So Sunday morning we drove up to the French River area, arriving mid-afternoon at Monetville Tavern & Lodge, a nice old lodge located on the West Arm of Lake Nipissing, our home away from home for the next couple days.
After checking in we made plans to meet up with Carter Natale, a young and up and coming fishing guide and a member of Team Mad Chase Lures, to discuss our game plan for the next couple days and hit the water for an evening fish.
This was my first time visiting the French River area, so a giant muskie on the legendary water would definitely be awesome but I was just excited to be getting away for a few days and exploring a new body of water.
Carter guides out of Totem Point Lodge so that was our blast off point for our fishing outings, a great looking lodge that I will definitely have to visit in the future.
For my first trip targeting muskie in over 10 years fishing with a muskie lure maker and a great local guide I could not have asked for better fishing partners. They are really nice guys as well, lol.
Unfortunately Mother Nature was not our best fishing companion this trip…. sunny for a bit, then cloudy, then sunny, then rainy…. a little windy…. then more wind, then less windier then crazy windy….. lol
Muskie fishing "shore lunch".... not muskies were harmed in the making of this lunch. lol
We worked a variety of Mad Chasse and other lures casting 98% of the time at numerous spots along this stretch of the French River. With limited muskie fishing experience, especially with doing figure 8s, I threw a large pull and pause style lure, which they said was a good bait for a less experienced muskie angler… not sure if that was true or if they just wanted to see me throw the giant chunk of painted wood all day. Lol
In the end the fish were not overly active or cooperative, we marked some big fish on the sonar, we had several fish surface to take a look at things, we have several big muskie and a very hungry loon follow our baits to the boat over the couple days. And I had 1 big fish hit but unfortunately it did not stay hooked.
So I did not get to boat a giant French River muskie this trip, I did learn a lot about muskie fishing and lures in general and learned a lot about reading the water and structure on the French River to try and identify good fish holding areas….. as every 50 feet on the river looks like a “prime spot” for a giant muskie. Lol
In addition to the awesome time on the water, Michelle Jacob and Adam Avery, owners of Fishin' Finatics Charters, from Dunnville, ON and two of the nicest people I have ever met, were on vacation staying at Totem Point Lodge, so we hung out with them after our time on the water for drinks, food, and laughs around the camp fire…. It does not get much better than that!!!
Adam heading out in search of the elusive French River muskie.
If anyone is interested in what is going on in the muskie community in Ontario check out and join the Canadian Mad Tour FB page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/679807203440217
And if you are looking for an awesome time of the French River chasing muskie, walleye or pike contact Carter Natale of Carter’s Charters.
https://www.instagram.com/carterscharters/
Or for some Lake Erie or Lake Ontario fishing action get in tough with Michelle or Adam at Fishin' Finatics Charters.
https://fishinfinaticscharters.ca/
Looking forward to heading back up to the French River in the near future!!
