Walleye On The Rocks
“Dave – I see the boulders, should be in the right spot” – within two seconds both of us hooked into walleye in 5 feet of water – double header! One net! We manage to slip both fish into the net, a fat 20 incher and a skinny 21 incher, sweet. The theme of finding boulders was prevalent all week at Miniss – hard bottom – okay, mud bottom, limited bites, boulders on the bottom – hang on! Miniss Lake with Slate Falls Outposts was everything we had hoped for over the last 2 years.
The Long Wait
I have probably over mentioned how much planning goes into our trips. I have 4 posts to prove it! Trip Plan Part 1 Trip Plan Part 2 Trip Plan Part 3 Trip Plan Part 4 Out big trips (Fly ins) happen every two years and we do a lot of work to make them special. 2022 was simpler than 2020 on paper Root Bay 2020 We were on the downside of Covid, we had made the trip before and we had refined our plan. Not – then came multiple flight changes as airports and airlines struggled with new demand, 2 of our group decided to forgo the flight to T Bay and drive all the way to Sioux Lookout and once again our flight into Thunder Bay was anything but smooth,
Travel Day
The drivers (Dave, Scott) took the bulk of our gear and headed out Thursday AM which left the fliers (Mark, Colin and I) to catch an 8:15 AM flight from Pearson to Thunder Bay. We checked into a hotel near the airport on Thursday night, a few beers and off to bed to catch the 5:30 AM shuttle to the airport. The lineups at Pearson were crazy – even with no checked bags it took us 1.5 hours to get through security but thankfully we had plenty of time. Flight was smooth all the way to Thunder Bay where like last trip we could not land in the fog. We headed for Sault St Marie and had a tense hour wait on the tarmac (options floating around were fly right back, stay the night in the Sault or return to Toronto). We texted the drivers and solid dues they are they went to get groceries and wait it out. We headed back to T Bay and stuck the landing – phew.
Picking up our rental car was easy, we loaded up, met the guys by the LCBO, grabbed our important provisions and had a smooth 4.5-hour drive to Sioux Lookout. We checked into the Lamplighter Motel (fine establishment, not the Ritz but clean and serviceable). A few beers and we headed to find dinner, more beers and early bed. Ryan at Slate Falls https://slatefallsoutposts.com/ asked us to come to the air base for 8:15 to chat, mark up a map and head into our home for the week – Miniss Lake West Cabin.
Beginnings
We were up early with excitement, met our neighbours at the hotel (A group from Wisconsin heading into the Eagle Island camp w SFO. If you happen to read this, please shoot me an email, I ruined the business card with an unexpected swim on Day 1!) and picked up some much-needed coffee from Tim Hortons in town. Soon enough it was time to head to the airbase and get set. Ryan walked us through a map (his spots were gold all week long) and said we would be loading up on the next plane in. Soon enough we loaded the Otter and did the 30-minute flight to Miniss. It was an interesting flight – about halfway the fog was everywhere, and we ended up flying over it for 50% of the flight – right underneath the plane it was obvious it was fog, in the distance it looked as if we were flying over a field of snow. Soon we cleared the fog and made our descent to Miniss – as the lake revealed herself to us it met all expectations, rocky islands everywhere, points, rock bars, pine crested shorelines, she was glorious.
We taxied to the dock and quickly got out gear to the cabin and started to unpack. The Miniss West cabin was very functional – 3 bedrooms with 6 bunks, a huge dining table, wood stove, little bar area with a large wall map of the lake, a couch, two lounge chairs and a solid kitchen. One of the features we loved at Root Bay was a big, covered porch and Miniss West had one as well with a great patio set – perfect. Once the housekeeping was done it was time to get our gear prepped to fish – it was 11 AM so we ate as we worked and were on the water by noon.
Day 1
I have failed to mention the weather – it was hot, about 26 degrees Celsius and there was almost no wind – not the best weather for walleye fishing. We would be running 3 boats – 2 pairs and a single so we decided to split up and fish spots that Ryan had marked close to camp. I headed to a dominant point, Dave and Mark ran to a set of islands which Ryan had marked and Colin and Scott – well we did not know where they went, more on that in a bit. Scouting out the point my thought was the fish would be deep and I started to bottom bounce. One pass and I hooked into a nice 20 incher. I thought it would be the start of something great, but it really was not I landed a few more fish but fast and furious it wasn’t. Dave and Mark found the same thing – pick off a fish or two but that was it. We ran to another island further into the bay and it was more of the same – a few fish here and there. At this stage we checked in with the other boat. They had ventured farther and were doing well off a rock reef. So well in fact that they had caught a PB pike of 41.5 inches and a PB walleye of 25.5 inches! PB Rock was born and since Colin caught the bulk of his fish trolling a Hot N Tot – so was his nickname – the Hot n Toto Kid! We all headed down and picked off a few more fish. Mark, Dave and I decided to head to a new area that Ryan had marked – a neckdown with some depth on the backside of an island. We got into fish, but they were mainly small, under 14 inches (nicknamed cigars) Eventually it was time to run back to camp. We had a dinner of steak hash (mushrooms for the veggie crew) a nice fire (pit at Miniss West is great) and wandered down to the dock around 11 PM to take in the light show – no northern lights but the most defined milky way I have witnessed.
Total Fish Count – 63
Day 2
It was an early morning for me, up at 4:00 AM, then 4:30 and finally at 5:15 I just decided to get out of bed. I headed down to the dock to see if I could get a good time lapse video of sunrise. Unfortunately, the sun was rising outside of my purview, but I enjoyed a nice coffee, did some map study and even made a video. As I made a coffee, I heard a slight rustle from the shelf with all our dry foods – sure enough a little head popped out of our chocolate bars – a mouse I nicknamed Despereaux. Cute as he was, Despereaux and his family visited often during our week getting into chocolate, chips and even butter. With no traps we would just need to learn to live together, it was fine albeit a bit gross to wake up to mouse poop on the counters every morning/ We did our best to store our food, put what we could in the fridge (SFO cabins always have nice full-size fridges)
A few sunrise shots below:
With no human movement inside, I jumped in the solo boat and ran to the point – within 30 minutes I had 6 fish including my best to date, a thick 22 incher. I could see movement in camp and headed back to get started for the day. I was going to fish with Scott, Mark and Colin were together and Dave was solo. It was still hot and calm. We decided to head back to the point and bottom bounce again. We got into a few and Dave did better but it still was not furious fishing. Just around the corner there is a short portage which goes around the rapids heading out of Miniss. Colin and Mark decided to check it out. They caught a lot of fish, but it was not without its challenges. They could not get the motor on the portage boat to start, then a paddle broke and then Colin snapped his brand-new St Croix rod. They caught a lot of fish in brief time but headed back frustrated with all their follies. We ran further from the cabin to a bay Ryan had said was good for pike and had some solid walleye structure nearby. After circling a few times (Miniss is an easy lake to get turned around in) we found the area and fished. We picked off the odd walleye, a few small pike but man it was hot. As we discussed finding a shore for lunch we made a new plan, head to the cabin for lunch, have a quick siesta to wait out the heat and fish until dusk. It was a smart plan.
We headed back out around 6 PM and fished a rock reef close to camp. Using jigs tipped w worms or minnows we got into a better bite. Scott and I felt like we were missing fish as it was a tentative bite but we caught enough to keep us happy. This is where we started to see the boulder pattern. The moment we could feel our jigs bounce on the rocks we get hits, drift into a flat bottom and it died. Interesting. Eventually we were treated to one of the best sunsets I have ever witnessed. The sky glowed orange, then pink, then purple – mother nature at her finest. Back to the cabin for a late dinner of udon noodles, left over steak and veg. We lit a fire again and were treated to another light show.
Total Fish Count – 58
Day 3
I was up early again and once I had some coffee I decided to run back to the point. The weather had switched – it was cooler, grey and there was a decent NW wind. I dropped my bouncer in 30 feet of water and had a hit right away, nice! I started again and immediately got hit. As I hooked up another worm, I swore I heard someone yelling from the cabin. I killed the motor and listened but did not hear anything – tried the radio and no answer. Started the motor and there it was again, better go check. I motored back to the lake and saw Dave and Colin on the deck laughing. As I walked up, I heard Colin say, “I thought no one was going to help me” Apparently when Colin visited the outhouse the outside lock had closed, and he was trapped. The yelling I heard was him trying to wake up the guys in the cabin – priceless. Today it was Colin and I, Dave and Mark and Scott was solo. With sandwiches ready we decided to fish closer to camp for a bit and see if we could define a pattern. Dave and Mark headed to the point, Scott was trolling a rock reef and Colin and I went to fish a set of islands that had a large shoal off to the side. We started bouncing and picked off a few fish but as the wind came up, we decided to try drifting jigs. Good call – we got on a great spot where we started at the top of the reef in 7 feet of water and drifted out to 30. Generally, our fish came between 7 and 15 feet. No giants but lots of 16 – 20 inchers which was great as we needed fish for dinner. The other guys were also picking them off – the radios announcing fish more often than days 1 and 2 – a good sign. We met up at a point and had lunch. Once finished we made our way down to PB rock and it was on fire. Jigging was the ticket again, but it was truly a spot on a spot deal. Off a marker buoy that marked the high side of the reef the water dropped quickly from 5 feet to 30 and it was a good rocky bottom. We would start in 30, drift towards the buoy but like clockwork as soon as we hit 24 feet until about 11, we got fish. Miss the rocks, miss the fish, miss the depth, miss the fish. Frustrating at first but once we had it dialed in it was awesome. The other guys were hitting them as well. Colin and I decided to hit some new area’s trolling the hot n tot. We picked off a few walleyes and pike, so did the other guys. There was a huge pike lost due to a hole in the net, lots of dinner fish caught and so we headed back to the cabin for dinner. Fish tacos, probably my top dinner – so good. A cooler campfire at night, lots of laughs about the outhouse incident and our best day fishing so far – excellent.
Total Fish Count – 95
Day 4
Colin was keen to make a run to a new section of the lake today. We called it the Colin Zone. We have come to enjoy fishing the bigger lakes and making a run, seeing new areas and scenery was part of the deal. It was another warm day with a SW wind – perfect to explore. It was also a shore lunch day – we packed our kit, but we needed 6 fish, pressure on. I was fishing with Dave; Colin was with Scott and Mark was the solo boat. We got ourselves orientated with the maps and our GPS units (I was using the Navionics app, Dave had a handheld, Mark used the fish finder and Colin had I Boating – well prepped we were this time). We ran through a labyrinth of islands, bays, deep, shallow and passed the Miniss East camp. Eventually we ended up in Colin’s zone. A widening of the lake dotted with islands. We split up and started to fish. Dave and I gravitated towards a shoal between two rock piles. We motored around trying to get a lay of the land. Once we had a sense of the drift, we dropped our jigs and… nothing. We repositioned trying to get a better line and…nothing. Reposition the boat and the bottom changed from flat to rocky – fish on. For us the next hour was epic. We had two double headers, lots of action and we were catching fish anywhere from 5 feet to 15. It was another spot on the spot affair. The shoal was probably 100 yards by 100 yards, but we only seemed to get into fish on a spot that was two boats wide by 75 yards. The highlight for me was catching bigger walleye (19 – 23 inches) in 5 feet of water – it was awesome. The other guys were also doing well. Colin and Scott were fishing a neckdown between two islands. They started in 40 feet of water and drifted into 3 feet. They had an eye on a few shore lunch spots so we met up with Mark, trolled around a white jug (3 walleye, 2 pike) and then motored down. Pulling into their area was crazy – the fish finder lit up like a Christmas tree – fish everywhere from 60 feet to 30 – suspended, on the bottom – everywhere. Dave and I jumped in for a drift and within no time we hooked into thick, 22-inch walleyes. As we pulled along Colin and Scott, we witnessed a rare double netting. As Colin was pulling in a walleye a 30-inch pike latched on long enough to get netted himself. We pulled onto a small island that looked good for shore lunch. With limited cooking material wee improvised – boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, then added them to the skillet with onions and beans. When that was done, we beer battered our fish (expertly fileted by Mark) and ate – so good. It was hot enough that we decided to go for a swim – well, more like we jumped in the water to cool off, froze and got out. As we ate the wind had died down and to a degree so had the spot.
We made our way back to camp, fishing along the way. With a late lunch we decided to fish until dusk. We ran back to camp to put on some warmed clothes, grab some beverages and fish near the cabin. Eventually Dave and I fished a reef that had been good – another awesome run. We had another walleye and pike combo this night, two of them in fact. Dave managed to net the 14-inch walleye and the pike that had latched onto it. Unfortunately when it was Dave’s turn the pike let go before I could get them in the net (we did get the walleye though). The way the drift worked out we jigged along at 17 feet, sort of on the drop of the reef. When we saw boulders on the screen or our jigs started to bounce of rocks, you guess it - we got fish. Mark joined us and did well. Colin and Scott had been picking fish off trolling but headed back to camp to start dinner. The sunset show came back again and was just as good. We tagged a lot of fish, had some great laughs, and eventually made our way back to camp – fully satisfied with the day. Dinner was linguine with marinara sauce along w salad and garlic bread. I retired for the night a happy (and slightly drunk) man.
Total Fish Count – 108
Day 5
We awoke to a cloudy and cool morning. We geared up in our rain gear and tuques prior to heading out. Today’s target area was the inflow of the Miniss river. A long run from the cabin but something we were all keen to see. I was solo. Dave w Scott and Colin w Mark. We made the run and passed more amazing scenery. In a few spots the lake really narrowed into fingers – surrounded by cliffs, jack pine and towering poplars. It was spectacular. Eventually we made it to the mouth – to our disappointment there was no distinct falls or current breaks, but we split up and patrolled. Wanting to try for more pike I tied on an orange/copper Doctor spoon and trolled the edges moving from 10 feet to 18 feet. I turned a corner into a bay and caught a nice 18-inch walleye. I cut across the bay and picked off a small pike. As I moved up the shore, I continued to catch walleyes and small pike. The other guys moved into the bay and ended up catching a lot of walleyes in 8 – 12 feet of water. The wind was blowing hard into this bay, so we moved back upriver (toward Miniss Lake) looking for similar areas and continued to pick off fish. I got a nice 30-inch pike as well as a few more small walleyes on the Dr Spoon. We eventually made it back to the main lake and started to poke around one area which had the deepest water we had noticed – 80 feet deep. Once again, the fish finders lit up, but generally the fish seemed to be suspending. From 35 feet (bottom) to 80 feet (bottom) fish were everywhere but after trying different tactics we could not get anything going. I must admit, I was not feeling great. I was cold, had a headache from the day before beverages and was thinking of running back. We met off a point and had lunch. I did make the run, fishing a few spots back to our cabin. I picked off some fish but with a heavy wind solo fishing was tough. The other guys continued to explore and eventually we met up at the cabin around 4:00 PM.
We had a snack and a siesta and headed back out for the evening bite. At this point we focused in on the shoal close to the cabin – picked off fish on the jig and bottom bouncing but it was a soft bite. Our theory was the wind shift and the cooler weather had slowed the bite. Biggest fish were a trio of 22 inchers, and we headed in for a chicken stir fry with BBQ chicken on the side and salad. No campfire tonight, we lit a fire in the wood stove and played cards – time well spent.
Total Fish Count - 75
Day 6
Another hot one and we made another run. Today was another fish fry day – we had 2 fish prepped but needed more. We planned to run to the De Lesseps River and see if we could find some current. Another scenic run as we headed into a finger like section of Miniss Lake. Scott was solo, Mark and I were paired as were Dave and Colin. We eventually passed a point that had a shore lunch spot set up. Tables, propane cooker, two fire pits with grills we had found our lunch spot. We eventually found the entrance to the river. We motored through cautiously as it was only about 3 feet deep. Eventually we made it all the way to De Lesseps lake without finding fish, rapids or much else but it was a fun ride, and our adventurous spirit was satisfied. Back into Miniss. Mark and I headed to a point that looked good. Surround by deep water it had a steep breaking shoreline. My first guess was a bust but thankfully Mark decided to push us around to the opposite corner where a there was a small bay. By this time, we were always looking for boulders. Sure enough in 11 feet we found a rock pile and a. ark backtrolled us past he picked off a chunky walleye. Then I got a pike, then we move out to around 20 feet deep and had a double header. Another small rock reef was paying off. Scott was trolling for big pike and hooked into quite a few. Colin and Dave were trolling around some islands and picked off a mix of walleye and pike. Soon it was time to run to the shore lunch spot. With all the supporting gear lunch was easier than our DIY one (although not as satisfying). Once again it was a delicious meal. After lunch the weather flipped, rain came in and it cooled right off – no swim today. We took a quick group photo, got back into the boats, and made our way back to Colin’s zone.
One our way I just happened to be watching the shoreline. Noticed a big splash and saw something large leave the water. Mark spun us around and as we got closer, we noticed that it was a small Caribou. Fully aware of us it made its way back into the bush so we could not get a picture, but she reappeared a few times for another view, very cool. We picked off a few fish in previous spots, but the weather change limited our success. We made our way towards our section of the lake and ran in to grab some snacks, drinks and a layer of clothes. We headed back to our favorite nighttime reef and man; it was on like donkey Kong. The wind had died so you needed to back troll our front troll jigs but cruising between 14 and 25 feet was solid. We were all picking off fish and then I had a solid pull, miss, “Mark bump me forward” and it was back. As I put pressure on the fish it was pulling drag like a salmon. I remembered our “fight it like it’s a walleye” motto Fight it like a Walleye certain it was a pike. As we finally got a glimpse it was a big eye – Mark netted it like a pro and our biggest fish of the week was in the net – 26 inches. We fished until dark catching more fish but honestly, I was satisfied the moment the big girl went into the net. Another interesting note for me – only fished a jig the entire day, no bottom bounce, not crankbait troll. Back to the cabin for a new meal – Naan Calzones. Borrowed from Lost Lakes Lost Lakes it was a hot and it was easy. Sautee some peppers, onions and mushrooms, grab a pack of pepperoni, shredded cheddar cheese and a jar or two of pizza sauce. Make a line, have everyone dress half of the naan with the toppings of choice, place on the BBQ, melt toppings, fold and eat. Awesome. No campfire again as it started to pour rain – more cards, fire in the wood stove and beers. Happy.
Total Fish Count - 76
Day 7
Another cool morning with a NW breeze and a text from Ryan saying we should get picked up at 6:30 AM. We ate a quick breakfast, packed what we could, did a bit or organization of the fridge and planned. Fish close to home, come in for lunch for more packing and clean up. Head out again for a night fish, head in, quick dinner, finish packing our gear, final clean so that we just needed to get up pack remaining gear and be ready for the plane.
The final day is always bittersweet. I am ready to see my family, use an indoor toilet, have a real shower and be in my own bed. On the other side I am sad to leave the North, will miss the fishing, the camaraderie, and the respite from our busy regular lives.
Dave and I were together, as were Mark and Scott and Colin was the solo boat. Dave and I headed to our favorite reef, Colin fished the same area trolling the Tot (He is the Hot n Tot kid after all) and Mark and Scott went to a new location. Jig bit was one for Dave and me. We were looking for take home fish and within 30 minutes we had 4 fish on the stringer. As we continued to fish the rock pile I had another heavy hit – running like a salmon again I ended up with a fat 24-inch walleye. Not as long as the 26 but I would guess heavier as she was a little on the girthy side. Colin did well Hot n Tot’n as did Mark and Scott. Mark and Scott also had another Caribou encounter – this time a racked male (I am not sure if all Caribou have antlers or just males). I have a short video I will post.
Eventually the wind died off and the sun came out. We ran back to camp to eat, pack, sweep and mop floors, organize the fridge and coolers. Eventually we headed out for our final fish. High sun and no drift whatsoever made it a tough afternoon. We tried drifting, anchoring, trolling and bottom bouncing with little success. Again, we caught fish but no major schools. With night approaching w met up at PB rock and caught a few more. We tried trolling cranks at a nearby point and caught a few. With time running out we headed back to our reef (really should have named that spot) and using a little drift, some backtrolling got into them again. Eventually we called it a night and headed to pack all our fishing gear and eat. A nice dinner of fusilli with pesto and veg, a quick fire to burn all our burnable. Some fileting of take-home fish it was time for bed.
Total Fish Count – 87
Total Weekly Fish Count - 561
Note: we bring clickers and count everything. I would estimate that 85% of our fish were walleye with the remaining 15% being pike. We were down from 800 something at Root Bay but if we wanted to pad numbers, we could have gone back to the portage, but we enjoyed checking out Miniss lake way too much.
Biggest Walleye – 26 inches with 6 fish over 24 inches
Biggest Pike – 41.5 inches with 8 fish over 30, 2 over 35 inches
Lures:
Majority of our fish were caught jigging with ¼ to 3/8-ounce jigs tipped with grubs or paddle tales, followed by trolling crankbaits including hot n tots, down deep husky jerks and finally bottom bouncing with ounce bottom bouncers and a variety of blades (personally my best blades were number 4 Colorado w 2 hooks). We also had some success casting swimbaits like the Storm 360 or just a round head jig w a paddle tail trailer - of the 2 Storm 360 was better but we had limited stock and between snags and pike lost them quick (note to self: pack more)
Our best colours were Pink/White, Orange/Chartreuse, Purple/White, Gold Metallic, Yellow and Orange. To simplify bright and/or bright metallic was best.
For those who want specifics best jig trailers were Yum 4 Inch in Pink Blush, Northland Swimming Grub in Sunrise, Berkley Powerbait Ripple Shad, 4 inch, Uncle Rico and a White Mr Twister Double Tail Grub
Specific cranks were Hot N Tots in Metallic Perch and Regular Perch (2.5 inch, straight bill) and Down Deep Husky Jerks, 4 3/4 size, Black top, Gold bottom
No brand stood out for harnesses (a lot were my own creations) but the colours referenced above all worked.
Nicknames
Dave - Sir Snagsalot
Mark - Bill Derek, Jigging Gnome
Colin - Hot n Tot Kid, Poop Box Hero
Scott - 5 of Diamonds
Andrew - Backseat Driver, The Mouth of the South, Sir Chirps a Lot (I talk a lot, a lot a lot)
Departures
The SFO Otter was at our dock for 6:34 AM – as promised. We had a smooth, uneventful flight back to Sioux Lookout. Unloaded the plane, checked in with Ryan, settled our bills and headed to Tim Hortons for coffee and breakfast. Dave and Scott would drive all the way back to Toronto, Mark, Colin and I to Thunder Bay airport. The fliers made it with plenty of time, probably to much as we had lunch in Thunder Bay at 1:45 and were at the airport for 2:30 PM for a 6:30 flight. The flight eventually took off at 7:05 and touched down in Toronto at 9 PM – smooth, uneventful. The drivers made wonderful time to get to Sault St Marie for 9 PM, checked into a Holiday Inn and made the final leg back to home
Observations:
1) Miniss is my favorite lake so far. So much structure, scenic, big but fished small. Every shoreline seemed to have its own character and personality, straight out of a painting or Joseph Boyden novel. To me it was such an amazing representation of fishing northern Ontario. We caught more fish at Root Bay but take out the Pin Cushion and our visit to the dam and Miniss probably beat it.
2) Ryan and the SFO team treated us very well again and met our expectations. I highly recommend https://slatefallsoutposts.com/ and here is a full review of the outfitter I did from our 2020 trip SFO Review Give them a call and feel free to tell them Northern Jacks sent ya.
3) I tried not to chase numbers during the week and focus on the experience more. I was successful overall. Although if you ask the guys they may have a different opinion, I did tend to be a backseat driver as a passenger.
4) Pike are feisty buggers. During the week we had 5 pike grabbing hooked walleye scenarios, 3 of them so aggressive we were able to net both fish. In two cases I would guess the walleye was at least half the size of the pike.
5) Commercial flying was a challenge this year – and with the drivers having a smoother, more relaxing run we may go back to that.
6) Our group is solid – everyone pitches in, we laugh a lot, we learn from each other (Mark and Dave taught me a lot about jigging, Colin the hot n tot and Scott helped me get a better sense of the fish finder, maps and how to master the spoon!). This was our 6th trip together (plus lots of camping/cottage weekends around home) and I hope to have many more. We met a gentleman coming out of his week who was 80 years old – I really hope we can all do the same together.
7) We tried to switch up the boats more this trip, so no one had to fish a full day solo if they did not want to. For the most part everyone did the full day. I think we all enjoyed the opportunity to fish how we wanted and experiment without feeling the pressure of putting your boat partner on fish.
8) The post on a spot is a thing. I would bet more than 70% of our best spots were a tiny piece of structure or specific depth on a much larger piece of structure. Boulders were a thing (I tried googling on why walleyes would relate to rock reefs but did not see anything, anyone has a clue please email me or comment). I think for this reason I didn't name a lot of spots - PB Reef was about the only true spot name - I need to do better next trip.
9) On that note – boat control is so huge when fishing walleye. I found I could get a solid bottom bouncer run when trolling solo but the moment I tried for two people I lost it. We also found you really needed to pay attention to the depth finder, landmarks, and wind direction when fishing those “spots on spots” I know one spot I had to have the thing circled with waypoints to get the perfect drift. It was worth it though, once you got it right, you got a lot of fish and big ones.
10) I personally wish I experimented a bit more – I went in with the goal of jigging more (Check), fishing more for pike (half check), trolling more crankbaits (half check) trying the ned rig (not at all) and casting more (barely). Next time around I will try more, I hope.
11) Jigging works. I spent more time jigging on this trip than any prior ones and was rewarded. I found it more efficient than bottom bouncing or trolling cranks. My secret was to use a jig heavy enough to feel bottom, experiment with grub colours, keep my line as close to vertical as possible and when in doubt, set the hook. I also tried casting a jig to structure when the drift was not cooperating or was non existent with a little success. Dave did better with that tactic than any of us.
12) I am grateful. Grateful for the experience, grateful for the guys, grateful for the fish, grateful to have the time and funds to spend a week doing what I love. I am just as pumped about our next one as I was for our first. 2024 here we come!
Thanks for reading this long report, I hope you enjoyed. I have a few more pieces that will come out of it (BeFree Water Bottle review, Mora Knife review and some new tactics) and I will also try to share some of the videos we took.
Cheers
Andrew and by proxy the Northern Jacks crew
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