Summer starts with bass and muskie nearing full swing

Fishing in Zone 18 is poised for take-off this weekend!!

The coveted muskie fishing season in Eastern Ontario got under way a couple of weeks back, and the popular bass season kicks-off this weekend.

Bass and muskie are traditionally the final two species to open each summer; however, account for probably half of the anglers in this part of Canada.

If you’ve ever hooked into a ‘lunge’ it is an experience you won’t soon forget! Back in the day, I was about as avid a muskie hunter as one could possibly be. I remember that first summer of chasing lunge..back in about 1993. I hooked into a muskie by accident and I was hooked instantly. That fish, on the other hand, did not remain hooked as many lunge tend not to do. I needed to upgrade my equipment from medium-action bass/walleye spinning gear to full-fledged heavy muskie tackle. (& trust me, it isn’t cheap!)

That first summer I started off slowly; acquiring a bit of tackle at a time and it took almost the entire summer before I had any muskie casting or trolling gear, and an actual fish in the boot. I must have missed a dozen before I nabbed my first one – a nice 42″, 17.5 pound specimen.

 It was my first bonafide lunge and the only one in my life I’ve ever kept. (Not that I would ever consider or suggest it today, but lemme tell you, it was friggin tasty. Served it to boys at moose camp that year)

My love summer affair with the ‘fish of 10,000 casts’ went on for the next 10 years, or so, unabated. My buddies and I fished many of the beautiful muskie lakes in the Laurentians(Lac Tremblant for example) and  including the Ottawa River on occasion. (The 39.5 pound behemoth in photo above was taken in the Ottawa near Hawkesbury, back in about 1998)

Regardless whether you are bitten by the summer muskie bug like I was, or just love to chase old bucket mouth. The start of summer and this weekend’s opening to bass season brings back many fond memories.

What summer memories do you have pursuing your favourite game fish?

Outdoorsguy

Here’s a link to the MNR Regs for Zone 18, if anyone is interested:

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@letsfish/documents/document/mnr_e001337.pdf