My favourite drive-to area to fish has been my destination for over 30 years, and it keeps surprising me. In a summer where getting out on the water with a buddy was hit or miss (summer 2020), on a sunny day, with low wind, and the new phrase of “distancing” in place, Chris and I headed for the Bayfield Inlet for a day of Pike Fishing.
This was one of those days where you had the chance to ask two questions about fishing. First off, would you rather catch size than number? And second, how does if feel to not only break a fishing rod, but still land the fish?
It was Chris who managed to break the rod while fighting a fish, but he did also land a beauty Northern, and we both agreed that you can always get another rod, but you can’t guarantee you’ll catch that same fish again.
After a slower than anticipated morning, logging a few small fish, one beauty Pike, and a snapped rod, we headed for our shore lunch and to plan for the afternoon. We decided to spend some time out on the shoals, but agreed that if not, we’d pull a “Gord Pyzer”. In an article Gord wrote, he talked about how when fishing a body of water we are familiar with, we often fish the exact same spots, and thus don’t try out new ones. Basically, anglers have a tendency to do your same milk run over and over, which I confess I am guilty of. So we decided that moving forward, each time we fished we would try a least one new spot and see what we could shake up.
After an unproductive session on the shoals, we decided to head into a side bay that always looked inviting, but we never took the time to work. We were taking Gord’s advice, and it paid off….HUGE.
This fish was one of Chris’ bigger, and was for sure one of the fattest. It hit a large spoon off a mid-bay rock structure, and put up one heck of a fight. Not only did this fish turn a slow day in the water to a memorable one, but it also reminded us to always try at least one new spot each time we fish – to pull a “Gord Pyzer”. It may not always produce results like this, but over time it will help us become better anglers.
Catching this giant kept us motivated for some extra time on the water, but all we had to show for it was one more broken rod (we didn’t land that fish). As for the other unanswered question about whether you’d prefer size or numbers? We’ll it would take a couple more visits to this body of water before we had that answer…
Scott
Loved the article bud. You guys should try Mattagami Lake. It’s a hike but we’ll worth it. Beautiful and great fishing. I will be going up early in the year again. I’m looking to go in a couple of CSFL Tournaments this year then I will hit the Salmon Spectacular the end of August. Would love to organize a day or weekend out with you guys. It’s been a while for sure. I’m off to do some fishing this afternoon at Wildwood Dam to see what I can scare up. Tightlines my friend and take care.
Don
That is so cool, Scott! Well done!