Best of the Rest: 2017
The temperatures are falling, the lakes are freezing, and fresh challenges are just around the corner. With the excitement and new-car-smell that come with a virgin January, and before embarking on new adventures, I want to share some of my previously unpublished pictures from the year that was.
My season ended on an unseasonably warm day in Algonquin Park. But it certainly didn't begin that way. Quite the opposite actually.
The air temperature was -1 degree Celsius the first time I put the kayak in the water. The first picture of 2016 shows the wool socks that kept me warm. It took an entire weekend of paddling on Eagle Lake to catch my first open water fish of the year.
I returned to Haliburton County a few weeks later in an attempt to catch more lake trout. Mission accomplished. Trolling in roughly 34 feet of water, I also caught my first ever whitefish!
Fortunately, we had a beautiful spring in Muskoka. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch any giant pike. Still, my efforts weren't in vain. I built plenty of confidence fishing a fluke, a technique I hadn't previously used.
When bass season opened in Zone 16, I just had to be on Lake Simcoe (note to everyone: I am always busy on the fourth Saturday of June). It was my favourite weekend in a year full of great bass fishing.
There weren't as many largemouth as I would've liked, but I caught a bunch on Vixen Lake in the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. I landed most of the good sized fish that weekend solo paddling a canoe around submerged trees.
I also continued exploring lakes in and around Huntsville. Tasso Lake and Camp Lake were particularly picturesque. I didn't catch any noteworthy blog-worthy fish there, but I will definitely return to ice fish and troll for lake trout in the spring.
Now, it's time to prepare for another season of learning new techniques, travelling to mysterious lakes, and catching bigger fish.
Greg Cholkan is a lawyer and fisherman. He works in Muskoka with Barriston LLP and his practice focuses on real estate, wills and estates, and business matters. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
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