and enjoy 
I was needed a little bit earlier at the lodge this year meaning the early season crappies and such that I would normally be able to fish here in Ottawa before heading north was not gonna happen, with my one year of experience knowing what the lodge had to offer it really didn't bother me so I packed up my truck and headed to the bush where I spent the next 6 months catching monster walleye, smallies and pike.
Our first day on the water this year was may second the ice just honeycombed enough that we could bust through it and make our way to the falls about 10 minutes from the lodge. The fishing was nuts that night with the suckers spawning and the water starting to warm the pike were on the prowl and hungry!! we had three boats out that night with 3 guides in each boat and we ended the night with 4 pike over 40" with a 43 being the biggest. We also caught more in the 35-39" range then we could count!
A little bit of excitment in the air putting off the docks
Here is my big fish of the night just over 40"
We had a few nights of fishing out there before the walleye season was underway and guests started arriving that when our work for the season really started
by that time Im pretty sure we had something like 60 pike over 37 inches just in or few hours of fishin each night
heres a couple of my gooders during that time
girthy gal
Then walleye got into full swing! We normally start targeting them in pretty shallow water as they are usually just at the tail end of they're spawn and turning into feed mode. Pitching jigs around in timber rock points and reefs in anywhere from 2-6 feet of water is normally dynamite! it didnt disapoint with a ton of nice fish for my guests and a couple for me
and my new personal best
as spring fades into summer we watch our fish do the ole transition into 10-20 then eventually catch them down around 40 feet off big sand structures usually what feels like your fishing in the middle of of nowhere there were big ones to be caught then aswell
eventually you would set into something that felt like a log on bottom until it started moving, always a ton of fun on the jigging sticks!
lots of big pike caught in the summer in weeds aswell!!
was lucky enough to have a visit half way through my season from my better half, as usual she showed her skills going for the tripple whammy
walleye over 27"
bass over 20"
and pike over 37"
Here are a few random shots through the summer
The next few months were a total blur!! I ended my season with around 60 walleye over 27" in my boat, 42 bass over 19" and 9 pike over 40" and as the season came to an end I was hugely honored to win the guide of the year trophy one of my biggest accomplishments ever and it never fails to catch my eye and make me grin when I walk past it
Madi and i decided that at the end of my season that she was going to take a couple of weeks off and we would explore some of the amazing river fishing that was on route back home. we were at the tail end of the salmon run and was hoping to get into some steel.
We hit a pile of rivers with about half of them producing fish. i was mostly using the pin and Madi would toss a spoon around catching a majority of the fish
nice fresh coho
one of the many pinks i got into on the pin
a whole lot of beauty in this shot.. the fish, the scenery and of course....
small resident bow I got drifting a small brush pile lots of theses guys kicking around but so danm beautiful
madi got this huge chinook on a spoon that almost spooled her a few times.... was worth the hour long walk for this one!
this was a first for me a nice colored up male brookie out of the nipigon river that was tagged
Another first with this one.. anyone here ever catch a laker off a dock??? me neither
weird spot this one was a little sketchy to say the least
We got home mid octoberish and my mind went into one or the other... trout or musky both treated me fairly well. spent a total of 8 days going into the backwoods looking for another monster brookie but they wernt so nice to me, had a number of big trout fly outa the trees to grab my tube and mis or grab it and spin right around to break me off or just look at my bait and slowly swim away.... ill be back. Heres a few decent ones managed to land
Only got out for skis a handful of times but i was able get a few nice ones including this snaggle toofed tard that followed my eight for about 3 minutes trying to eat the bait missing before i could lay some steel to her
also got our for a trip with RJ and brad for skis on lake st clair, always a trip i wanted to do! so much fun
and a season just isn't complete without some fall small mouth but the hammer to em this season thanks to a couple real good buddies!
The last two days of my season were looking to put some meat in the freezer it was a success with some nice walleye and awesome crappie fishing... the big ones went back!
like you havent seen enough pictures of walleye in this report heres one from a local lake
and some pics of the one day of crappie fishin madi and were able to sneak out and do before the weather turned nasty
You cant say i didnt warn ya, lots of pics and long winded!
hope everyone enjoys it and ill see yas on the ice
Serious fishing and good on you for pursuing your dream. Keep em coming, great to see you enjoying the ride of life!!