2012 Episode Synopsis
by Charlie Wray

Episode 213: Reindeer Lakers and Shallow Walleye

Today, the Mercury Marine Destination takes us back up to Lindbergh’s Reindeer Lake Lodge in Northern Saskatchewan, then down to the water of the Bay of Quinte later in the show.  I know it might look like I did a lot of filming up at Lindbergh’s, but when the fishing is so good, how do you not enjoy it.  During the one trip I did this year, I was lucky enough to hit the water temperatures right and the Lake Trout were still up and feeding.  While the big draw is the numbers of Pike expected fishing Reindeer, I am not one to miss an opportunity at the chance of a fish of a lifetime, and had to take a crack at trolling for the Lakers.

Hoping the water temps were correct, I made sure I brought up a couple of my Dispy Diver reels.  This being my Okuma Catalina line counter reels in the 30 size loaded with 50 lb test no stretch Tuf-Line XP and matched up with a medium heavy Okuma Convector GL downrigger rod. Hoping for a big fish or two, my leaders of 40 lb Seaguar fluorocarbon gave my dancing size 55 Flatfish an invisible approach.  With a tip off from owner Brian Simms that the Lakers would be up feeding on Whitefish, I pulled a few that I thought would best be suited to the waters.  Spoons always product well on Lakers, but I have been told by many experience trophy Lake Trout anglers, that the dancing, rhythmic action of the large Flatfish always seems to catch larger Lakers, this was my main focus.  Not only did we catch so many smaller 5–8 pound Lakers that I let the camerman have fun catching those I didn’t need filmed, but landed two trophies. One 38 incher in the 25 lb class, and a true monster of 46 ½ inches long and extremely fat that was probably pushing the 60 lb mark.  I could hardly believe me eyes and hope the water conditions are the same this coming year, yes I will be going back!

The Lake Trout have a habit of slashing at the lures, injuring their prey, then grabbing an easier meal. Often you will feel a bump or push, and it is important to bow to the fish dropping, not exactly slack line to the fish, but giving enough to slow the lure down from the trolling speed to make the lure look injured.  This works extremely well and resulted in what I am sure will be the largest Lake Trout I will ever have on the end of my line, but I will still be hoping for larger yet.  This is what venturing into these great vast under fished waters is all about, you never know what you are going to have the chance to catch. I have heard stories for years about monstrous fish simply swimming away, spooling the angler, leaving them an empty reel before they knew what to do. I was glad I went prepared!!! Lindbergh’s is a true trophy fish lodge, not only for the Lake Trout, but the 100+ Pike days and more bays that I could fish in a lifetime. Great comfortable accommodations and gourmet dinners, www.fishreindeerlake.com or (843)-552-2838.

Then later in the show, it is time to hitch the 1850 Crestliner Raptor to the RAM, and head off to the Bay of Quinte.  This has been another tough season for many since the fish really never showed up in the usual areas. Many very good anglers have struck out plying the same old waters and with time running out, and ice soon to form over the area, I knew I had to do something different. It was a cool December morning at the boat launch, and I was very thankful that my RAM was a 4X4, not only during the launch, but the icy reload that was sure to greet me at the end of the day. The dependable Ram is always sure footed for late season fishing, but this is also a good time to inspect your tires. A good tread on your tires will help more than most could imagine, not only for the traction needed at a slippery ramp, but to control highway swaying and cornering during regular driving. Once in the boat, it was time to find some fish and look to fresh waters.
With the fish scattered, it was time to search, and it was the Humminbird Side Imaging that came to the rescue today. Most Walleye are suspended over deeper waters at this time of year, but the Humminbird Side Imaging showed bait and a few marks up shallow on the edges of structure. Find the bait, and the gamefish are not far away. I wasn’t totally expecting Walleye up this shallow, and thought possibly Bass or Drum, but it quickly became obvious that these were all Walleye and some monsters at that! If it wasn’t for the Side Imaging, these fish would never have been noticed, especially in the clear waters. The fish are easily spooked by the boat, and this is definitely a situation where the clip on side planers are a must to take the bait out and way from the boat. Using a slow trolling speed of between 1.7 – 1.9 mph, the baits must still have great action at this speed, and the very realistic Live Target Perch was outstanding.  Not only is it a dead ringer for a real Perch, the action is perfect and the shallow running YP115M 4 ¾ inch size started to hit fish immediately. After so many years of fishing over deep water, this was an eye opener for me as well and simply another lesson that you never stop learning.

With light hits, and crystal clear waters, I have found that the 30 lb Tuf-Line XP no stretch line, matched to a 30–50 foot invisible leader of 15 lb test Seaguar leader material is a killer set up.  The invisible leader is needed for the line shy shallow water Walleye, and the no stretch Tuf-Line XP gives that perfect amount of help to stick the hooks home on even light hits with the slight resistance of the planer board. Many hits are simply noticing your board has changed its angle of pull. The slightly more aggressive Walleye will be more obvious as your boards are pulled backwards! With light hits, you need all the help you can get, so keep the hooks as sharp as possible. I love the Mustad Ultra Point # 36329BLN Treble hook, and I also test out the new incredible Mustad Ultra Point KVD treble.  The KVD treble has the same Ultra Point features that have made Ultra Point a leader in hook technology, but also incorporated the Triple Grip configuration.  Once in, this triple grip is extremely hard to shake and twist out by even the most determined lunker.

This is another situation when the Okuma line counters more than pay for themselves. Once you start hitting fish, repeat the exact lead of line out, and even keep track of the amount of line to the planer board.  If it is working, you sure want to repeat everything exactly the same, over and over again. This is also an opportunity to use the new Okuma reels with the TSC knob (tension spool control). This is an independent drag setting for your reel when it is in free spool, so you can have various amounts of tension when you are letting your lines out, example when you are setting planer boards, Dipsy Divers, lowering your downrigger weights. As soon as you snap your reel back into gear, you are back to your original drag setting, simply awesome! Everyone has different ideas on where your rod holders should be, and every technique can be different, but with the Cannon track system and adjustable rod holders, you can have the perfect set up, no matter what species you are fishing for.

Designed for serious fishing the trolling model 1850 Raptor was ideal today and helped make the fishing even easier. Calm water or rough, this is a well designed boat that is sure to help you fish better.  Powered by the 175 hp dependable Mercury Verado, it was a quick fuel efficient run to find new fishing grounds.  When you are no longer worried about gas sucking outboards, it sure does make it easier to cover more water. With temperatures never getting above freezing today, and only a few boats in the distance, it is also nice to have the dependable performance of the Verado on your side. To stay with the slower trolling speeds required today, the 9.9 Mercury Pro Kicker was quick to find the proper trolling speed and kept a whisper quiet approach to these shallow water lunkers.

Continue to Episode 214

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