Ice-out near on Red Lake, Ontario and other Northwestern lakes

We finally got the word we've been waiting for tonight.

Craig Carlson of Viking Outposts called to say there is enough open water in front of our camp at the west end of Red Lake to land and takeoff with a floatplane. He had just come back from an extensive scouting mission by plane.

We hope to be in camp with our staff Tuesday afternoon. That gives us two days to prepare the camp before the guests arrive Friday morning. It's not much time to ready a place that has been in mothballs for six months but at least we didn't need to cancel anyone the first week.

Craig also had words of encouragement for anglers heading to fly-in outpost lakes. Most of the shallow lakes still had ice in them but it was very black and could disappear within days, he said.

Larger, deeper lakes still have white (stronger) ice but there is melting around the shores.

It looks unlikely that Red Lake will be free of ice by the fishing season opener on Saturday, May 17, but there could still be a lot of open water to fish in shallow bays, narrows, rivers etc. That should be the case for us at Bow Narrows Camp. Middle Bay, Sadler Bay and Pipestone Narrows should all be clear of ice and probably Trout Bay as well after a few days.

We need rain, sun and wind to get the ice out of the remainder of the 20 miles to town before we can use our big camp boat for transportation. And if the weather forecasters are right, we are at least going to get the rain. Check out the forecast on our Weather Page and you'll see that it is supposed to rain for three days. That should really rot the lake ice and make it vulnerable to crushing as soon as the wind moves the ice pack.

My guess for the big waters of Red Lake is that will happen sometime between May 17 and May 24.

That would be one of latest spring breakups in recent years but not a record. The average ice-out date for Red Lake is May 8 with the actual breakup coming two weeks on either side of that date.

What complicated things for anglers and outfitters this year was an early fishing opener on May 17. It's always the third Saturday in May and could hardly have been any earlier than this year.

That coincided with a La Nina winter which is always colder than normal winters.

Good luck to all Northwestern Ontario anglers and outfitters.

Once again from CBC Radio's Dead Dog Cafe: "Stay Calm. Be Brave. Wait for the Signs!"

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Ice-out Northern Pike, Lake Trout and Walleye on Red Lake, Ontario

One thing is for sure with the late ice-out on many Northwestern Ontario lakes this year, including Red Lake, there is going to be prolonged ice-out fishing for all anglers.

This is usually a bonanza for northern pike and lake trout fishermen at Bow Narrows Camp at the far western end of Red Lake, Ontario.

Our anglers the first couple weeks of the season should catch a ton of monster northern pike by using the dead bait system of fishing (See Deadly Bait System for Pike).

The best places to find these magnificent trophy-size fish will be in little creeks and marshes where they will still be spawning.

The theory behind dead bait fishing is that the pike which are exhausted from the spawning process and lethargic from the cold water temperature at ice out just cruise around looking for fish that died over the winter and were frozen in the ice. The dead fish (frozen ciscoes in the case of the bait fishermen) make a good meal without needing a large energy expenditure to chase it.

A lot of times the dead bait system works the best in the early morning when the water is at its coolest. In the afternoon when the sun is heating the water, artificials work better.

Other good places to look for the big pike are in travel corridors such as narrows and entrances to bays.

While northern pike are slower to react in cold water at spring breakup, lake trout are in their prime. Surface water temperatures, even around the edges of the ice pack, will be in the low 40s F -- exactly what lake trout prefer.

They will be feeding aggressively and when hooked will set your reel's drag screaming as they strip off line in their many powerful runs.

The mouths of narrows such as right where Bow Narrows Camp is located are excellent fishing locations.

When targetting lake trout on Red Lake, regulations state you must use lures with single, barbless hooks and you cannot use bait. All lake trout must be live-released immediately on Red Lake.

In the summer when the trout have gone to deep water -- just 60 feet here-- large bucktail jigs work well. But in the spring the best lures to intentionally go after lake trout with are large unpainted spoons and large spinners. You can take off the treble hooks that normally come with lures and replace them with a much larger, single Siwash hooks in which you can pinch down the barb.

Most of these lake trout, which average about 12 pounds in size but which get up to 30 pounds, are best taken in the spring by trolling.

Many anglers also catch them accidentally as they troll shorelines with 5-7-inch stick baits like Rapalas in search for northern pike and walleye. The trout can be anywhere at this time of the year -- even in front of the marshes where anglers are looking for northern pike.

Ice-out poses challenges for walleye fishermen. It can delay or prolong their usual spawning time when they are more interested in reproducing then in feeding.

However once they have done their thing they will be hungrily looking for food in the first places in the lake that warm up. These will be very shallow bays, bays with stained or dark-colored water, sandbars and just areas of shoreline that get little wind and good exposure to the southern sun. They will almost certainly want live bait.

Once you have located the fish they will be in the same spot for a long time.

Good luck and good fishing!

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Cool weather delays ice-out on Red Lake, Ontario

The news from our pilot friends about spring breakup on Red Lake in Northwestern Ontario is not good.
J.B. of Viking Outposts took a close look at Bow Narrows Camp from the air Wednesday and saw that there still is not enough open water in the narrows in front of camp to land and take off a floatplane.
This means that Brenda and I and our staff of four cannot get into camp to open it up and prepare for the coming season. It also means that with just 10 days to go to the fishing opener on May 17, the chances of being iced-in that first week are becoming closer to reality.
The problem is the weather -- it just won't warm up. Daytime highs are nowhere near the predictions. I'm no meteorologist but what I see happening is the same weather systems that are bringing severe weather and tornadoes to the U.S. South are having an impact up here. These systems show up on the weather map as long fronts that go from the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Eastern Ontario and Quebec. The far northern end of this line of weather is in the subarctic where it spins counterclockwise all the way around Hudson Bay bringing down arctic temperatures right into Northwestern Ontario. Enough already!
If it would ever warm up to more than single digits Celsius, reports are the ice could disappear quickly. The ice is candled and ready to be crushed whenever it does melt around the shorelines and gets a strong wind that moves the ice pack. Just a few warm days or warm rain might do it. But time is running out on our hopes of fishing that first week.
Our next pilot's report should come this weekend.
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The latest on spring ice-out on Red Lake, Ontario

Think warm thoughts!

It looked like winter in Red Lake on Saturday, May 3, such as our dock on Howey Bay in the bottom photo but there were actually some encouraging signs of spring too.

Brenda and I were in town attending the annual Red Lake Sportsman's Dinner put on by the Red Lake Publicity Board. What an outstanding job this group does, not just with the dinner which was fantastic but also for showcasing Red Lake to anglers, hunters and other people around the world.

The effects of the big snowfall that blanketed Northwestern Ontario a week earlier were sobering: shore-to-shore ice that was still white, not black the way it should look at this time of year and melted around the shorelines.

We quickly checked a couple of "indicator" spots that we always use to predict spring breakup and were relieved to see these places were more or less typical for this time of year.

Ice was gone from the Chukuni River for at least half a mile below the bridge. There were already two floatplanes tied to the docks there. (Top photo)

Skookum Bay near the Forestry Point was partly melted. My father, Don Baughman, who spent many a spring week parked in the Red Lake Inn waiting for open water, always said that 7 days after Skookum Bay was completely clear, the ice would breakup in the rest of the lake.

It looked to me that if Red Lake gets warm temperatures Skookum could be melted in about a week. That would make spring breakup around May 17 which is the first day of walleye season.

But first we need some spring-like temperatures and if the weather forecasters are right, they might finally be arriving!

If you take a look at our Weather Page and click on the forecast and the 14 Day Trend you will see that temperatures from now until the spring opener are near or even above normal.

Still I think an ice-out by May 17 on Red Lake is being optimistic.

Bow Narrows Camp anglers booked that first week should count on being flown by floatplane from the Chukuni River, over the ice, to camp where the ice should be melted due to the current in the narrows.

As of May 3, there still was no open water in front of camp. That report came from our friend Hugh Carlson of Viking Outposts who piloted one of the planes tied up in the Chukuni River.

Our next eye-in-the-sky report should come Wednesday when Craig Carlson of Viking Outposts plans to bring in another of their planes.

Incidentally, if you are a guest at any of the fly-in outposts and camps you should contact your outfitter for ice reports and predictions on your particular lake. Some of these lakes typically open up before Red Lake and some later.

The same goes for guests planning to come to road-accessible camps in Northwestern Ontario.

Many of these places have options just in case the ice is still in their main lake. For instance, they might be able to trailer boats to a river or other lake that are ice-free.

At Bow Narrows Camp, it will be awhile before we can count on making our usual 20-mile boat trip to camp. But hopefully we will at least be able to fly-in.

The current in the narrows typically melts the ice quite rapidly in the spring. And there are a couple of shallow bays off the sides of the narrows that melt just about as fast.

All these places are good northern pike fishing spots. There should also be a lot of lake trout cruising through the narrows. On Red Lake all lake trout must be immediately live-released but they are still a thrill to catch.

Speaking of northern pike, we saw many bald eagles cruising the marshes of creeks, rivers and lakes along the road from Thunder Bay to Red Lake. They are hunting northern pike that are now spawning in these places.

Pike start spawning as the ice is melting. Their preferred spawning areas are at the ends of marshes and creeks. They use the high water created by the spring melt to go into areas that will actually be dry within a month or two. You can see them with their backs out of the water amid the Labrador Tea as they thrash around in pairs. It is at the entrances to such locations that ice-out anglers do so well using the dead bait system of fishing (See Deadly Bait System for Pike).

Walleyes are next to spawn, usually just after the ice goes off the lakes. They prefer fast-flowing streams but some also spawn on gravel shoals.

The last to spawn in the spring are the suckers. They are often in the streams near the end of May.

A final word to Bow Narrows guests still planning on coming the first week: Plan on being flown to camp instead of us taking you by boat. This means you must pare down your weight, no more than 200 pounds of food, baggage and gear per person. You can cut your weight from beverages in half simply by choosing to bring them in cans instead of bottles. Don't skimp on food. And you better pack the long underwear!

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Ice-out delayed on Red Lake, Ontario

A late winter storm that struck Northwestern Ontario last weekend will likely delay ice-out in Red Lake by at least a week.
Red Lake got more than a foot of snow and some areas in the Northwest were hit even worse. The highways were closed for 24 hours.
Snow not only insulates the ice, it also reflects the sun and prevents absorption of its heat on dark areas of ice and the shoreline.
Even worse than the snow was a return to winter-like temperatures. Daytime highs were in the single digits (Celsius) and lows were way below freezing.
As always, the exact date of ice-out will depend on what happens to the weather from here on out. If you click on the weather icon and bring up the 14-day trend on our website weather page you will see that temperatures are supposed to stay below normal until May 12 at which point they move above normal.
My guess is that actual ice-out may not occur until sometime during the first week of the fishing season May 17-24.
I think any of our guests who have not already moved to another date should count on being flown out to camp. That would mean flying from the Chukuni River, over the ice and landing in the narrows at camp. The narrows open up nearly as quickly as does the river due to the current. The shallow bays off the sides of the narrows are just as quick to melt. This means there are places to fish right away.
Although we don't normally put a weight limit on you because of our usual boat transportation ability, under these special circumstances you should restrict your baggage, food, beverages and tackle to no more than 200 pounds per person.
There is also a chance that we will not be able to even fly into camp, at least right away, on opening week. Let's hope all this worrying is for nothing but we just want everybody to be prepared. We will keep everyone booked that week informed by telephone.
Here at our home in Nolalu we missed the heavy snow but did get the unseasonal temperatures.
The funny thing is that the other signs of spring are more advanced than normal.
There are many more birds than usual for this time of year including some summer birds.
We've seen eastern bluebirds, ruby-crowned kinglets, snipe, white-throated sparrows, tree swallows, broad-winged hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, bald eagles, kestrels, turkey vultures, yellow-shafted flickers, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, starlings, song sparrows, juncos, purple finches and of course, robins which are probably the first birds to arrive each spring. More than a week ago I heard a loon calling while it was flying. (The closest open water is the Kaministiquia River and Lake Superior.)
Ruffed grouse are drumming all over the place. There are white-tailed deer searching for the first green blades of grass everywhere you look.
My feeling from seeing all the birds is that when it does finally warm up, it will go right to hot weather.
In the meantime, we should all be guided by the sign-off from CBC's radio comedy Dead Dog Cafe:
"Stay calm. Be brave. Wait for the signs!"

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How to Net Giant Northern Pike

One fishing technique that seldom is discussed is how to properly net fish like the trophy northern pike you will encounter at Bow Narrows Camp on Red Lake.

More big fish are lost in the netting process than at any other part of the fight.

Let's examine the entire operation, from the moment you've hooked one of these behemoths which can measure 40-52 inches (18-30 pounds).

Your first indication that the pike on the end of your line is of exceptional size is usually how it fights. Smaller fish do a lot of head-shaking and make fast little runs, often showing themselves near the surface. The big bruisers will usually hang down near the bottom and will make a slow, powerful run toward deeper water. There is no head shaking, just a powerful pull on the end of your line. If you had earlier unwisely tightened your drag so that you could rapidly crank in smaller fish, this big guy will now have broken your line! You need to leave your drag set so you can pull out line with your hand fairly easily. There's no time to reset the drag once you've noticed you are now connected to a really big fish.

That first run will probably be quite short, perhaps just 10-15 yards. The fish will then stop and be guided by the pull from your rod and reel and head toward the boat. Most likely the fish doesn't even realize it is hooked. It's just "going with the flow."

It will probably come right to the boat but be so deep that you might not be able to see it. At about this point the lunker knows something is wrong and will make the decision to get the heck out of there. She (these huge fish are almost all females) will then cover 20-30 yards in about three seconds! At the end of this run she may also come to the surface and if so, she stands an excellent chance of "throwing the hook" as she whips her powerful head back and forth in the air. But there's just nothing you can do about it other than keep a tight line with your rod tip up to absorb the sudden jerks.

One thing your partner can do, however, is to start the outboard and move the boat slowly away from the shoreline, out to clear water where there are no obstructions for the fish to get wrapped around. But what usually happens is the two of you are so stunned at the sight of this powerful fish that you just hold on to see what happens next.

The fish will run deep again and may let you pull it back to the boat as before. It may even come to the surface right next to the boat, its broad back, perhaps 3-4 inches wide, sticking above the water. This is the time most net jobs are botched. The fish is almost within reach of the net, enticing your partner to reach out and scoop it up. Don't do it! This fish isn't ready yet and if you try to net it, it will dart lightning-fast at the last instant but not before a hook from your lure gets caught in the netting. One big thrash later you are left with a tangled net with a hook in it and no fish!

After a second or two of looking at you, don't be surprised if the next move the fish makes is right under the boat. If it rubs your line against the hull, Snap! goes your line. So stick your rod right in the lake with the tip below the bottom of the boat. Then carefully work your rod around the bow and now you can carry the fight into the open again.

This whole scenario might repeat itself one or two more times. And then the fish comes up alongside the boat. This time you'll notice the fish is slightly on its side -- it's tired. (It rarely happens but if you play a fish too long, to the point where it lays motionless on its side, the fish could actually die from exhaustion. So don't wait that long to net it.)

Now comes your partner's role.

He should sweep the net through the water so the net forms a bag. He needs to net the fish head-first and not come up from beneath. The instant the head of the fish hits the end of the bag or if using a rubber net, hits the rubber, he needs to lift the net while simultaneously continuing the sweeping motion. The moment the fish is in the net -- and I can't emphasize this strongly enough -- GET THE NET AND THE FISH IN THE BOAT!

The second-most-likely place to lose a fish while netting is to hold the fish overboard while it trashes around. The netting parts or the net handle breaks or you discover that someone cut one of the mesh openings to get their hook out and it's Bye Bye!

So get the fish into the boat immediately. If the fish is too heavy for the net person to lift by himself then the angler should put down his rod and grab the net as well. He can grab it by the hoop instead of the handle, to prevent any possibility of the handle breaking.

The fish is probably going to go berserk at this point. If you unwisely left your tackle box open or lures lying on the boat seat, they are all now going to get tangled in the net as the big fish flops and thrashes on the floor of the boat.

So always put all your lures safely away because you will want to get this magnificient fish free of the net, grab a photo and put it back in the water in a couple of minutes. (See Conservation: Why the Fishing's So Good).

You will need to hold the fish by its tail and move it gently back and forth so that its gills flare. This helps it get oxygen from the water. Take your hand off the fish and see if it is able to remain upright. If so, slide your hand along its side and it should take off swimming. If not, repeat moving the fish back and forth until it has recovered and is able to swim away.

Next time you see her she will be even larger and will give you an even bigger thrill. And once you've been connected with one of these powerful, beautiful fish, you can't wait for it to happen again.

That's why it's the anglers, not the fish, that actually get "hooked."

Finally, if reading about these huge fish has you reaching for your heavyweight fishing gear, first read Lighten Up for Northern Pike.

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Waiting for Spring Breakup on Red Lake

We are getting so used to the effects of climate change that whenever we have something approaching "normal" weather it seems like we're re-entering the Ice Age.

And so it seems like this is the winter that just won't end. We're all eagerly awaiting ice-out on Red Lake and it is taking its darned good time at arriving. But rest assured ice conditions are deteriorating and spring breakup will come, eventually.

The daytime temperature at Red Lake has mostly been just 5-10 C ( (40-50 F) and still goes below freezing about every night. The snow has mostly melted away and the ice in the lake is melting even more slowly.

Brenda and I and our staff are chomping at the bit to get into camp and get to work but there is nothing to do but cool our heels back at our home near Thunder Bay until Mother Nature finally lets Spring start life anew in Red Lake again.

Bow Narrows Camp is accessible only by water and it's a lot easier when that water is in the liquid state. (Snowmobilers will argue this point but even they aren't out on the ice at this time of year. Currents will have worn the ice thin in these temperatures making lake ice travel exceedingly dangerous.)

Our first guests arrive May 16 in preparation for the fishing season opener May 17. The question all of them, and us, always ask is: Will the ice be out in time?

The average ice-out date for Red Lake is May 8. We've seen it be as late as May 22 and as early as April 20. The April 20 record was set three years ago and then tied two years ago. Last year the ice went out May 6.

The only thing we know about ice-out this year is that it won't set any early records. There's no telling if it will set a late one.

All that matters from here on out is what happens with the weather in the next couple of weeks. We just experienced the perfect ice-melting scenario down here near Thunder Bay. We had a heavy warm rain followed by sunny days with temps 15-20 C (55-70 F). The ice went from being strong enough to drive a truck on to what we all call "bad ice" in less than a week. Red Lake, however, had much cooler weather.

The ice melts the fastest in shallow areas such as around the shorelines as well as in areas with currents like where Bow Narrows Camp is located. All the water from Pipestone Bay, Sadler Bay and Middle Bay flows through the narrows at camp and this makes for thin ice even in the heart of winter. In fact there will even be a patch of open water there when the rest of the lake ice is 36 inches thick. Just to the south of camp comes the current from Trout Bay which is fed by Douglas Lake and a chain of lakes to the west. This water is joined by the water from Pipestone at West Narrows which is visible from camp.

Once melting has occurred at the shorelines -- it only needs to be for a few feet out from shore -- the next thing needed to take the ice out is a strong wind. The ice on the lake is still quite thick when this happens, probably at least a foot, but the combination of the above-freezing temperaures from the air above and the water below changes the structure of the ice. It becomes what is known as candled ice. If you drop a block of it it will break into long thin "candles" that are about 3/4 of an inch in diameter and as long as the thickness of the ice sheet.

A wind of 20 mph or more is necessary to get the ice sheet moving. If it can move the ice even one inch, the entire sheet is finished. Imagine the momentum of millions of tons of ice. The ice sheet slowly grinds up on rocks and islands and breaks into millions of "candles" that make the most intriguing tinkling sound, something like when you stir a drink with ice cubes in a glass made of fine crystal.

This process of going from a lake full of ice that is strong enough to support your weight, even the weight of a vehicle, to no ice at all can occur in just one day!

However, first you need the warm conditions that lead to the melting of the ice around the shore and there hasn't been much of that at Red Lake so far.

What happens if the ice isn't gone by the time the first guests arrive?

In our 47 years of operating Bow Narrows Camp we've always at least been able to fly in a floatplane from the Chukuni River which is the outlet of Red Lake over the frozen lake and land in the narrows in front of camp. All our fishermen love this situation as they find the northern pike and lake trout are biting like mad when this happens. Each day the ice melts more revealing new places to fish. Also there is plenty of ice available for coolers!

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Dan Baughman
Bow Narrows Camp
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Women Anglers Among Very Best Fishermen

It may come as a surprise to at least some people to learn that women are among the very best anglers at Bow Narrows Camp. (This fact won't come as a surprise to the women, however.)

We get a lot of couples at camp and the female half of these have proven over the years that they are more than capable of catching and landing Red Lake's great sportfish: walleyes, northern pike and lake trout.

It's encouraging to see many fathers bringing their daughters as well as their sons fishing these days too. Fishing is just like any other sport: the earlier you start the better you get at it.

It's been our observation that experienced women anglers, such as the lady above, are as expert at it as are men.

Curiously though, novice female anglers seem to actually be better at fishing than novice male anglers. Articles in fishing magazines have speculated that fish are attracted to scent or even hormones left on lures by women but this seems highly unlikely since in many cases they didn't even touch the lure. It was their husbands or boyfriends who attached it. We think a more rational explanation is that women, as a group, have a couple of traits that are conducive to catching fish: they are more patient and intuitive.

An example of patience: When women or girls find a lure that catches fish, they tend to stick with that very same lure the entire week! They become expert at using that one lure. They know how to fish it in shallow water and in deep water, the best way to avoid weeds and snags, how hard to set the hook, how to cast it accurately, etc. Men and boys will tend to change their lures frequently and so don't get as good at fishing with any one of them. Again, we're talking about new anglers here or at least new to our kind of fishing. Experienced anglers, be they men or women, become experts at fishing with lots of lures.

Another example of women's patience paying off is that they tend to fish an area more thoroughly. For instance, when returning to a spot where they caught a lot of fish the previous day and then not immediately repeating that success, men are more apt to quickly want to try another location where women invariably want to stay and give the area another chance. And as often happens, the fish start to bite again.

Intuition: what makes a person cast to a spot that has no apparent structure only to discover that there are hidden boulders or logs or underwater weeds there that are harboring fish? I don't know but I do know that women are more likely to do this than are men.

Men approach fishing scientifically, X + Y = fish, where women seem to rely on their feelings: "Let's try that spot, I've got a good feeling about it."

Finally, there is such a thing as trying too hard at fishing and this problem is exclusively the domain of men. The very best anglers, men and women alike, are those who are relaxed and easy going and who are going to have a good time no matter what happens. They just enjoy the experience of fishing and the catching of fish is a bonus.

Before I finish this I must tell an actual story of a couple who came to camp for many years back in the days when it was legal to keep lake trout. (All lake trout must now be live released on Red Lake.)

Charlie and Dee were trolling for lake trout in the spring when the fish were quite shallow.

Charlie approached trout fishing with a scientific intensity. He checked water temperatures frequently so he would know at what depth the preferred 46 F water was located. Every hour or so he would lower a white cup in the water until it disappeared from sight. Reason told him that the light reflecting from the cup had travelled from the surface to the cup and then back up to his eye. This meant that the actual light penetration was double the depth of the cup. So he would calculate how much weight to place on his line so that his lure would be in the visible light range while at the same time in the preferred water temperature. While trolling he also continually pumped his rod so his lure would behave erratically, sending a "wounded minnow" message to the fish.

Dee, on the other hand, just sat cross-legged in the bow of the boat, holding her fishing rod with her legs while reading a book or looking at birds with her binoculars.

Charlie got a strike! He spat his cigar into the lake and announced, "Fish On!" But in seconds the fish got off. Charlie cursed and went back to pumping his rod again.

A minute later Dee hooked a fish and managed to bring it all the way to the boat. It was a nice trout, about 10 pounds, and they kept it.

Later at camp, Charlie asked our staff fish cleaner to cut open the trout's stomach to determine what it had been eating so he would know how best to "match the hatch."

Inside was his cigar.

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Casting Techniques for Northern Pike

In my opinion, casting for northern pike is the best way to catch these tremendous gamefish at Bow Narrows Camp on Red Lake, Ontario.

The usual system is to position the boat a cast-length away from the shoreline and to pitch a spoon, spinner, jig or crankbait as close as possible to the bank. Look for structures along the bank and place your lure as close as possible to these. The structures could be rocks, weeds, trees that have fallen in the water or which are just overhanging the lake.

Make sure you aren't using too large a lure (See Lighten Up for Northern Pike) and make it run several feet below the surface on the retrieve. That's because the biggest fish are often laying in 5-10 feet of water and are watching for bait to come swimming out from shore. If you zip your lure just below the surface, it is out-of-reach and quickly past these predators. You want your lure to imitate a fish that is stupidly swimming right into the danger zone.

The best system is to simply reel at a speed that creates the most action from the lure. Reel too fast and, in the case of spoons, the lure just spins. Reel too slowly and the lure comes in like a banana peel. But reel at the correct speed and the lure ducks and dives as you bring it back to the boat.

The way you position your rod also plays a significant role in how your lure runs. If your rod tip is high, the lure runs shallow. If your rod tip is near the water, the lure runs deeper. So keep the rod tip up when the lure is right next to the shore and lower it as you retrieve the lure toward the boat.

When looking for structures to cast to, be alert for weed tips growing away from the shoreline, even on the open-water side of the boat.

These signal a sandbar or other shallow water that is surrounded by deeper water and more often than not these are the real hotspots, for pike and walleyes too. Be careful not to let your boat float right over these places as you can spook the fish away.

Although you can keep positioning your boat with the outboard, I like to let the wind move the boat silently along. When the wind has moved the boat out of position I start up the outboard and move the boat out and start another drift.

Except when fishing with dead bait (See Deadly Bait System for Northern Pike), it is usually a bad idea to anchor. You need to constantly be moving around and drifting does this nicely for you. Also when you connect to a big northern pike, especially in warm summer waters when these powerful fish can make your reel's drag sing, they will be wrapped around the anchor rope and will have broken your line before you can even think about pulling the anchor up.

Northern pike, of course, like weeds and this presents a problem when fishing for them. Except in the rarest of circumstances, a pike will not strike your lure if there is the tiniest bit of weed on its hooks! Yet many times the place the pike are laying is right in the middle of a patch of weeds!

The best idea is to stand up in the boat so that you can see better and to place your lure in holes in the weedbed. Or just cast as close to the weeds as possible without hooking them.

You can also use weedless lures. The best of these is the Johnson Silver minnow in 1/2 ounce and 3/4 ounce sizes. If you position the weed guard so that it is 1/8-to-1/4 inch above this lure's single hook, it will come right through the thickest weeds and not catch one of them.

But the Silver Minnow alone won't catch many fish. It needs an added attractant on the hook.

I like to use 3-4-inch plastic twister tails that are hooked just once on the hook (not skewered on like you would with a jig). If the lure doesn't wiggle correctly, reposition the twister tail on the hook. You can also use pork rind. Just trim it so there is only 3-4 inches behind the spoon or the pike will hit the rind and miss the hook.

Spinner baits come through the weeds quite well as do their miniature cousin, the Beetle Spin.

The 1/4 ounce Beetle Spin, a favorite with bass and even panfish fishermen, will catch the daylights out of northern pike!

Jigs also come through weeds fairly cleanly, especially if you refrain from "setting the hook" on the weeds. When the jig encounters a weed, just pull lightly until the jig comes free. About half the time the jig will come through cleanly. This little-known technique of pulling a jig rigged with a twister tail through weeds will also catch a lot of walleyes.

One of our guests who has been coming to camp for a long time passes along this pike fishing technique with a jig. Joe says he casts then "give the jig a jerk, let it fall, wind the line while it is falling, jerk again and repeat. I've caught as many as 100 pike a day doing this, including a 42-incher."

In flat water, you can cast surface baits such as buzz baits, poppers and stick baits. This is a lot of fun because the pike will often become airborne when striking. Many times the best system is to let the floating bait sit motionless on the surface for a period of time, then just twitch it. This can be more productive than making the bait move continuously across the surface.

The same thing can happen when using a crankbait. Instead of just reeling the crankbait straight to the boat, vary the retrieve by suddenly stopping the retrieve and giving the bait a twitch. Let it rest momentarily, then start retrieving again.

Northern pike are just everywhere in Red Lake and sometimes the best place to catch them is in what looks like the most unlikely spot, a sheer rock wall, especially if wind is blowing straight into it. When casting these places, a lot of anglers use a jig or a spinner bait and cast right to the rock face, then let the lure freefall down while watching their line. When the line stops going out they set the hook as the lure has been picked up by a northern.

I like casting because it is fun just to test your skill in placing the lure in just the right spot.

Click to return to our website http://www.bownarrows.com/
Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Casting for Walleyes with Crankbaits

If you want to have a lot of fun fishing for walleyes on Red Lake, Ontario, this summer, try casting with lipless crankbaits.

My favorite is the 2 3/4-inch Rattlin Rap in the very color pattern shown above.

Cotton Cordell makes the Suspending Super Spot. Excalibur makes the Spit'N Image. Frenzy makes the Frenzy Rattl'r. There are many other makes and models. Most have rattles inside but some do not. The thing they all have in common is that they do not have a plastic lip and this seems to make a difference when casting for walleyes. It's a different story when trolling. Lipped crankbaits work just fine in that case.

I would suggest using a 6-inch ultrathin 12-pound wire leader when casting lipless crankbaits because you're also going to catch a lot of beefy pike on these lures.

My favorite place to use the Rattlin Rap is around the edges of the big bays where there are shorelines with boulders, rocky points, islands and the entrances to small bays that are on the sides of the big water. It also pulls walleyes out of weed patches and don't be surprised when they bite right in the middle of the day when using this lure.

I cast the lure out, let it sink to the bottom (if there are no weeds) and bring it back with a slow to medium retrieve while keeping my rod tip low. This makes the lure run deeper.

Just about every fish caught in these areas are lunkers.

Give it a try during your trip this summer.

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Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Lots to do besides just fishing

"I would like to bring the wife and kids, what else is there to do besides go fishing?"

Plenty!

You are welcome to use our canoes and sea kayaks to explore the lake, its shoreline and islands. Just make sure you wear your life vest.

You can also carry a canoe to another lake, to fish and explore.

There are beaches around the lake that make good swimming spots. So does our main dock with its swim ladder right at the lodge.

There aren't many places in the world that are better to see and photograph wildlife.

Moose, loons and bald eagles are very common along with every aquatic mammal: beaver, mink, otter, etc.

There are trails to other lakes and old gold mines that you can hike.

You are welcome to go with Dan on the camp boat to Red Lake during the mid-week supply trip. Besides shopping in Red Lake, there is a fantastic museum to visit. Red Lake is famous as having been the site of the world's third-largest gold rush in 1926. That was more than two decades before there was a road to this area. Prospectors came by dogsled in winter and boat and canoe in the summer. Gold mining and prospecting are active to this very day.

We frequently have sing-along nights at the lodge and everyone is invited.

At night, you might see Northern Lights and you'll always see the incredible night sky which is especially vivid here since there is no light pollution. Looking up at the Milky Way makes you feel like you are flying through space, which of course, we actually are.

If you come on the American Plan your wife (and you) will love the meals and fellowship that takes place in the dining room.

Finally, there is just the peace and quiet of being in the boat, suntanning on the dock or sitting on your cabin's screened porch, listening to the beautiful calls of the loons.

It's the perfect place to paint or sculpt or read or just get back in touch with your family, friends and most of all, yourself.

It's amazing how good it feels to just catch some rays, feel the breeze, smell the pines and really, I mean really, unwind.

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Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

The jig -- world's most versatile lure

No other lure has the ability to be fished in so many ways as the leadhead jig also simply called "the jig" since many of these are made of more environmentally friendly materials than lead these days.

This lure will catch every species of fish in Red Lake, Ontario, and perhaps, the world.

It is inexpensive and effective and its simplicity allows its user to add his or her individual touch.

Walleye anglers love it because by its very nature it allows you to stay in contact with the bottom and that is exactly where the walleyes are.

When walleye fishing with jigs you want to tie your line directly to the jig. Steel leaders "spook" walleyes except in really weedy conditions where you can do fine using an ultrathin 5-6-inch 12-pound leader such as those sold by South Bend and RedWolf. This leader prevents most "bite-offs" by northern pike with their mouths of diamond-shaped teeth. Walleyes, of course, have sharp teeth too but they're like ice-picks, not razors like pike and they cannot cut your line.

For walleyes the 1/8 and the 1/4-ounce jigs are perfect. Use the smaller jig in very calm and shallow conditions, the heavier one in wind and water 8 feet or deeper.

Most people skewer a single-tail plastic twister tail on the jigs. The tail allows you to easily vary the color to the conditions and gives the jig a lot of attention-notice as it flutters and wiggles. The 1/8-ounce jig works well with a 2-2.5 inch tail and the 1/4-ouncer works best with a 3-3.5-inch tail. These tails come in infinite colors and some with metal flakes and hologram designs. For walleyes some of the favorite colors are: white, yellow, orange, black, blue and green.

Most walleye anglers also put a leech or a piece of worm on the jig hook as well. You can also use a minnow.

In weedy conditions, you can do very well without live bait. It would seem the walleyes just can't see the jig clearly in these areas. They detect the movement of it and attack where out in the open their incredible eyes seem to determine the jig is not really something to eat at all, unless there is actually something to eat on the hook.

There are two main ways to fish with the jig. The first is to cast out, let the jig sink to the bottom and slowly "hop" the jig back to the boat by alternately moving your rod at right angles to the line to move the jig, moving the rod back to create slack while simultaneously reeling up the slack, then repeating. There is a knack to this. You want to move the jig with the rod, not the reel. This prevents you from becoming snagged. In other words, you want to abruptly lift the jig where it is resting on the bottom rather than dragging it across the bottom. The speed with which you do this is determined by watching the slack in your line. It works like this: 1. You swing your rod at right angles to the direction of the line (sideways) a couple of feet 2. You move your rod back toward the jig allowing it to fall to the bottom at the same time reeling up the slack 3. As soon as you notice your line is not moving backward because the jig has hit bottom you move your rod forward again.

It's important to keep your rod at right angles to the line direction because this allows you to feel the fish on the jig the instant you start to sweep your rod forward on the jig. Fish invariably don't strike the jig but rather just pick it up as it is falling. When you sweep forward the sensation is that there is just some extra weight to the line. That's your opportunity to set the hook.

When fishing without bait walleyes will pick up and drop the jig in about half a second. You need to be lightning fast on the hook set or they're gone. They hold on longer when using bait.

You can do the same rhythmic rising and falling of the jig by letting the wind move your boat rather than your reeling in the line. In this instance you move your rod making the jig rise, move the rod back letting it fall and the boat's drift tightens the line again ready for you to start the process all over.

You can also jig straight up and down in what is known as vertical jigging.

A downside to jigging is it can twist your line. Each time you let the jig fall to the bottom it does a loop which eventually causes your line to develop twists up at the rod. To prevent this tie a small swivel a foot or two ahead of your jig.

When walleyes are not aggressive such as when a major cold front has just passed, you might find the best way to fish with the jig is just to let it rest on the bottom. Watch your slack line to signal when a fish has picked up the jig and its live bait.

Northern pike also love jigs. The same 1/4-ounce jig used for walleyes will catch pike but they seem to prefer a slightly longer twister tail 3.5-4 inches. Pike will also hit double-tailed twisters and shad bodies (they look like plastic fish).

When pike fishing the jig is generally just reeled back to the boat, not jigged across the bottom.

Because the jig will sink so fast it allows you to do things like cast it up into shallow water, quickly reeling to prevent it from dragging bottom but then slowing down the retrieve as it moves away from the shore and allowing the jig to "dive'' down near the bottom as the water gets deeper. And that's right where the largest pike live.

It's important to use a steel leader when pike fishing. A 6-inch 30-pound leader is sufficient. I prefer the black ones but silver works as well. There is no need to use the above-mentioned swivel when using a leader.

Pike will also hit the heavier 3/8-ounce jig with a 4-4.5-inch tail. Long-shanked jigs are especially good. You can find these in the saltwater section of places like Cabelas and Bass Pro. Pike like really gaudy colors such as pink as well as red, orange and white. And sometimes, they like plain old black.

A real advantage in using jigs for northern pike is that the jigs have only one hook to get out of their mouths.

An angler with a jig might catch three pike while another angler is extracting one crankbait with its multiple trebles out of a pike.

A very unusual way to fish a jig is a technique I like to use for whitefish, lake trout and tulibee.

It is used in very deep water in relatively calm conditions. I cast the jig as far out as possible and then turn the crank on my reel and hold my rod at right angles to the line and just let the jig fall on a tight line. It falls in an arc and will be picked up by suspended fish on the way down. The trick here is in detecting the bite with so much line out. Your line must be tight to feel the fish and this means you also need to take into account the boat's motion. You don't want the boat's drift to create slack in the line and you don't want the boat to be pulling your line either or your jig won't fall. So you always cast at right angles to the wind (and boat) direction.

When the jig finally hits the bottom I just reel it slowly back in. The usual fish pattern in deep water is this: tulibee hit it on the way down, whitefish hit it on the bottom and lake trout hit it on the way to the boat.

There is no need to use any bait when fishing in deep water and in fact, it is illegal to do so for lake trout on Red Lake. Fishing regulations for lake trout stipulate that only lures with single barbless hooks can be used and without live or dead bait. So just use the twister tail or shad body and use your pliers to pinch down the barb on your hook.

If you need any help trying these techniques, just ask when you're at camp. We're here to help.

Good fishing!

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Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Make life vests part of your fishing equipment

For about 30 years now I've worn a life vest whenever I'm fishing. Actually, it's the very same vest! It's still in great shape (I test it out swimming each year) but I think it's time for a new one. I think it cost $30.

When we first had kids we made it a rule that they never get into the boat without their life vests. It just seemed natural that Brenda and I would wear them too.

Since then my life vest has become as natural for me to take fishing as my tackle box. My vest has pockets and I always keep my fishing license in one. My fishing line clippers are attached with a tether cord to another pocket. Others hold sunglasses and bug spray.

Straps at the sides allow me to loosen the vest so I can put it over the heaviest of clothes in the fall and let me snug it in the summer when I'm wearing just a T-shirt. It's camo colored so I can wear it when I'm duck hunting in a canoe.

Many times I've gotten out of the boat at camp and gone to work on some task only to find a half hour later that I'm still wearing my life vest. I only mention this to give some idea of how comfortable it is.

Everyone in our family wears a life vest. All of our staff at Bow Narrows Camp wears a life vest.

Not once have I ever heard any of them complain about how uncomfortable they were. On the contrary, the vests often feel great -- a little insulation against the wind.

We provide life vests for all our guests as part of our regular service. Ontario boating regulations require each person to have a proper-fitting life vest or PFD (personal floatation device) when boating. Unfortunately, regulations do not require you to wear them!

A lot of good it does to have a life vest crammed into the bow of the boat when you hit an unseen log with the boat at top speed and get pitched over the side!

I would say about half our guests wear their vests. Some bring their own because they can then ensure they have one with the most comfortable fit. Good idea! They're not heavy, expensive or hard to pack. You can get them with mesh over the shoulders to be especially comfortable in warm weather. You can even get ones which look like a pair of suspenders that inflate if you are immersed in water.

The ones who don't wear them really BELIEVE the vests are uncomfortable, and believing is seeing as the saying should be known. I wonder if these are the same people who believe seatbelts are uncomfortable?

One little-known fact about drowning might help some of these non-vest-wearers to buckle up. Most people who drown in the North don't do so because they became tired after flailing away in the water for a long time. They inhale water the instant they first go overboard and go into a sudden shock.

If they're wearing a life vest, they're just bobbing safely in the water when they get their wits back in a few seconds.

We want you to have a wonderful vacation with us and we truly wish you would wear your life vests!

http://www.bownarrows.com/
Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Strange fish of Red Lake, Ontario

When anglers come fishing at Red Lake, Ontario, looking for walleyes, northern pike and lake trout, they're sometimes surprised to also catch some of this great fishery's lesser known species: whitefish, tulibee, ling, white sucker, redhorse sucker, perch and rock bass.

Whitefish, tulibee and ling are all deepwater fishes but will be in shallow water in the spring before it warms up.

Whitefish are known throughout North America as the major commercially caught fish. It's a great fighter on rod and reel. We've caught them up to 8 pounds. They have a small, soft, mouth and usually the best lure for them is a small, white jig. In the summer they will be on the bottom in 50-60 feet of water.

The same outfit will catch the whitefish's cousin, the tulibee or lake herring. These don't get as big, a three-pounder is a big one. Tulibee have an interesting habit that makes them easy to spot on fish finders. They form schools that are easy to see and are always half-way to the bottom, regardless of the depth. So in 20 feet of water they're at 10 feet and in 100 feet of water they're at 50 feet. It would seem they all come to the surface at night where they love to eat insects. Use the same small white jig that you use for whitefish. If you aren't careful at keeping the jig on the bottom when whitefish fishing, chances are you'll come up with a tulibee.

The ling, also known as eelpout and burbot and in Manitoba, mariah, is a very unusual fish. It seems to be part catfish and part eel. We've caught them up to 12 pounds. They are by far the best-eating of all these unusual fish. Many people call them "poor man's lobster." They produce two boneless "tubes' of meat that do indeed have the texture and taste of lobster. They're best when prepared as such too, boiled and served with drawn butter or seafood cocktail sauce, etc. rather than battered or floured and deep-fried like you would a pike or walleye. Brenda has a wonderful method of cooking ling where she prepares them like she would scallops. She cuts the fillets into quarter-sized chunks, lightly sautees them with onions and peppers and serves them covered with her secret sauce. (Actually it's not a secret, I just don't know what it is but she will tell you if you ask her.) At our indoor shore lunches that we have twice a week for American Plan guests in the dining room, everyone raves about the ling. Who knew fish this ugly tasted so good?

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Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Thanks to new website photographers!

Our newly redesigned website hit the 'net today and I would like to take this time to thank all those people who donated such great photographs from their trips with us.
I would try to name them all but won't for fear of leaving someone out.
We've got some great photographers out there and we sincerely thank them all for sharing their art with us.
Dan and Brenda
www.bownarrows.com
Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Great site to learn new fishing knots

"I just can't learn to tie that knot."

Some day I'm going to write a song with that line. Lord knows I've heard it often enough, from people whose boats have floated loose from the dock and from fishermen examining the little curly Q at the end of their lines where their lures used to be.

The next thing they usually say is "I'm no Boy Scout!"

Well, knot tying has certainly gone the way of the horse and buggy, what with Velcro and other ways of fastening things but we still need to know how to tie on our lures and leaders with slippery monofilament. Plus, a good knot not only holds, it also doesn't weaken your line.

Improper knots can reduce your line strength by 50 per cent or more.

Fortunately, there is an excellent website that shows how to tie fishing knots, boat knots and much more. It is called Grogs Animated Knots and here's the link to it:

http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

While we're on the subject, did you hear the one about the rope that goes into the bar and the bartender says, "We don't serve ropes here!"

So the rope goes outside, ties a knot at one end of himself and then frizzes out one end of his rope and goes back in.

"Hey, aren't you the rope that I just told to leave? asked the bartender.

"I'm a frayed knot," said the rope.

http://www.bownarrows.com/
Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Conservation: Why the Fishing's So Good

There's a reason why ranchers keep the very best bulls and cows for breed stock. These animals have the genes that the ranchers want to see passed on to subsequent generations.

It's the same thing with fish.

If you want to have more trophy fish out there, you need to release the largest fish you catch. Studies by biologists show that many of these huge fish are surprisingly young. They just grew faster than others. Those are the ones we all want put back in the lake!

They are also the major spawners for the species. They are almost all females.

Fishermen at Bow Narrows Camp have been on side with conservation fishing for a long time. They only keep the lunkers now to have them made into mounts and even that isn't really necessary. Taxidermists can make replicas out of graphite and other material that look exactly like your original fish. Just take a photo, measure the length and girth and let the real fish go.

But no one will begrudge your keeping a huge fish for mounting purposes if that's what you want to do.

The best fish for eating are the ones just under the slot size in the case of northern pike or the "one over" rule for walleyes.

Under Ontario fishing regulations, you cannot keep any northern pike in the slot size of 27.5 to 35.4 inches and can only have one pike bigger than 35.4 inches.

For eating purposes, pike 22-27 inches are the best keepers. They have a lot of meat on them, the fillets are thin enough that they cook easily, and these fish have not yet reached prime spawning age anyway. Incidentally, we remove ALL THE BONES from northern pike fillets and they are every bit as delicious in our lake as are the walleyes!

For walleyes, fish 14-17 inches are the best eaters, for the same reasons given for pike. But this brings up a problem at our camp. We very often cannot catch walleyes under 18 inches! Many times the average walleye is 24 inches (four pounds) with a great many fish in the 26-28 inch size (six to eight pounds) and up to 34 inches (14 pounds). So what do you do? Just keep the smallest of the walleyes you catch. You should be able to get a 20-22 incher in the group and that will feed a couple of people.

Besides being selective, we also do a lot of other things that ensure Red Lake Ontario keeps its spectacular fishery.

1. At Bow Narrows Camp we use burlap keep sacks instead of stringers. It works like this, when you catch a fish you want to keep, dip the bag in the lake, put the fish inside and put the bag on the bottom of the boat. As the wet bag evaporates it gets very cool inside. It's the same principle of the old blanket-sided cowboy canteens. The fish are kept perfectly, far better than if they were on a stringer. We have 70 years of experience at this at our camp and at my great uncle's camp. Don't the fish die? you ask. Yes but it's just like they were kept on ice only it's actually better than ice because the fish don't become slimy.

The keep sack forces you to make a decision on which fish you intend to keep. The very worst thing you can do for conservation is to "trade" or "cull" fish on a stringer or a livewell. This is where you put a fish on a stringer then replace it with another fish of a more desirable size. Studies have shown that fish put on a stringer -- or kept in a livewell -- and then released subsequently die from shock and the effects of being kept at a temperature, oxygen level and atmospheric pressure that was improper for them. It swims away but within hours or sometimes days, it turns belly up.

2. Bow Narrows Camp gives you a free conservation fishing license with your fishing package.

It limits you to two northern pike and two walleyes and 6 whitefish to take home. The regular full-limit licenses permit four northern pike, four walleye and 12 whitefish. We have those licenses at camp too but you must purchase them separately.

3. Proper handling. We all need to release our fish unharmed and that means getting the hooks out of them without injury and returning them to the water as quickly as possible. See the article on Best Fish Unhooking tools http://bownarrows.blogspot.com/2008/01/best-fish-unhooking-tools.html

Stay tuned for more conservation tips and news.

Click to go back to the website http://www.bownarrows.com/
Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Trolling for Walleyes and Northern Pike

Many anglers at Bow Narrows Camp prefer to troll for walleyes and northern pike. This method works great and allows a person to cover more territory than he or she would by casting or jigging.

There are two distinctly different methods of trolling when it comes to walleye fishing. There is backtrolling with Little Joe type spinners or Lindy Rigs and there is front trolling with crank baits.

Back trolling (trolling the boat in reverse) allows you to make a slow presentation and this is always the best idea when using live bait rigs. You want to use enough weight on your line so that you are "bumping" your rig on the bottom, at least every few minutes. (See Red Lake Walleyes Everywhere.)

Our 20 hp Honda four-stroke outboards idle very slowly, produce no smoke like the old two-stroke outboards, and are so quiet you can barely tell they are running when idling.

If it is windy, you may need to troll frontwards, even when bait fishing, to prevent waves from splashing over the transom while backtrolling. Or you can backtroll when going downwind and front troll when going upwind while working a productive spot.

Front trolling is usually always the best way to fish crank baits. This is true both for walleyes and northern pike. Rapala, Cotton Cordell, Bagleys and many others work well on Red Lake.

Use models that are 3-7 inches in length. Ones with small lips run shallow and ones with big lips dive deep. Shad Raps and lipless Rattle Traps and Rattling Raps and similar lures are great.

When trolling shorelines the person fishing on the shore side can use a shallow runner and the person fishing on the opposite side can use a lure that dives a little deeper. You want the lure to be fairly close to the bottom.

It is best not to use a weight when using crank baits as the sinker interferes with the action of the lure. Just choose the lure that runs to the correct depth.

Back trolling with bait can be done with the same light weight rods and reels described in Lighten Up for Northern Pike.

Front trolling with crank baits could require slightly heavier equipment (but don't get carried away. We're not talking about deep sea fishing!) A medium action rod and spinning reel with 10-12 pound test should do it. The line can be mono or the new braided lines like Spider Wire. The braided lines have the advantage of providing more "feel" since they do not stretch. This helps you distinguish between the bottom and a fish. They also let you set the hook better when you have a lot of line out behind the boat.

Lots of people do a combination of trolling and casting and jigging. They troll until they locate a school of fish, then switch to casting and jigging.

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Do You Want Electric Trolling Motors?

If you are a guest at Bow Narrows Camp, or have ever been a guest, we would appreciate your opinion on the subject of electric trolling motors.
Would you be interested in renting a stern-mounted electric trolling motor this summer if the cost was an extra $50 per boat?
You can let us know by sending us an e-mail.
www.bownarrows.com
Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com

Best Fish Unhooking Tools

One operation that often goes overlooked when on a fishing trip to Canada is how to safely remove fish hooks from the fishs' mouths.
And that means safely from the point of view of the angler and also safely from the point of view of the fish. The method we all want is to quickly get the hooks out with no damage to either party.
You actually need two tools to do this effectively: one to hold the fish's mouth open and the other to reach down into that toothy maw and work the hook backwards and then out.
Most people use long-handle needle nose pliers to do the reaching and unhooking but the very best tool we have ever seen for this is the Baker Hookout. The pistol grip on this device makes unhooking a breeze. It's not expensive, perhaps $6, and is sturdily made. It will last a lifetime.
The second tool, the mouth opener, is the one most people don't bring.
We're seeing quite a few Lip Grip tools now. These fasten securely to the fish's jaw and won't let go, even if the fish flops. The very best of these is the Boga Grip. Rapala also makes one and so does Berkley. Others use a spring-loaded jaw spreader.
One problem with Lip Grip devices is they can injure the fish's mouth if the fish flops and twists.
I see a new device on the Internet that looks like it would be excellent at holding the mouth open without injury. It is called the Lippa4Life.
You squeeze your hand together to close the jaws, which are very rounded at the tip to protect the fish. The jaws don't totally close either so you can't crush the fish's mouth.
I see Cabelas has these for sale and I imagine Bass Pro does as well.
It is probably worth the $29 for the stainless model of these as, again, it will last forever.
Just tie a lanyard to it (and any other of your mouth-holding devices) so it doesn't go overboard. http://www.bownarrows.com/
Bow Narrows Camp
Red Lake, Ont.
807-475-7246
email: fish@bownarrows.com