
Trophy on the fly: Ted and Bryan (right) with Ted's 41-incher

Big pike in camp (so far): Dwight Hottle and his 27-pounder

Runner up: Dave Drobny and his 23-pound northern
Another morning of sunny, blue bird skies meant one thing: more pike on the fly. This time, we boated straight to a honey hole scouted out yesterday by Lakers Unlimited owner Jeff Perela and his two anglers, Americans Dave Drobny and Dwight Hottle. Their information was sound: Bryan put Ted and I on no end of northerns, which we were able to sight-fish in the shallows. Iâve never bonefished before, but it sure looked like the fishing-the-flats videos Iâve seen on TV. It was just awesome being able to cast to giant shadows and watching them turn and pursue our flies. In the end, we stopped counting after roughly 15 fish apiece, all caught with an hour. Best of all, Ted and I both brought trophy 41-inchers to the boat. Sweet.
Meanwhile, the fishing gods thanked Dave and Dwight, both of whom are Athabasca veterans, for sharing their hot spot with us. Dwight boated the big pike of the week so far, a 27-pound beast stretching the tape to 46.5 inches, while Dave notched up a 23-pounder. Well done, gents.
Tomorrow, if the weather holds, weâll hit the pike again on the fly at the same spot â" you just canât pass up the opportunity to fish such a fly fishermanâs paradise.
One of the many issues of concern for the fishing and hunting community is recruitment, or, more specifically, the greying of our ranks. In short, we are continually striving to bring new anglers and hunters, particularly youth, into the fold. And more and more, the outdoors community has also been targeting woman as potential new outdoorsfolk of tomorrow. And that’s a good thing. In
Have you made plans for National Fishing Week yet? It’s coming up fast, kicking off this Saturday, July 2, and running through to Sunday, July 10. Even if you don’t participate in an official event, it’s a great time to take a kid fishing or introduce someone new to the sport. That is, after all, the main point of National Fishing Week: to get more Canadians outdoors and
Awesome. Sweet. Dude. Those are the three new words my Dad says he learned during our four days of fishing at northern Saskatchewan’s Milton Lake Lodge (we got back to Ontario on Tuesday). That’s hardly surprising, given we were hanging with Nick Pujic, the hip young principal of Fly Max Films and Fly Nation TV (think surfer culture meets fly fishing), and our guide Naoto Aoki.
Congrats to the winners of the first annual B.C. Loch-Style Fly Fishing Championship, held last Friday and Saturday on Trojan Pond near the town of Logan Lake, B.C. Eight teams of five anglers apiece vied for the top team and individual honours. Among the winners? Outdoor Canada field editor Mark Anderson, who placed third in individual results. As well, Mark’s team (Equipe
Subscribers should be receiving the March/April issue of Outdoor Canada magazine any day now, and among the great features, they’ll find a travel adventure story by yours truly. The subject? Trophy lake trout and northern pike fishing on Saskatchewan’s Lake Athabasca (at Lakers Unlimited’s Spring Bay Lodge). As promised in the article (”A sure thing,”
///// FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @OutdoorWalsh ///// Outdoor Canada Editor Patrick Walsh grew up fishing and hunting in Bracebridge, Ontario, where he began his magazine career in 1983 as assistant editor of Muskoka Life. Since then, he has worked for a variety of media, both in Canada and abroad, earning numerous writing and editing awards. In both 2011 and 2005, the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors named him Editor of the Year, while Outdoor Canada was honoured as Magazine of the Year. Learn more: www.outdoorcanada.ca.