Hopes and Dreams Part II

We learned one thing from the professor’s post. When one is not catching fish, the mind tends to wander. Well, Gord is likely busy shuttling gas and fixing the leaky boat on Clearwater as we prepare for our arrival next weekend. August has been a great time of year to catch deep water walleye, lake trout, whitefish, and perch. I am planning on trying a few slight variations in techniques and will report back in a few weeks.

Bottom bouncing with crawler spinner rigs has been very good to us. Our group of 4 will be arriving with a flat of crawlers and would prefer not to return with any. I am going to give the “slick stick” a try this year. It looks like this:

A variation of the bottom bouncer

This stainless steel rod is supposed to be more  sensitive and I very much like the setup of the swivel that allows the line to pass through without feeling the weight when given line. I also think it will be less likely to foul. A little “spendy” as Gord would say, but worth a try.

We also intend to jig for some lake trout and whitefish using the Lewie rig. I very much like the drop shot jigs that cabelas used to sell. Those are no longer available, but you can find them on Ebay (search by dropshot jig). They look like this:

When combined with a spoon like a little cleo, it produces the following results:

If the walleyes do not cooperate, as is the norm for this time of year, I am going to give the slow death hook and half crawler a try. These hooks look like this:

Also, based on a fishery report that Gord shared with me, I am going to try for a few more suspended lake trout due to the low oxygen levels in Eagle, and try a few more deep weed beds for pike. Wish us luck. I would hate to have to fill a post with pictures of dirty laundry.

We struggled a bit with trolling for lakers last year with spoons. Anyone willing to share tips on fishing flatfish in the trout holes?

 

23 thoughts on “Hopes and Dreams Part II”

  1. Andy
    Reply

    Professor….if my arm can take it, I might give those 6″ T-60 Flatfish a try that we used up in the Northwest Territory? That might attract the attention of one of those monster lakers in the Trout Holes?

    1. Professor
      Reply

      The missus got a nice one on the silver color last September in hole #2. The rod holder would be highly recommended.

  2. Andy
    Reply

    Gord,

    Saw your post on Walleye Central….I mentioned the Alabama Rig to you once before and I am going to give it a try while jigging for lake trout. It has four wires that trail jigs that mimic a school of minnows. The regulation question is about how many hooks are permitted in Ontario? I believe it is legal if it has no more than four hooks….in the same way that a crawler harness or a Lewie rig is legal?

  3. perchmaster
    Reply

    Interesting thoughts in your post Andy.
    Little tip I have been using on deeper water perch fishing on Bago this summer is a red hook can”t remember the name off hand but with a chunck of crawler tipped with waxie. Seems to work pretty good. Also have been using this on a 1/8oz jig with good luck.
    As for those deep water lakers try the sutton spoons with weight of course or something on that order that is silver/gold and flashy and flutters.

  5. Andy
    Reply

    Kurt,

    I have a nice assortment of flashy spoons including the sutton spoon that Gord is partial to. The professor has been known to fall into a kind of a hypnotized state while gazing into this box of lures. I should note that this spoon also caught many walleyes on one trip to Oconto with the professor.

    However, last year, there was one day when the assortment of spoons didn’t produce. Another VBL guest, on that same day, had some success with the flatfish. I am typically pulling these baits behind a three-way set-up but the snap-on weights would work as well. Boards might be effective in getting these baits away from the noise of the engine, but then again, these fish are very deep this time of year. I don’t recall the size of the flatfish or if there was any special rigging requirements. I do remember using these for a short time and had a number of incidents with fouled hooks.

  6. perchmaster
    Reply

    Andy
    Are you sure that the Professor was gazing into the tackle box and not else where?
    HAHA!!!
    I just thought the planner board would offer more, not so much to get away from the noise of the boat.
    I think if you can get it through without getting weeded up the snap weights would work great with those flashy light type spoons.
    Besides Andy who cares what Gord is partial to!!!!
    What does he know he spends to much time on the site you have now joined to chime in on.
    I think more time should be spent here with reports so I don’t have to lurk on over to the competitions site to find out how fishing is!!!!

  7. Gord
    Reply

    Firstly, let me thank Andy for getting us away from the Professor’s dirty underwear post. Secondly, Kurt, you are correct in the lack of posts coming from VBL. I was currently inputing some photos to bring things more up to date……however this post from Andy deserves to remain at the top for at least a few days longer. Thirdly, the folks that were using the flatfish were using chartreuse colors…..can’t say the size off hand, but they didn’t seem overly large. They used a 3 way swivel and were pretty much fishing the bottom……which does contradict the oxygen level theories. Although this summer has been exceptionally warm so oxygen levels might be more critical than in the past. Water temps right now are in the mid 70’s……too warm. Another thing I have noticed is the lack of weed beds…particularly the small leafed cabbage (probably a result of rusty crayfish). It has definately made for some changes in usual patterns. Walleyes are not as deep as I have seen in the past…….the bite is still pretty good in the “less than 20 foot” range (disappointing to the professor, I’m sure!). Fourthly, I did carry in some very heavy cans of gas over the portage trail into Clearwater for your upcoming visit………..I do expect you to take in a few small containers if you are venturing there a lot. All for now…..see you shortly.

    1. Andy
      Reply

      Gord,

      Go ahead and post some pictures so that we have something to look forward to on the drive up tomorrow night! We also very much appreciate your effort to play mule and get us the gas we will need on Clearwater. Injured Billy is also appreciate to know that you will be offering him a piggy-back ride to Clearwater given the need to portage. He is wondering if that same service is available for Caribou lake? The professor was kind enough to send me a map yesterday with some potential spots to explore on Clearwater. I intend to bring the hand held GPS to mark a few of those weed beds and submerged islands. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to the trip. It also reminds me that I always intend to do more than what is available in a weeks time. 2013 might have to be the year for the next 2 week vacation. Or, split weeks if the perch rodeo comes to fruition. Maybe I should just retire and spend three weeks?

          2. Teal River

            That is one of my Wisconsin fish. Maybe Greg will be able to hoist his own muskie on Eagle this year now that he has had some practice. Seems he has a good guide.

    1. Andy
      Reply

      Kurt, I have a suggested addition for the Sunday fish fry that I will share with Gord this week (Beaver Brand Tarter Sauce made exclusively by Mr. Biggi)

      beavertonfoods.com

      Photo’s coming to a blog near you soon.

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On behalf of the Boyes Group, I would like to pass on our sincere thanks for hosting the Muskie Madness Week and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at VBL and had a great time!! This was our 7th year on Eagle Lake and we have stayed at a few other lodges but VBL takes the cake hands down! You can definitely count us in for next year. I’m happy to see you post some of my pics, they turned out well. Thanks again Gord for a wonderful week of fishing and your stellar hospitality, you run a first class operation, we look forward to seeing you next year!

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