By Craig Stapon
I had the opportunity to hit the open water with Earl Allen of Esox fame. We went out to Rush Bay at Lake of the Woods to chase some 'gators. I am a little hesitant about writing this as my buddy Chris Wiebe has a cottage there and is not too fond of the extra traffic my articles bring. So I won't say how good the fishing really was.
My arms are in pain -- never in my angling career have I see more big fish landed. It seemed that every second or third cast another jumbo was on. I can recall twice I took four fish over 35 inches in four consecutive casts. We landed some jumbos with fish over 40 inches released at the boat. We worked eight to 12 feet of water and changed retrieve speeds often. Earl was very successful on the 8-inch sucker pattern and managed to land the big fish on Day 1, a wonderful, fat, 42-inch beast.
My big girls came while working 12 feet of water with one of my favorite lures, the grey bull dawg. The 45-incher hit the dawg as I slowly worked the bottom of the water column. She was powerful and I knew it was my big fish of the trip. A few minutes later this beast was swimming away wondering what just happened. She threw a couple head shakes at boat side and was gone.
The pike fishing was fantastic, yet what was an added bonus were the six largemouth that we put in the boat. Earl caught the biggest at 41/2 pounds. The big one was 191/2 inches long with a 14 inch girth. To bad I can't find these creatures at tournament time.
The weather was great with a cold front the day before we went out. These are the exact conditions to hope for on a spring open water adventure. The cold front shuts the fish down, yet as the next day's sun heats the shallows a feeding frenzy can take place.
We worked several areas of the bay and caught excellent fish everywhere. I knew it was going to be a good day when Earl was parking the truck, I managed to sneak in a few casts and had a fish in the mid-30 inch range follow the offering to the dock.
Good investment
We started to fish the north shore and in minutes had two pike in the 38-inch range. They hit the bait without hesitation and put up a great battle. Earl managed to land the first four-pound largemouth with a shallow white bait that I bought at the fishing hole this past weekend. It was the best $4.95 I have invested in as this bait continued to put the largies in the boat.
Moments like this will be remembered for a lifetime. I have never seen more pike in a given area in my life. The fish were everywhere and took what ever bait was offered.
I have experienced some pretty decent days angling and this ranks right up there with the best. Remember be careful and be safe.
Till next week, keep your lines tight!
I had the opportunity to hit the open water with Earl Allen of Esox fame. We went out to Rush Bay at Lake of the Woods to chase some 'gators. I am a little hesitant about writing this as my buddy Chris Wiebe has a cottage there and is not too fond of the extra traffic my articles bring. So I won't say how good the fishing really was.
My arms are in pain -- never in my angling career have I see more big fish landed. It seemed that every second or third cast another jumbo was on. I can recall twice I took four fish over 35 inches in four consecutive casts. We landed some jumbos with fish over 40 inches released at the boat. We worked eight to 12 feet of water and changed retrieve speeds often. Earl was very successful on the 8-inch sucker pattern and managed to land the big fish on Day 1, a wonderful, fat, 42-inch beast.
My big girls came while working 12 feet of water with one of my favorite lures, the grey bull dawg. The 45-incher hit the dawg as I slowly worked the bottom of the water column. She was powerful and I knew it was my big fish of the trip. A few minutes later this beast was swimming away wondering what just happened. She threw a couple head shakes at boat side and was gone.
The pike fishing was fantastic, yet what was an added bonus were the six largemouth that we put in the boat. Earl caught the biggest at 41/2 pounds. The big one was 191/2 inches long with a 14 inch girth. To bad I can't find these creatures at tournament time.
The weather was great with a cold front the day before we went out. These are the exact conditions to hope for on a spring open water adventure. The cold front shuts the fish down, yet as the next day's sun heats the shallows a feeding frenzy can take place.
We worked several areas of the bay and caught excellent fish everywhere. I knew it was going to be a good day when Earl was parking the truck, I managed to sneak in a few casts and had a fish in the mid-30 inch range follow the offering to the dock.
Good investment
We started to fish the north shore and in minutes had two pike in the 38-inch range. They hit the bait without hesitation and put up a great battle. Earl managed to land the first four-pound largemouth with a shallow white bait that I bought at the fishing hole this past weekend. It was the best $4.95 I have invested in as this bait continued to put the largies in the boat.
Moments like this will be remembered for a lifetime. I have never seen more pike in a given area in my life. The fish were everywhere and took what ever bait was offered.
I have experienced some pretty decent days angling and this ranks right up there with the best. Remember be careful and be safe.
Till next week, keep your lines tight!