2014 Episode Synopsis


Episode 257: Bent Rods, Big Fish

Today, the Mercury Marine Destination takes us up to Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan, then down to the French River in Ontario. First, Charlie and wife Terri enjoy the Walleye and Pike action at Lindbergh’s Lodge. The Lucky Bug (Bingo Bug) has always been a producer, but this was an eye opener for Walleye. When the lure looks like one of the bugs crawling and wiggling out of the rocks, the Walleye simply couldn’t refuse it. The Bingo Bug is simply a fly on a mini crankbait body. A small plastic lip makes it wiggle and draws hits from even inactive fish. With Pike only a few feet away at all times in this area, the Lucky Bug was tied to a Tuf-Leader of 20 lb test. Tuf- Leader is a braided stainless steel wire leader material with a Spectra core, not only is it flexible and doesn’t kink, but ties so easily, any knot will do. With only the addition of a few split shots for casting weight, the Lucky Bug was hit as soon as it reached anywhere near bottom.

Then a little fun with Pike on surface baits. The Live Target Blueback Herring has always been a Pike producer, but the double prop version is great for explosive surface strikes. With a single prop on the front, and one on the back, this lure gurgles and blurps, and absolutely gets hammered in the shallows. The Tuf-Leader once again offers a cut proof leader when the Live Target is engulfed completely out of sight. With winds picking up, spinning outfits are preferred. The performance packed combo of Okuma RTX reels (size 40) and Okuma C3 rods handled the largest Pike with ease, this spinning outfit is incredibly light in weight, yet has power to spare. The C3 rods, in either spinning or baitcasting, are Charlie’s favorite Pike rods, so light, yet so incredibly powerful and durable. Seaguar Kanzen braid in 30 lb test was ideal on the spinning outfits, incredibly thin, and casts like a dream.

Then it’s over to the French River in Ontario. The French River is a large body of water, especially the stretch from the launch in Dokis to Lake Nippissing. There are back bays and cuts that fish can hide in and never see a lure, and much of the area is rock filled and snag infested. One technique that works incredibly well for Walleye is making worm harnesses from the buoyant Spin-N-Glo bodies, so your presentation floats just above the snags, and in the face of the hungry Walleye.

Staying once again at the Chaudiere Lodge, this central area of the French River is more of a lake than a river with water depths that go from 2 feet to 160 in seconds. Last year, the owner of Chaudiere Lodge (Steve Niedzwiecki) www.chaudierelodge.com (705)-763-2220 offered the use of his Navionics card, without it, it would have been challenging to navigate outside of the channel markers. This year, Charlie came prepared. The Navionics card was bang on with every rocky point, shoal and shallow area. Well worth the investment if you want to cover lots of water safely. The cabins at Chaudiere are some of the nicest Charlie has been in, clean and comfortable and great meals and lunches supplied.

The Humminbird 1198C fishfinder/GPS was well used this trip, exploring new waters, and with them being vast new waters, it was more than comforting to have an accurate GPS, not only marking safe routes back, but new hot spots! With so many great spots showing up on the Humminbird, and the Navionics card sharing structure that locals took decades to find, it didn’t take long to get into some really nice Walleye on the Spin-N-Glos. This trip, Charlie had his new 2050 Crestliner Raptor with a 300 Mercury Verado and 9.9 Pro kicker. The Verado continues to amaze at how fuel efficient it is, even with the long runs covering water. This was a treat and a perfect sized boat for this waterway. It handled the chop wonderfully when the winds blew up, and the full stand up top was awesome to fish under when the drenching rains started and never stopped for 2 days.

Even though the Viking rainwear kept Charlie warm and dry, it is nice to be able to keep gear dry, and also be out of the elements for a dry lunch break. With the stand up top allowing unrestricted movements, the rain was no issue at all for a full day of fishing. Even the hardiest of locals couldn’t stand the relentless rain very long and headed in, the cover kept Charlie comfortable like he was fishing in a tent. How do you turn this ideal fishing boat into an even better one, with the addition of the Minn Kota I-Pilot! This amazing feature allows you to record a track so you can repeat it exactly. Spot lock works just like an electronic anchor. Cruise control so you can present your baits at precisely the correct speed, despite what the winds and currents are doing, along with advanced autopilot with GPS accuracy. Talk about a perfect system for trolling worm harnesses for Walleye. Record a track for a perfect repeat of a successful path, and cruise control was awesome! Working the Minn Kota while using the wireless remote under the cover, keeping dry, was also worth its weight in gold.

While better known as a Salmon and Trout lure on the West coast, the Spin-N-Glos are making history in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba as a perfect addition to a worm harness, and a replacement for the blades. Not only do they give bottom clearing buoyancy since they float, and presentation speeds can be reduced if needed, but come in a wide selection of Walleye colours, and tempt with a subtle flash from the mylar wings. Charlie ties them up with 15 lb test Seaguar Fluorocarbon for an invisible, abrasion resistant rig, and uses the size #4 Spin-N-Glos. These are the perfect size for northern Walleye. First start the rig by snelling a size #2 Mustad Ultra Point Octopus style hook, leaving a tag long enough to tie on a Mustad Triple Grip treble on the back. This triple grip has amazing holding power, even on the short hitters. The unique hook configuration really locks in, and is harder to shake out. Great for those last minute head shakes from Walleye at boat side that are usually just out of reach from the net.

The new Okuma Trio spinning reels offer a new Crossover construction, a combination of lightweight graphite materials on part of the reel, and aluminum on other parts to balance strength and light weight features. It gives this 10 ball bearing reel a solid but lightweight feel, and the high speed version was perfect for harnesses. Sensitivity is important, you want to feel the bottom and know you are close at all times, but not be dredging the bottom. Even the snag resistant bottom bouncing sinker rigs can snag when you are using too heavy of weights, or have too much line out. The new Seaguar Kanzen braided lines are not only sensitive, but thin and feature a high density weave for increased durability, and the very thin 15 lb test Kanzen was perfect for this. When you use no stretch braided lines, it is always a good idea to use a somewhat flexible rod to absorb some of the shock of head shakes so you don’t rip out smaller hooks. The Okuma Citrix rods offer perfect balance and are both light in weight and sensitive and matched up beautifully with the Trio reels. When it is time to net that lunker Walleye, and while also trying to keep the boat without the clutter of a net that is always in the way, the telescopic and floating EGO S2 Slider nets are ready in a second, but also quickly and neatly stowaway, out of the way. Once you use this EGO net, it quickly becomes a favorite, and using and extending it with one hand while fighting a fish becomes second nature.

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