Northern Sky - The brightest rainbows

On the long drive up north to fish lake Temiskaming (somewhere between Muskoka and North Bay) the clouds rolled in and took over the clear sky. Within minutes the rain came down and it came down hard. Justin was driving and I was sitting looking ahead of us at the heavy drops pounding against the windshield. I was so focused on the sky and the rain in front of us that I forgot to fully close my window. The rain started to come in and Justin said "You better put the window up".

The clouds roll in - view from the front seat

I snapped out of the spell that I was under, looked to my right and froze once again. This time what I saw was absolutely unbelievable. It was almost like someone had hand painted the brightest rainbow we had ever seen right into the clouds. As a matter of fact if there were ever a bucket of gold coins at the end of a rainbow, this would have been that rainbow.

 The Brightest Rainbow - Or should I say rainbows (a second one above)

With the rain pelting into the window, I took out my camera to try to capture this thing of beauty. Unfortunately, even out in the middle of nowhere people need electricity so lamp posts and wires were hard to avoid when taking pictures out of the speeding car. If you ever have the opportunity to make the drive up north, keep your eyes peeled on the road and the sky because you never can predict what's around the next turn.

 Hand-painted in the sky

Now that you have all enjoyed this rainbow/double rainbow, check out this video that's sure to make you laugh out loud: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI

Exclusive Fishtalker interview with Mariko Izumi

Exclusive Fishtalker interview with Mariko Izumi host of WFN’s “Hookin’ Up” – Coming Soon

Mariko is in our opinion “THE female face of fishing”. More than just a bright smile and a member of one Canada’s most decorated fishing families, she’s the host of her very own travel/fishing show on WFN. Luckily, she will take a minute out of her busy travel schedule to Hook Up with Fishtalker for an exclusive interview. Whether you already follow her on the tube or you just want to learn a bit more about Mariko, check back to see what she has to share with us.

Quick facts about Mariko Izumi:

• Queen’s University & Humber College graduate
• Originally from Ancaster (a small town outside of Toronto)
• Host and associate producer of WFN’s “Hookin’ Up”
• Daughter of pro angler Wayne Izumi; niece of fishing legend Bob Izumi

Mariko's Fishing Favorites:

• Favorite places to fish - Langara Fishing Lodge in British Columbia and Los Suenos Resort and Marina in Costa Rica
• Favorite fishing partners - mom and dad
• Favorite type of fishing - saltwater fishing for dorado (mahi-mahi) and salmon
• Most memorable catch - when she was about eight, catching a large mouth bass behind the hotel in Orillia, ONT where her dad and bob were fishing a tournament
• Favorite fish to eat - red snapper and salmon

Be sure to check out http://www.wfn.tv/hookinup/index.php for more on Hookin’ Up

Shore Fishing at the Scarborough Bluffs

Bluff

n. A steep headland, promontory, riverbank, or cliff.

Word origin - 1680s, from Dutch blaf “flat, broad," apparently a North Sea nautical term for ships with flat vertical bows, later extended to landscape features (taken from dictionary.com)

When doing internet research for places to fish close to Toronto, you may read about a place called ‘The Bluffs’. The Bluffs is actually the short name used by locals when referring to The Scarborough Bluffs, located on the shores of Lake Ontario. The landscape was said to resemble the limestone cliffs of Britain’s first seaside resort town (Scarborough, North Yorkshire) and consequently inspired the name given to the city in 1796.

Bluffers Park Marina at about 8am

Bluffer’s Park is located at the southern end of Brimley Road where it twists, turns and descends steeply to meet Lake Ontario (drive with caution). The park first opened in 1975 to answer residents’ call for more public open spaces and improved access to the lake. Among other things, the park offers scenic lookout points, a supervised beach (July and August only), public restrooms, and a public boat launch facility for recreational boaters and sailors. Families, young couples and outdoor enthusiasts flock to the park on summer afternoons to escape the hustle and bustle of Scarborough’s city streets. Paid parking is usually enforced from June to September so walk with some extra coins or a credit card to avoid being ticketed.

The Fishing:

Fall: The marina receives most of its fishing pressure from September to November when trout and salmon come into the marina for a short stay before making their way to nearby rivers to begin spawning. Anglers use many techniques but float fishing roe bags and pitching spoons like Wilson Wobblers are most commonly used. I have had a lot of success using inline spinners like the Vibrax Blue Fox (#3 or #4) and the Mepps Aguila.

Winter: The water in the marina freezes over so shore fishing is just about impossible unless we experience an unusually warm winter that extends the fishing season.

Spring: Right after the ice thaws in the spring many massive Northern Pike make their way into the marina to spawn and feed. If you already fish for pike you know that they eat just about anything in sight and are less picky eaters than other species of fish. They also tend to feed during sunny periods when bass and other fish run for cover under the shade of heavily weeded areas. Your chance of catching bigger pike is best in the spring before they return into the deeper waters when temperatures rise. They will hit your lure quite close to the shoreline where they troll up and down scooping up smaller less fortunate fish.

Northern Pike - Caught in July on a Lucky Strike soft-plastic frog

Safely released after his picture was taken

Summer: In July and August smallmouth and largemouth bass make their way into the marina. Remember these are Lake Ontario bass so there is always a chance to catch your personal record when you least expect it. The bass tend to be more finicky and will often chase your lure to shore without taking it. Don’t lose hope. As an angler it is your job to figure out what they are really feeding on.

When all else fails...try a Mepps

Temiskaming - The Place of Deep Water

The results are in! Lake Temiskaming (New Liskeard, Ontario) is a must-fish lake if you want to catch trophy Small mouth Bass, monster Pike or over sized Walleye (Pickerel). The lake is about six hours drive north of Toronto but what’s in store is worth every minute you spend behind the wheel. If you think that Muskoka is northern Ontario, think again. Drive past Muskoka and the ‘deer crossing’ signs are replaced by moose crossing signs. Once you past North Bay all that’s left is you, Highway 11 and a few small towns that you probably have never heard of.

The stretch of highway from North Bay to New Liskeard would be exactly what every fisherman would hope heaven to be like (nothing but trees, open skies and countless lakes). Before you can jot down the name of the lake you are passing another one appears in the horizon to distract you from the last. It is almost impossible to resist pulling over at least once to try your luck in on of the picture-perfect pools that practically run onto the roadside.  Unless you have the patience and restraint of Buddha your six-hour drive can easily turn into a 12-hour fishing expedition into the north. Don’t worry, the lakes aren’t going anywhere. Even if you had as many lives as a cat, you still wouldn’t have enough time to cover all of the lakes in this region.

More on fishing Temiskaming  to follow…..

Classic Lake Temiskaming Small Mouth

Tube jiggin - A 13 ft hump in the middle of Temiskaming

Oxymoron - A really big smallie

Double Header - Caught on spinner baits (late afternoon)

 

Bass Angler Justin with another smallie - Average size on Temiskaming

Evening Walleye (Pickerel)

On the troll - patiently waiting for the rod to whip forward

Whirlpool Muskie Missed

The Niagara Whirlpool fishing expedition was very eventful for several reasons but the highlight of the day’s fishing has to be when Justin hooked into an elusive muskie (only three feet from shore). He was using dark green tube jigs to target Small Mouth Bass when unexpectedly a muskie followed the jig all the way to the shore. After about two minutes of fighting, the fish of 10,000 casts won the bout and escaped into the rapids only a few feet away. Naturally Justin was very disappointed since this is the second time that a muskie has managed to escape him down in the whirlpool.

Does this mean that he now has to cast out his line 10,000 more time before hooking into another muskie?

Small Mouth Bass caught on a tube jig

A complete update will follow shortly

Fishing The Niagara Falls Whirlpool

Niagara Falls Trout - Caught on a Vibrax Blue Fox #3

This weekend’s adventure takes us to the Niagara Whirlpool on the Canadian side of the majestic Niagara Falls. The Whirlpool is a section of the Niagara River where it makes a sharp right-angled turn and water circulates in a counterclockwise direction (most dramatically from November to April). The whirlpool reaches depths of up to 120 ft (38 m) and water rushes through its rapids at about 30 miles per hour. If this doesn’t spell danger, what does? The reward of being a true gladiator of the outdoors and facing the obvious trenchers of the whirlpool is a chance to catch really big fish. Depending on the time of year, you can catch everything from Smallmouth Bass, Trout, Carp and even the fish of 10,000 casts Muskie!

View of the Whirlpool in June

Just two years ago if you wanted to fish the shores of the Niagara Falls Whirlpool you had to prepare yourself for a treacherous hike down a narrow unpaved trail and a proper pair of hiking boots would have been strongly recommended. Today there is a wooden staircase that you can take halfway down the trail (the rest of the journey is a pretty easy hike to the shoreline). Anyone in average shape (whatever that means these days) can make it down to the bottom of the gorge in about ten minutes. Climbing back uphill is a bit more challenging and will surely put the burn on your quads. With that being said, the scenery is absolutely beautiful so put on a pair of shoes with reliable grip, do a quick warm-up stretch and start hiking. Just remember that although the installation of stairs may have made the hike down less dangerous, the whirlpool is just as furious as it was before the stairs.

New stairway installed to make whirlpool more accessable

Although Niagara is famed for being one of the top honeymoon destinations in the world, this trip will be no romantic escapade (unless of course you count our love for fishing and the outdoors). We will trade in our hotel room for a tent which we will setup on a small ridge about 60 feet from the water. Our bathroom will be the safari toilets located a few feet from our four star lodging. Camping out in the gorge will give us the opportunity to take our first cast right when the sun is rising. This is also the best time to catch the monster Muskie that come closer to shore for an easy breakfast meal. Naturally, there is a myriad of hotels, motels and inns close by if you prefer a bit more comfort.

Fishing the whirlpool in the heart of winter

Check back for pictures, videos and sound bites of this adventure. In our upcoming posts we will provide some lure recommendations and potential hotspots around the whirlpool where you can go for the big one. Be sure to visit www.twitter.com/fishtalker for an up to the minute update of our spills and thrills.