Most anglers look for weed beds when they head up to Canada on a big pike quest. But I’ve taken my biggest pike on the rocks. My best fishing at Munroe Lake, last September, came from some rocky structure that I never found by searching for it. In fact, I only found it when I left the lake.
The previous July, I spent a week at Munroe on a father/son trip with my 15 year old son, Jon. The weather had not been kind to us. We managed some moments of good fishing but the constant high winds, thunderstorms and hot weather in Spring had us searching for the big pike most of the trip. Munroe Lake Lodge owner Robert Paquin told me about a rock reef that rose out of deep water out in mid-lake. Jon and I tried hard to find it but we never did.
As we flew over Munroe on our way back home, I looked down at the water, noting the different places we had fished and spots we missed. Of course, when it was too late I spotted the elusive reef out in mid-lake. While Jon would have to wait for another season to see what the reef might hold, I was coming back to Munroe in a few weeks for a chance to get big lake trout on the fly rod. I made a mental note of the reef’s location and looked forward to my return.
Fast forward to the second week of September, 2006 and I was back on Munroe. This time, I am joined by two friends making their first visit to Munroe and their first trip to fly fish for pike and trout. In fact, both Kirk and David were novice fly fishermen. This was my first trip with Kirk and my third trip with David. David learned to fly fish the hard way on our first trip. He caught exactly one fish the entire week. The second trip was better for him but I felt this one would be a “make or break” trip for David and his fly fishing. I guaranteed him he would catch lots of fish on flies. Can’t promise you big ones, I said, but I guarantee you will catch lots of fish. The pressure was on me to make good on my statement.
Since Dave and Kirk had no experience casting big flies in the wind, it was a given that we would search for fish by trolling. We hired a guide for one boat so that two of us could fish together and the third could fish in the guide’s boat. Our guide knew absolutely nothing about fly fishing and had no confidence that flies would catch anything. He was just along for the ride but he learned a big lesson on this trip.
We used 8 and 9 wt. fly rods with full sinking lines. A variety of flies worked. They included rabbit strip leech patterns, deceivers and clouser style flies with lead eyes to get them down in the water column. For leaders, we used four feet of 20 lb. fluorocarbon connected to the fly line with a loop to loop connection. The flies were trolled in depths from two to 20 feet and we trolled with the entire fly line (except for one turn of line around the reel) out behind the boat.
Most fish were caught between 12 feet deep and the surface near rocky structure. We picked up trout off rocky points and mid-lake reefs. The best spot for big fish was the reef I spotted from the plane. But the best fish we took there weren’t trout.
The reef ran north to south for about 75 yards or more. The water barely covered it at its shallowest point but most of it was covered by anywhere from three to twelve feet of water. Much of the reef consisted of broken rock and rubble but every so often along the reef, we would find large boulders, the size of a tractor or small car. These big rocks were big fish magnets and always seemed to produce.
In the mornings, the trout were scattered around the reef but as the day wore on, big pike began to show up. By noon, the pike would replace the trout and take up station all around the reef. We could still catch trout along the deeper edges of the rock but we were surprised and delighted to find those big pike. When the wind allowed, we could drift and cast for them but most often we trolled.
While we used flies, conventional tackle would have worked fine. In-line spinners (like Mepps), spoons, crank baits, jigs would all take fish under the same conditions. The key to success is finding mid-lake rock reefs when fishing in late summer/early fall on those deep Canadian lake trout lakes. With water temperatures in the 50s, this pattern is a real end of season winner.
Fall is a great time to try fly fishing for pike and lake trout. Casting is optional and flies are highly effective. Our guide was sure they wouldn’t work but he learned that they are as effective as lures under the right conditions. The pike on that reef made good on my promise to David. He caught lots of fish and more than a few trophies. Kirk summed the trip up accurately when he said, we took our scotch straight up and our pike on the rocks.
Click the mailbox to e-mail. Last updated on ... April 7, 2007
