Catching Toothy Trophies In Canada

If you are willing to brave brutal black flies, dense fog, sporadic rain, and a decently long drive, then there are toothy, trophy fish to catch. Since around 2014 I have been traveling to Parry Sound to fish the Georgian Bay in Pointe Au Baril, Ontario for Musky, Northern Pike, Walleye, and Smallmouth Bass. As a child most of my fishing was in creeks and small ponds around the neighborhood that I would ride my bike to with one rod and a handful of tackle to take down some little one pound largies, so my first trip here absolutely catapulted my love of fishing and the outdoors to a level that would eventually lead me to catching a 46” 22lb Northern Pike, and being able to write about it for my favorite store, Fin Feather Fur Outfitters.

Every year in the beginning of June, I travel up to Rock Pine Resort with my brother, some friends, my dad, and a few of his buddies to take on a five-day dream fishing trip that produces trophy after trophy in an anglers paradise. Something about me is that I like to collect; art, tattoos, action figures, and fishing lures has made it’s way into this collection, if you saw my basement you’d think I could open up a personal branch of The Fin from my house! Well, having missed this trip the last couple of years I realized I have a drive to collect fish as well. I’m going to walk you through all the fishing lures, gear, boats, techniques, fish, and recipes we used to make this trip another one for the books in our unforgettable collection of Canadian fishing trips, oh and by the way all the stuff we needed for this trip is available at The Fin!

Let’s start with the fishing lures we used in Canada. We are mostly targeting Northern Pike & Musky, but we also get a ton of Walleye and Smallmouth in the bycatch, and every now and then you’ll sneak in a Large Mouth Bass or Crappie. Our main “go to” lure is the Rapala Original Floater. This classic jerkbait is big, wobbly, has tons of great colors, and with 3 trebble hooks, if a fish bites it will probably stay on. On the topic of Rapalas, there are a few more, so Rapala if you’re seeing this … sponsor our trip? We also catch a ton on the Rapala Husky Jerk, the slimmed down profile can sometimes be what we need to get the bite, and they also come in a bunch of great shiny colors, like the metallic blue on top orange on bottom which always produces for us, I think the official color is “Silver Blue”. Sometimes, when we are trolling deeper water, we need the Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk. While we normally will get Walleye on these, there was a really deep pocket we were fishing with these and pulling up Smallmouth Bass anywhere from 17” – 19” almost every other cast, it was such a fun bite to lock onto. On top of the Silver Blue we were also slamming them on the “Firetiger” and “Juicy Lucy”. Speaking of Firetiger, I was trying to get a big bite off of the Rapala Super Shad Rap, with it’s big 5 ½ inch profile and side to side wobble action I was hoping to get a big reaction strike but only got a couple of small Pike on it.

Keeping on the topic of crankbait style lures and deep divers, another lure we frequent from the box is Bandit Walleye Deep, for all the same reasons of deep water, bouncing off rocks, and lots of Walleye in the area we caught plenty of fish on the “Copper Clown” “Glare” and “Fruit Dots” colors. When I wanted to downsize my deep diving crankbait, I always opt for the Storm Original Hot ‘N Tot for it’s massive wobble action, and the metal cast lip makes it extra durable running over rocks and other structure, overall it holds up really well, and it’s what I caught that goliath 46” Pike on! Specifically, I was using the “Walleye Wizard” color, but we also caught them on “Metallic Yellow Black Back” and “Silver Scale”, and this lure will always have a special place in my tackle box, especially now after that fish. Finally, another Storm lure I use is the Storm Thundersticks, specifically the “Metallic Gold/Black”. My brother and I were casting above some weeds in a little spot we call “Duck Bay” I would cast, reel in for about 3-4 seconds and do a 2 second pause, and I probably caught 6-7 fish on that pause.

Finally, a couple other classics we use are spoons and spinners! I have always crushed when fishing the Cuyahoga River & Rocky River using Roostertail type spinners, so I sized up with the Mepps Aglia Bait Series, and casting in about 15 feet of water with 8-10 feet of weeds I was able to keep this spinning bait just over that weed line, and sure enough caught a great 30” Pike. Funny enough, we were eating that day, but our stringer broke and that fish lived another day to be caught again next year, I’ll be back. Nothing to special to write home about on other spinnerbaits, unless you love fighting giant Smallmouth Bass that rip drag once they get to the side of your boat! Using a classic Strike King Tour Grade Double Willow Spinner, I was crushing 17” – 20” Smallies, that you could just feel how fat they were in their mouth, truly an awesome bass fishing experience when you see an angry bass chase your lure, and smash it. Lastly, I didn’t use many spoons but other guys at camp did! Our favorite is the Nichols Lures Lake Fork Flutter Spoon or the Williams Wabler both offer great wobble action, and the metallic lure give elite flashing and reflection in the water which will always get you bites up North.

Aside from all those fishing lures, there are a couple of crucial pieces of gear that will completely change the trajectory of your trip. First and foremost, I have to give it to the fish grippers. When dealing with toothy fish, and up to nine hooks at a time because of trebles, the fish grippers allow you to essentially “lip” a Pike or Walleye to help you get a good handle on them. I’ve had my fair share of hooks through hands, and this one little device will save you a world of hurt and trouble for only about $25! You are also going to need a solid net, a good Musky net with rubberized netting will allow you to effortlessly scoop them out of the water, and the rubber netting prevents your treble hooks from getting tangled as well. Sticking to this theme, you absolutely need a solid pair of needle nose pliers to remove hooks without having to get your fingers near those razor sharp teeth. Now, worst case scenario you do get a hook through your hand or finger, I added a set of hook cutters to my tackle box this year (just in case). Then of course there are your depth finders, boat electronics, a good towel for after handling fish, but arguably most importantly a dry bag to store your rain gear, snacks, camera, and anything you may need for a bathroom emergency on the shore.

After long days out on the water, you’re hungry, and you may think a bunch of dudes fishing in some cabins probably aren’t eating anything too crazy, well you would be dead wrong! We ate like kings! From grilled pork tenderloin, our shore lunch of blackened Walleye, fried Pike, to a perfect medium rare beef tenderloin, we couldn’t have eaten any better. All washed down with the ever refreshing Canadian pilsner Labatt Blues or a glass of Bourbon for the more refined pallet. Dinner is always followed by watching the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, playing Euchre, and sharing old stories.

With all this said, this has always been and will always be one of my favorite trips. I love every second of travel, rest stops, biting flies, mosquitos, bad weather, and not catching fish for that pure excitement and joy of feeling a fish pull and your line tighten. Every bit of time I spend researching lures, environments, watching fishing videos, working on the fishing section of our website, is all worth it for when you see a monster 46” Pike destroy your crankbait. I encourage everyone to take that fishing trip you have always wanted to, share your stories with us, adventure awaits, we’ll help you find it.