Recent Articles

Camping is a large part of the Canadian experience. Camping is a great opportunity to get some fresh air, enjoy nature, and make lasting memories. However, with nature, comes wildlife. While wildlife is fantastic to view from a distance, precautions must be taken to insure you have a safe camping experience. Bears are fairly common in Northwestern Ontario. They are typically timid and keep to themselves. Most bears fear humans and will do their best to avoid them. However, food may lure bears to your campsite. The bears can do damage to your property, eat your food, and potentially be dangerous. There are steps that can be taken to assure your campsite stays bear free.
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Camping in Ontario is a great way to spend time with your family during the summer, or just as a way to get away from it all and enjoy the beauty of Ontario’s nature. There are many campgrounds in Northwestern Ontario. Each camp will offer different experiences, and options. Knowing how you would like to spend your vacation will be beneficial when planning your trip! Northwestern Ontario offers campgrounds with spots for both RVs and tents. Campgrounds have many different activities that can provide fun for the whole family. Ontario campgrounds also offer different amenities to suite your needs. If you are looking for a more rugged experience, you can also try backwoods camping. When camping in Ontario, the possibilities are endless.
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When choosing a puppy to train into a hunting dog it is very important to pick from a reputable breeder. Choose a puppy by looking at it’s genetics: is the mom and dad trained? Do they have experience as hunting dogs? What are their temperaments? Genetics play a large role in the success you will have training your dog.Breeders that produce dogs with bloodlines that are proven as successfully. Line breeding intensifies positive qualities in puppies. Some positive qualities that may be influenced by bloodline include a calm temperament, natural delivery to hand, love of water, retrieving desire, intelligence and tractability.
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Male walleye mature around the age of three or four, while female walleye mature at a much faster rate, usually around one year. Walleyes begin the spawning season by returning to their specific location. These locations are found by instinct in the walleye. Right before spawning, male walleye will form tight groups near dams. The male walleye will wait in this location until the water is the right temperature and the females move in. During this time, walleye fishing is ideal. Once male walleye begin to feel changes in temperature following winter they begin their migration down to the spawning site.
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There are many activities for families to participate in during their vacation in Northwestern Ontario! With activities suitable for all ages, you’re bound to have some fun making lifetime memories during your stay. There are campgrounds with great beaches, festivals with music and games, and many more fun places to visit. Spend the day getting some exercise by hiking or swimming! At night, cozy up next to a warm bonfire for some great bonding time. Family vacations in the Patricia Region are like no other.
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Winter In Canada provides the opportunity for many fun, & enjoyable activities. Some can be relaxing, while others provide the opportunity for getting your daily exercise. Whether you decide to hit up the lake in the middle of winter for some fresh fish, grab your snowshoes for a nice walk, go cross country skiing to view the country, or snowmobile, you are bound to have a memorable time.
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Hunting grouse in Northwestern Ontario can be a fun, rewarding experience! For those with a hunting license and an appetite for fresh bird, why not look into ruffed grouse hunting while on your vacation in Northwestern Ontario? Grouse are common across Northwestern Ontario, and make a tasty meal.
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Canada Goose Hunting is an exciting experience. Canada Geese are some of Ontario’s largest birds. They are easily spooked and extremely territorial, but they are great game to hunt. Learning to call geese is one of the most important steps to successfully luring in geese. Decoying and flagging can also be very helpful. With some practice, you too can be a great Canada Goose hunter.
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Imagine this. You’re up in a tree stand waiting for the perfect buck to fall prey to your decoy. You woke up early, hauled your decoy through the bush, and got set up. Now you’re ready for some deer to start coming into the area. You let out a call, and wait a little bit longer. Finally, a big buck comes out of the bush towards your decoy. He grunts, and stares it down. You begin lining up your shot, waiting for the perfect moment. He hoofs at the ground, and you know this is your chance. You take the shot, and the buck is yours.
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Canadian culture is rich and colorful. Rooted in our history with Aboriginals and the fur trade, many historical Canadian traditions have been carried on throughout the years and are still being enjoyed by Canadians today. Canada is a multicultural country, known for it’s freedom and cultural mosaic. However, some things never change. Pow wows, shore lunches, and ice fishing are classic Canadian activities that never grow old. What could be better than eating freshly caught Canadian walleye on the shore of a fresh water lake? Or spending the day on the ice, catching trophy fish for supper? Canada offers a unique cultural experience for everyone.
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Berry picking in Northwestern Ontario is a fun way to enjoy nature, venture away from the lodge and pick some fresh berries that can be used for many different recipes. Blueberry pie, raspberry jam, strawberry shortcake! The opportunities are endless. Northwestern Ontario is abundant with wild blueberries, as well as raspberries. While picking, it is important to stay bear safe. Learn how to can/jar your fresh berries, and enjoy them year round!
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Have you ever wanted to just pack up, hit the road to and not look back? To go somewhere so beautiful, so peaceful and so secluded the busy world around you would fade away? If you have, a Canada Wilderness Canoe Trip may be for you. Canada wilderness offers many rivers, lakes and ponds to portage through and enjoy. A wilderness canoeing and kayaking trip can be whatever you make it.
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Canada walleye Fishing Lodges are a great place to consider for your next vacation. Canada has many lakes perfect for Walleye fishing. Some of the Canada lakes have even caught record sized Walleye! No two Canada Walleye Fishing Lodges are alike. Each lodge offers their own style of cabins, plans, variety of fish, types of lakes, guides and service. It is important to think about what will be important to you when planning your Canada Walleye Fishing Lodge experience.
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Does a fly-in fishing trip in Canada sounds like your vacation of a lifetime? Imagine boarding a float plane, flying over the rugged Canadian wilderness dotted with more lakes than you can count, landing at a remote lodge or cabin with no neighbours, spending the morning on the lake with your buddies,etc. How do you start planning this dream trip? It’s matter of making a few simple decisions and you’ll be on your way to enjoying an exciting Canadian Fly-In Fishing Trip.
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Ontario trophy moose hunting is the adventure of a lifetime. If this exciting hunting experience sounds like something you would like to experience- read more to learn all about Ontario trophy moose hunting, why trophy moose, and how to pick an outfitter.
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Lac Seul is a large Northwestern lake located in Ontario. It is a tea-coloured lake known for it's outstanding walleye fishing. Walleye are the most popular fish for eating in Canada. However, walleye are not the only type of fish in Lac Seul. Lac Seul also has many Northern Pike and record sized Muskie. If you are looking for “Walleye Heaven”, then a Lac Seul Walleye fishing trip is the trip for you.
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What will you need to bring on your vacation at a Canada Family Fishing Resort? What kind of fish can you catch? What other family activities will there be? Read more to find out what you need to have the best stay as family at a fishing resort yet. Choose from a variety of housekeeping plans and fishing licences and learn about what you will need to bring for a shore lunch.
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"The Last Resort" is a book written by Irene Williams and outlines her life story as she travels from England to the great Canadian North. She recants the tales of coming to Canada and working at Wine Lake Camp - a primitive, remote tourist lodge in Northwestern Ontario. Her writing captures the many adventures and thrills she and her family experience over several decades at the camp and how she comes to love the lifestyle.
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"The Last Resort" is a book written by Irene Williams and outlines her life story as she travels from England to the great Canadian North. She recants the tales of coming to Canada and working at Wine Lake Camp - a primitive, remote tourist lodge in Northwestern Ontario. Her writing captures the many adventures and thrills she and her family experience over several decades at the camp and how she comes to love the lifestyle.
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A PRTC staffer shares stories of her many outdoor adventures in her varied footwear collection.
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A man describes, with photos, his first canoe trip through Northwestern Ontario. Great adventures can be had canoeing across the Canadian wilderness in Canada's Heartland. The following is a documented account of one of these adventures. In the summer of 1998 Nicole Lyotier of Vancouver, B.C. and Olaf Stroeble of Germany took one week and paddled through Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, north-west of Red Lake in Canada's Heartland. All photos have been taken by our two travellers. "
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A Overview of Northwest Ontario's Eco Tourism and Activities
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The author Craig Fiske describes a memorable day on the lake catching aggressive Pike using a canoe. He also offers tricks and tips to catching trophy northern pike. He gives his recommendations for which lure to use, and more. "It was late August of last year when we pulled our canoe into a secluded bay a couple miles southeast of Perrault Falls..."
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Local hunter tells the story of how he came across an over-sized buck while out hunting a friends farm land, deep in the heart of the Patricia Region. It was the second last week in October in 2007 and I was a week away from getting out of the military and myself and a friend, Darren Trist were planning on going deer hunting on opening day. He had been scouting for deer at our friends parents...
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Trophy whitetails have a way of raising hob with even the most persevering and disciplined hunter. I guess that's why they command our respect. "The buck appeared as a lighter shadow, barely visible on the dense brush on the far side of the food plot. He stood like a statue for a full 10 minutes, cautiously surveying the alfalfa field where several doe and an 8-pointer were already munching on the lush vegetation..."
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Spend time in the fall woods chasing turkeys, and next time you hear someone spouting the myths of fall turkey hunting, you too, may feel compelled to set the record straight. The longest duel I have ever had with a turkey was the week I spent chasing after one Old Dominion fall flock. Every time I scattered the gang, the flock hen would quickly reassemble her young and then lead them away from my position.
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When I started fishing for muskies, I spent countless hours casting big bucktails, jerkbaits and top-water plugs over shallow weed flats without so much as a promising follow. It was suggested to me that I try trolling... ""Troll for muskies in four feet of water?" I commented. "I'll be hanging up in weeds all day." Initially, I got caught on the weeds, and lots of 'em. Every couple of minutes I had to stop to remove dense green cabbage from my line and lures...
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Spring through fall, bass anglers need to try fishing the weeds to catch the big fish. Swimming a jig over the weeds in this fashion reduces snags and makes the situation a lot less trying. Ask most bass anglers how a skirted jig should be fished, and they'll say that it's meant to be flipped or pitched then slowly bounced and crawled along bottom or through heavy cover.
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Trolling spinner baits allows you to quickly probe prime locations, such as weed-flats and break lines, searching for actively feeding fish to enticing neutral ones to strike. Muskie trolling spinnerbaits allow you to quickly probe prime locations, such as weed-flats and break lines, searching for actively feeding fish to enticing neutral ones to strike.
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One of the greatest joys of snowmobiling is the exhilaration experienced deep into the wilderness. Few places offer the quick and ready access to winter wilderness like the Patricia Region of Northwestern Ontario, does.
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There is a multitude of different large wooden plugs one can get at a sporting goods store nowadays for slaying goon muskies. But still, many anglers turn to a lure that, when it originated, wasn't sold in any store; the "original" muskie bucktail. Nowadays, bucktails are in-line spinners with a skirt made out of deer hair, and they are still a staple of muskie angling. But before the in-line spinnerbaits came along, there was the true bucktail lure. Many a muskie fell victim to those original bucktails
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Walleye really turn on at dawn and dusk. the walleye's unique eye structure gathers light better than a squirrel-on-steroids gathers nuts, and this gives the walleye a huge advantage at low light times. It's like walleye are wearing night-vision goggles while they are feasting on those helpless little yellow perch.
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While lampreys may be an invasive species in Canadian waters, that doesn't mean that we can't exploit them to our benefit as baitfish in waters where they have already spread. Young Lampreys are often one of the best baits for all manner of fresh water fish, especially walleyes. World record sized walleyes have been caught using Lampreys presented on Northland Float 'N Spin lures.
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Big water can be a daunting place to ice-fish for pike. However, if you concentrate on the weedy shallows, you won't feel like you've bitten off more than you can chew. The majority of pike hunt around the weedbeds, and that's where the ice angler should fish for them. While the weed-choked shores, bays, and flats of summer are long gone, a certain amount of stalk-type weeds, particularly milfoil and coontail, withstand winter.
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Local trapper retells stories from his past about trapping foxes with his friends and family, and how even though you may consider a certain fox "good" or "bad" deep down, they are all good foxes. A perfect "cherry" red, the kind we rarely see, is a good fox. The bad ones are the ones you love to hate, or hate to love. They are the ones that dig out your traps and leave them flipped out of the bed, upside down but still set.
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Using worms as bait is often scoffed at by most anglers now a days, but this tried and true bait still works to catch the lunkers. Worms are the most versatile bait in the walleye angler's arsenal. Crawlers work in the cold water of spring and fall, and during the hottest days of summer. They catch walleye in rivers and lakes. These fish like the smell, look, and feel of a worm. Yet many anglers, weaned on television fishing shows and endless super-lure infomercials, consider live-worm fishing passe, even vaguely dirty.
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Michael Bilsbarrow, a Patricia Region resident, shares some common strategies and angling methods practiced and perfected on the Lac Seul reservoir. These tried and true techniques consistently land trophy fish off of this gargantuan body of water. Local knowledge is no doubt a great asset when it comes to fishing a big lake like this one and most fish camps and resorts on the lake offer guide services. On your first trip to Lac Seul you would be well advised to engage the services of one for at least a day or two.
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Chip Lear, of Midwest Outdoors, give a good overview of everything there is to do and see in Canada's heartland, the Patricia Region from the time he spent here on his trip.
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Gord Ellis, shares a small story and some great tips on how to pack/prepare for an extended trip canoeing/hiking or at your favourite fly-in destination, here in "Canada's Heartland", the Patricia Region. Carrying a 7-foot one-piece spinning rod is obviously out. So is that big tackle box. It's unwieldy and often requires an extra portage. Scale way down.
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More stores told by Wine Lake Camp's, Ann Sherman, about a group of hunters staying at their camp, who after a successful hunt, invite Ann to share in the cadres "fraternity". Rick had shot his first bear. We were sitting inside the Trout cabin, joking and snacking when he pulled up in his boat. He indicated to his buddies (Doug, Dave, Herb, Frank, and Darren) that the night had gone well.
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Local sports writer/fisherman, Gord Ellis, discusses various tips, tricks and techniques to angling Northern Pike with a wide variety of spoons. He also makes a few excellent suggestions on which lures you should purchase. "Something about a spoon's action attracts pike like no other lure. I first learned of its power when I was 10 years old. My father and I were trolling red and white ..."
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Canada's Heartland, otherwise known s the Patricia Region, has a vast array of opportunities to keep all kinds of outdoors people entertained throughout any season!
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Article that gives a brief overview of the geological history of the Patricia region. as well as a general description of the towns and activities you can currently find in the area.
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Local sports writer, Gord Ellis, shares some popular tips and techniques for lading monster lake trout using jumbo-sized jigs. Lake trout are predictable. " Jumbo jigging takes lake trout all around the calendar. If you like catching lunkers on simple tackle, look no further than this classic presentation.The jig-colour rule for lake trout is simple. Use anything as long as it's white. The majority of a lake trout's summer forage is some shade of white or silver..."
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Northwestern Ontario is the "Hog Walleye capital". This article gives tips on how to select the best locations for fishing up these behemoths, as well as which presentations seem to work best. "If you are one of those fishermen who is still looking at the empty spot on the wall of your den or office reserved for your trophy walleye, then my own personal plan for putting those odds in your favor may interest you..."
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Local angling expert and sports writer, Gord Ellis explains some of his tips and tricks to make the most out of fishing sloppy areas filled with weeds that most anglers wouldn't even think twice about skipping. "Fishing the slop for muskie requires patience. You're going to be cleaning hooks, spinner clevises, and leaders of weed. It can drive you nuts, if you let it, but if you're willing to put up with a bit of hassle, fishing the slop is worth the effort."
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Renowned worldwide for its incredible freshwater angling, come visit Canada's Patricia Region for some of the best and most exciting fishing you'll ever experience! You'll definitely leave with a story to tell! Nestled in the heart of the northwest, the Patricia Region has been, and continues to be, on of the top North American destination points for angling adventures.
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Local hunter tells the story of how he came across an over-sized buck while out hunting a friends farm land, deep in the heart of the Patricia Region. As I stood looking down at the full bodied, skinned out animal (which completely resembled the proportions of a human being), I wondered where the other guy in their party was! It was spooky to see something so similar to a man lying there while the northern lights (or jiibayag niimi’idiwag) streaked across the sky. This was the first, and only time, I have witnessed a multi-colored Aurora Borealis. Reds, blues, yellows, and greens sprinkled through the night air. The spirits were speaking on this chilly evening, and I shuddered in fear.
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This article contains critical information regarding water clarity and how it relates to catching elusive small and largemouth bass. It is broken down into sections based on visibility and what tactics to use. In truth, water clarity can be one of the most important elements in locating small and largemouth bass, especially when you correlate it with time of season.
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Experts describes the type of person it takes to truly be an outstanding bow hunter, as well as what skill sets aid in the most effective hunting practices. Why are some bow hunters more successful that others? It seems that every club and archery pro shop has a core of bow hunters who regularly tag trophy bucks. They may not always get the wall hanger each year, but they pass up enough good bucks to make the average bow hunter drool with envy.
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Excellent tips from various sources on how to properly drill holes into the ice with an auger. Told in a story format. "A common drilling mistake is applying too much downward pressure on the auger. Pushing down too hard won’t make an auger cut any faster and in some cases, will slow things down. A good indicator that you are pushing too hard is if you lose your balance or surge forward when the auger breaks through the ice..."
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Easy guide to setting up slip bobbers. also gives a brief descripton of various slip-bobbing techniques, as well as what kind of equipment you should be using to maximize your effectiveness. "Then one day a solution came to me. Why not use a weight to hold the rig stationary? I retied the rig with a 1-oz egg-style slip sinker on the fishing line above the float. Since I was fishing for pike, I added an 18-inch wire leader above the size 4 Eagle Claw Lazer treble..."
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Tips for hunting those elusive, late-fall, trophy whitetails. This article also explains various behavioral pattens of mature bucks during the rut. While deer behavior might be somewhat predictable, October in Ontario is a time of seasonal transition. Summer food become dry and unpalatable while nuts, berries and agricultural crops ripen, making them more palatable. Temperatures begin to drop and the wind increases, which pushes the deer towards more sheltered bedding areas.
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Where is quite possibly the greatest place on earth to hunt and fish? Northwestern Ontario! come to "Canada's Heartland", the Patricia Region, and experience the hunt, camping or fishing trip of a life time! It's a place where seemingly endless forests stretch from here to heaven...broken only by rivers and lakes teeming with giant walleyes, pikes, bass, trout, walleye fishing, bass fishing, trophy pike and more. It's a sanctuary gigantic whitetail deer, moose and black bear- not to mention incredible water fowl and upland bird populations such as ducks, grouse and pheasants. It's a land inhabited by some of the most friendly and honest folks you'll ever meet.
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Detailed description that attempts to help dispel some of the more common bowhunting myths, ranging from whether or not a tuned bow is accurate to if mechanical broadheads work, among others.Myths are stubborn things. They don't want to go away, and many stay around for years despite the mountains of evidence to prove them false. The following are a few of the more commonly encountered bow-hunting myths.
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Experienced Canadian wolf trapper tells his epic tale of battling wits with a wise black wolf around the area over the course of a few years.Will he succeed in catching his prey? Or will the wolf finally slip away for good? " Still, the sighting of the black wolf made me focus on that area. Where I might have set 2 snares, I set three. I am always careful with my tracks and scent. Now, I was paranoid."...
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Ever fish with a bobber on a windy day only to have it constantly blow in the wrong directions? This article explains how to set up then utilize an excellent form of stationary bobbing called; slip-bobbing. Slip bobbers are a simple way to present live bait to walleyes, but even simple techniques must be performed correctly. The main purpose of any bobber is to hold the bait up off the bottom. But because bobbers are moved by wind and waves, the bait is also presented over more water.
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A complete overview on how to maximize your effectiveness while angling for walleyes at night, from what bait to use to where to cast, even how to troll or where to anchor. This article will explain it all in detail. The option to fish at night can be a great equalizer in times of bad weather. Day or night, wind is always a killer, but cold fronts on the other hand don't have quite the adverse on walleyes at night. If fishing is tough during the day, one of the best plans is to fish at night.
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Professional Walleye angler's share some if their tips and tricks for one of the most productive lures to land trophy pickerel with; the jig. This article will explain in depth common tips and techniques for jigging in all types of weather and water conditions. Jigs certainly aren't as glitzy as crank-baits, or as sophisticated as sonar/GPS technology, but of all the tools available to walleye fisherman today, the lowly lead-head is responsible for more angler success than anything you can name.
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Fishing with glow-jigs and crankbaits works extremely well in stained/turbid waters. This article explains why as well as gives you a few recommendations as to what to use. The ability to make a jig or crankbait glow has revolutionized the way people fish, most notably in cases such as icefishing for walleye. Factors such as shorter days, snow, increased cloud cover and snow drifts play a part in decreasing the visibility and water clarity for the walleye.
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Detailed information on the recent re-discovery of blue walleye, not to be confused with it's extinct counter part, the blue pike, as well as a theory/explanation as to why/what makes the walleye blue. Blue walleye retain this colour due to a lack of yellow skin pigment and a blueish protein in the mucus coating on its skin.
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Simple article describes how walleye change their home-range when winter sets in as well as the fish change their eating habits. Sometimes walleye establish a smaller home-range during the winter, usually only a fraction of the size of their summer range. On smaller lakes walleye generally stay close to most traditional structures such as steep-breaking humps, deeper portions of long points and deep saddles.
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Silver pike are believed to be a mutation of regular pike and may be deserving of their own species name. Little Vermilion lake will likely document this coming to pass due to the abundance of silver pike found in its waters. the “silver” pike has almost none of the normal markings of a normal pike. Typically, notherns have a dark greenish body with lighter elongated yellow horizontal splotches.
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Description of shallow-water ice-fishing techniques used used to land monster winter pike. Also gives tips on where top position yourself as well as what equipment to bring. Pike come into the shallows because that's where their food is located. As winter continues, you get more. Timing plays a key factor in shallow water ice-fishing, something that can be very difficult to predict.
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This detailed article helps to dispel ten of the most common misconceptions anglers have when it comes to angling both large and smallmouth bass, in all settings, throughout the year. "With the fall season rapidly approaching, anglers will undoubtedly hear stories about how largemouth and small-mouth bass fishing will become quite bountiful..."
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Small article that explains the journey of northern pike fry from hatching out of their egg to ending up in the weedy bays of our freshwater lakes as an apex predator. "Fertilized pike eggs take about two weeks to hatch in chilly spring waters, releasing thousands of fry only a 1/4 inch long. For a day or two afterwards they swim around actively, though they are not yet feeding..."
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Writer explains just why the walleye bite can be so good in the autumn months. He also details various tips/strategies for angling and landing good sized fish in changing conditions on the lake. During the months of September, October and november; in the Upper United States and Canada, patterns develop that may land you your biggest/best walleye of the year. If you follow the progression of the season, you may catch big hog walleye up until the ice forms.
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Simple article going over the details on how to create one of the worlds most durable flies for fly fishing. This fly can stand up to it all! record size pike, muskie, snapper, lake trout, sea trout,even sharks! Basically, whatever you can land with a fly rod. nter "The Invincible", the pike fly that can be tied as big as you want, with synthetics that shed water like a happy duck.
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Trolling crankbaits is a great technique and teacher when it comes to finding bass. Pay attention in class this summer and you'll graduate with honours in crankbait fishing from Bass U. Fish are creatures of habit. They follow behaviour patterns that keep them safe from predators, physically comfortable, and well fed. It's a matter of life and death. If a bass is having its best luck feeding on top of a reef during a west wind, you can be sure it will be there every time those conditions occur.
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