A return to Canada - memories of the great fishing trip
Our memory is a fascinating thing! As we think back over many years we tend to remember those days when we caught good numbers of fish, a big fish or when we shot a limit of animals. We tend to forget the frustrating days when we sat in the rain or had to change our plans as a result of high winds.
My memory bank is filled with eighteen years of five-day trips to Halley's Caribou Falls Landing on the sprawling Umfreville Lake on the English River. Included in that memory bank are several days when each of us caught over one hundred walleyes with most of them twenty-inches long or longer. Those days are difficult to forget. Also included in those memories are the daily shore lunches prepared by “The Osseo Jinx”, Tom Twesme. (Wonder why I gain several pounds each year that we go to Canada to fish walleyes?) Also included in the bank of memories are those days when the wind was calm enough to allow us to fish wherever we wanted. After so many years of fishing on this fabulous walleye factory there are many places where we have had excellent walleye fishing.
Just after the Fourth of July nine of us drove north to Ontario, Canada to again spend five days catching walleyes, small mouth bass and northern pike. Although we spend the majority of our time fishing sunken islands for walleyes with a jig and leech, we catch good numbers of northerns and small mouth bass each day that we fish.
The structure on this large lake is unusual for Wisconsin anglers. Frequently we will be traveling in water anywhere from one hundred feet to sixty feet deep and all of a sudden we will see fifteen feet of water. What is so impressive is that there will be fish showing on the graph when we pull up on these sunken islands.
Halley's Camps have been hosting anglers since 1946 on the waters of the English River. The Halley family has been aware of the fragile fishing resource they have and have joined in the “Trophy Waters” Conservation Region. The Halley's, along with a number of their fellow lodge operators, have therefore teamed up with the government of Ontario to create an all-time first, a vast wilderness region that is now entirely conservation fishing. The bottom line of what this means is that the angler's limit is two walleyes, less than nineteen inches in length.
We arrived on Monday morning after spending Sunday evening in Kenora on the shore of Lake of the Woods. As usual the drive from Kenora to Halley's was filled with anticipation. As we drove from Minaki to Halley's we saw a large number of rabbits, numerous grouse, several fox and a bear. As we traveled the road that has been dramatically improved it was obvious that this part of Ontario had received abundant rainfall. The forest was a lush green color.
Included in our group, traveling in three trucks, were, “The Osseo Jinx” and his long-time friend, Don Wolf, plus Bob Pederson and his son Greg. In another vehicle were the Cornelius brothers, Mike and Tom.
As usual we were in a hurry to get on the water and begin fishing once we arrived at Halley's. The boats were uncovered, gear organized and we headed out. After a half-hour of fishing we had enough fish in our livewells for lunch. We found the walleyes in ten to twelve feet of water, feeding near a rock bar.
Normally we overeat at the first shore lunch of the trip and a week ago Monday was no exception. It was a first shore lunch for Greg and Don and they both complemented ‘The Jinx.” The afternoon was spent catching and releasing walleyes and enjoying the comfortable mild weather. Little did we expect that Monday would be the only day we were able to fish without wearing rain suits.
Tuesday morning we awoke to a steady rain and for only the second time in the eighteen previous trips Tom said that it would not be possible to have a shore lunch. The rain lasted all day! Thursday was another day that we were unable to have a shore lunch and we were chased off the water three times by approaching storms. None of us will stay on the water during a lightning storm. Each day the wind increased making it difficult to handle our boats. Even with our thirty-pound anchors we were not able to hold on some of our best spots.
In spite of the rain and wind we had a great time fishing, wearing all the clothes we took along under our rain suits. The walleyes cooperated and each of us caught as many as we wanted. Tom Cornelius caught the largest walleye of the trip while Dan Krueger landed the largest northern. There was a six-way tie for the largest small mouth of the trip.
Tail Feathers