GONE FISHING
GONE FISHING
If it’s one thing that can bring new people close or old friends farther apart, it’s fishing. As anglers we can talk to complete strangers, ask what the fish are biting on and then go on our way. There are other times that we can go out and end up mortal enemies because one friend constantly “borrows” expensive tackle and then never returns it.
This week I had the opportunity to go out on the Detroit River with Captain Mike Pttiglio of Muskie Mania and Captain Kristov Foksinski of Walleye Mania Charters. Not having much experience on big river systems like the Detroit, I was happy to make my way to the Motor City. With my friend Ron Spencley in tow, we headed out of Lansing at about 4:30 AM.
Having met Captain Mike at the Ultimate Fishing Show earlier this year, I later had him as a guest to talk about fishing for muskie on Lake St. Clair. From then I would run into him at the other sport show and it was there that I was introduced to Captain Kris of Walleye Mania. After talking with them both I decided to book a trip for Walleye on the Detroit River. Originally, the trip was set for late April. But, because of the early warm weather the walleye bite was on early and the fishing was hot. We moved the date up to the 10th, and that is what brought us to this particular entry.
When we arrived at the marina at 6:00 AM, we loaded gear and got ready to shove off. Talking with other anglers at the marina only brought the anticipation level up. But it was talk of the “cow pasture,” “whiskey plant,” and a few other landmarks known to this group that made me tilt my head like the RCA dog.
Having loaded up, we made our way to the Canadian boundary waters to see how the fishing was going to go. It was quite cool in the morning and the water temperature was at 43 degrees. Not an optimum temp but we would see in short time how things were going to work. We stopped off at one area that contained about 20 other boats all with the same goal in mind. We set our lines out and in a short time we had one in the boat. It looked like we were going to be in business. After about another half hour, we pressed on to the next location. After a little while longer, persistent jigging brought in another fish. Finally, I had my first fish on. A good fight and there it was…smallmouth! Not exactly what we were after.
We continued on drifting and jigging, jigging and drifting. After numerous passes and a few jigs lost, we finally ended up with nine in the boat. Nine is always better than zero! To the credit of our guides, no one was catching much of anything that day. Reports of 4 and 6 were quite common.
Jigging 3/4 ounce jig heads with rubber worms and stinger hooks was the preferred method. Natural soft bodies seemed to work, but it was the stinger hooks that really made the difference for me.
All in all I had a great time. I went out on the river with one friend and came back with three. I learned that “staying vertical” was the key to success when jigging a big, fast body of water like the Detroit River. And that a good guide is not only made up of someone with good equipment, but the time and patience to make sure that your technique is right to help you insure success, not only on your charter, but in the future as well.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After talking with my friend Ron after the trip. We both decided on one thing. That neither one of us would ever want to be a fishing guide! Not because it would take time out of our schedule, it’s the pressure to produce. When you book a trip weeks or months in advance, you risk the variables of nature. Wind, sun, rain, weather systems and the ever changing mood of the fish. All things beyond our control.
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