A Northern Pike Personal Best at Kenlea Cottages

Posted on June 23, 2013 by scottalanmills

IMG_00000241This past weekend my brother and two friends of mine headed up to Pointe Au Baril Station in Ontario, for a quick overnighter fishing trip (a late fathers day get-a-way). I’ve been fishing the 10000 Island area of Georgian Bay for over 20 years, and I just love the scenery and diversity of fishing locations. We tried at place called Kenlea Cottages to stay at overnight.  Our plan was to fish late afternoon Friday, eat dinner, sleep and eat breakfast before checking out to fish Saturday and head home Saturday at dinner. The cabins were OK, about fair for the cost, with the nice touch of having a dock right off our cabin for the boats to tie up.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe did some research on where to fish, and put it all into play, but only had moderate success. Most of the group caught multiple fish of different species, with Pike and Small Mouth Bass being the most plentiful. I only managed 1 fish the whole time, but when it was a personal best 42 inch Pike, it was worth it. The first picture if of my brothers hand, all beat up from helping land the big pike. The second is of course the fish in hand, have a lengthy fight. It took a bit longer than I had hoped to release the fish, but I wanted to be sure it was ready, and it let me know with a strong face wash. If you fish the area, any tips or suggestions are welcome, and we are happy to share our stories. Enjoy this short video as I talk about our successes and challenges.

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Embarrassing Night on the Water

Posted on June 20, 2013 by scottalanmills

It had been a long couple weeks at work, and a while since I’d been on the water, so I took advantage of some beautiful weather to head out for a solo night of fishing. Normally I’m with my wife and children, or have a friend with me, which may explain why my night was just a bit off! My drive to the lake was uneventful, and there was no line up on the boat launches, great news. I put the boat in the water, calm as can be, and when to park the car. It was upon my return that things go interesting. Why was the boat sitting so low in the water? Uh oh…guess who forgot to put the plug in the boat. I quickly grabbed the plug, which was thankfully in close proximity, and stemmed the flood.Image

I made a quick assessment and thought I’d be able to drain the boat while driving it, and was relieved that I wouldn’t have to take it out and drain it. I was just getting ready to hop in when I hear a blast of air, and the sound of velcro giving way. What could it be? My mustang automatic life vest was resting on the floor of the boat, and the water that came in when it was unplugged reached the vest, and whoosh, it thought I was drowning and fully inflated. Good news, it works. Bad news, I have to replace the canister, deflate the device and attempt to fold it up again. The rough start was made a bit better by catching a few fish, and some spectacular scenery. As I say in the video, I’m the “amateur” angler, and sometimes it shows!

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Rod Review: Shimano Compre

Posted on June 13, 2013 by scottalanmills

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My newest rod is my 7 foot, 2 pc, medium light Shimano Compre. I picked this rod up in 2013 for the sole purpose of jigging. My previous rod had been effective, but as I got better at picking up the bite, I needed a rod that was just that had that extra bit of sensitivity. Also, I was looking for a lighter rod in pure weight, as after a full week of jigging, I had a lot of pain from the stress in my wrist. So the Compre has been a great addition, and I pair it with a Shimano Sahara 500 series reel, so the total rig is super light.

imagesI had this rod out for the Walleye opener in my home lake of Conestoga Lake, and was really pleased that the first fish I landed was a nice walleye, caught using a 1/4oz pink jig head with a Lindy Whatsit jig, tipped with a piece of worm. That has to bode well for the potential of the rod right? It’s just as sensitive as I’d hoped, and the flex in the rod really helps me get a good sweeping hook set, while I feel confident it does have enough back bone that if I do get into something a bit more substantial, I’ll be ok to land a bigger fish if I exercise some patience. This rod was a great value, I paid about $115 dollars for it, and so far, worth every penny. I’m hoping to test it out a bit more in a couple weeks, and I’ll be sure to let you know how that goes. Check out the video below, and learn more about the Shimano Compre Rod.

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Tackle Swap 2013

Posted on June 10, 2013 by scottalanmills

ImageA few weeks ago I hosted a tackle swap at my house, where a few friends and family who like to fish could bring their gear over, and trade or give away gear or tackle they no longer use, so it would go to a good home. With the amount of money good tackle costs these days, I’d rather give lures I don’t use to a buddy rather than having a tackle box so stuffed, I’m can’t tell the difference between the good and the not so good (see picture :)).

ImageIn addition, my brother Chris was doing a demo on how to make your own flurocarbon leaders, and I was doing repair work, adding split rings or swivels etc to lures that had been all beat up. It as a good afternoon, a lot of tackle found a new home, a few lures got freshened up, and most guys when home with a hand made leader. I find that if I limit the gear I take to those items that I really use, I get better at using them, and I don’t waste money on lures that just sit in the box. This applies to old rods and reels that while functional, are no longer in the regular rotation and are just taking up space.

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Rod Review: St. Croix Bait Caster

Posted on June 1, 2013 by scottalanmills

ImageI have 3 rod and reel combinations that I use, and I have a reason or application for each. The first rod I ever purchased where I actually did some research and spent some money was my first ever bait caster. I went to one of my local fishing stores, in this case Rainbow Sports in Waterloo Ontario. I wanted a rod mostly for Pike fishing, and it would be mostly used for casting crankbait, and jerk bait, with some trolling as well. This rod is a St. Croix, 2 piece 6’6″ medium heavy rod, and it’s been a real workhorse for me. I’ve actually replaced the reel on this one already, but the rod is still going strong. I’ve landed multiple big fish, used it for a long time, and it keeps going strong. This is a case where spending a bit more money was totally worth it.

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Belwood Pike Derby 2013

Posted on May 26, 2013 by scottalanmills

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This weekend saw me enter my first ever tournament, the annual Belwood Lions Pike Derby, held on Belwood Lake. There were over 500 entrants, and while I had no expectation of winning the tournament, my brother Chris and I did have expectations to put a fish or two up on the qualifying board. The minimum length for this derby was only 22inches, so we felt confident that over the course of the weekend, we’d be able to notch a couple. We were wrong.

On the Friday night before the tournament a cold front moved in, in fact there was frost on the ground as we left the house on Saturday morning to join over 500 other anglers. For those of you who don’t fish, a cold front can shut down the feeding habits of many species of fish. Over the weekend, we put in a total of 17 hours on the water, and caught only ONE FISH. It was a 19 inch pike, that was so small I had to be careful when handling it to not cause damage. Most of the folks we talked to experienced that same luck, almost no fish in the boat, many groups completely skunked for the weekend. I mean, I can understand not getting a Pike, but to not get perch, or bass, or walleye, or carp, or catfish…you get the picture. Image

So my first tournament was not a positive experience for fishing. The Belwood Lions did raise a lot of money for their charities, and many kids and adults received door prizes, not to mention the $2000 that went to the first place winner for his 28inch Pike. I think it’s too early to decide if we’d do it again, the sting is still there, but after another long winter of no fishing, I expect our opinions will change and we’ll be looking to enter again. Hopefully with better results!

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Victoria Day in Haliburton, and a Muskie First

Posted on May 19, 2013 by scottalanmills

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The Victoria Day Weekend is great not only because it is a long weekend, but because it is also a long weekend with fishing season open! I’ve been out twice at this point, and I’m hoping to get out at least one more time. On day one, I headed out first thing in the morning, and was the first boat to launch for the day. Things started out tough, firstly because I couldn’t find a coffee shop that would take debit, and secondly, because my fish finder is acting up, providing me depth,but no fish marking and no temperature. When I did get the temperature working at one point, it was telling me the water was about freezing…which it wasn’t. Sigh. So I not only did not catch any fish, but lost another key lure. Sigh. The second morning was better. I went with my father onto Head Lake. We had coffee, which helped, but we faced rain, which was not so great for comfort, but hopefully would help with fishing. I picked up a number of small perch and bass using a worm harness, and dad landed his first ever Muskie, shown in this photo. It hit on a number 3 Mepps with a worm, and just hammered it.  So, while today was better than yesterday, neither has been great for fishing for me, but I’ll persevere and be out there again tomorrow!

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First Pike Tournament

Posted on May 16, 2013 by scottalanmills

pikeIt should come as no surprise that I love to fish. What some people don’t understand is that while the fishing is obviously an important element, there are others that are just as important. Things like the anticipation of a big trip, the planning process to make sure things are “just right”, and the inevitable banter between the people on the trip. When I’m out fishing, as much as the group often teases each other heavily, we also all really want the other guy to do well. If one person catches a great fish, it lifts the spirits of all the others, and it increases the friendly competition.

This year though, I’m going to find out whether I like the competition to be a touch more than just friendly. My brother and I have just mailed off our registration for the annual Belwood Lions Pike Derby. This is a fundraiser for the local community and is held on Belwood Lake. It is a two day tournament, with prized for the longest Pike, which must be live released and well cared for. The competition intrigues me, but the process for pre-fishing a lake, studying maps, gear preparation and the anticipation, are all part of the package. I’ve set a goal to have a fish entered, which from what I understand is a worthy goal as many anglers don’t even catch a Pike, I suspect because of the volume of boating activity during that weekend.

So if you are interested in giving a tournament a try, check out your local lakes to see if there is a nice easy starting point like we have found, and perhaps you’ll find you’ll catch more than just fish, you’ll catch the tournament bug!

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