Spring Pike on the fly.

Beautiful day today!!! Setting up camp is going as well as could be expected. We have almost all of camp set up and functioning as well as almost all the boats ready to be in the water. So, early day today. We finished work at 5pm, and headed out to do a little pike fishing. I was slinging a fly, while Kyle works a Yozuri, and Ben a Blue Fox vibrax, #5 Blue and silver, destination, Brian's Bay. We had worked the majority of the bay over, when we decided to take a quick look into a productive trough, where the wind just happened to be hitting all day. We were into fish almost immediately. Mostly small, however as we drifted tight to shore, we spotted a big fish laying right up close to shore. I casted a few feet past his nose, my eyes widened when he turned, and in one motion he coasted up and smacked my fly. He went crazy and quickly took my excess line, and got into my drag in just seconds. After a great run, big jump and what turned out to be a great fight, i reached in and grabbed him. We took a photo, and measured him at 43". I got him back into the water quickly, and smiled a big crooked grin after being splashed as he disappeared into the darkness. We landed about 25 Pike tonight, and had a great time.

I returned to camp only to find out that my boss, owner an operator, Eric Lund had caught a 44" Northern on the fly. So, I think it's safe to say that tonight was a good night.

The Drive, and The Arrival.

Saturday, approximately 2pm, myself, and owner/operator of Enagami Wilderness Lodge, Eric Lund departed from London heading north. We planned on meeting up with co-guides Kyle Mudge, Mark Gryszczuk, Andrew Lee, and Ben Overeem in North Bay, at the local Don Cherry's for dinner. Eric and I, coasted along the 401, 400, and eventually Highway 11, smoothly, if not to mention the rain, sleet and snow we drove through to get there. Stopped in Powassan to pick up two refurbished boats from Giesler Boats. There was 4inches of snow in Powassan, and we decided that after dinner we would stay in North Bay, and not push on to New Liskeard as we usually, and had planned to do.

Dinner was great, catching up with people you may have lost touch with, or didn't see in the off-season. Sharing stories, and of course watching the Montreal Canadians, hold there own against the Penguins.

After finishing dinner and heading to the hotel, we were quick to bed. Exhausted from the long drive, and thinking of the day to come, it proved to be a popular decision.

6am is when the next day started, 9 or so, hours ahead of us, nothing but open road, nature, and every Timmy's from North Bay to Nakina. Stopping to grab some supplies, and eat were the only slow downs, and before we new it we were arriving at Nakina Air Service, to unload and organize our gear. We crashed that night in a cabin located directly beside the Air service, settled in and had a beer or two. The morning seemed to come fast, and before I knew it, I was back in the Sky, turbo Otter just soaring along, destination: Esnagami Wilderness Lodge.

Once back on firm ground, we sort of milled around camp, showing first year guide, Ben where everything is. Camp was in extremely good condition, which made opening camp a piece of cake, I mean still work to be done, but we minor slow downs. As well as the shape of the camp, the weather as we headed up from North Bay on Sunday, did nothing but got better and more beautiful. Got some boats in the water, and hopefully will wet a line tomorrow. Till then.

Monday with Dave, and some Ontario Steel.

Monday I finally got into some of our Ontario Steelhead, or as myself and good friend Dave Allen have deemed them, "Migratory Rainbows". We discussed over lunch, that if we marketed these fish as migratory rainbows, they would be huge bows, instead of small Steelhead.

For everyone who doesn't know Dave, he's an extremely talented tattoo artist, who manages to live out both his passions, the first obviously tattooing and the second being fly fishing. His journey has brought him from BC to Kincardine to work at a friend's tattoo shop, The Sugar Shack.

We have been trying to wet a line together since we first met at the Toronto Spring Fishing Show. We managed to get out on Goderich's Maitland River, to swing some flies for steelhead. The lower end of the Maitland, was where we started and didn't find anything but small mouth bass.

We decided on moving farther up stream, and found ourselves fishing Benmiller Falls. The water levels are low, but we were basically sight fishing for bows, and it wasn't long before Dave showed his technique, and was into one of our gorgeous fish. There were two more landed by Dave and myself, as well as two more lost. The warm water made for exciting fights with lots of jumps. I am planning on being out again thursday morning.

Anybody who's going, see you there!!!