DEATH MARCH ON CHARLESTON LAKE (report)

[smitty55]

Copper - wow, You`re part of a rare breed. I`ve never used copper myself, but know a few older locals who still do.

Lol, yea the copper has better feel than the lead core. I can get about a pound of it (around 300 ft) on a Penn SG47LC line counter reel. Still using it with the gang trolls. Never did get into jerking spoons with steel line like some real old guys still do.

"Way" back in the eighties when I first started fishing Charleston there used to be a couple of old guys that would drag a Johnny Green spoon (Remember those? Still available from Lucky Strike) right on the bottom as they crossed the lower end of Big water. One guy would attach a minnow to the extra treble off the main hook, and the other way was to remove the treble, then bend the large single hook into a loop and attach a leader with a treble and a minnow. I bet they would still work good. Maybe even off a rigger. I still have a couple.

Quite the story to those spoons. Invented in the 30's by John green, a farmer from the Buck/Devil lake area, who would guide Americans for Lake Trout in the summer to make money. The first ones were made from the headlight reflectors of old Model T Fords. As word got out he got lots of orders so he would spend his winters making them to be sold at 50 cents apiece at first. Unfortunately he was too trusting, and gave the template to some American firm for $500, which he never received. Also, according to Harold Green, somebody from Kingston once contracted with Johnnie to make lures for a “cut” of the profit on those sold but “Dad lost a pile of money on that deal”. As he had never gotten a patent on the lure, he never did get his due rewards from the design. OOD magazine did an article on the lure in their April 2012 issue but I no longer have it and can't seem to find it online

Here's a pic for those who have never seen or heard of it before. It has a good bend to it.

johnny green.jpg (3.17 KiB) Viewed 2933 times

Cheers

[Out4trout]

Smitty
Yes - still have a few Johnny Greens in the kit! Donated a few over the years to the lake bottom. Great spoon, there is a local who still makes em too.

[Moosebunk]

Doug... you go out there for a cardio-arse-kicking again, take some ASA and Nitro with ya. Just in case bearded bud.

No perch but ya got some tug near the deep water, and at least know a spot to try out come opener.

There's a Johnny Green spoon kicking around here some place too. Never used it. Think it's Devil Lake that has some history tied in with that lure. Anyways, lead, copper, steel. Bumped into a fella using steel up on Nipigon. Running about 500 feet back over 60-80 and dredging lakers off the bottom. Fished really well for him, old schoolin' it, short rods in hand and feeling for 'em. Nowadays old to most is "out of the box," so I guess it could often be surprisingly efficient.

[Doug]

I did try "pulling my wire" back on Simcoe with a vintage steel set-up. You pretty much have to be Charles Atlas to do that all day. Kind of like jigging 8 ounce (and heavier) jigs for halibut in 300 FOW. Oh, my achin' back!

Doug

[Haulin Bass]

Doug

Sorry to hear your Perch trip did not fair out to well, but I would fish with a guy called Out4Perch not Out4trout... Good luck with your quest

[Doug]

Doug

Sorry to hear your Perch trip did not fair out to well, but I would fish with a guy called Out4Perch not Out4trout... Good luck with your quest

Now THERE is a good point!

Doug

[wolfe]

Hey Doug,

Great report, despite the grossly unfulfilled perch quest and death march. I'm sure those were some fun lakers to ice, despite the OOS status.

Charleston Lake is one of my favorites. Big and beautiful. Sounds like a tough haul, though!

Did you go home and have a double-bacon cheeseburger to put a few calories back into the old tank? What a work-out.

W.

[Doug]

Hey Doug,

Great report, despite the grossly unfulfilled perch quest and death march. I'm sure those were some fun lakers to ice, despite the OOS status.

Charleston Lake is one of my favorites. Big and beautiful. Sounds like a tough haul, though!

Did you go home and have a double-bacon cheeseburger to put a few calories back into the old tank? What a work-out.

W.

Hey there kiddo!

I do believe this was the first laker I ever landed on two pound test line and a micro-jig, and yes it was a HOOT. But I must have some Calvinist blood in me, because the GUILT of having an OOS fish on the line over-rode the fun of fighting it!!!

A double bacon cheeseburger sounds delightful, where could a chap find one? That was a full week ago, and this old brain does not recall what it did yesterday let alone last week! I rather suspect I took some Robaxacet and alcohol.................

Doug

[Kerrazy]

Doug,
Fantastic post! And I mean this on many levels.

Your intial tale of woe was very well written, and I love a fella who can poke fun at himself. Sorry you were shut out!

But what truly makes it a great post, is how you have engaged the others to contribute!

Smitty, I love the hand drawn map! And I do believe I too would have endured a few sodas reviewing it and burning it to memory!

And of course the anecdotal stories of lure creation, and fishing technics is really a great lesson.


Thanks for starting a great conversation, and to the others who contributed, well done!

Cheers,
Kerrazy

[Doug]

Kerrazy, thanks for your kind words.

I regret missing last evening's get together, and regret not meeting some of the more colourful folks on this board...........which I think would include yourself.

Doug

[Leerjmc]

Great story and comments boys.
charleston is a gorgeous lake.may be my favorite.
The only problem is a cant find a good public launch with parking.i know of the provincal park,the town of charleston and the small area of outlet.but all had no or very little parking.if anyone knows a launch with parking pease let me know
Thanks lads

[smitty55]

Great story and comments boys.
charleston is a gorgeous lake.may be my favorite.
The only problem is a cant find a good public launch with parking.i know of the provincal park,the town of charleston and the small area of outlet.but all had no or very little parking.if anyone knows a launch with parking please let me know. Thanks lads

The road straight into Charleston can get busy with parked rigs, depending how late you show up. If you're not aware of the public launch at the end of water street, it offers a great, quiet launch and decent parking if people keep to the angle parking. Just don't show up at 9:00 AM on a Saturday and expect too much.

Cheers