Canada Day Weekend
Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 3:06 pm
I didn't actually manage to get out and fish on Canada Day....it was my annual "pick strawberries and make jam" day.
However, we had reserved a campsite at Murphy's Point Provincial Park, about 1 hour west of Ottawa. When we arrived on Sunday, our campsite didn't appear to be so great....it was tooclose to the main gate and too far from the beach & the main lake. A quick look over the little rise behind our site changed all of that; we were only 50 meters from a small lake where motors are banned.
Sunday was so windy, there were whitecaps on the water. It was so windy, there were pets and small children flying past. It wasso windy,.....you get the picture. Swimming only partially soothed my itching casting arm. Even the visit from a deer didn't make me feel better. Could this be a day without fishing?!?!?
By 6pm the winds began to subside and I inflated the tube. When I got on the water @ 6:30, the lake was as smooth as glass. By 6:45 I had my 1st largemouth (about 2 lbs) on a popper come to hand. By 6:48 I noticed my camera batteries were completely kaput!
I fished until dark and the action was non-stop. The fish were so aggressive that the paint on 2 surface poppers was stripped right off.
We had to leave the campsite on Monday before 2pm, so I managed to hit the water @ 8:00. There was a slight breeze and it was very refreshing. I tried the same spots as the night before with limited success....a couple of 1 lb fish. In the middle of the lake was a shoal with reeds and I headed towards it trailing a popper. A few more bass took the bait before I reached my destination.
The reeds were surrounded by a reef of rocks and wood and I knew this was going to be fun. I must have caught another 10 good sized fish (up to 2 lbs.) in the hour I spent around the reeds. As I left the reef to try a different spot, the winds came up and the fishing died down. Over the course of the next hour and a half, I only managed 3 more fish.
At 12:15 it was time to leve and I headed back to shore trailing a popper. Within 10 meters from shore I caught a really nice bass and my GF was there with her camera to record the blessed event.
It was a great evening and a great morning of topwater largemouth on the fly! Very therapeutic for the troubled soul......
However, we had reserved a campsite at Murphy's Point Provincial Park, about 1 hour west of Ottawa. When we arrived on Sunday, our campsite didn't appear to be so great....it was tooclose to the main gate and too far from the beach & the main lake. A quick look over the little rise behind our site changed all of that; we were only 50 meters from a small lake where motors are banned.
Sunday was so windy, there were whitecaps on the water. It was so windy, there were pets and small children flying past. It wasso windy,.....you get the picture. Swimming only partially soothed my itching casting arm. Even the visit from a deer didn't make me feel better. Could this be a day without fishing?!?!?
By 6pm the winds began to subside and I inflated the tube. When I got on the water @ 6:30, the lake was as smooth as glass. By 6:45 I had my 1st largemouth (about 2 lbs) on a popper come to hand. By 6:48 I noticed my camera batteries were completely kaput!
I fished until dark and the action was non-stop. The fish were so aggressive that the paint on 2 surface poppers was stripped right off.
We had to leave the campsite on Monday before 2pm, so I managed to hit the water @ 8:00. There was a slight breeze and it was very refreshing. I tried the same spots as the night before with limited success....a couple of 1 lb fish. In the middle of the lake was a shoal with reeds and I headed towards it trailing a popper. A few more bass took the bait before I reached my destination.
The reeds were surrounded by a reef of rocks and wood and I knew this was going to be fun. I must have caught another 10 good sized fish (up to 2 lbs.) in the hour I spent around the reeds. As I left the reef to try a different spot, the winds came up and the fishing died down. Over the course of the next hour and a half, I only managed 3 more fish.
At 12:15 it was time to leve and I headed back to shore trailing a popper. Within 10 meters from shore I caught a really nice bass and my GF was there with her camera to record the blessed event.
It was a great evening and a great morning of topwater largemouth on the fly! Very therapeutic for the troubled soul......