Steelhead Opener 2016

Was a super fun opener with the Arnott boys, but was very tough. Water was low, and not nearly as many fish as I expected. But camping out, eating soup and hotdogs over the fire, and freezing our butts off all night is really what it is all about.. VIDEO DROPPING SOON

Road Trip - Lake Fork

 What a week up in Texas fishing Lake Fork.. Fellow Canadian Joe Ford guides 3 months of the year on Lake Fork. Shawn McCaul, a very close buddy of Joe, has went to Lake fork to fish 3 years and a row now. Both Joe and Shawn have been bugging us for the last year to go down and experience the trip of a lifetime. It all started when Shawn told me "Im going to Lake fork in 2 weeks, You coming?" At first I thought it was a joke, but then I realized he was serious. I went home that night, and told my self "I gottttttta go.." Lake Fork is one of the best Lakes in the US for giant Largemouth Bass. This is an awesome place to go if you want to catch a personal best. I ended up calling my boss to ask for the time off work, and being the awesome boss he is, he had no problem. I face booked Shawn right away, and said "woooop, It's a go." Dan also got the time off school to come down, and Cliff came with his boat as well. Off we went to Lake Fork, 2 boats and a truck load full of food, cloths and fishing gear. Off we went. The drive down took us about 26 hours with stopping for gas/food, etc. but It was an exciting drive, and didn't feel long at all. The morning after we arrived, Shawn and Cliff both took their boats out, while me and Dan went for a fish with Joe so he could show us around the lake and how it fishes. It can be real scary running around the Lake outside of the Buoys' if you don't no the reservoir. There is a ton of standing timber left throughout the lake which is kinda scary. There are trees 2 feet below the waters surface in 40 feet of water.... After Joe had shown us all around the Lake we were ready to rock. It was a cool time to go because with the weather they have been having down there, the fish were all over the place. We were fishing for Pre Spawn and Post Spawn fish on Secondary and main lake points. We were also fishing for bedding fish in the shallows up creeks arms, and back coves. But with the pressure, and the amount of boats fishing the beds, we spent most time fishing main lake and secondary points to try and catch those big girls that were just about to move up onto their beds, or Post spawners coming off and moving back into the main lake. Throughout the rest of the week I fished with Shawn and Cliff. Me and Dan even took out Joe's and Shawn's boat for the evening when they went golfing. (Im surprised they trusted us..) lol. Up until the 2rd day of fishing, I had only caught 2 cute ones.. both under I2 inches. But Joe told us if we did catch a fish up on these shell beds throwing these giant swimbaits and topwaters, it would be a good one. And thats what we wanted. A big girl. I threw my topwater and my giant swimbait pretty well the whole trip up on these shell beds. On the third day, around 9am, the lake was dead calm, and we rolled up to a shell bed on the main lake off a point. There was a pelican, and a bunch of loons feeding on big gizzard shad that these giant Largemouth eat all year long. Within a few casts I had a good one explode on my topwater but I missed it. He ate it again and I stuck him good. I new it was a good one but wasn't too sure how big. At first I yelled over to Danny and Shawn in the other boat "it's about 4" Then it jumped and I yelled "5 or 6", Then it got boat side and Cliff said "It's bigger than that dude.." I lipped her and got it in the boat, my personal best Largemouth Bass. I was super stoked to not only catch my personal best, but to get the whole thing on film as well.. As the week went on, the fishing got better. Danny caught a 6 pounder the next day, and I caught another good one over 5 the morning we left. And the day after we left, Joe put his clients on 2 over 7lbs. a 5, and a couple 3's... 

It was also a super fun time hanging out with the Izumi and Macinnis family all week. Huge thanks Joe Ford for giving us this amazing opportunity and being an awesome guide, Scott at Fisherman's cove for the AMAZING hospitality, Steve for cooking all the delicious home cooked meals, and Cliff and Shawn for letting us come on such an awesome trip.

A week I will never forget.. I will be back next year....

Want to experience a trip of a lifetime? Catch a personal best?
Give Joe Ford a call (905 809 5144) or go to:
Joefordfishing.com

WOOOP