Sometimes it's just one of those days. We reeled up to go to
another location, to a big rocky flat, where pulling crankbaits
usually resulted in a few decent 'eyes. Halfway across the lake,
over a deep basin with more than a 60-foot depth, a suspended signal
flashed on my depth finder about 30 feet down. I pulled a sudden
U-turn (nearly threw my pal off his chair) and went back to
investigate. It took a few minutes and then BAM! There they were --
a cloud of echoes on the screen that appeared to be good-sized fish.
As for species, it was anyone's guess. Ciscos, sunfish, crappies --
heck, even walleyes?
When I was right over the top of them, I took out two marker
buoys and chucked each out about 20 yards from either side of the
boat's location. Then I moved off about a cast's distance away and
pulled out a couple slip-bobber rods. If we cast between the buoys
and at the right depth, then I hoped we'd tag some fish and find out
just what they were.
Now, when you're running and gunning and changing strategies on
the fly like this, you need to be prepared for anything the fish
throw at you. For these particular fish, two medium-light 7-foot
spinning rods rigged with 4-pound test were just the ticket. We tied
on two different presentations, and I'll tell you why. It's always
best for two or more anglers in a boat to throw unique lures, colors
and baits since it helps you dial in the ideal presentation more
quickly.
On my rod I went with a small hair jig tipped with a leech. My
buddy went with a straight hook and a fathead minnow, with a
split-shot sinker a couple of feet up from the hook. Both of us used
Rod -N-Bobb's Rev X bobbers, which are absolutely perfect for any
kind of bobber fishing -- day or night. They're like having two
bobbers in one because they can be rigged as fixed bobbers or as
slips. For this deep-water presentation, we had them set as slip
bobbers.
Using the length of my 19-foot Alumacraft as our depth-setting
guide, we set both slip bobbers for 29 feet. The fish were right at
30, and I always like to keep my bait just above a school of
suspended fish. This way you pull individual fish up from the pack,
and when they start fighting, they don't disturb the school nearly
as much.
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With our bobber depths set, we both cast between the buoys and
hoped one of us would get bit. It didn't happen, because BOTH of us
got bit immediately when the baits hit their depth. It was clear
from the feel of the fight that what we'd stumbled into was a nest
of crappies. Big crappies!
For an hour we happily plucked fish after fish from the seemingly
infinite school. As it turned out, both leeches and minnows were
doing the trick. In fact, the crappies were so aggressive that we
didn't need any live bait at all. Before long we were just hanging
white tube jigs beneath our Rev X slip bobbers, and they were
absolutely hammering them.
When anglers think about fishing in Ontario, it's only natural to
envision big golden walleyes, giant pike and muskies, and acrobatic
smallmouth. But Ontario is home to so much more -- fat crappies
included. Most of the crappies we caught were in the 12- to 14-inch
range, which is amazing. They all went back to their pals. But
occasionally we'd hook up on 10s and 11s, which went into the
livewell for a fish fry we would enjoy later that day. There's
nothing like a meal of fresh crappies, especially from cool, clean
Ontario water.
You can find the perfect Ontario lake for whatever your favorite
fish is by checking out
www.gofishinontario.com.
Days like this one, when the fishing takes you off guard and
forces you to change your game plan, are days I love. Sometimes it
requires diligent searching and hard work to figure out the pattern
and presentation. Other times, like with those beautiful Ontario
crappies, dumb luck puts fish right in your lap. Hey, I'll take it
any way it comes and will always, always be prepared for whatever
Lady Luck puts in my way.
Good fishing.
[By BABE WINKELMAN]
Babe Winkelman hosts "Good Fishing" and
"Outdoor Secrets," the most-watched fishing and hunting programs on
television. Tune in on NBC Sports Network, Destination America,
Velocity, Time Warner Sports Texas & New York, and many local
broadcast channels. Visit
Winkelman.com for airtimes and more information.
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