Why I Learned to Love Fishing
Fishing has been in my blood for nearly 50 years. As a youngster of 4 and 5 years old I remember riding the train from Union Station in Toronto, northbound for 4 hours through farmlands, then trees and bush and rock to my Dad's home town of Britt, Ontario. Britt was a lazy little town on the tea-coloured Magnetawan River that flowed west to Georgian Bay (Lake Huron). It had coal docks, the CPR, the Catholic church and I think everyone was somehow my relative there. Later we would drive our family station wagon and it was rare that we didn't spend some time there every summer.
My Dad told us stories of dancing northern pike, muskies almost 6 feet long and pickeral (walleye) to fill the freezer for the kitchen table. We dreamed of latching on to a 15 or 20 pounder and being the hero like my cousin Rino when he caught a big muskie on a hand cord and paraded it around town in the back of an old chevy convertible.
Uncle Alphonse, Dad's older brother would take Dad, my brother Boboosh (my grandfather called him that and the name stuck), my cousin Louis and I out on the river in his motor boat and if we had enough time we would wander out into Georgian Bay to the 30,000 Islands in search of smallmouth bass. Before heading out we would stop at the marina and stock up on chocolate bars and pop and the dads would get their "Black Label Beer". We were living on the edge.
The men would fish the river for muskie, pike and walleye as we trolled downstream to thousands of rock islands created within the famous Canadian shield and dotted the outlet to big water. Sometimes they would let us troll but we always seemed to get the lousy fishing gear because ours consistently ended up in a death tangle that even the most patient fisherman cursed.
I'm sure glad that Uncle Al knew his way around those islands because we could never figure out the maze through which he took us. It was really cool, when we were old enough, they would dump us off on our own island and let us cast to chunky smallmouth bass for hours on end. If it was too hot we would just go swimming in our underwear and fake being bitten by some huge killer pike.
When we got home we would watch my uncle clean all the fish except for my Dad's because "he could clean his own damned fish". We would laugh and challenge each other to poke the fish guts with our bare hands or squish them in newspaper until Aunt Rina threatened us with the wooden spoon.
Every year we would go back, at least until I was about 15 and started working during the summers. We would leave with stories of climbing the rocks or conquering some poor porcupine and sleeping in the old caboose that the CPR entrusted to my uncle. Come to think of it, it was probably his office.
I learned to love fishing because the people around me loved fishing. They made it a challenge, they make it fun. It always left us wanting to come back for more. Those memories took me into fatherhood with tales of my own to share with my son's. They have moved away now but we look forward to getting together each year to thrash around and tell stories that we would have never shared 10 years ago.
Fishing is special to me. I anticipate each new season with the same passion as I remember the past. It's something I've learned to enjoy by myself but I'd much rather share the experience with anyone who love's it as much as I do but never seem to catch as many as me!
Dave Ouellette lives in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada and has been fishing for almost 50 years. During his 25 years in Kamloops he has fished over 100 lakes in the Kamloops Region alone. He currently operates an outdoor activity site at best-in-british-columbia that focuses on the Best Fly Fishing Lakes in the BC Interior. |
Cold Weather Bass Fishing In Late Fall
When late fall comes around most anglers slow down on their fishing. Yes, the catch may be slower but you have to remember one thing?..the last thing a bass wants to do in the late fall is go deep, even with a cold front as long as their plenty of shallow cover. Wood is an excellent place for bass in the late fall, especially submerged and laydown trees.
Jigs, spinnerbaits, small crankbaits like the Little N, all are good lures to use at this time of year. Fishing pockets is also very productive this time of year. Remember to fish a spinnerbait lengthways down a submerged tree and lead the lure using your rod so it bumps off of big limbs from the tree.
Try using SuspenDots on the crankbaits to catch those suspended fish. Fish the trees by points and coves. Fish slower and don?t run from spot to spot but fish an area thoroughly. If you can fish trees submerged where one end is in about 7-9 feet of water, make sure you fish it.
Try deadsticking a Senko, I have had a lot of luck in late fall with this method, fish it slow and let it set for a little longer than you think you should.
Overall, the best I have done is with a little crankbait with a SuspenDot and fishing submerged trees on a point in fairly shallow water. Just because the temperature is lower doesn?t mean you can?t have a good day of fishing even if you have a cold front to
go along with it.
Charles E. White has fished 50 years for bass from California to Florida. In his lifetime, it is estimated that he has caught over 6,000 bass. His biggest bass is a 12 pound 14 ounce that hangs on his wall in his office. His tips and techniques have helped many people who have never fished for bass before become successful anglers.
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