Trout and Pike – That’s All They Wanted

“Close to a hundred?” I asked.
“If it wasn’t a full Benjamin, it easily could’ve of been”, Jim replied.
“And how many over 24?”
“I’m being very conservative if I say 15”
“Come on… 15??? There???”
Unshaken and looking me dead in the eye, Jim said “no doubt”.

About the same time Jim’s slug fest with fat walleyes was taking place twenty miles to the north, Larry, Gary and the rest of the Browning crew rumbled down the 801 toward new waters. Surprisingly, this lake is one they haven’t fished in their tenure at Pasha Lake Cabins. Having never been indoctrinated in the PLC Trophy Club Hall of Fame, Gary had no clue what lay in wait for him in this new real estate environment. When they pushed the boat down the bank to the dark stained waters below, the excitement meter rose to new levels. Not 20mins later, during the first trolling run, Gary boated his biggest pike ever; a beaut of just over 41 inches. Welcome to the club Gary!

From a bird’s eye view, 15miles to the northwest of the Brownings, you may have noticed a father and son team (Robert and Matt E. from the east coast) laughing like little school girls. The giggle fest happened 24 hours after their arrival, while catching brook trout of the caliber seen only in videos, or, of course, at Pasha Lake Cabins. But that wasn’t going to be the end of their trout pursuits. Each subsequent day brought them to new waters and new fishing prospects. They even braved the waters of Lake Nipigon, despite the ice burgs that still lingered from hours earlier. Although they didn’t land a monster there, they were still rewarded handsomely for their efforts – two 16 inch plus, full blooded, true to the word, coasters! But wait! In an ironic twist of fate, on their last and final day of fishing, the dual headed to a secret little lake just a stones throw from the front door of their cabin. And there they found what they had been looking for all week. Brook Trout that stretched to 20”inches and over. Not one, not two, but a school of them that were herding minnows like a sheep dog in his glory. The proof is in the pudding of the gorgeous speck that will be hung indefinitely in a house somewhere in Vermont.

Looking 30 miles to the south, it would have been easy to pick out two crusty old veterans similar to the dual in the block buster hit, Grumpy Old Man. These two northern pike fanatics (Ken and Gary from the Nuss crew), couldn’t decide if they are more ornery with each other, or the pike thrashing up their homemade lures. In their 5th year of chasing trophies in our Esox lucius (Northern Pike) infested waters, it didn’t take long before they boated the first of two plus 40” trophies for the week. Most people would be ecstatic with that achievement, but these harden anglers are always trying to one up everything. The rest of the week was not to be however. After Travis (Ken’s son who will be returning for his annual September trip) boated one of the fattest 38 inchers human eyes have ever seen, the dual was plagued by nuisance pike after pike in the upper 30’s. Most would say that’s a nice problem to have. They blamed the weather but I couldn’t help but notice a smirk and wink, here and there. Hmmmmm????

But the Nuss veterans had two young rookies nipping at their heels. New to our program here at Pasha Lake Cabins were two southern Ontario implants, the Sorbian father and son team. During the time leading up to their stay, these guys made one thing abundantly clear; they were interested in nothing but “BIG” Ontario Northerns! Something they lack in their home waters. It turned out to be as simple as ask and you shall receive! The very first day Sorbin hooked into the biggest pike he’s ever laid eyes on. He was pretty animated when he returned that day, scratching his head, trying to figure out how a pike could tear through a 60lbs fluorocarbon leader. The next day they went back a little more prepared, he upped his leader strength and closed the deal on a 40”.

If God had a computer program that instilled the nicest, most easy going personalities one could ever encounter, He would have downloaded into John Maser and his two sons. Current residents of eastern Wisconsin, these guys experienced several “firsts” in their long history of fishing. Their stay included a long hike through the bush to go fishing, the “best fishing” they’ve ever experienced and of special mention, the first time John ever hooked into a trout. Every day they came back to camp, raving about the scenic lakes, how good the fishing was and wanting to know what was in store for them the following day. From crazy trout & walleye numbers, to even crazier adventures, one thing is for certain, this father and sons team had the trip of a life time. See you next year guys!

Yes, if you were to come up with a theme for last week’s fishing, it would be centered on two species. Northern Pike and Brook trout. For the most part, people could’ve cared less about walleye fishing, something that hasn’t happened in as far back as I can remember. To cast was to catch. To cast big was to catch big. But don’t forget finesse. Trout are beautiful little animals, but delicate and small presentations are the name of the game. Also, honorable mention goes to the weather. In the history of Pasha Lake Cabins, I don’t believe we’ve ever had a string of gorgeous weather as we did last week. Every day was literally 75 and sunny, little breeze, no bugs and prefect for being on the water!

This week it looks like the weather will catch up with us, giving the first significant storms of the year. With that, water temps should continue to increase at a much noticeable rate. Warm waters trigger heaving feeding in all species, especially those cold water finicky walleyes. I predict that to be glaringly apparent on the waters of Onaman as it opens to all angling this Sunday. Not to worry, I’ve arranged it so ill be the first to wet a line there this year, and will give all the gory details of our first outing in next week’s report.

Well, the wind in my sails for writing is deteriorating fast and many anxious fisherman are starting to show up in droves. I’m sure walleyes and specs will be the name of the game this week. I’m personally looking forward to the new faces and adventures that await them.

Until next time…