Chandos Lake Pike opener

Despite the blackflies driving me nuts all day the pike were in bite mode. Went with my buddy Matt, fished 13 hours Saturday and half of Sunday. We had our best opener for numbers, catching 18 pike. The biggest was 39" by myself. I also had 2 other nice ones, 36" and 35". Matt's biggest was a nice 37". Most of our pike were in the low 30 to 20" range. We used 2 different setups for our pike fishing. Both were on 7ft MH rods, baitcasters spooled with 50 pound power pro and 50 or 60 pound florocarbon leaders. 2 lure choices were a Rapala Xrap (XR12) in silver and a 3/4 oz spinnerbait in white/red. Primary choice was the Xrap and when we began to see pike were in follow mode we would switch to the spinnerbait for a bit. Fish were in both the weedy bays and on rocky structures but no deeper the 10 feet. If you've ever fished Chandos you know the lake has plenty of them both so it keeps you busy all day. Definitely feeling the burn, from more than just the sun, but it was totally worth it!

 

Balsam walleye opener

Not the nicest day on the water but not the worst day either. Fished for 8 hours, that was enough for me. Weed growth was sparse and cloudy condition had fish scattered. Fished anywhere from 6-12 feet of water, pitching a 1/8 oz green jig on a green/black 5" TriggerX curly tail. Water temps ranged from 51.5-54.8 degrees. Caught 1 walleye, over the slot about 23" and 5 pike. One pike was so hungry it chomped on my hand. Hand is sore and swollen today, oh well those are the joys of fishing. Next weekend plan it fish Chandos Lake for pike opener.

Finally the seemingly never ending  winter has passed and spring is taking shape. 6 more days till the Kawartha walleye opener and my first outing of the year. The plan is a day trip to Balsam Lake. I often target this lake on opening day, not for the dinner plate, but to have some fun. The plan of attack is simple, hair jigs and the old reliable jig and grub. I have a feeling this year could be a good bite . The last few openers gave us some warm weather and water temp making for some tough action. The cooler more slow developing springs have yielded a better bite and this year falls in that category. Like always, there is a back up plan just in case the walleye have lock jaw. Baslam has a booming pike population and they make for some great action. Plus they taste good! A full report to come next weekend. Hope to see you out there.