Every year I count down the days until I can get out on the open water and fish for my favourite species, Walleye and Northern Pike. I have nothing against other fish, I enjoy catching Bass, Perch, Musky etc, but my greatest joy comes from the challenge of catching Walleye and the ferociousness of Pike. It also helps that the Walleye and Pike season opens early in my zone, so I’m able to get after them the second Saturday in May! This trip also serves as a tune up for what has become my annual fly in trip that occurs the following week. So I get the joy of being on the open water, but also a chance to tune up my gear before packing it down to load for the journey north.
The day didn’t start out the greatest. We started with a group breakfast to talk about the day and generally start with my favourite meal of the day. After leaving the restaurant I was greeted with a flat tire on the truck. Luckily, the leak was slow enough that I was able to use it for the day, and repair it later. Next was when we discovered the cranking battery was dead. It was several years old, so it could have been shot or perhaps I’d left on one of the graphs. After a quick side trip the Canadian Tire a new battery was purchased and installed, along with a portable charger in case I’m ever faced with the challenge in the future.
Our first stop was a small, shallow bay that had some flooded brush, that we new a month from now would be dry land. A few years ago I’d picked off a few Pike in the area, so I was expecting more of the same. As we fished we also observed the Carp spawning tight to shore, and they were very into their business! Our preferred lures for the day were soft plastics. I was using a white Berkley Power Grub, casted to the edge of structure and slowly retrieved. This proved to be the ticket for all of us, and the fisher were just not ready to hit more aggressive presentations.
In the first couple hours we landed several small Pike, a nice 23 in Walleye (pictured above), and a small bass (which was quickly released as it is out of season). We were really pleased as all three of us were catching fish, and based on the chats we had with other anglers who we interacted with, we were unique in that aspect! As I mentioned, you have to know the lakes secrets…
One of the neat things about fishing on Belwood is the ability to have lunch in the town. We traveled up near the bridge on the far end of the lake, pulled the boat ashore, and proceed to walk over to the nearby restaurant for a nice home cooked lunch. Bellies filled, we headed out for a couple more hours fishing. We spent a bit of time at that end of the lake, where there was plenty of structure, but it was also a couple degrees colder at that end of the lake. At this time of year, you have to find the warmer water, it will make all the difference in the word. We made a quick decision to head back to the warmer water and areas that had produced fish earlier.
A short ride later, we were back at locations which had been successful a couple hours earlier. In this case we were out from the shore in a area that showed the reed tips from last years growth. At this part of the lake, even as the water lowered there was enough water that produced a good patch of weeds. This is an area that you can come back to all season, just backing off as the season progresses, exposing more of the hump. It is a classic Pike location though, a mid lake hump, plenty of weeds, and adjacent to deeper water. We didn’t land any big Pike that day, but we did land our fair share, and a good number for the amount of time we actually spent fishing. So opening day 2017 was a success! Good weather, solid fishing, and great company, hopefully setting the tone for an outstanding 2017 season!
Questions, feel free to reach out at scott@canadianfisherman.ca. As always don’t forget, to sign up and have my most recent post sent right to you!