Island Lake in Orangeville, Ontario held a fishing tournament from July 11-12/09. Needless to say, the water was packed with boats! The morning of Saturday, July 11 was a warm morning with a slight breeze. Ryan and I were only able to rent an electric boat at 1:00PM which took a lot of valuable fishing time away from us. By the time we got on the boat, there were already many fish caught by other guys on the water. First, second and third place bass were posted on the charts and they remained like that for some time.
Ryan and I finally got access to our boat at 1:00PM and decided to go for a little troll on the waters. We weren't familiar with this lake, as it was only our 3rd visit, although we've never been on the water before. We trolled all around areas that contained delightful structures such as weeds, rocks and drop-offs - but we caught nothing. Finally, as the wind began to pick up, making it harder for the cheap little electrical motor to function, I had hooked a catfish that was nothing special to me, and even more so, to the tournament itself.
As the wind delivered more power, our motor weakened, and eventually died, leaving Ryan and I with only the option to pick up our oars and row all the way back to the docks which were quite a distance from our location at the time. Finally we made it back, both our arms and backs feeling very tired, and decided to go for a nice lunch to A&W's.
After the terriffic lunch, we headed back to Island Lake to give it a second shot at some fish. We headed straight down the lake this time rather than trolling around to find nothing of significance. Ryan began to feel a tug on his line, leaving him to set the hook and suddenly feeling a strange energy from the other end of it. It felt as if he were snagged to something that was slowly pulling him. He wasn't sure if it was a fish or just a really thick brush of weeds. As he lured in closer, we learned that he had hooked a big turtle, which ironically swallowed his hook. After getting the turtle back in the water, I had hooked another fish; this time it was something worthwhile. I landed a small pike, nothing that would even be considered a measurement and weigh-in for the tournament, but it was a good sign. It was late by that time, and so we decided to bring the pike home and call it a night.
Sunday morning, we were up bright and early, and this time our boat reservation was at better timing. The tournament was set to end at 2:00PM on Sunday, which only gave us half a day to catch something that could possibly win us one of the top 3 prizes for a bass. With the unsuccessful saturday still pondering our minds, we found the motivation to go out there once more and see what we can do. Before heading to Island Lake, we visited a local tackle shop, where the store owner (an experienced fisherman) gave us some good tips for bass hot-spots on Island Lake. He drew us a map which was pretty convincing. We got back on our boat (which seemed to contain a better set of batteries that day) and headed straight for the area he informed us about. We gave it about 20 minutes and had nothing, so Ryan decided to try some deeper waters where the bottom was not visible to our eyes.
We headed to a dark drop-off and anchored the boat for another 20 minutes before I felt a huge pull on my line. At first I thought I was snagged, and so when I set the hook I felt the power behind this fish. My adrenaline kicked in and the fight was on! I wasn't sure if I was dealing with a bass or pike until I felt the constant swinging that could only be from a largemouth bass. Ryan dived for the net which was collecting dust for the past day and as soon as he stood on his feet, I reeled in my bass and he scooped him up in the net. The excitement finally came to us, and only 10 minutes after this action, Ryan hooked a largemouth bass that was only 3-4mm smaller than mine. We practically found a goldmine for bass, and in another 20 minutes Ryan landed his second largemouth, the third of the day in total, and I managed to add a decent perch to the pile.
The bass I had caught was big enough to convince us that it actually stood a chance to make the top 3 and so we finally headed back to the docks with my bass and had it measured, leaving us to find out that the bass was only 3mm short of third place! We were close, but that doesn't count when it comes to numbers, and therefore I let my optimistic attitude remind me that it was still some great fishing - and, of course, we now had knowledge of a great spot for some big bass. We'll definitely give it a shot next year!
Island Lake Tournament Prizes:
#1 Bass: $2000 (48.2cm)
#2 Bass: $1500 (47.7cm)
#3 Bass: $500 (47.5cm)
My bass: (47.2cm)
- Top photo from: www.pro-fishing-tips.com/screenshot.jpg
Ryan and I finally got access to our boat at 1:00PM and decided to go for a little troll on the waters. We weren't familiar with this lake, as it was only our 3rd visit, although we've never been on the water before. We trolled all around areas that contained delightful structures such as weeds, rocks and drop-offs - but we caught nothing. Finally, as the wind began to pick up, making it harder for the cheap little electrical motor to function, I had hooked a catfish that was nothing special to me, and even more so, to the tournament itself.
As the wind delivered more power, our motor weakened, and eventually died, leaving Ryan and I with only the option to pick up our oars and row all the way back to the docks which were quite a distance from our location at the time. Finally we made it back, both our arms and backs feeling very tired, and decided to go for a nice lunch to A&W's.
After the terriffic lunch, we headed back to Island Lake to give it a second shot at some fish. We headed straight down the lake this time rather than trolling around to find nothing of significance. Ryan began to feel a tug on his line, leaving him to set the hook and suddenly feeling a strange energy from the other end of it. It felt as if he were snagged to something that was slowly pulling him. He wasn't sure if it was a fish or just a really thick brush of weeds. As he lured in closer, we learned that he had hooked a big turtle, which ironically swallowed his hook. After getting the turtle back in the water, I had hooked another fish; this time it was something worthwhile. I landed a small pike, nothing that would even be considered a measurement and weigh-in for the tournament, but it was a good sign. It was late by that time, and so we decided to bring the pike home and call it a night.
Sunday morning, we were up bright and early, and this time our boat reservation was at better timing. The tournament was set to end at 2:00PM on Sunday, which only gave us half a day to catch something that could possibly win us one of the top 3 prizes for a bass. With the unsuccessful saturday still pondering our minds, we found the motivation to go out there once more and see what we can do. Before heading to Island Lake, we visited a local tackle shop, where the store owner (an experienced fisherman) gave us some good tips for bass hot-spots on Island Lake. He drew us a map which was pretty convincing. We got back on our boat (which seemed to contain a better set of batteries that day) and headed straight for the area he informed us about. We gave it about 20 minutes and had nothing, so Ryan decided to try some deeper waters where the bottom was not visible to our eyes.
We headed to a dark drop-off and anchored the boat for another 20 minutes before I felt a huge pull on my line. At first I thought I was snagged, and so when I set the hook I felt the power behind this fish. My adrenaline kicked in and the fight was on! I wasn't sure if I was dealing with a bass or pike until I felt the constant swinging that could only be from a largemouth bass. Ryan dived for the net which was collecting dust for the past day and as soon as he stood on his feet, I reeled in my bass and he scooped him up in the net. The excitement finally came to us, and only 10 minutes after this action, Ryan hooked a largemouth bass that was only 3-4mm smaller than mine. We practically found a goldmine for bass, and in another 20 minutes Ryan landed his second largemouth, the third of the day in total, and I managed to add a decent perch to the pile.
The bass I had caught was big enough to convince us that it actually stood a chance to make the top 3 and so we finally headed back to the docks with my bass and had it measured, leaving us to find out that the bass was only 3mm short of third place! We were close, but that doesn't count when it comes to numbers, and therefore I let my optimistic attitude remind me that it was still some great fishing - and, of course, we now had knowledge of a great spot for some big bass. We'll definitely give it a shot next year!
Island Lake Tournament Prizes:
#1 Bass: $2000 (48.2cm)
#2 Bass: $1500 (47.7cm)
#3 Bass: $500 (47.5cm)
My bass: (47.2cm)
- Top photo from: www.pro-fishing-tips.com/screenshot.jpg
4 comments:
looks like a lot of fun.
wow nice bass
Think I been there before
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