Well my friends my northern Ontario trip has unfortunately come to an end, as I packed up early this morning from little current on manitoulin island and began the four hour drive back home to Orillia.
The trip started last Wednesday morning with a stop at Jacobs bait and tackle just outside orillia where I purchased several bags of minnows of various sizes hoping to have that magic one that would win me the big money at the Elliot lake fishing derby. However as you know already it was not to be this time around!!
The minnows did however produce me four lovely lakers on lake manitou on the Island.
I arrived on the Island on Wednesday afternoon and unloaded my belongings into my friends house and then decided I would spring into action while I waited for my fishing buddy to finish work for the day. The laker itch has a way of doing that to ones self!!
I headed over to lake manitou which is a short fifteen minute drive from my friends house, around 2 pm and walked out to the ice hut that was lent to us by a local on the Island. When I arrived at the hut there were a pair of local fisherman fishing nearby so I stopped and chatted for a bit and asked how the bite was going? Nothing I was told and that didn't sound too promising especially after the half mile walk out to the hut! Oh well I was still pretty hopeful as I knew my slipfloat method has a tendency to change the nothings into SOMETHINGS! Lol. I opened the hut and saw that the hut owner had not drilled any holes yet, Yuk!! ThisReally sucks. He had an old jiffy power auger inside so I guess it was time to get at her and drill some holes!! The auger surprisingly Started on just a couple of pulls and away I went at it. My God if your reading this dont ever do this without holding your breath!! Drilled one hole and just about coughed out a lung from the fumes!! I didn't do another hole as I only have two lungs so I left that for my fishing buddy to do the next day.
Finally after an hour of friggin around I dropped down my four inch beauty of a shiner on my slipfloat rig. Bang!! Five minutes in and my float slams down the hole and I have my first fish on! A few minutes later I wrestle him to the surface and toss him out the door. A nice laker of three pounds, just great for the dinner table. The two fellas outside look at me with faces of disbelief as they had been jigging for hours, lmao, they asked what I got him on and of course I told them slipfloat and minnow. Disbelief and more disbelief, oh Well I'm not lying!! I stayed another two hours and no more hits but Could not complain as I started the trip with success.
Went out again the next day with my buddy as he started his week of vacation and was anxious now to get out after seeing the beautiful laker I brought home to eat the previous day. We didn't get out to early as the weather was rather frigid, somewhere in the -43 c range with the windchill, and not to mention the fact that a fellow has a way of downing a few extra wobbly pops on the eve of his week vacation!! Lol Three hours later just when I was starting to think of my buddy again as being the manitoulin jinx, Whack!! I get a fish slam my minnow as I raised it slowly from the bottom. Another lovely dinner laker in the four pound range. Two fish two days, nice I say!! Now if only in Elliott lake! We all know how that turned out.
Come Friday now so we headed to Elliott lake a two hour drive from my buddies place to Dunlop lake lodge,ten minutes outside of town in a spectacular lakeside haven. Or should I say heaven! What a fantastic place, a fishermans paradise with 4,000 lakes in a thirty mile radius. The lodge was Gorgeous inside with two huge renovated dining rooms, free pool table a great menu that even a pauper like myself could afford, live entertainment on the Saturday night and spectacular views of the lake in every direction!! Not to mention fantastic laker and walleye fishing on your doorstep. Unfortunately time was limited due to derby so didnt have a chance to try the various lakes nearby. A guide I was speaking to was telling me of a lake just a fifteen minute walk along a snow mobile trail from the lodge that produces Speckles 3-10 pounds!! No kidding!!!
In all my life I don't think I ever stayed in a place where I was treated so welcome. The owners Tricia and Jess even went out of their way to show us every end of the lodge including the main kitchen. Fantastic hospitality,not easy to find these days, at 99$ a night its almost free!! Can't wait to get back next year, but somehow I think I'm going back sooner. Lol SPECKLES!
Well lets get to the derby, we didn't win a thing!! But we left feeling great!! 12 inch perch 27,000$ enough said!
Back on manitoulin now Sunday afternoon, tried another spot on lake manitou out of the portable hut and nothing doing. Back out to our hut that was lent to us on Monday and had a great day as once again the old slipfloat didnt let me down as I nailed a pair of five pound lakers!! As for my buddy, Well he was o for the whole week and now refers to me as the Orillia Jinx lol!! Have to thank him though couldnt have asked for a better fishing trip!! Some great pics to follow as soon as Jerry can post.
Elliot lake derby and Manitoulin fishing!, one FANTASTIC trip!!!
