  A simple solution to avoid this is to tuck the rear hook into the plastic tail.

One of 20 South Lake walleyes over 26" for the week of 7/19

Pike have been hovering in the dense weeds as of late.  We are finding at Central Lake the peak bite has been later in the afternoon from 6-9 pm.  Last night for example, we couldn't keep the fish off of Musky Killer bucktails and Esox Assault double blades.  Slash baits like Suicks, Delong Eels and Hellhound are also doing well.  I can't forget to mention Johnson Silver Minnows for those thick weeds, and don't forget those twister tail trailers!

OUTPOSTS 

Burnt Lake
Hotspots #5, 6 and 10 are the place to be for nice pike.  Windblown points are the most effective spots for walleye.
Central Lake
The west portage continues to offer up trophy pike.  Three fish over 40 have been boated in the last seven days.  Trophies are prowling around hotspot #3, one of my favorite weed beds on the lake.  Last but not least is to always take a couple casts on the windsock if you are passing by.
Cocos Lake
A 44" monster was boated and released on the Sagiwitchewan river.  The deeper pools near the Burnt Lake rapids are starting to produce some great walleye action.
Lemonade/Favourable
Hard to make the Lemonade lake reports not sound redundant, but the lake continues to churn out the quality walleye. As usual, fish the west side of the island.  Pike alley gave up several nice 38+" fish over the past couple days.  Hot spots #4 and 12 are great place to focus for those monsters.
South
Two guests, 20 fish over 26" up to 30.5" last week means south lake is heating up with lots of big walleye.  The current guests had 12 over 25" up to 28.5 on Tuesday.  Bigger fish are deeper in 22-30 ft.  Slow jigging techniques have been best.
Southwest
Excellent numbers continue from this body of water.  Watched a guest battle a nice 37" fish on 6 pd test and a jig the other day, nothing more fun to see.
West
Work the upper half of the narrows towards the Fish Bowl.  I guided there on Tuesday and rolled a fish that was pushing 48".  I got a good look at the old girl and she got my heart beating.  Bucktails in the Horseshoe also yielded plenty 30+" fish.