A lure forgotten but a resume of success, "The Swedish Pimple"!

Okay I will admit, this is a lure that I haven't focused a lot of attention on for some time.  Some people still use this lure as religion for their fishing success.  This lure was always a key component in my tackle box when I was young.  Over time I tried many other types of lures and slowly got away from a lure that always provided success in any outing.  I recently teamed up with C.G. Emery which is the only distributor for the Original Swedish Pimple.  Too my surprise this lure now comes in an array of colours that can be used for all applications.  The colours that have peaked my interest are the: blue ice, gold ice and pink ice plus many others.  They also come is many different sizes from 1/10 oz to 2 oz depending on your conditions. 

This lure in incredibly versatile and can be used in numerous techniques.  My favourite use for this lure is spring and fall jigging for walleye.  I actually aggressively jig this spoon and the results are phenomenal.  Walleye and many other species viciously attack this lure on the fall down.  Summer fishing with the Swedish Pimple can provide success as well but I change things up a little bit.  I remove the treble hook and create a 12 inch lead with a 2 hook harness.  This is a Lake Trout killer when trolled with a 3 inch smelt pattern Gulp minnow on a downrigger, really excellent action.  My favourite time of year for the Swedish Pimple is ice fishing.  This lure is my go to in the winter for jigging up trophies.  I change it up in many ways that some haven't tried.  It is deadly by actually fishing this lure upside down, the red tag and treble hook to the top rather than the bottom for Whitefish.  Whitefish seem to strike often and harder with this techinique.  Another techinique includes a small 4 inch lead plus a single hook for a more still fishing application with an aggressive jig every so often.

Make sure you stock on some of these Multi Species lures for your ice fishing outings this winter.  The Swedish Pimple will always bring success!

Shane Turcotte

Walleye fishing in November in Sault Ste Marie

Today was a beautiful day on the water in Sault Ste Marie, especially for November! The fishing was pretty good too.  We were kept busy all day with pike and got some decent walleye in between. It was pleasure to deliver a great experience to my Cousin Brian and close Family friend Louie(king on the boat sandwich) from Parry Sound.  Key tools to our outing today were my Radioworld Electronics(Lowrance HDS 10 with Structure Scan & Navionics Fish & Chip), Northland Tackle's #6 shiner baitfish blade, #7 Flicker shads and Offshore Tackle's planer boards. 

Check out Brian with this nice meal, caught on a #7 Flicker Shad

Winds picked up at the end of the day, Crestliner's 1850 Raptor powered by Mercury's 175 Pro Xs kept us safe and handled the rough water with Ease!

Here is Louie with a nice 21 inch walleye caught on a #6 Shiner Baitfish blade from Northland Tackle.  We were trolling between 1.6-1.8 mph.

If you are looking for a great time on the St Marys River system in Sault Ste Marie, check Hooked Professional Guide Services http://www.gethookedontario.com/

Sault Ste Marie Walleye on the St Marys River System!

Walleye fishing in Sault Ste Marie on the St Marys River system is really starting to heat up.  I spent two days(July 15th & 16th) on this system and really produced some great numbers.  The weights have been incredible with my average being around 4 lbs.  To give you a visual, a 5 fish bag for each day was around 23-25 lbs.  Of course all fish are thrown back.  We do keep the odd 18 or 19 incher but I really do promote fish conservation.  All fish have come on Offshore Tackle's OR 12 planer board with Tattle Flag upgrade and the OR18 release upgrade.  This is the ultimate board setup that will allow for maximum success in any kind of walleye bite situation.  All fish came on Northland Tackle's #3 & #4 holographic blades and 5mm holographic beads tipped with a full length crawler.

A little bit of wind was key for each day in producing the solid numbers. Surface water temperature was excellent at 70 F.  If you are looking for a great time on the water catching some decent walleyes give me call.  Visit my site at http://www.gethookedontario.com/ for contact information and details around a fun filled day of hooking some nice walleye.  You will not be disappointed!

             

Fishing with Gary Parsons

Recently I had a great opportunity to spend the day with one of the most recognized walleye anglers in the world.  Mr Parsons was in town to do some prefishing for the next AIM event out of Bay Mills casino.  The tournament takes place on the St Marys River system and Lake Superior.  Lots of water to cover.  Our time was spent on the St Marys River searching for big "Eyes".  Before Gary arrived I was on some big walleyes using a 3/8 oz jig and Berkley gulp minnow(smelt pattern).  I was really hoping to put him on some fish.  A cold front moved in and things really shut down.  The day lead to some nice pike being caught and a catfish.  No walleyes were caught on this day but great conversation and a peak into the life of the man who now has the most popular fishing show called "The Next Bite".  I wasn't surprised by the fact he is a normal guy who really has a passion about keeping the sport alive and well.  As a pro angler myself striving to go to the next level, it was surprising to see a man fighting to keep his dream alive as well.  Just because he is Gary Parsons doesn't mean he doesn't work hard to keep his business going.  He is on the water as much as needed so that he can continue fishing for a living.  He explained there is no free passes, just hard work.  This is man who has designed Rods for Bass Pro Shops and Baits for Berkley, better known as the "flicker shad".  These days Mr Parsons spends his time working on a succeeful TV show(The Next Bite), FLW walleye tour and the AIM walleye circuit.  He also spends time giving back to the anglers because he understands the industry better than anyone and getting back to the grassroots ensures a healthy future.  Although we didn't catch any walleye that day, I did take some tips away about fishing and also about how the fishing business works.  I hope to get out with him again in the future.  For me this was a life highlight and something I can talk about forever.  A true gentlemen and ambassador to our great sport.

Visit my site at http://www.gethookedontario.com/ for my stories and tips.

Sault Ste Marie Walleye Tournament gets Provincial Funding Throught Celebrate Ontario

Great News, The Kiwanis Invitational Walleye Tournament has been given provincial funding through Celebrate Ontario in the amount of $40,000.  Celebrate Ontario helps festivals and events enhance their programming and services so they can continue to drive tourism and economic growth in communities across the province.  This will ensure a great event for a great cause.  Proceeds from this event will go towards community projects to help under privledged children.

Tournament information below

New walleye tournament on the St Marys River system. This system boasts a great Walleye Factory as everyone knows. Details about the tournament are at www.kiwt.net . This event is being held in Sault Ste Marie, ON Canada across the border from Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. The event is being held July 8-10 and the registration is only $300. First place is guaranteed at $15,000. This is a two day total weight event. The prize purse is going to be approx $35,000. US and Canadian waters are in play. This will be a televised event on TSN and the WFN. Registration is online with paypal. This tournament is a sanctioned event with the Northern Ontario Walleye Trail - NOWT( www.nowt.ca ). This is an invitational event that requires one angler from the team to have participated in a 2010 or 2011 NOWT event or be a member of NPAA. If you require more information send an email to kiwtssm@gmail.com

Ever wonder if Cormorants affect fish populations, wonder no more!!

Photos of the contents of one cormorant from Oneida Lake, WI

This is why as anglers we need to band together to save our favourite recreational sport!  Find out how you can get involved in your area.  Many States and Provinces have groups who are trying to fight this problem.

Lake Trout ice fishing close to home!

With the winter season now in full effect, ice fishermen have now invaded most lakes that have enough ice.  A problem that I see for myself this winter is the soaring cost of gas.  Most of the lakes I fish in the winter are a little ways away from home.  The fishing is great and I rarely get skunked.   Where I am not successful is keeping money in my wallet.  I have a two-stroke snowmobile, power auger and truck that I need to fuel up for each trip.  Throw in the cost of bait, food and other incidentals and the trip cost becomes very expensive.  I have decided that I am going to fish lakes close to home this winter to see if I can generate some kind of success.  The attitude towards fishing local lakes are that they are fished out.  Let's see if that is true or false this winter.  I am judging my success by the amount of money I save + the fun I am having + the amount of fish frys throughout the winter. 

The first two lakes that I decided to tackle  this past weekend were Robertson Lake and Bone Lake.  These lakes are about 10 minute truck drive from home and a 10 minute snowmobile ride down the trail.  The species in these lakes are Rainbow, Speckle and Lake Trout.  I decided to target Lake Trout on both lakes.  Each day of fishing lasted about 4-5 hours.  On Saturday I took my daughter and Father-law fishing to Robertson Lake.  It was a cold and windy day out on the lake.  Thanks to our Clam ice hut we didn't even notice the cold.  An hour into the day saw our first fish being pulled in by Tylar(my 5 year old daughter).  It topped 3.5 lbs and her excitement really made the day.  We didn't officially catch another fish that day but we did have some action and another 3 lb fish right to the hole.  The day ended with a great fish fry with my family.  The next day I decided to go into Bone Lake for some more Lake Trout.  The temperature was much cooler than the day before.  The temperature starting out was bone chilling -17 Celcius.  It didn't take long before I got my first fish.  It was too small to keep.  The day saw 8 Lake Trout caught but the biggest was only about 1.5 lbs.  Again the action was good and I left there with my limit. 

I would have to say that the weekend was a success because I saved lots of money in gas, had to great days of fun and caught enough fish for 2 fish frys.  The most successful lure of each day was the Macho Minnow(3/8 oz) perch colour by Northland Tackle, the best depth range was 20-30ft and the best time was about 12:30 pm.  I also had the opportunity to test out my new Ice Hut by the Clam corporation, it is called the Summit Thermal.  I also tested my new Ice Armor Extreme Suit, best suit I have ever owned.  Truly made with the Ice fishing Angler in mind.