Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval  Watch |  Listen

Last day a blast day

ELK LAKE, Ont. — We spent the final day of our week long trip in northern Ontario on the nearest water, Lost Lake.  The camp sits along the shores of this body of water and the main highway crosses a bridge on the upper end near the camp entrance. Although we’ve been on Lost Lake repeatedly this week, we’ve been headed to other bodies of water to fish.  The boat was docked only steps away from our cabin door.  We literally walked 100 feet, untied the boat, and started fishing.

It was fairly early, the water was calm, and the breeze was light or non existent.  Hank selected the Torpedo surface lure from his arsenal to start the day.  We only had to go down the bank about 100 yards before he had one hooked.  Success can improve a man’s confidence in a fishing lure and Hank never put it down the rest of the day. He repeatedly caught fish and had consistent blow ups on the lure until we stopped fishing about 3 p.m.  The fishing actually improved after about 1:30 and the smallmouth in particular were feasting on the surface.

I selected a buzz bait and got a few hits along the way, but never put one in the boat.  I didn’t have nearly the faith in my surface lure as Hank, so I put it down and went with the crankbait and spinner bait, both were money lures for me all week.  Amazingly, the whacky rigged worms we used so effectively early in the week, never produced today.

The weather was again sunny with a few clouds.  The fish seemed to be settling down to a more active pattern after the change.  The forecast here calls for nice weather the next five days.  Consistency in weather seems to satisfy the fish in these remote waters.

Pictured above are all of the lures which produced fish for us this week.  You’ll see a Mepp’s bucktail spinner in the picture.  While it didn’t work for us, a father and son from New Jersey who fished all week with us used it with great success for pike and smallmouth all week.  When they left, they gave this one to us.  I felt obliged to use it in the picture, since it did produce quite a few fish this week.

I’ve noticed with both Hank and myself after fishing consistently for six straight days here, we are starting to understand more about what we are doing.  When we first arrived if we got a bite, we didn’t know what we had until it was at the boat.  However, today I could tell when a fish would hit we could both tell by the reaction it made after the strike whether it was a pike or a smallmouth.  The smallmouth tend to head straight for the surface when they are hooked.  The pike either take the bait deeper or run straight at you and under your boat.  At times, you have to be quick on loosening your drag or you’ll break him off quickly.

I wanted to mention a word of thanks to Tony and Melissa Thomas, our hosts here at Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge.  They bought the camp and are now into their fourth season of operation.   You can tell they put their heart and soul into the camp and making sure guests are satisfied.   Our cabin was clean, comfortable, well furnished, and dry.  The lodge is a warm, bright, and inviting place to share fishing stores and eat your meals.  The food is fantastic with a new entree every night of the week. The camp is rustic, but with modern amenities including wireless internet in the lodge and the dockside screen porch.  If you’re considering a fishing trip into a remote part of Canada I would recommend this place without any hesitation.  Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge is a strong choice for a fishing vacation.  Learn more about them or contact them here.







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