Fishing trip #6 ... Busted.

My friend called me yesterday morning and asked if I wanted to go fishing. He said the fish were in a feeding frenzy, with the west wind. Grabbed my stuff, hopped in the car and drove up to the lake. West wind was still there, just under 20kph. Started fishing at 7.30pm and the wind started to slow down. Less wind, less fish. No wind, no fish. That's the story by 1.30am the lake was like glass. It's not the greatest picture, looked like you could walk on the water.

Saw a family of ducks heading out on the lake, when we got there.

Saw them later, out cruising.

At dusk, they headed in to find a safe place for the night.

Fishing was a bust. Spent some time watching a beaver working on it's home. Bad picture of it taking a break with some weed salad for a late dinner.

A bit better picture, right at the side of the boat. I fish four places that have beaver huts near them. Guess they are used to seeing me over the years. I ignore them and they usually ignore me. This one was very polite and stopped by to say hello. No growling, no tail slap, just checked us out and went back to it's hut.

Fishing was a total bust. Only a few bluegill last night. Could not find any walleye in the usual places, after dark. The moral of the story is don't trust your friends fishing report. LOL. Had a great time watching the animals and bugs in the moonlight. Drove back today after doing some tree cutting again. Definitely no fishing for a little bit. Tired from two trips this week, should have just stayed up there instead of coming back Tuesday and returning Wednesday. Just over 1000kms since leaving Monday and back home Tuesday...Drive back up yesterday and back home now. Live and learn. Oh ya, the fishing will be great tomorrow and I won't be there...Figures.

Guess you can't have both, no wind & good fishing.
We've all been there, although at times. Catching fish in cold windy conditions vs warm weather, & no wind would have been a tough call.
Plus it doesn't help the driving scenario given the cost of gas.
There's no quit in you....lol.

Thanks Fozzy. It was one of those days/nights where everything came together and fell apart. The fish were very active all day, perfect wind for catching some hungry fish. Then as the wind died down to nothing, the fish slowed down as well. I have been fishing hundreds of times where a change in wind or weather helps you, or hinders the results. Caught tons of fish on a windless night of fishing in the past. But when it's abrupt like that, you are left standing there bewildered. It takes about 33,34,35 litres for a 500km round trip up to Balsam lake. Depending on the price of gas...at $1.25 it costs about $41-$44 before the gas started to climb higher and higher in the last three months.... At $1.75 it jumps to $58-$62 and so on. I feel very sorry for families right now, having to cut back on many things. Increases in the gas prices have increased other costs as well. Not too much we can do about it, the world is a crazy place. I have a very big family, so I tell them to watch the grocery flyers, car pool to the supermarket and buy their gas after 10pm when it's cheaper. Took this picture on May14 2022 at 10:30pm. Let us hope it does not go this high again.

This is my car last year an hour before paying for it. Couldn't fit my fishing rods in the Porche. Couldn't afford the insurance, gas, tune-ups, brake jobs, new tires, and everything else for the Porche...Couldn't afford the Porche. LOL.

I love seeing the wildlife as well it is part of the experinece for sure. I am having a battle of wills with a couple of beavers right now causing property damage. Usually they get scarce this time of year as more people are around. They are creating huge mud piles along the shore and taking down small cedars I planted along the property line. Hopefully they tuck back in the swamps soon.

MC

I love seeing the wildlife as well it is part of the experinece for sure. I am having a battle of wills with a couple of beavers right now causing property damage. Usually they get scarce this time of year as more people are around. They are creating huge mud piles along the shore and taking down small cedars I planted along the property line. Hopefully they tuck back in the swamps soon.

MC

You can double wrap your trees with chicken wire, from the ground and 3 feet high. Motion sensor solar lights, stuck in the ground right beside each tree. Animals are resilient and many times become accustom to deterrents, like decoy coyote, owl, eagle, flashing lights etc. Moving the deterrents every day helps to trick the animal. Beavers are like Canadian Geese, not afraid of anything really. Great fighters, a big beaver can kill a single coyote or dog if cornered. It would be a mistake for anyone to think their pet dog would keep a beaver away permanently. Eventually the dogs luck would run out.

Zero Pickerel luck for me this past weekend.

Sounds like bad voodoo all round for everybody. I went out on Balsam today for about five hours with my wife. Had been doing quite well on the pike on the couple trips earlier in the spring. Big skunk-ola for us both. Trolled the weed bed edges in 10-15fow where I'd nailed the pike earlier and zero hits. Nothing on spoons, crank baits and the magic ripplin red fin. Walleye weren't even cooperating on the worm harness. Caught four perch and a tiny yearling LMB. Licked our wounds and hit the road. Was really surprised to see an immature Red-necked Grebe in South Bay! They must be expanding their breeding range as 30 years ago I only seen them before during spring and fall migration to/from the Prairies. About 15 years ago I saw breeding pairs with young off the mouth of the Grand River.

Too bad, but an honest report anyway. Good to tell it like it is even if you didn’t bring any home for the bbq. It’s putting in time, and makes the really good catching days that much better.

Last spring I witnessed a complete shutdown, during a wicked trout bite. We had caught maybe 20 lakers in an hour and half or two hours. Fish after fish, then the north wind stopped, lake went like glass… no more fish. Dead zone. About two hours later a south wind started up. Funny how that can can matter so much.