Eagle Lake
As promised, I hit the water this weekend in search of some early season lakers. The fishing was tough (for me at least), but after hours and hours of effort, I finally caught my first Haliburton trout. EAAAAAAAGLE LAAAAAAAAAAAAKE for the win!
Safety First
The water surface temperature was somewhere between 42 and 44 degrees Fahrenheit. That's cold. It's ice cold. So let's be clear about a few things. Don't even think about going on the water without a life jacket. But be aware that even with a life jacket, you have to be very careful: just a 4-degree drop in body temperature causes hypothermia. Always keep safety at the forefront of anything that you're doing on the water at this time of year. And have a plan in case you fall over. If you don't have much experience canoeing or kayaking, or there's rain or wind in the forecast, don't take any chances. Stay at home. No fish is worth your life.
Unfortunately, the day after writing this blog post, two men went missing on Eagle Lake after their canoe capsized. They weren't wearing life jackets. Just another sad reminder that being on the water at this time of year is no joke.
You can always depend on the kindness of strangers
After my second fish-less foray, I chatted briefly with a young man who was going out in a small aluminum boat. He told me that the trout were shallow and close to the surface. I had been fishing relatively shallow, but close to the bottom mainly using the three-way swivel technique. A few hours later, I caught my first and only fish of the weekend in about 20 or 30 feet of water using a LiveTarget Yellow Perch crankbait that runs only about 7 or 8 feet deep. This early in the season, fish are much higher in the water column than you might expect.
Don't let your electronics think for you
Fish finders are great. They provide us with lots of useful information that we can use to put together a pattern. But sometimes we get preoccupied with marking fish and we forget to use our brains. Check out this useful chart. What temperature do lake trout prefer? What was the surface temperature of the water? Yes, I know: temperature is only one factor which influences habit choice. But it's a big one. The only time I left my fish finder in my car on the weekend was also the only time I caught any fish.
Hard work pays off
Over the course of the weekend, I paddled well over 25 kilometers. All for one stinkin' (but beautiful) little fish. But I kept at it, kept trying, and never gave up. First I used traditional lures like spinners and white grubs on jig heads lower in the water column. When that didn't work, I used all kinds of crankbaits. I even tried trolling a square bill to see if the fish were really close to the surface. You don't learn if you don't try, and the only way you can't catch a fish is if your line isn't in the water.
Stay tuned for more! May promises to be a busy month. I'll try to go out for lake trout a few more times, and I'll fish Muskoka for the pike opener.
For other posts about lake trout, click here.
Greg Cholkan is a lawyer, fisherman and Hemingway impersonator. He works in Huntsville with Barriston LLP and his practice focuses on real estate, wills and estates, and business matters. Follow him on Twitter: @gregcholkan
The water surface temperature was somewhere between 42 and 44 degrees Fahrenheit. That's cold. It's ice cold. So let's be clear about a few things. Don't even think about going on the water without a life jacket. But be aware that even with a life jacket, you have to be very careful: just a 4-degree drop in body temperature causes hypothermia. Always keep safety at the forefront of anything that you're doing on the water at this time of year. And have a plan in case you fall over. If you don't have much experience canoeing or kayaking, or there's rain or wind in the forecast, don't take any chances. Stay at home. No fish is worth your life.
Unfortunately, the day after writing this blog post, two men went missing on Eagle Lake after their canoe capsized. They weren't wearing life jackets. Just another sad reminder that being on the water at this time of year is no joke.
After my second fish-less foray, I chatted briefly with a young man who was going out in a small aluminum boat. He told me that the trout were shallow and close to the surface. I had been fishing relatively shallow, but close to the bottom mainly using the three-way swivel technique. A few hours later, I caught my first and only fish of the weekend in about 20 or 30 feet of water using a LiveTarget Yellow Perch crankbait that runs only about 7 or 8 feet deep. This early in the season, fish are much higher in the water column than you might expect.
Fish finders are great. They provide us with lots of useful information that we can use to put together a pattern. But sometimes we get preoccupied with marking fish and we forget to use our brains. Check out this useful chart. What temperature do lake trout prefer? What was the surface temperature of the water? Yes, I know: temperature is only one factor which influences habit choice. But it's a big one. The only time I left my fish finder in my car on the weekend was also the only time I caught any fish.
Over the course of the weekend, I paddled well over 25 kilometers. All for one stinkin' (but beautiful) little fish. But I kept at it, kept trying, and never gave up. First I used traditional lures like spinners and white grubs on jig heads lower in the water column. When that didn't work, I used all kinds of crankbaits. I even tried trolling a square bill to see if the fish were really close to the surface. You don't learn if you don't try, and the only way you can't catch a fish is if your line isn't in the water.
Stay tuned for more! May promises to be a busy month. I'll try to go out for lake trout a few more times, and I'll fish Muskoka for the pike opener.
For other posts about lake trout, click here.
Greg Cholkan is a lawyer, fisherman and Hemingway impersonator. He works in Huntsville with Barriston LLP and his practice focuses on real estate, wills and estates, and business matters. Follow him on Twitter: @gregcholkan
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