by
Charles Weiss
"If I had
one colour to choose, it would be black. It has the greatest contrast for a
fish looking up, at anytime of the day and on any kind of day."
Gord showed me a spinner that was most successful at catching muskie in the
summer. It was very worn. "It's the shine that attracts them," he commented.
I noticed
that it only had large single stainless steel hooks. Gord told me that he
had thought with only two hooks it would miss some fish. He had found it
didn't and there was the added benefit of quickly releasing the fish. When
the fish are swimming shallow a spinner can be your secret weapon. Gord has
advised me to cast shallow using spinners, because you can be surprised at
how little amount of water a muskie will be in.
Over the
past two years I've had the pleasure of meeting and fishing with Gord. And I
hope, in the near future, to get another opportunity to visit and fish up in
Eagle Lake, one of northwestern Ontario's best fishing spots and a
world-class muskie lake with a 54 inch (137.3 cm) size limit.
In Eagle
Lake, Gord has caught and released muskie up to 35 pounds (17 kg) and
several over 40 inches (102.5 cm). Gord is devoted to releasing all muskie
and has a Muskies Canada "know the difference" sign on display at his lodge.
Eagle
Lake once yielded a Canadian Record muskie 59 inches (150 cm) long, 31 inch
(73.5 cm) girth, and weighing 61 pounds 9 ounces (26.5 kg). Vermillion Bay
lodge is a short boat ride away from the Favell Bay area where on Oct. 8th
, 1940, Ed Walden was fishing a #12 Pflueger Muskill spinner and
caught this Canadian Record muskie.
I had
heard about Eagle Lake and over several years read various articles in a
variety of fishing magazines about muskie fisherman, Gord Bastable. On Eagle
Lake, an amazing muskie hot spot, Gord Bastable is known and respected for
his muskie success.
For many
years, Gord was a guide at North Shore Lodge. For the past thirteen years he
has run Vermilion Bay Lodge with his family. (Vermillion Bay Lodge lies four
hours west of Thunder Bay, by car.) Guests are first greeted by their two
friendly mixed labs. And then the lanky Gord is there to show you to your
warm and cozy cabin overlooking the lake. Gord and his wife, Susanne,
welcome each guest like a long-lost friend.
Bucktail
spinners are great lures to catch muskie. Gord stresses that the fun is
watching the muskie follow a lure, he would rather cast then troll.
Gord uses
a 6 ft 9 in (183 cm) fast action rod with an Ambassadeur 6500 reel and 32
-to-36 pound line. He snaps lures on to the line on sturdy 12 inch (30 cm)
wire leaders that he himself makes. Using black bucktail spinners, he
retrieves quickly to keep the blade from busting out of the water, anywhere
from eight inches (20 cm) to just below the surface, depending on how close
the weeds are to the water's surface.
In his
lodge newsletter, The Beaver, he talks about how for late spawners,
like muskie, when the lake is high and cool in the early summer, the muskie
can be found in the shallows for longer periods. He also reports guests
catching and releasing muskie up to 48 inches (120.5 cm) long. Good catches
are recorded clustered around early muskie-fishing season.
On Eagle
Lake, I've had some luck in large shallow bays. Look for patches of weed in
deep water.
One
August morning, Gord and I headed out for muskie. The air was thick with fog
and a light rain was falling. The cedar strip boat Gord used for guiding
rode smoothly. Usually we trolled very slowly backward, casting with the
wind. We concentrated our fishing along the shores of islands.
One
island we approached had a bald eagle perched on a pine; Gord mentioned this
was a sign of good luck. Shortly after that we both had muskie following our
lures!
Gord was
having good follows on a silver-bladed, black-haired, double-hooked spinner.
I got
very excited when a fish followed my lure. "Look! There's a muskie!" I
yelled. Then, I pulled my lure out of the water. We both laughed about that
back at the lodge.
"Use your
serious muskie lures here," Gord recommended as we approached a promising
weedbed. Gord is confident with a small selection of jerkbaits and bucktails
in mostly dark colours. His jerkbaits all have the centre hook removed, to
allow for quicker releases. Gord is fond of jerkbaits. I've seen him cast
and reel these in with a jerky retrieve, a proven technique for muskie.
A
standard muskie jerkbait is 8 to 10 inches (20 - 26 cm) long--the size Gord
prefers on Eagle Lake. His favourite lure colours are those that look like
natural muskie prey in Eagle Lake: whitefish, suckers, and yellow perch.
They tend to be dark on top and light on the bottom. Dark brown top, with
yellow-orange bottom jerkbaits have also worked for him.
Gord has
showed me his usual retrieve. "Let the jerkbait slowly rise after casting to
a likely spot," suggests Gord. "Then tap the rod tip down in quick
movements." This works like a charm, if it fits with the jerk-bait's
idiosyncratic action. A sweeping long movement down with the rod tip,
however, is better for deep-sinking jerkbaits. In some situations, such as a
heavy weed beds, Gord will wait briefly between taps.
Some of
Gord's favourite jerkbaits include Reef Hawgs, Bobby Baits, Smity Baits, and
Suicks. He removes the centre treble hook and files off the barbs of the
remaining hooks. Gord believes jerkbaits are more versatile and effective
under a broader range of conditions than other lures.
Gord has
confided in me his approach to muskie structure: "There's never a place
where they might not be. In fishing everywhere, however, pay close attention
to small, unique structures. For example, I've had success around isolated
boulders or heavy weed patches in a larger weedbed." He promised me that
that is where I would see more fish.
On Eagle
Lake, I've got to admit to some success fishing following this advice. It
can be little frustrating when the fish don't seem to bite, but just follow
your lure. I like to increase the chance of a bite from a following muskie
by using a boatside figure-eight at the end of every cast.
Gord's
guests humorously comment on Gord's "demo" fish. Gord can place a visitor
right on top of a prime spot. Within seconds of positioning the boat, the
lucky angler sees a big one following his or her lure. The next day on that
same spot, that same muskie may be back for a new guest. These "demo" fish
are still a thrill. Gord admits that "A muskie is likely to be seen in the
same place again."
"In
early summer, jerkbaits seem less succesfull when compared to bucktail
spinners," Gord says. Mid-summer is better for jerkbaits. After muskie move
to deeper water in the autumn, Gord uses sinking jerkbaits, and spends less
time in the shallow areas.
Gord
recommends fishing a structure only when you've thought about the most
likely spot a muskie would be. Cast to specific areas: a flat reef, a patch
of cabbage weeds, or unique boulder. Areas that a muskie might call home.
Approach each structure and work it thoroughly and methodically.
While out
with another fishing buddy on Eagle Lake, I had some action off a
wind-swept, desolate, point (open to a Northwest wind). I was casting a tan
and brown perch-like jerkbait with rattles and using a quick, but smooth,
retrieve. I was the only one in the boat with this kind of lure, and
suddenly muskies were repeatedly following it over a fifteen minute period.
Alas, none bit, though many of these mammoth muskies lingered around the
boat while my fishing buddy performed a boat-side figure-eight with his rod
tip dipped in the lake. I suspect the rattles inside my lure made these
muskies in the silty discoloured wind-swept water curious, but alas, it was
too warm for them to be hungry.
Gord puts
the welfare and future of the muskie above fishing. Muskie-fishing mania on
Eagle Lake is growing rapidly. Too many anglers only think about catching
mammoth muskie. They don't have the core values that make them insightful or
respectful anglers, concerned for the future.
Gord has
spent a lot of his time on the waters of Eagle Lake and surrounding areas.
He goes out in all kinds of weather during muskie season. As he says, "For
muskie, anytime is a good time."
The time
he's spent on the water is apparent in his expertise and his passion for
muskie. Those who meet Gord Bastable can only be impressed by this knowledge
and passion.
Gord
Bastable
c/o Vermilion Bay Lodge
P.O. Box Vermilion Bay
Ontario
P0V 2V0
1-888-301 8229
www.vermilionbaylodge.com
