Monday my buddy Gary joined me up on Wavy Creek for searuns. The mornings high tide put us inside the river about 11:00am. Four other boats were trolling the waters but nobody was having much luck. I was sure of a couple hits while trolling a 1/4 oz white bucktail upriver but nothing materialized. The jig just bumped along on bottom when finally a small brookie at about a foot long took the offering.
The fish had more color to it than the searuns seem too. Wasn’t sure but maybe it was a resident. Anyways, the bite shut down. Now the runs are pretty much done, and so ends another year of brookie fishing. Figured this years window may have been about 12 days and I was a little late to start because of obligations to seek walleye over the long weekend. Next year it won’t happen that way.
Tuesday morning I took off early to fish what I call the lower Moose River. The lower being the first 10K’s up the river from town, as far as the mouth of the French or tip of Bushy Island.
On route a lone beluga whale gave me a wink as it surfaced about 50 feet off the bow. The whale was on its way back to sea at the end of an outgoing tide.
Trying just above Bushy first, I picked off a pair of small eyes.
Finishing there a group of elementary school kids came up in six boats and all the kids lined up side by side along the tip of Bushy Island to fish. The teachers erected a large prospector tent and a huge teepee and got a fire going while a number of kids watched on. I took some time trolling out in front of them, far enough away so to not bother. Thought, what a great day outing for the kids. All about the outdoors.
Went over to the mouth of the French and deemed it unfishable for the time. Decided to venture to the first rapids up the French. On route the rain started and when I reached the rapids a boat with three locals was there having no luck. I tried too, but nada.
By 1:00pm turned for home, and just when coming out the French I see a lone cow moose wading the river shallows and taking cover on an alder thick island once seeing I was getting close.
Saturday. Knowing the lower wasn’t productive yet, the searuns done, it was figured the only shot at fish was to make a full day of it, beat the crap out of the motor and head way up the Moose. Dr. Rob Gabor was chomping at the bit all week to wet a line with me, so we planned to make a full day of it.
7:30am while readying the boat a neighbor walks by and reports they must have opened the dam. Trees, logs, grass, debris is floating everywhere down river. This was not what we needed.
Launching the boat, water levels were notably about 7-8 feet higher, the water a filthy chocolate milk, and if there was livestock around here I’m sure it would have been mooooing all the way while being swept to the sea.
I tell Rob we’ll be lucky to catch a thing. But, on route, because the waters are so high, we are able to fly up river. No rapids and shallows to drag through we make great time. I decide then we’ll head to the Cheepas River 32 km upriver from home, which is above the mouth of the Abitibi where all this water is coming from. What a great choice.
Easily get in the Cheepas as even it’s mouth is flooded out a little because of the raised levels, Rob and I stop at the first spot and are immediately rewarded with an eye.
They keep coming too. Jigs take a backseat to inlines, which, take a backseat to split shotting, which is second to running a minnow under a float. Rob on his float takes what could have been a fantastic walleye but this spawned out female with a really big head was the most anorexic bodied eye I have ever seen caught. She was right on the recovery and exhausted quick.
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But heck, Rob is loving this. We keep right on them until just after lunch but then the bite slows.
I pick up good numbers myself and some quality Cheepas River eyes. The fish on this river are good and healthy.
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Sooo, Rob and I put the motor in shallow drive and navigate the skinny water and rock gardens to head four more kilometers up to another spot I know. Once there, we’re right into them again. Not as many eyes but lots of snot rockets. Spinners and minnows under a float work great up there too. Rob gets himself a pike he believes he’ll keep for the table.
By 5:00pm, after about seven hours of fishing, Rob and I have done well putting about 35 fish in the boat. We head to shore so I can cook up some fajitas but learn quick that we are now in full blackfly season.
Ride home I burned the gas out of one tank and the motor stalls. Switch tanks then snap the pull cord in the middle of the river. Easy fix, I come to realize the recoil isn’t working, but luckily with just very short pulls the motor get’s going and I make it home in time to see the hockey game.
Nice to finally have the walleye back. One full month we waited for them to get their butts off the spawn, the females this year must have been looking for a lot of extra foreplay. Haha!
Bunk.