On this day I had the opportunity to get fishing with Jacob Watters. For those of you who don't him he is the web producer for WFN. He has also worked as an editor and cameraman for other fishing and media productions, such as working on Bob Izumi's Real Fishing Show. We have talked through email for months as he co-ordinates the bloggers. Last summer Jacob said he would like to get and do some urban bass fishing but do to busy schedules it just didn't happen. But I suggested this spring that we get out for some pike in Toronto AM and some Simcoe Perch in the PM. We met at Ashbridge's Bay at 7:30 AM. We started doing some final touches on rigging up some lines and Jacob asked me what he should be rigging up. I asked him if by any chance he had the discontinued old school blue/silver Rattlin' Rogue, I couldn't believe it when he said, "yes, Bob Izumi gave me one when at was at his office". I told Jacob that a one of my clients just lost my last one two days earlier to a giant pike, this fish actually ate the bait and leader causing the break off!! Anyway to make a long story short I just have a lot of confidence in that bait, especially in Toronto.

The first four spots we checked had nothing or I should say we didn't get a bite there. This time of year the fish could be there but you won't see them until the water warms up a bit. These spring pike are like lizards. They need their surroundings to warm up a bit to get their metabolism going. On the fifth spot Jacob had a hit but the fish struck short on the "blue/silver", it was around 9:30AM. The next spot Jacob again got a big strike and a miss and then the fish struck again but it missed the bait again. The boil and swirl the fish made lasted a few minutes in the water!! It was a really big fish, I estimate it weighed between 15-17lbs, this fish struck at 10ish. Five minute later I catch a "dink" (small fish, lol!) around 2lbs and five minutes after that I got another "dink" on the black/silver Rogue. After that we fished the area for another 15 minutes with nothing to show for it so we decided to boogie.

As I was dropping the trolling motor at the next spot I looked down in the water and all I saw was big snake beside the boat that made Jacob's bait disappear, the thing just swallowed it right beside the boat!!! We got the fish in the boat and took some pics, it was a beauty but it was about half the size of the one the Jacob had swipe at his bait earlier. The time was now 11ish and the Sun had just peaked out for a minute or two and the water temperature had risen a degree or two in last half hour, it seemed as if the bigger fish had gone from nipping and swiping at the bait to swallowing it whole, water temperature is so important when fishing for spring pike. Earlier that morning we checked a few spots without even a sniff but I told Jacob that the fish could be there but they just needed the water to warm up a bit to get em' moving. So who ever is reading this try going back to previous spots in the afternoon, you may be surprised when the area that seemed vacant earlier comes alive in full force later in the day.

It's too bad we didn't have time to stay longer to prove my theory but we had to get out on Simcoe so I could check some areas for some guided trips I had booked the following week. However it was nice to leave on a happy note, Jacob had made my day by telling me that I had helped catch one of the biggest pike of his life. Also I learned something new from him, he was getting the big bites by rolling and pausing the bait with a soft tipped rod rather than traditional cadences. I love when something new or something I forgot about is learned or re-learned, this is what makes fishing so fantastic! He also let me hold his fish for a pic out of pitty, lmao!! I guess Jacob didn't want me to be stuck holding only "dink" fish in a pic, what a friend! He also gave me the bait he caught the fish on, I asked him to autograph it because he was definitely the champ of the day, lol! I think this was a start to new friendship and some future outings.

We were out of the water by 12ish and off to Simcoe with ol' school Wu-Tang Clan blasting for the car ride, what an afternoon we had on Simcoe---but that's another story!!! Gotta' bounce for now...

Peace,

TM
www.fishcitytours.com