In past communication with Evan (from Fetha Styx), I could tell right away he is proud of his product. What also stands out to me about Fetha Styx is the company’s commitment to helping American waterways and law enforcement personnel through rod sales.

Check them out with an interview from WFN:

Nice work Fetha Styx!

First, choose something that mimics the colour, size and shape of the natural prey your target species feasts on in the body of water you are on. When was the last time you saw chartreuse baitfish while you were freshwater fishing?

A shiner coloured minnow crank - a good start.

If fishing is slow on your first ‘natural’ pick, be sure to experiment with other colours. Let light conditions and/or water clarity dictate your next pick. If the water is murky or they sky is overcast move to a brighter colour like chartreuse or bright orange. When water conditions are clear and the sky is bright – try shades of blue, browns, or green.

These are just guidelines. It has been this blogger’s experience that the way fish react to your lures is far from predictable. When in doubt about what colour to use – experiment. Take time to try everything you got and forget the rules and systems often read about or seen on TV. My tackle box has cranks of various colours. The colour of your lure is just one of triggering mechanisms built into its construction. Vibration, flash and silhouette also play significant roles.

On day 1 of a recent sunny fishing trip on a local Muskoka lake, I started with a natural looking black-topped and silver-white bottomed minnow crank bait. My partner chose to start with a chartreuse coloured bait. Within four casts, he had landed a nice pike. Upon switching to a second bay, he pulled in another nice pike on his first cast. My natural looking lure had no hits. This all changed when I switched to a lure with similar colours (not shape) as my fishing partner’s. Colour in this case ‘trumped’ shape.

The second day of our fishing trip, I started again with a more natural coloured silver minnow crank bait. My partner, again, started with his chartreuse coloured lure. After a few minutes of fishing, I had landed two nice walleye. Things did not start to happen for the other angler UNTIL he switched to a silver coloured crank.

If you are deep water fishing, keep in mind that at greater depths, lack of light penetration makes a colour debate a mute point. Colours can not be differentiated if there is no light to reflect or absorb.

Colour can impact your fishing success, but not to the extent that it will benefit the angler to change a lure every second or third cast. Fish will not be caught if a lure is not in the water.

I was checking around for local ice fishing updates when I heard that Jacob had hooked into these fish. They were fishing from a ‘secret location’ somewhere on Mary Lake in 35 feet of water. Jigs tipped with live bait tempted the trout and pike to strike. There was 8 – 10 inches of ice.

The duo braved a blizzard to reach the sanctuary of their hut. Jacob wondered if the changing weather system was a contributing factor to making these fish (and others) hit their jigs.

Jacob Hehir holding his hard water Northern Pike

A great lake trout from Mary Lake!

I was able to get an interview with 13 year old Jacob and he patiently answered my questions about fishing with his dad. He has been fishing as long as he can remember. His mother shares that he had several visits to an ice hut as a baby. Jacob appreciates being able to spend quality time with his father. Not only is he able to learn more about fishing from his dad, but he enjoys the freedom of being able to share ‘life issues’ in the shelter of their ice hut or boat.

Jacob’s top 2 game fish to pursue are smallmouth bass and lake trout. For exciting summer  bass action, he recommends fishing during the early morning calm with top water ‘spooks’. His tips for new ice anglers are simple:

1. Dress Warmly
2. Watch Your Lines

Before I finished my interview, Jacob wanted me to be sure to include a ‘shout-out’ to one of his favorite fishing mentors, Louie Miceli.

Thanks for your time Jacob! I appreciate it.

*Note – If you have would like a photo of your ice fishing success stories to appear on my blog, please email them to me using the contact information below.

Big pike on the fly from Johnny Saunderson on Vimeo.

Kevin Swinscoe emailed this photo of a nice 9 lb northern pike caught in Mirage Lake – North of Huntsville. The story behind the photo is:

The length was 33 inches and it topped 9lb. Not a monster but a nice fish caught on a 5″ Mr Twister Double Tail and 1/8th football Jig head. I was lucky to land it without a wire trace, I only had 8lb line! The pics were taken by a neighbour, I just pulled up their dock to show them as nobody believes we have Pike in Mirage.

Nice pike Kevin! Thanks for emailing them to me. Don’t let your toes dangle over the dock for too long…

If you have a picure of a fish (big or small) that you have caught this summer – I would love to post it. Email it to the address listed below.

June 7, 2009
Annual Pike Challenge – Huntsville Town Docks
Free Kids Casting Competition 1pm – 3pm
For more information: Call 705-789-4123 or 705-789-1173

June 14, 2009
12th Annual Nosbonsing Anglers and Hunters Summer Pike Tournament
$20,000 in Cash Prizes
For more details: www.nosbonsing-anglers-and-hunters.com

July 11, 2009
Dorset Kids’ Fishing Derby
For more information call: 705-766-9968

Big Pike picked up in Vermont, way to go Jamie!

If you would like me to post a photo of your fish you cant twitter me: @muskokaoutdoors or use the email provided at the end of this blog post. Fish Hard!