Video - Discovery Canoe Pike Fishing

Video - Jerk Bait Pike

8/13/16 New Section, Same Result

Mike and I got the chance to fish a new section of river last Saturday. I had been on part of it last year but had wanted to float the remainder for quite a while. It is a nice section with some very nice and unique features including a dam, a handful of bridges, several cold water feeder creeks, and a diversion channel with a subsequent return channel. This section also had numerous log jams and shallow riffles that made the float slow going and hard work at times. It also had some very nice looking water that fished very well. Mike and I combined for at least a dozen Pike over the course of the day. We also caught quite a few Smallmouth Bass including a 19 1/2" beauty that I landed towards the end of the day. Pike were concentrated in the deeper pools and we had especially good luck where feeder creeks were coming into the river. I caught the majority of my fish on my go-to summer Pike lure: the spinner bait. I also caught a few fish on a buzz bait. I landed a few Pike approaching the 30" mark and even got my biggest Pike of the year so far with a fish that dwarfed my 30" bump board by at least several inches. It had a big head and a thick body. What a fish! Small rivers like this one can be very hard work but can also be extremely rewarding. It always amazing to see the caliber of fish that these places can hold. If you haven't been out fishing, you need to go! The fishing is great right now.

8/12/16 After Work, Business as Usual

I got out on Friday night to fish for a few hours after work. Mike and I didn't have time to float a section of river so we decided to paddle up a shorter section and then drift back to finish the night. I had a strange thought and it quickly developed into a scheme. On the paddle upstream I would put in my rod holders and troll a spinner bait and buzz bait. Maybe I would pick up a bonus fish while heading upstream? The spinner quickly proved to be a problem so I quit using it before long. The buzz bait was running well and wasn't giving me any trouble. I almost caught 3 fish trolling a buzz bait! I had 3 blow ups and one of the times the rod doubled over but just as I was about to grab it, it straightened back out and the fish was off. It was an entertaining idea and it almost paid off! Other than that, the fishing was pretty slow. I caught a small fish right off the bat and then had nothing for quite a while. During that magical last hour of the day though, the fish turned on and I ended up catching 4 fish on the buzz bait. There is nothing quite like catching fish on a top water lure to get your heart pumping! The nicest fish was just under 30 inches. It turned out to be a pretty good night for having just a few hours.

7/31/16 A Dramatic Change of Luck!

After Breakfast on Sunday, Kelly turned to me and said "You know what? I think I want to go fishing today". This absolutely shocked me. The last few times I have taken Kelly the fishing has been subpar and she was starting to consider herself "Bad Luck". Nothing can be further from the truth because fishing, as we all know, is fishing. It's unpredictable and would be less fun if it was predictable. So with hopes of breaking a streak of bad luck we packed up the Discovery Canoe and headed North in search of Pike. I ran a shuttle by driving to the take-out and then riding my bike back to the launch site. The weather was very nice with temps in the low 80's and overcast skies. The river looked to be in perfect condition as it was slightly off color but for the most part clear. We began the float and didn't catch anything for the first 30 minutes. I just need a break. Please let Kelly catch some fish! Kelly was fishing a spinner and cast it into an eddy on the side of the river. On the retrieve, a nice Pike tried to grab it and missed. It followed the lure into shallow water and then sat there like a log on the bottom. It wouldn't budge and before long we decided to move on. After just beginning to move downstream, I made a cast and got snagged. We went over into the eddy that fish had come out of to get my lure. While I unhooked my lure Kelly made a few casts. Without warning she yells "I got one!". Her rod is bent over and the fish is thrashing and splashing like crazy. Before long we got the very nice over 30" Pike into the boat. No matter what happens from now on, the trip was a success! We exchanged a high five and got the fish released after a couple of pictures. On literally her next cast, she caught another Pike. It was much smaller but still was a back-to-back fish! Her luck was starting to change and we both knew it. With tons of great water left before the take out, I knew good things were in our future. I spent the next few hours paddling and putting Kelly into position to catch fish and she got it done! One log jam in particular was extremely good. She hooked and lost a Smallmouth from the upstream side. she began fishing the middle and hooked and lost another very nice Smallmouth. She then hooked and landed a nice two-foot Pike despite the fact that she hooked it in the middle of the jam, it took a few runs, and jumped right in the middle of all the wood! We then floated down and fished the back side of the jam. She hooked and landed a nice Smallmouth. There was one more pocket left to fish in the jam. It was on the far bank and was completely surrounded by wood. I moved her into position. She stood up and made a beautiful cast into the hole. As if on cue, a Pike shot out and grabbed her spinner! It came unhooked just as quickly as she hooked it. After a few more casts, she hooked yet another Pike this time getting it to the boat by maneuvering it around all the downed wood. One log jam yielded chances at 3 Pike and 3 Smallmouth. Wow! After another well deserved high five we continued downstream. Before long, I tied on a buzz bait and began to fish a little. I caught a small Pike and missed another one after an amazing strike right at the boat! Kelly's next Pike was a fat fish. I got it to hand and before I could unhook it, It thrashed and spit out a Grass Pickerel! The Pickerel hit the water and swam away as best as it could. This Pike had eaten a spinner after just having eaten an 8-inch fish. If I hadn't seen it myself, I never would have believed it! I caught my next fish on the buzz bait. My lure was coming across the current and it was as if someone had dropped a bowling ball in the water where my bait used to be! The fish absolutely exploded on it! It was another beautiful 2-footer. Kelly then missed a fish that struck her spinner in front of a log jam. After several more casts it was apparent that the fish was not coming back after the spinner again. I clipped on a mini Bulldawg and threw it under the jam. Wouldn't you know it the fish followed it out from under the jam and then violently t-boned the lure. Yet another beautiful 2-footer in the boat! The follow-up lure was the key here. Giving the fish a different lure to look at paid off big time. The fish absolutely thrashed that lure and I will have to do some repair work before I can use it again. As we neared the take out, Kelly had a follow from a big fish. It didn't seem to want her spinner so I threw an orange jerk bait back at it. After a couple of casts I suddenly felt a strike and the fish was on! After a nice battle the fish came to the boat. I could see it was hooked badly and the fish was bleeding. I tried to unhook it quickly and keep it in the water. When I got my hands on it, it suddenly surged out of the water and hit me in the face! I couldn't believe it and it was a very sobering experience. If the lure had been at the front of the fishes mouth it could have hooked my face. Pretty scary. I handed the camera to Kelly and grabbed the fish once again. Luckily the fish unhooked easily. I pulled it out of the water for just long enough to get a couple of pictures. When I put the fish back it sat in the water for a couple of seconds and then suddenly took off like a shot. I'm hoping that fish is ok and it seemed to take off very strongly. Who knows? I know I did everything I could for it. All in all Kelly and I landed 11 Pike on the day. Kelly got 7 of them as well as quite a few Smallmouth Bass! It was an awesome day on the water and she now has no basis for saying that she is "Bad Luck". We have thoroughly disproved that theory.

7/30/16 Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and Dodge

On Saturday, Mike and I met up early to fish an 7.5-mile stretch of river. I had never been on this stretch before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The stretch was very nice with the exception of a ridiculous number of log jams. The fishing was decent. I boated more than a dozen Pike, but most were hammer handles. I also caught quite a few Smallmouth Bass over the course of the day. I had one Pike that took a swing and missed a jerk bait. I quickly cast back and the fish hit the lure a second time and I had him hooked up for a split second before he popped free. I grabbed my other rod and threw a spinner bait back at him. He absolutely crushed the spinner and I landed the nice 26 1/2" Pike. It's pretty amazing sometimes how aggressive these fish are! The float took us more than 9 hours to complete. We spent a huge chunk of time getting over, under, around, or through log jams. It took a ton of effort and by the time it was all said and done I was exhausted. It was a fun but exhausting day.