Sturgeon, Muskies, Crappies and more...lots more.
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2016 8:21 pm
As I sit here just in from the RedBlacks game that was a blizzard all afternoon I kinda have come to the conclusion that the open water season may be over or very close. May sneak out once more maybe twice but for the most part she's done!
My last guiding trip was on the St. Lawrence with some of my favorite regulars. Gabe had an awesome season in the Lund. I hope when he's old enough to appreciate and thank his Dad for all these trips he says Thanks...
Then came what I've come to appreciate as the no pressure season. A couple trips out of town with buddies, some time with my Pops and some local fishing as well. Just fun time to wind down the season.
Brad and I made the run down to the St. Lawrence to target the Sturgeon. With very limited intel other than depth we went at it blind. After consulting Navionics we decided to give a quick run thru of one flat. When the sonar shows you this you stop.
Within the first 30 minutes we had our first take. Holy Crap we caught one...
When things would slow we'd move a bit, maybe 40 yards and re spot-lock. We'd chuck out and wait. We had what is likely the worst conditions on the river possible. Heavy East winds and Rain, very thankful for the full canopy top as we just sat under it and listened to the local French radio station...
My rod took a heavy bounce...that's better.
Brad's rod bounced again. When he set the hook we knew it wasn't one he would just drag in...
We missed a couple more on the take and picked this one up just before hitting the road.
Brad did get an exotic...
What a fun trip. They're a really cool big fish to target that I may visit a couple times a year. We went at it blind and did OK I thought, despite someone getting grilled if he sent us all his intel.
Some people.
Up next was a crazy day on the Miss with my Dad. He threw a hairjig most of the day while I threw a swimjig most of the time. Wicked mixed bag with a Pike that I still can't believe came out of Mississippi Lake.
Beat up Ol' Gator.
A bonus really good Jumbo!
A little bit of Non-Fishing here. I swear I have the best clients I could ever ask for. Many become friends that we keep in touch often. When I answered my phone last December and it was Ryan from Pennsylvania on the horn it was great to hear from him. He told me to keep Oct 22nd open. "Are you coming up?" "No you and Birdee are coming down, to a Penn State football game". WOW. WHAT A TRIP.
We did the full on Tailgate experience, stayed in Ryan and Amy's RV and took in the game. I've been lucky enough to see quite a bit over the years, Stanley Cup Finals, Jordan courtside, Tiger Woods inside the ropes etc. NOTHING compares to that PSU Football game. Throw in that it was a huge upset for them to beat Ohio State that night it was a wicked deal.
A few pics.
Just one of the many fields FULL of RVs.
The stadium was crazy. 107,000 plus people.
The Post Game rush the field...
Let's go! Birdee grabs a player and says we're from Canada and we want a pic
Such a cool experience that we can't wait to get back down there again! Oh and we've watched every PSU game since we've been back...
Got home and in a last minute idea Chevy, Brad and I hit the road for Lake St. Clair. LSC is much like steelheading, if conditions are good it's like shooting fish in a barrel. We didn't have the best deal in front of us but we decided to go anyways. We did two days there, landing 6 fish. Not great by LSC standards but by conditions I was pleased with it.
The laughs were endless on this trip, such a good time with the fellas. It was Game 7 of the World Series and none of us could keep our eyes open to see it...
Ended my season how it started with some of my favorites and a fish fry.
Lastly, some of you may recognize these two fellas. Many won't. For the old school guys the boys are doing great and rockin' it out with the Stittsvillains!
Sorry for the long post folks but that's what it took to get caught up!
Play safe if you're still getting out, just as many people get into trouble at this time of year on the water as they do on the ice. Keep that in mind!
RJ
My last guiding trip was on the St. Lawrence with some of my favorite regulars. Gabe had an awesome season in the Lund. I hope when he's old enough to appreciate and thank his Dad for all these trips he says Thanks...
Then came what I've come to appreciate as the no pressure season. A couple trips out of town with buddies, some time with my Pops and some local fishing as well. Just fun time to wind down the season.
Brad and I made the run down to the St. Lawrence to target the Sturgeon. With very limited intel other than depth we went at it blind. After consulting Navionics we decided to give a quick run thru of one flat. When the sonar shows you this you stop.
Within the first 30 minutes we had our first take. Holy Crap we caught one...
When things would slow we'd move a bit, maybe 40 yards and re spot-lock. We'd chuck out and wait. We had what is likely the worst conditions on the river possible. Heavy East winds and Rain, very thankful for the full canopy top as we just sat under it and listened to the local French radio station...
My rod took a heavy bounce...that's better.
Brad's rod bounced again. When he set the hook we knew it wasn't one he would just drag in...
We missed a couple more on the take and picked this one up just before hitting the road.
Brad did get an exotic...
What a fun trip. They're a really cool big fish to target that I may visit a couple times a year. We went at it blind and did OK I thought, despite someone getting grilled if he sent us all his intel.
Some people. Up next was a crazy day on the Miss with my Dad. He threw a hairjig most of the day while I threw a swimjig most of the time. Wicked mixed bag with a Pike that I still can't believe came out of Mississippi Lake.
Beat up Ol' Gator.
A bonus really good Jumbo!
A little bit of Non-Fishing here. I swear I have the best clients I could ever ask for. Many become friends that we keep in touch often. When I answered my phone last December and it was Ryan from Pennsylvania on the horn it was great to hear from him. He told me to keep Oct 22nd open. "Are you coming up?" "No you and Birdee are coming down, to a Penn State football game". WOW. WHAT A TRIP.
We did the full on Tailgate experience, stayed in Ryan and Amy's RV and took in the game. I've been lucky enough to see quite a bit over the years, Stanley Cup Finals, Jordan courtside, Tiger Woods inside the ropes etc. NOTHING compares to that PSU Football game. Throw in that it was a huge upset for them to beat Ohio State that night it was a wicked deal.
A few pics.
Just one of the many fields FULL of RVs.
The stadium was crazy. 107,000 plus people.
The Post Game rush the field...
Let's go!
Birdee grabs a player and says we're from Canada and we want a pic 
Such a cool experience that we can't wait to get back down there again! Oh and we've watched every PSU game since we've been back...
Got home and in a last minute idea Chevy, Brad and I hit the road for Lake St. Clair. LSC is much like steelheading, if conditions are good it's like shooting fish in a barrel. We didn't have the best deal in front of us but we decided to go anyways. We did two days there, landing 6 fish. Not great by LSC standards but by conditions I was pleased with it.
The laughs were endless on this trip, such a good time with the fellas. It was Game 7 of the World Series and none of us could keep our eyes open to see it...
Ended my season how it started with some of my favorites and a fish fry.
Lastly, some of you may recognize these two fellas. Many won't. For the old school guys the boys are doing great and rockin' it out with the Stittsvillains!
Sorry for the long post folks but that's what it took to get caught up!
Play safe if you're still getting out, just as many people get into trouble at this time of year on the water as they do on the ice. Keep that in mind!
RJ
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