Walleye...Forest Fires...Full Moon., Aug.10th night report.

First off we have some fires in the Kawarthas. If you smoke don't throw your cigarette butts out anywhere please. Please be careful, so you are not the cause of a fire. There are so many branches and debris still on the ground from the ice storm. This makes fires spread fast on the ground and travel quickly. Total fire ban in the Kawartha Lakes, please be responsible, not just in the Kawarthas, be responsible anywhere and everywhere. Thank you. Last night caught the last of the full moon, well almost full. Warm with a south breeze, but not enough wind to keep the bugs off. Didn't get bit in 2023 or 2024 but last night made up for that. Lots of bites from multiple creatures, just couldn't keep them away. Garlic, bug spray, citronella, it was bad. Fishing was good, tons of rock bass, bluegill, and a few walleye keeping me busy. Moved up and down the bank, but that just stirred up more bugs. Took the boat out 20 yards off shore, bugs were worse on the water. Came back, used the Deep Woods Off all over my clothes and that finally did the trick. Lots of fish but a very lite bite all night. A hit felt more like picking up a floating weed. No enthusiasm from the fish until after setting the hook. A couple walleye and even a few pan fish cranking up the volume on the splashes. Fish were very aggressive trying to get away. Even lost a bass as it jumped up about a mile at the moon. LOL. Sorry for the fuzzy picture.

A very slow retrieve on both lures and the slip bobber. Almost no rain up here for a while, low water levels, low oxygen levels, and warm temperatures on the surface. If you are fishing, take the time reviving big and even smaller fish when released. Kept this big walleye and released his big sister, and all the other fish as well. Sorry about the picture, forgot the flash, walleye was just over 23 inches. That's it for fishing until it cools off a bit. Heat and sweat attracts flying miniature vampires. Not spending all night with those bugs again.

Don't forget, we all can help to prevent forest fires.

nice fish. to bad about the bugs

Great report CM!

I too am taking a break until the water temps come down.

Nice walleye!
Hope it cools down soon w some rain…my son and I have booked a trip back to Balsam on Sept. 9.

Thank you Stocco. Maybe those bigger fish you marked last year, will be hungry this time. Last September was a weird start to fall. I hope you have much better luck this year. Good luck to you and your son.

Thank you sir, yes it was bad. Forgot to mention the spiders....big, big spiders as usual when it's this hot and dry outside.That's summer at night though. If we didn't have bugs the fish would not be healthy, and not taste as good. Sounds weird, fish eat lots of bugs, and we eat the fish. Four more weeks and the pests should almost be gone. Good luck next time you are out catching your dinner.

Thanks smitty, I hope your good luck continues. This picture is a bit better, but almost cut the head off. Can't wait until it cools off.

Burnt River fire is 2 1/2 miles from the homestead, but I hope with a little rain they have a handle on it.

9pm is the witching hour, I can’t believe how bad the bugs are when out in the middle of the lake.

Hopefully the weather cools down a bit and the Pikerel get hungry.

Beauty of a walleye!

We just got back from a long weekend trip into Algonquin (west gate). I was very surprised to see they were allowing fires still (despite every other municipality having a fire ban in the area).

It's interesting you mentioned low oxygen levels. I was chatting with an MNR bio a few years back out on a lake they were indexing. She mentioned that during the daytime, you'll find fish in thicker weed cover - the water is typically cooler and the plants are photosynthesizing and releasing O2 into the water. At night, it's the exact opposite - the plants consume O2 and thicker weed cover will have lower levels. The fish move to more open water, not only to feed but for better quality water.

I have noticed this - I can catch walleye and largemouth in thick milfoil during the day, but get skunked in the evening - but will find them out in the open.

I am looking forward to some cooler nights and days for fishing this fall!

We are hoping you and your neighbours are all safe and the fires don't expand. As far as I was told, the fires have come down from 5 to 2. A bit of rain in a few places last night, but a good drenching is badly needed all over. Have not seen it this dry in forever.

Thank you Brooktrout for posting that up on the board. That's exactly right. As mentioned in my previous post, catching fish at night is the opposite of daylight hours. I have never ever had a fish dive into the weeds after setting the hook at night. The fish always try and escape up and away from the weeds, to the clear water. My lures are almost always shallow running at night, and my slip bobber is set to drop my baits just to the weed tops or sides. After dark is a waist of time for me to fish down in the weeds, when the fish are not there. A lake is like the aisles and shelves of a supermarket. During the day you find what you want on the bottom two shelves, but you have to reach in to grab what you want. At night, you easily pick off the good stuff from the higher shelves. Fishing in the higher clear water of a lake, is more productive for me at night. Even putting up with the bugs in the summer, and the freezing temperatures in the late fall. I hate weeds, but we obviously do need them to bring life to the lake. Also the weeds give the fish cool cover during the day to hide from us. LOL. From shallow water to around 20 feet is where most of the weeds grow. During the day I still try and stay out of the weeds, and fish just the weed edges. Sitting in a boat and doing some traditional jigging in and around the holes and edges of weed beds, will net some great catches. From 5 to 15 to 20 feet of water, the fish are there all day in the weeds, just waiting to get caught. But at night the fish are out cruising the shallower clear water, looking to get caught. I hope you had fun in Algonquin, love that park.

Thanks smitty, I hope your good luck continues. This picture is a bit better, but almost cut the head off. Can't wait until it cools off.

Beauty thanks!

I've been taking the kid bass fishing and having fun, I'm not totally on the bench. But stoked about the fall and some big girls

Thanks smitty, I hope your good luck continues. This picture is a bit better, but almost cut the head off. Can't wait until it cools off.

Beauty thanks!

I've been taking the kid bass fishing and having fun, I'm not totally on the bench. But stoked about the fall and some big girls

Today and tomorrow is still going to be hot. For those of you that don't mind the heat, the fishing is going to be good. A steady south breeze, trolling or drifting should catch some nice fish. Don't forget the sun screen for yourselves and the kids. 15 feet of water right at the weed edges the fish will be more aggressive than the past two weeks.