Blind Fishing Boat

I met John Anderson, charter guide and owner of www.OttawaRivermuskyfactory.com at the  Carp fishing show in April of 2007 – John was giving seminars on Musky fishing, and I had a booth there with my boat and related navigational aids.  John came by my booth to hear about the “Blind fishing Boat” project.  However, it wasn’t until several months later that I heard from John again when he phoned with an offer to take me out to catch my first Musky. 

Our first day on the Ottawa River was in June, and sadly, resulted in no fish being hooked.  It was however, the  beginning of a good friendship.  John contacted me again later in the summer and a follow-up date was set for late October.

We agreed it would work best if I stayed over at his home the night before so we could leave first thing in the morning for the river.  I was more than willing to bunk-up with John  at his Musky pad – what better way to hear more about his Musky fishing adventures.  John introduced me to his living room curtains made up of Musky crank baits hung in long rows from the curtain rod to the window sill.  The curtains are being continually altered as John adds and removes lures according to the weather, river conditions and time of year.  For example, unlike our day in June, spinner baits were left behind due to the water temperatures dipping into the low 50s C. 

Photo of John Anderson standing in front of his curtains made up of Musky crank baits.

Even though the weather was considerably cooler in late October than it was during our first trip in June, we were blessed with sun shine and a moderate breeze.  We hadn’t trolled for more than five minutes before the drag on the starboard troll began its shrill call.  John was there to set the hook in a flash and before I could count to three, I had the rod in my hand and my first taste of Musky fury.  Unfortunately, it didn’t last long before the beast was able to shed itself of the hooks with several viggerous shakes of its head.  It never broke the surface so the size could only be roughly estimated at between 10-15 lbs.  While I was now more excited than ever by the prospect of hooking into countless Musky that day based on our first 5-minutes on the water, John knew better and got as serious as about any fisherman could get when pursuing the big ones.   

After another hour of trolling, we stopped to do some casting.  Not being familiar with bait cast equipment, I resorted once again to my 12-foot Carp fishing rod and spinning reel loaded up with 40lb braid.  John led me up on to the forward platform of his Lund aluminum boat, and we set off  drifting along the shoreline casting large crank baits. 

John was hoping that my figure eights at the boat’s side with the bait would trigger some explosive action, but to be frank, I would have been just as happy if the strike took place a bit further out.  It’s not that I was worried about my heart stopping, having just recently passed my physical with flying colors, it was more the case of missing out on the chance of playing the fish over to the boat as oppose to having it hook up right next to the boat and then scooped up in the net.  After about 30 minutes we retired the casting rods and returned to trolling. 
 
Three more hours past before the starboard troll went off again.  This time I was able to successfully bring the young Musky to the net.  While it may not have been one of the larger members of its breed, I’m told the colors are magnificent – it also had a nice girth.  Small maybe, but what better way to learn proper technique for holding a Musky for that all-so-important photo session and release.   

Photo of Lawrence with his first Musky

Not ten minutes later and the same rod was protesting again.  Sadly, this fish too eluded the net with a shake of its head.  Three hook-ups for the day and one in the boat – my new / first personal best Musky – not a bad start for a guy who’s been out twice.  John’s knowledge of both the river and fish was, no doubt, the key ingredient.   

John did let me try some casts with his 8-foot Lumas rod and Ambassador 6500 bait cast reel.  I tried some light casts – no distance records as I kept my thumb on the spool.  I found the gear to  be much more efficient than casting with spinning tackle in that there’s never that initial caution one must exercise after each cast with spinning gear to ensure that the line isn’t too slack when you first start the retrieve.  With a baitcaster ones focus is on the cast itself, which is where it should be.  No where near the distance I was getting
with my 12-foot Carp rod though. 

Another full day on the river and a chance to learn from one of Ottawa’s finest Musky guides.  Living so close to such an expansive, rich, and natural Musky fishery that the Ottawa River represents is quite the treat.  John and I parted with his promise that it’s not over yet.   it would seem that I’m in to this until I’ve landed a 40” plus Musky – can’t wait until next year.