Last year we were able to launch outta Hay Bay right up to the 20th. This year, Bay of Quinte was frozen past the ferry sometime around December 14th or 15th.
What a difference a year can make!
This year, we knew all our usual launches would be out of the question, but we were determined. The Suburban had new tires put on it, as well as ball joints. She was ready to rock!
I made it up last Wednesday, starting our adventure.
Thursday morning we headed to Adolphustown, as we were going to pass it anyways, and looked at the conditions....good for ice fishing ;D Bad for launching.
Here we are heading over the ferry....love how it just plows through the ice!!!!
Arrived to our launch around noon, and found it, well...tough, but do-able. There was thick ice at the end of it, but we figured we'd 'float' right over it. We did. ;D
Conditions were tough right off the bat. Winds howling from the East, reaching 40 Km's....but what else can you expect from Quinte in the fall.....err, Winter now i guess?
Thursday's winds produced a four foot chop with seven foot rollers; fun times. We were in my boat, the 17 foot lund, rather than jackson's 19, as its easier, and safer, to launch.....But boy was it windier....No cover really makes a difference.
We started hitting them right away...
The Purple Reef Runner....the ticket of success. We ran Reef Runners all fall, without any success...but i knew eventually they'd start hitting them....We actually ran, but didn't catch a single fish, on the Doctor Death.
A beauty walleye to start our Adventure.
I'm going to start showing release photo's. Some people, through PM's, think we keep more than our fair share of fish, when in fact, we keep very few Walleye.
Muskie always seem to get the nice release photo's, as we all seem to prize this species of fish, and rightfully so. But i think Quinte walleye, in the fall, are equally as amazing, and deserve the same amount of respect that the Muskie get.
The next fish turned out to be the fish of the trip.
She weighed in at 13.8 pounds. Still not a monster Quinte walleye, but a huge fish, and my new personal best. Most amazing part was she was only 28", but had a girth of 21". Also, if you notice, she had lamprey wounds on her stomach....Too bad that those damn things are now sticking on the Walleye. Its been reported to the MNR.
Nice, successful release.
We hit two more on Thursday, giving us four fish in as many hours.
We hit one nice four pounder, under the slot actually. What a bonus for the time of year. No, that one did not go back.
Here's shots of us returning to shore, with a ice layer on our suits.
Suburban takes us out, no problem.
When we got back to the trailer, our adrenaline was pumping....everything was a success....
So, we went ice fishing. ;D
Checked the thickness beside the dock, and off we went...not far from shore....but fun nonetheless. Didn't catch anything that night, but it was amazing to spend the day on the water, then the night on the ice. ;D
As you can see above, the snow was coming down hard. I'm sure you all remember our storm last Thursday night. Well, we got it bad. 22" fell, making some four foot drifts....
But that didn't stop us! Headed over to the ferry, shovelled out the boat, and off we went.
When we got to the launch, the snowplow had made a four-foot pile along the road. We took the boat off the truck, and plowed through it with the truck, down to the launch. Reversed back through our tracks, and proceeded to do the same thing over and over until we had our own driveway.
Dropped three bags of salt on the launch, and off we went. The skies Friday afternoon were blue and beautiful. The sun was shining, it was just amazing to be on the water. But of course, you can't have your cake, and it eat too.
The fish turned off. Fished from noon till almost 2 with nothing to show for it. All the fish we were marking were deep, as you can see....huge clouds of fish 80 to 120 down, over 135 feet....Tough to work those fish!
Then luck smiled upon us. The skies clouded over, and the snow started falling....Which in turn brought the fish up higher....Here's a shot of us trolling our spread, as the snow was falling....Quite a contrast from the blue skies not only two hours earlier.
It didn't take long for the fish to turn on again. First up, a double header of 12 pounders! ;D
Another one caught after the double header.
Here's one of the only two other boats we encountered on our trip....but i dont think this one was having any luck....
An amazing Quinte sunset closed out another amazing day on the water. Crisp, cold, and pure bliss.
This picture is dedicated to BBR and Sleded. Remember that nice eater we caught the day before? Well the run in put so much water in my boat, that everything froze, and we were unable to get the fish out of the livewell. By the next night, we wanted a meal, so we got a couple buckets of hot water from the neighbour (we have no running water), and melted the sucker. MMMmmm...
Our final day on the water brought us strong west winds that blew chunks of ice along the shoreline....But come on, you think that would stop us?
As you can see, it didn't! Four more fish in four hours. Only one smaller than 11 pounds (we only caught two smaller than 11 all trip)
Here's a shot none of you would believe....the second boat we saw this trip....but, while ice fishing!!!
Yep, just cut right through the ice.....Amazing to see. I was jealous to say the least.
We spend our final day ice fishing, as I had some car trouble that set me back financially.
Here's a pic of my first Mud Puppy....My only ice fish of the trip.
Our buddy did manage one nice walleye though, which was great to see.
We spent our final day packing up, closing the trailer, and having fun!!!!
And the final pic of the trip is not a nice one, a fun one, or a proud one......its an expensive one.
But man that is a fishing report of lifetime!!!!
