North Frontenac Report

[Corvus Lacus]

My buddy came up for a visit from the city for a couple of days this past weekend. As a change of pace, we pulled my boat out of my home lake, and splashed it at another lake just a few minutes away. I hadn't fished this lake for many years...but had many fond memories. It didn't disappoint.

Over the course of 2 full days (dawn to dusk), we brought more than 70 Smallies to the side of the boat...amazingly none were dinks...smallest was 15 inches and a bunch were in the 19 to 21 inch class. Mixed in were a good number of Walleye...9 of them eaters that fit the slot. No panfish either, and just one hammer-handle Pike...all a little strange as we also didn't hook any incidental Rock Bass (or any panfish), and all the Smallies were chunks.

The drawdown on this system had dropped the water by almost 4 feet from summer peak. Surface temp was 58F. Still a long way from turnover. Visibility was more than 20 ft. Most of the Bass came from between 20 to 30 ft down, and the Eyes down 25 to 35 ft. Smallies were spitting up crayfish (one still had a live craw in it's mouth, and then coughed up 2 more when I went to unpin it), and the Walters were stuffed with Shiners and young-of-the-year Perch. Boulder fields were a key for the Bass..."elevator" breaklines stacked with bait balls held the Walleyes. With both species, the best locations (points, sunken shoals, saddles) were directly adjacent to the deepest basins of the lake. The autumn feeding binge was definitely in full swing, the wind and barometer were also in our favour.

All fish came on plastics...drop shot Flatworms, Ned Rig Hula Stix, moping Jerk Shads...natural colours (craws and baitfish)….on 8lb FluoroCarbon leaders. The purple bags on my dash will give you a clue of what was working...that stuff is crack for Bass !!

Finesse vertical presentations got bit...but there were a few times where we had a "wolf pack" of Bass come through the structure...and then it didn't matter...at one point I counted 5 fish on 5 casts...

It was just one of those crazy couple of days on the water, where fishing provides all the therapy you need...your wife asks why are you smiling so much, and you go to work Monday morning with a bounce in your step..

"THE TUG IS THE DRUG"


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[Corvus Lacus]

Keepers day 1 and 2..

The MAGIC made for a great Sunday dinner for the whole crew...Blackened Walleye with Dirty Cajun Rice...

A couple of more Bronzies...





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[JimW]

Great fishing and awesome report, lots of tips. Thanks for posting. I will have to try that seasoning!! Blackened walleye = YUM!!

[fishingfan]

Great pics and awesome report, I gotta say though, that the pup photobombing may be the best thing ever!

Thanks for sharing!

Fishinfan

[Corvus Lacus]

Yeah, Zoey is a ham...she's definitely not camera shy. Not only does she love to fish, she's got a great nose for Grouse...and she'll steadily hold on point until my old legs catch up to her. She's my second Vizsla (I had a boy for 13 years). If you're looking for a great all-around hunting (and fishing...hehe) dog that's also a perfect family pet (she's my grandkids best friend), you can't go wrong with the Hungarian Pointers.