Varying Water Levels Requires a Different Approach

The low water levels last season in Northern Ontario offered many different opportunities to relearn Lake St. Joseph and discover some excellent new fishing spots. At first the lake was intimidating because my depth finder would constantly spike up to 3 feet or less making navigation difficult. I had to adjust my trails around the lake and was continuously discovering hidden rock piles and reefs that would normally be well below the surface of the water (fortunately, no prop damage last season!). The low water has provided an excellent opportunity to learn and understand some of the structures we usually would not be able to see. During the summer of 2009 the water level was extremely high and overall the pike fishing was very difficult. Weed beds that we would usually harbor multiple big pike were nonexistent in the high water and we often found that we were just "washing our spoons catching the occasional fish. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the extreme low water last season made trophy pike fishing consistent and very enjoyable. The early ice-out combined with favorable weather conditions created a significant increase in the activity level of trophy pike. Fish over 40 inches were a daily occurrence, making the season to overall be very enjoyable! Fishing Lake St. Joseph in low water requires a whole new strategy to successfully target trophy northern pike. Once I adjusted to the water level, I found that the pike fishing throughout the entire season was astounding. Northern pike between 18 and 23lbs were caught daily and we often landed multiple trophy northern each day. On numerous occasions I was able to enjoy the thrill of guiding double headers with two trophy northern in my boat at the same time. This brings about some extreme excitement for both the customers and myself. I cannot wait to see what this season will bring!