Muskoka Outdoors

I saw this speckled trout on Facebook and I had to ask if I could post it on my blog. Diana, has allowed me to post this picture of her 5.5 pound speck she caught…somewhere within an hour or so drive from Huntsville. Her husband has trained her well. Thanks Diana!

Diana's Big 5.5lb Speckled Trout

Hall of Famer, George Douglas announced the launching of a new fly fishing book, online fishing show, and a contest with the opportunity to win a fishing trip, guided by Douglas.

It is easy to spot a rookie, and sometimes the saying, “If you want to be – ACT as if…” can speak volumes.  Fly fishing Author, George Douglas, announced the release of his new fly fishing book, Fish Like a Guide.

According to Douglas this book is,

“The first of a series that teaches anglers how to think, plan and adjust at the level of a professional fishing guide. The introduction of the book states that you can spot a professional fisherman a mile away. You can tell by the way they move, the decisions they make, their preparation and strategy–and it is all geared for one thing, catching fish consistently… if you do things in a certain way on and off the river, you will become a better angler.”

In addition to the book launching, Kype magazine (Douglas is a publisher) has announced a drawing scheduled to take place on September 1, 2010 for members of the social community at www.SteelheadSalmonTroutFishing.com. Membership is free for anyone to join. The Grand Prize is a guided trip with George Douglas in Steelhead Alley, Ohio, including two complimentary nights at The Lodge at Geneva on the Lake.

For more information on pre-orders of his new book, the drawing, guide service, and to join the Kype Nation Social Community, visit www.SteelheadSalmonTroutFishing.com

Douglas’ Blog: http://steelheadsalmontroutfishing.blogspot.com/

It can be a hard to choice to make when you open up your tackle box to pick out the first lure for a fishing excursion. Colour can be a key trigger for fishing success, but do not let a topside, internal debate keep you from getting a lure down into the water quickly.

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.

Local birthday angler, Justin, is all smiles for the camera from the large splake he caught last week. His smile speaks volumes about his excitement. Happy birthday, Justin!

Justin's Splake

For those of you wondering a splake is a lake trout and speckled trout hybrid cross. This unique hybridization creates a species that has an increase growth rate over either of the ‘donor parents’. This increases survivability in re-stocking efforts in cold northern climate lakes. This new species is not able to reproduce with great success – although it is said to be possible.

Read more about this species in Wikipedia

Two weeks ago I took a day trip down a remote section of the Big East River. The vistas were fantastic and the speckled trout were biting.

Craig and I found that the trout did not start to bite until we reached and area of shallow to medium rapids that were impassable without portaging. The specks were hunkered down in the riffles and ambush points found within the fast moving sections. We used light cahills and casted upstream of potential hiding spots and watched them drift down with the current. IF the drift was right, we were rewarded with great aerobatics from the leaping specks.

To change things up in this post, I have put the photos together in a video slideshow format. The pictures should speak for themselves. Regrettably, there are no fish photos. It seems I could not juggle 6 to 11 inch trout and work my camera very effectively. Craig’s fish seemed to always be out of range for me to get to him quickly. We felt it was better for the trout to ensure quick releases.