2014 Episode Synopsis


Episode 245 : Monster Pike and Stealth Attack Trout

Today, the Mercury Marine destination takes us up to Reindeer Lake in Northern Saskatchewan. Charlie learns a very valuable lesson this week, never let your wife pick first when there is only one of a certain lure available. Charlie is joined by wife Terri and she certainly has an eye for the lure colour that will work in the stained waters for monster Pike. Then out on Lake Ontario for some early season Brown Trout action. If you are having trouble catching fish in clear waters, this innovative approach to keeping your divers far away from your lures works and will make a whole lot of sense once you see how effective it is!

But first, time for monster Pike. Charlie has always done well for Pike with the Moonshine spoons, and Firetiger is a “go to” colour. Terri noticed a single bright orange spoon in the mix and wanted to give this a try. Well, first there was only one like this, and secondly, it was the HOT colour for the trip, and it wasn’t about to leave Terri’s line. It has since been retired and hangs where Charlie can constantly see it as a friendly reminder. Firetiger worked well, but it was obvious that this glow Orange was HOT!!! Not including the numbers of trophy Pike Terri and her magic orange Moonshine spoon caught that were over 40 inches, it also bagged the largest Pike of the year at Lindbergh’s Reindeer Lake Lodge, and measured out at 50 inches and 28 lbs. Charlie has now ordered and stocked up on several more. If you are looking for a high end lodge, with wonderful meals and service, private cabins and an airstrip on the island for easy and fast access, check out Lindbergh’s Reindeer Lake Lodge 1-843-552-2838 or www.fishreindeerlake.com The Pike action on this massive lake will keep you more than happy.

Charlie loves his Okuma C3 rods and Komodo baitcasting reels, and this is his favorite Pike combo, but the C3 rods are also available in a spinning rod version and quickly became a favorite for Terri when matched up with the smooth and lightweight RTX 40 sized spinning reel. This reel is still small and compact, but it has the spool size for a larger line capacity. The 30 lb test Seaguar Kanzen braid packs tightly on this reel and made for a trouble free, smooth casting combo. With the monster Pike Terri was constantly into this trip, the no stretch line made for easy hook sets and control, and the spinning outfit handled them with ease. Spinning outfits are often overlooked, but if you are more comfortable using spinning over baitcasting, then use them. In fact, spinning is more comfortable to use and less trouble when casting into the wind, so there is always a reason to keep a spinning outfit handy, especially if you want to take advantage of every opportunity.

Many Pike anglers choose wire as leaders, but Seaguar fluorocarbon has proven over the years, to have so very many advantages. Wire can kink and break without warning, it is visible, and when fish wrap in your leader, they can damage themselves. Charlie has been using the virtually invisible Seaguar Fluorocarbon leader material for years, and trusts this for increased success. While it might need to be re-tied once or twice during a fish filled day due to the odd nick for fray, it offers many advantages. First, it is almost invisible, even the thicker 100 lb test leaders used this episode. It is very abrasion resistant and tough and can hold up much better than you think. It might look like mono, but it certainly isn’t and can hold up to the sharp teeth extremely well. It is easy to tie, and when a fish wraps in it, because it is much thicker than wire (and still less visible), it doesn’t cut into the fish like wire. Great stuff!! With the big fish favoring the orange 1oz Moonshine casting spoon, a 3X strong Mustad Ultra Point treble was perfect for the abuse and fish of a lifetime at hand. If you have a hot lure, replace damaged hooks, or hooks you don’t trust with quality hooks, it will make a difference.

Weighing trophy fish has always been difficult, hanging small fish from a scale might be OK some times, but big heavy Pike, not even close. Simply too much weight to hang them from a scale, it basically can break their backs. The same makers of those great EGO S2 Slider nets, have a portable weigh sling called the EGO Weight Sling, and Charlie was sure to bring a 60 inch version of it on this trip. It folds down into a pack the size of a thermos, and assembles quickly into a fish cradle for landing those giants. Charlie used this on Terri’s 50 inch monster Pike and it worked like a dream. After the beast swam in, handles are simply folded together. Mesh pockets for the head, along with heavy duty vinyl make this design perfect, and with snaps and handles in all the right places, the fish can be contained without damage. The fish is safely contained, and with convenient hooks, the fish can be weighed in the EGO weigh sling without damage to the fish, since the entire fish is supported. WOW, every trophy fishing lodge should have this!!!

Then, back on the home waters of Lake Ontario. A short run in the RAM 2500 Longhorn Diesel, and the Crestliner 2150 is in the water. This is early Spring and the fish are scattered and shallow. Planer boards are the choice to keep lures away from the boat and over to the unsuspecting fish. Running quietly with the 9.9 Mercury Pro Kicker, it is not that you are actually spooking the fish, but it is simply the displacement of the boat in shallow water that make the fish move out of the way, and if your lures are directly behind the boat, you will catch far fewer fish than having your lures out and over to the sides where the fish have shifted to. The clearer and shallower the water you are fishing, the more important the boards become.

The Live Target lures have been an instant hit among anglers, not only because of the realistic finishes, but with perfect balance and swimming action; they are designed to catch fish. As with any well designed lure, they are engineered to work the way they are balanced, and if you change that, you best be careful. Most minnow type baits are designed with hooks suitable for Walleye and Bass, not for hook crushing Salmon and twisting Great Lakes Trout. If you use a light wire hook with heavier lines, boards or divers that offer resistance, chances are hooks will bend and modifications are needed. For this application, Charlie changes the belly hook to a 3X Mustad Ultra Point treble and replaces the tail hook with a 2/0 single. After a quick check, the Live Target Smelt Banana bait is swimming like it was designed and now ready to withstand the abuse from heavier tackle and pulling power. The action of this Live Target is wonderful, and was crushed immediately. When you are fooling the very wary clear water Brown Trout, you know you are doing something right.

To add stealth to this presentation, an innovative idea is born. Divers are needed to get the lures into the strike zone, but when divers are only 8 feet from the lure, it is hardly finesse, and takes away from the incredible life like presentation of the Live Target Smelt. When you stop trying new ideas, the fish win. Charlie decided to rig up a way to run divers, snap weights, etc anywhere in front of the lure, so that if you wanted to have your diver 30 feet ahead of the lure, it wouldn’t spook the fish, and also a way where you can still reel the fish to the net without 30 feet of line still to reel in. Well, this is how it is done. First, add a small bead to your main line, then a small swivel to stop the bead, then your 6 – 8 foot leader and lure. Now all you have in front of the lure is a small swivel and small bead, much less bulky than a diver, and this will not spook the fish. This is the first step.

Now, using a small mini downrigger or planer board release clip, use a large snap to attach to the back of the release, tie on a dropper line of about 8 inches, then tie on your choice of diver. So, now you have a mini release clip, large snap attached, 8 inches of line, tied to you diver. Now, attach a short safety line of about 3 inches to the snap on the release, with a snap on the other end of the safety line. You can now simply clip this to your line as far away from you lure as you feel will work best. When a fish hits, you will either unclip as the diver is reeled in, or what usually happens, it gets knocked off the line and slides down and stops at the bead you already have on your line, 6 – 8 feet from the lure. The safety line is what stops you from losing your diver on the hit. Make sure you snap the safety line on your main line after you clip the release to the line. Also make sure the snap opening on the safety line is smaller than the bead on your main line, or the snap on the diver will slide down over the bead, all the way to the lure, and possibly knock the fish from the line. It might sound awkward, but this works extremely well and is simple once you see it go together.

As with any precise presentation, repeat what worked exactly the way you had it, and the Okuma Line Counter reels, either the Catalina or the Coldwater series is idea. 20 lb test Seaguar Abrazx main line fluorocarbon is about as good as it gets for downriggers or planer boards; invisible, abrasion resistant, thin and tough. With planer boards, rod placement is always a personal preference, and the Cannon track system and adjustable rod holders make this about as good as it gets. The Cannon Aluminum mounting tracks are available in 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 inch lengths and have many accessories that fit within the tracks, including your downriggers. The Crestliner 2150 Sportfish is the largest in the Crestliner fleet, and makes for a roomy, wonderful great lakes fishing machine. The SST transom makes big water fishing even safer and offers a convenient storage area for the canvas top and side curtains when not needed. How many times have you left your canvas at home because it took up too much room in the boat? It can’t help keep you dry from home during an unexpected down pour. With the canvas storage that comes with the SST transom, it is always with you and out of the way. The 2150 SST Crestliner Sportfish is almost 23 feet in length and fishes like a larger boat, thanks to a user friendly, open design. Powered by the 300 hp Mercury Verado 4 stroke motor, this rig can cover water fast and get you to the fish, but with the fuel efficiency of the Verado, it doesn’t have to cost you that much.

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