Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Back in the real world
Saturday 6/27/09
I fished twin peaks for most of the day. This area is usually a good spot for perch and therefore attracts walleye and pike alike. It is located between “Big Point” and “Birch Island” and covers a large area of water. It is easy to locate with a depth finder as the depth climbs quite sharply from 30 odd feet to less than nine feet. It then drops to 20 odd feet and then climbs back up to 9 feet. Finally it drops back to the depths of the lake. The water temp was pretty steady at 61.7 F. Air temp peaked at around 20 C. It was cloudy with sunny breaks with a wind coming out of the west, causing whitecaps off and on throughout the day. I caught numerous walleye and pike but no perch were found as I slowly maneuvered all over both peaks with my electric motor. The largest walleye was 48cm. Good thing I did not plan on having fish for dinner. I was using a 1/4 oz or 1/8 oz jig head depending on the depth I was fishing. I tipped the jigs with either; frozen minnows, live leeches, Berkley Gulp 4” minnows as well as the Gulp 3” crazy legs grubs. I have been using Gulp leeches since the fishing season opened and they have been working well, so I figured I would give these other Gulp products a shot.
The bulk of the walleye were caught at a depth of 16 to 21 feet of water, bouncing the jig off the bottom about 6 inches or so. The pike were all caught in shallower water closer to the peaks or as the jig was dropping down in deeper water at about 11 feet from the surface.
Sunday 6/28/09
Morning showers turned into a brief thunderstorm and then to a light steady sprinkle. When the sun finally came out, the wind began to increase in intensity out of the west creating huge whitecaps making it impossible for most to safely get out on the lake. Being at the east end of the lake has its downside!
Finally at about 10 PM, the wind died down. With any luck it will stay reasonably calm for the next few days.
Monday 6/29/09
The lake had a small chop when I looked out at 7 AM. YES! Fishing I will go. Had a quick shower, made some breakfast, ate, and guess what. Poof! The wind god hates me. The lake now has two foot whitecaps and it is getting worse.
Finally around 5 PM, the wind has subsided. I’m gone fishin’. Did not go far from home as I can see a storm brewing out west. Cruised into the bay just west of “Tim’s point”. Worked the western part of the bay just before “Big Point”. I found walleye in the 20 foot depth range. They ranged from 43 cm to a 55cm. Only caught 3 pike, which were all in the 60 cm range. At 7 PM I headed in to shore as the storm I saw brewing earlier was now getting too close for my comfort. Not to mention Roxy the fishing hound hates the rain and gets very agitated. I know it sounds strange. A lab that loves the water and will retrieve for as long as you can keep tossing her H2O ring into the water is bothered by rain falling on her. But it is true. I can’t figure it out myself.
Tuesday 6/30/09
Woke up to a calm lake. This time however it managed to stay calm while I showered and had breakfast. Gone Fishing!
9:30 – 4:30: Fished from Tim’s Point west around Big Point and over to Nick’s Nook. Manage to boat 44 walleye and 10 pike. 5 of the walleye were over 50 cm. The biggest one being 53 cm. Most of the walleye were caught on a jig tipped with a leech but a jig and minnow worked well too after I ran out of leeches. No worries, another ¼ pound tub is sitting in the bait fridge.
4:30 – 6:30: Supper and dishes… Gone Fishing! Did I mention I am a Fishaholic?
6:30 – 7:30: Well that didn’t last long. Barely made it out to Big Point and the wind started up. Within minutes it went from relative calm to two foot rolling swells, which are no big deal so I continued fishing. Caught two more small walleye and another pike. Then the nice rollers turned into 3 foot whitecaps and things started to get a bit hairy. Keep in mind I am in a 12 foot, narrow and shallow aluminum boat, a little 9.9 evirude for power. I also have a dog that is starting to freak out and wants to sit beside me even though there is no room for her. Not fun!
Today’s total : 46 walleye and 11 pike.
Wednesday 7/1/09
The entire lake is now open to fishing… and the weather sucks… again… wind, rain, basically a work around the cabin day. I hate it when that happens.
Thursday 7/2/09
Woke up and holy crap! Lake is calm, no rain. Sneak out to the boat wearing a Groucho Marks disguise. It worked. Gone fishing!
Fishing was slow. The ones that were biting were all on the small size. The largest I caught was 48 cm. I talked to a few other people out on the lake and most were experiencing the same.
Around 2:45PM we had a bit of excitement as the water bombers (Canadair CL-215) came in to the lake for the next hour. They appeared to be pounding a fire on the south side of the lake down at the west end not far from Anchor Inn Resort from what I could tell from way down at the east end of the lake. I know it was not far off as the bombers were making round trips every 6 minutes or so. I could see the sun reflecting off of the Cessna Caravan (C208B) “bird dog” circling and marking the spot for the “Ducks” ever so slightly.
http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/wildfires/fighting/airtankerstats.aspx
These are the planes you don't want to see anywhere near your favorite place.
During all the excitement, the wind picked up and the fishing got worse, if that was at all possible. But stubborn as I am I stayed out for a little longer hoping to start catching instead of just fishing. Managed to catch a few more but again nothing to write home about. Headed in for supper at 5:30 and was back on the lake at 6:30. Managed to bag a few more medium sized walleyes before the storm rolled in from the west forcing me off the lake at about 8:30. It did not last long and I probably could have gone back out around 9:00, but, I’ll give the fish a break, this one time.
Friday 7/03/09
Spent most of the morning and afternoon working on and around the cabin. Bro and his Girl friend showed up at 2:30 PM. I helped them get settled in and then had a bite to eat. Got out on the lake around 6:00 PM, stayed out until just about 10:00 PM. Fishing was not all that great to be honest. A guy from work joined us just as we got back in. He had never fished for fish with teeth before. Silly easterner.
Saturday 7/04/09
Fished the morning away. We moved all about trying all the usual fishing holes. Fishing was slow. We did catch a few walleye and even fewer pike. My bro managed to catch a large sucker and a nice perch as well.
Went back out after supper and again it was slow going. I could not figure out a pattern to catch decent walleye. Like all good fisher people, I blame the ever changing barometer the past few days for my lack of success.
Sunday 7/05/09
Last day. Damn that went by way too fast.
The four of us headed back out for one last kick at the fish. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Again fishing was slow. Finally, late in the morning we found walleye biting in 16 feet of water on the south west corner of Birch Island. We managed to boat a few the largest one going to the rookie. It was easily over the 50 cm range but as usual, we let it go to be caught another day. Early afternoon brought things to much slower pace. A snails pace to be honest. Moved again further east to no avail.
We finally packed it in just before 3:00. It was time to pack things up and head back to working and paying bills.
Two weeks from now I get to start all over again. But next time it will be 15 days of fishing instead of 9. With any luck, the weather will be here and the fishing will be fantastic.
One can only hope…
I fished twin peaks for most of the day. This area is usually a good spot for perch and therefore attracts walleye and pike alike. It is located between “Big Point” and “Birch Island” and covers a large area of water. It is easy to locate with a depth finder as the depth climbs quite sharply from 30 odd feet to less than nine feet. It then drops to 20 odd feet and then climbs back up to 9 feet. Finally it drops back to the depths of the lake. The water temp was pretty steady at 61.7 F. Air temp peaked at around 20 C. It was cloudy with sunny breaks with a wind coming out of the west, causing whitecaps off and on throughout the day. I caught numerous walleye and pike but no perch were found as I slowly maneuvered all over both peaks with my electric motor. The largest walleye was 48cm. Good thing I did not plan on having fish for dinner. I was using a 1/4 oz or 1/8 oz jig head depending on the depth I was fishing. I tipped the jigs with either; frozen minnows, live leeches, Berkley Gulp 4” minnows as well as the Gulp 3” crazy legs grubs. I have been using Gulp leeches since the fishing season opened and they have been working well, so I figured I would give these other Gulp products a shot.
The bulk of the walleye were caught at a depth of 16 to 21 feet of water, bouncing the jig off the bottom about 6 inches or so. The pike were all caught in shallower water closer to the peaks or as the jig was dropping down in deeper water at about 11 feet from the surface.
Sunday 6/28/09
Morning showers turned into a brief thunderstorm and then to a light steady sprinkle. When the sun finally came out, the wind began to increase in intensity out of the west creating huge whitecaps making it impossible for most to safely get out on the lake. Being at the east end of the lake has its downside!
Finally at about 10 PM, the wind died down. With any luck it will stay reasonably calm for the next few days.
Monday 6/29/09
The lake had a small chop when I looked out at 7 AM. YES! Fishing I will go. Had a quick shower, made some breakfast, ate, and guess what. Poof! The wind god hates me. The lake now has two foot whitecaps and it is getting worse.
Finally around 5 PM, the wind has subsided. I’m gone fishin’. Did not go far from home as I can see a storm brewing out west. Cruised into the bay just west of “Tim’s point”. Worked the western part of the bay just before “Big Point”. I found walleye in the 20 foot depth range. They ranged from 43 cm to a 55cm. Only caught 3 pike, which were all in the 60 cm range. At 7 PM I headed in to shore as the storm I saw brewing earlier was now getting too close for my comfort. Not to mention Roxy the fishing hound hates the rain and gets very agitated. I know it sounds strange. A lab that loves the water and will retrieve for as long as you can keep tossing her H2O ring into the water is bothered by rain falling on her. But it is true. I can’t figure it out myself.
Tuesday 6/30/09
Woke up to a calm lake. This time however it managed to stay calm while I showered and had breakfast. Gone Fishing!
9:30 – 4:30: Fished from Tim’s Point west around Big Point and over to Nick’s Nook. Manage to boat 44 walleye and 10 pike. 5 of the walleye were over 50 cm. The biggest one being 53 cm. Most of the walleye were caught on a jig tipped with a leech but a jig and minnow worked well too after I ran out of leeches. No worries, another ¼ pound tub is sitting in the bait fridge.
4:30 – 6:30: Supper and dishes… Gone Fishing! Did I mention I am a Fishaholic?
6:30 – 7:30: Well that didn’t last long. Barely made it out to Big Point and the wind started up. Within minutes it went from relative calm to two foot rolling swells, which are no big deal so I continued fishing. Caught two more small walleye and another pike. Then the nice rollers turned into 3 foot whitecaps and things started to get a bit hairy. Keep in mind I am in a 12 foot, narrow and shallow aluminum boat, a little 9.9 evirude for power. I also have a dog that is starting to freak out and wants to sit beside me even though there is no room for her. Not fun!
Today’s total : 46 walleye and 11 pike.
Wednesday 7/1/09
The entire lake is now open to fishing… and the weather sucks… again… wind, rain, basically a work around the cabin day. I hate it when that happens.
Thursday 7/2/09
Woke up and holy crap! Lake is calm, no rain. Sneak out to the boat wearing a Groucho Marks disguise. It worked. Gone fishing!
Fishing was slow. The ones that were biting were all on the small size. The largest I caught was 48 cm. I talked to a few other people out on the lake and most were experiencing the same.
Around 2:45PM we had a bit of excitement as the water bombers (Canadair CL-215) came in to the lake for the next hour. They appeared to be pounding a fire on the south side of the lake down at the west end not far from Anchor Inn Resort from what I could tell from way down at the east end of the lake. I know it was not far off as the bombers were making round trips every 6 minutes or so. I could see the sun reflecting off of the Cessna Caravan (C208B) “bird dog” circling and marking the spot for the “Ducks” ever so slightly.
http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/wildfires/fighting/airtankerstats.aspx
These are the planes you don't want to see anywhere near your favorite place.
During all the excitement, the wind picked up and the fishing got worse, if that was at all possible. But stubborn as I am I stayed out for a little longer hoping to start catching instead of just fishing. Managed to catch a few more but again nothing to write home about. Headed in for supper at 5:30 and was back on the lake at 6:30. Managed to bag a few more medium sized walleyes before the storm rolled in from the west forcing me off the lake at about 8:30. It did not last long and I probably could have gone back out around 9:00, but, I’ll give the fish a break, this one time.
Friday 7/03/09
Spent most of the morning and afternoon working on and around the cabin. Bro and his Girl friend showed up at 2:30 PM. I helped them get settled in and then had a bite to eat. Got out on the lake around 6:00 PM, stayed out until just about 10:00 PM. Fishing was not all that great to be honest. A guy from work joined us just as we got back in. He had never fished for fish with teeth before. Silly easterner.
Saturday 7/04/09
Fished the morning away. We moved all about trying all the usual fishing holes. Fishing was slow. We did catch a few walleye and even fewer pike. My bro managed to catch a large sucker and a nice perch as well.
Went back out after supper and again it was slow going. I could not figure out a pattern to catch decent walleye. Like all good fisher people, I blame the ever changing barometer the past few days for my lack of success.
Sunday 7/05/09
Last day. Damn that went by way too fast.
The four of us headed back out for one last kick at the fish. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Again fishing was slow. Finally, late in the morning we found walleye biting in 16 feet of water on the south west corner of Birch Island. We managed to boat a few the largest one going to the rookie. It was easily over the 50 cm range but as usual, we let it go to be caught another day. Early afternoon brought things to much slower pace. A snails pace to be honest. Moved again further east to no avail.
We finally packed it in just before 3:00. It was time to pack things up and head back to working and paying bills.
Two weeks from now I get to start all over again. But next time it will be 15 days of fishing instead of 9. With any luck, the weather will be here and the fishing will be fantastic.
One can only hope…
Friday, June 26, 2009
Nine days of fishin'
I am headed up to Fawcett Lake for nine glorious days of fishing and no work. There will be no new posts to this site until my return on July 6th or 7th. So far I have managed to fight the urge to get internet access up there. Hopefully when I do return, I will have a few tall tales to tell and a mess of pictures to post.
In the mean time. Play safe. Play fare. Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to take a kid fishing. Your comments are always welcome and encouraged. Please keep it clean...
In the mean time. Play safe. Play fare. Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to take a kid fishing. Your comments are always welcome and encouraged. Please keep it clean...
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sittin' instead of Fishin'
I did not manage to get up to the lake to do some fishing over the past weekend. I sure hope that everyone caught a few for me.
Instead I was looking after my grandson who is all of 9 months old. I have already bought him two fishing rods and reels! None of those cheap "Spiderman" , "Scooby Doo", "Donald Duck" or any of that type of rods will ever be seen in my grandson's hand. Not if I have anything to do with it anyways.
Instead I was looking after my grandson who is all of 9 months old. I have already bought him two fishing rods and reels! None of those cheap "Spiderman" , "Scooby Doo", "Donald Duck" or any of that type of rods will ever be seen in my grandson's hand. Not if I have anything to do with it anyways.
I gave it a lot of thought and decided that the best rod and reel to start him off with would be a small "ice fishing" rod and reel. I picked up a "Rhino" combo unit for one main reason. They are virtually unbreakable! Perfect for a little fisherman who is just starting out. It will still give him a good feel for the fish biting and will handle even a large fish without the worry of it breaking. As a side bonus, he will have a good little ice fishing rod when he is a bit older and graduates to the Shimano 5 foot graphite rod and reel combo that was my second choice for him. It has a light - medium action and is combined with a Sahara SH1000FD reel. I will spool it up with 6 pound test "Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon" line. Again, as he gets older, this will be an excellent ultralight rod and reel for him to have for perch, smaller trouts, grayling etc.
The other little one I am currently sitting is a 2 year old Yorkshire terrier that goes by the name of Muffin. She is more of a handful than my grandson is by far. Although my own Lab cross Roxy puts up with her, Roxy "the fishin hound" does not really like Muffin. Not one bit. Can you say jealous, nose is out of joint, no need to go any further here... Muffin belongs to my parents, and I am looking after her while my stepfather (Bert - AKA "The Mayor of Fawcett Lake") recovers a bit from having major surgery a couple weeks ago. For those of you who know Bert, he is doing quite well and recovering much faster than his surgeon/Doctor had expected. He is out of the hospital and back at home.
The other little one I am currently sitting is a 2 year old Yorkshire terrier that goes by the name of Muffin. She is more of a handful than my grandson is by far. Although my own Lab cross Roxy puts up with her, Roxy "the fishin hound" does not really like Muffin. Not one bit. Can you say jealous, nose is out of joint, no need to go any further here... Muffin belongs to my parents, and I am looking after her while my stepfather (Bert - AKA "The Mayor of Fawcett Lake") recovers a bit from having major surgery a couple weeks ago. For those of you who know Bert, he is doing quite well and recovering much faster than his surgeon/Doctor had expected. He is out of the hospital and back at home.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Who's who?
Just some random pictures of people fishing on Fawcett Lake, Alberta, on Saturday, June 12, 2009. Could it be you? If you care to view the full size image, simply right click on any of the pictures. Warning! They are quite large files.
Yes there is a boat there, way off in the distance.
My Brother with a very respectable walleye. It is still out there for someone else to catch again.
Birch Island and Mother nature provide the perfect frame. Is that a Northern Pike jumping behind the boat?
And a sunset...
Yes there is a boat there, way off in the distance.
My Brother with a very respectable walleye. It is still out there for someone else to catch again.
Birch Island and Mother nature provide the perfect frame. Is that a Northern Pike jumping behind the boat?
And a sunset...
Where there is smoke
There is fire...
And on Saturday and Sunday it was very obvious there was a large forest fire raging over towards Calling Lake. This is what we could see on Sunday looking out from our front porch at Broken Paddle Estates at Fawcett Lake.
Unfortunately for some strange reason, the pictures I had taken on Saturday while out on the lake did not turn out.
And on Saturday and Sunday it was very obvious there was a large forest fire raging over towards Calling Lake. This is what we could see on Sunday looking out from our front porch at Broken Paddle Estates at Fawcett Lake.
Unfortunately for some strange reason, the pictures I had taken on Saturday while out on the lake did not turn out.
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