An eventful early season for ORGF
Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 9:53 pm
Good day FH,
I find myself in this moment, coming back from hockey, with the kids in bed, and Finding Bigfoot on tv. A rare moment to relax. I've said it before and I'll say it again, running a guide service is a pleasantly exhausting ordeal. Add to the rigours of running a small business a 4 year old boy, a 2 year old girl, a still lingering part time cartography job and daily training for a 10k race and you have, here, lying on the couch one beat-up fishing guide...and I wouldn't want it any other way. One thing that is a big change for me this year is weekend time off. I've committed to taking one weekend day off a week to spend more time at home and I have to say it's been wonderful. The highlight of the weekend time off so far has been taking my nephew and son fishing for dinner this Sunday.
So far this season we've been subjected to a real hodge podge of requests from guests. Crappie were more popular than in years passed, many groups wanted walleye for dinner, and a some groups just wanted fish. Early on, I discovered that my ususal early May crappie spots were infested with bullhead, but we did manage to adjust to bring some crappie over the hull. A little exploring in search of crappie led to a neat find, a deep trough running through a weedbed that was full of everything but crappie. A great spot to get out of the wind. Panfish galore including some impressive perch and bluegill for the kids, and good amounts of tooty critters to keep the grown ups on their toes.
Admittedly, I haven't taken many photos this year. But these tell great stories.
Thanks to Princecraft and Laurentian Marine, our guests will be fishing in style this year. Here's our brand new 18' Princecraft Maska. Cuts through big chop like a dream and incredibly roomy. If any of you are thinking of a new boat for 2016, she'll be for sale at the end of year. I've only had her since Friday, but she's already been on the river a couple times. I'll put better pictures soon to do her justice.
This group from Barrie were troopers! They endured high winds, rain showers, and even HAIL! The fishing was steady with lots of big perch and nice pike coming aboard. This 19" walleye was the highlight for young Aaron. His cousin outdid him on the other boat with a 20 incher.
To the troopers go the spoils. Shore lunch for 8.
First pass in the trough, my little guy's first pike. While I'm netting it, my nephew lands a little perch. The boys were so proud to bring home enough fish for a 2 family fish fry.
My little guy's first crappie.
The results of the new Princecraft's maiden voyage. Launch was less than 12 hours after I had pulled into the driveway. A bit of a hustle to get water ready, but the group of 4 I was guiding were very pleased with the roominess. They weren't feeling photogenic, but still wanted a picture of the slabs.
This week is pretty quiet but the following weeks will be busy and July is already mostly booked. 'Tis the season!
Tight lines everyone.
Yannick
I find myself in this moment, coming back from hockey, with the kids in bed, and Finding Bigfoot on tv. A rare moment to relax. I've said it before and I'll say it again, running a guide service is a pleasantly exhausting ordeal. Add to the rigours of running a small business a 4 year old boy, a 2 year old girl, a still lingering part time cartography job and daily training for a 10k race and you have, here, lying on the couch one beat-up fishing guide...and I wouldn't want it any other way. One thing that is a big change for me this year is weekend time off. I've committed to taking one weekend day off a week to spend more time at home and I have to say it's been wonderful. The highlight of the weekend time off so far has been taking my nephew and son fishing for dinner this Sunday.
So far this season we've been subjected to a real hodge podge of requests from guests. Crappie were more popular than in years passed, many groups wanted walleye for dinner, and a some groups just wanted fish. Early on, I discovered that my ususal early May crappie spots were infested with bullhead, but we did manage to adjust to bring some crappie over the hull. A little exploring in search of crappie led to a neat find, a deep trough running through a weedbed that was full of everything but crappie. A great spot to get out of the wind. Panfish galore including some impressive perch and bluegill for the kids, and good amounts of tooty critters to keep the grown ups on their toes.
Admittedly, I haven't taken many photos this year. But these tell great stories.
Thanks to Princecraft and Laurentian Marine, our guests will be fishing in style this year. Here's our brand new 18' Princecraft Maska. Cuts through big chop like a dream and incredibly roomy. If any of you are thinking of a new boat for 2016, she'll be for sale at the end of year. I've only had her since Friday, but she's already been on the river a couple times. I'll put better pictures soon to do her justice.
This group from Barrie were troopers! They endured high winds, rain showers, and even HAIL! The fishing was steady with lots of big perch and nice pike coming aboard. This 19" walleye was the highlight for young Aaron. His cousin outdid him on the other boat with a 20 incher.
To the troopers go the spoils. Shore lunch for 8.
First pass in the trough, my little guy's first pike. While I'm netting it, my nephew lands a little perch. The boys were so proud to bring home enough fish for a 2 family fish fry.
My little guy's first crappie.
The results of the new Princecraft's maiden voyage. Launch was less than 12 hours after I had pulled into the driveway. A bit of a hustle to get water ready, but the group of 4 I was guiding were very pleased with the roominess. They weren't feeling photogenic, but still wanted a picture of the slabs.
This week is pretty quiet but the following weeks will be busy and July is already mostly booked. 'Tis the season!
Tight lines everyone.
Yannick
