Gerv
10-06-2014, 08:47 AM
For the last few years a few buddies of mine have been doing an annual fall canoe trip down the little smoky river. I always wanted to go but I never have felt particularly comfortable in a canoe and tend to spend more time swimming than paddling every time I've given it a shot. This year I went and checked out totem outfitters in Edmonton and rented the big rig kayak by Jackson. Cant say enough good things about this boat. Extremely stable even when bouncing off rocks in the faster sections and even loaded down with enough gear for the three day trip and all 350 lbs of me it still sat respectably high in the water and scooted over the majority of the sandbars where most of the canoes had to get out and walk. The only real downside was that the bigger boat was definitely a little more work to keep moving than the smaller fishing kayaks in the group but I still kept up fine.
When we left town it was a gorgeous morning, a little chilly but by the time we made it to the river and started unpacking the sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a beauty start to the trip.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10671288_10152264856425047_7385461871322852599_n_z pse098007b.jpg
The first day was a little slow for fishing but they assured me the best fishing would be on the second day and it was important that we made some miles on the first afternoon so that we would have time to sit for a few hours in the more productive holes the following day. but we still picked up a couple nice walleye and few small pike along the way. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/1538724_10154610906815217_6823551870516070439_n_zp sa7fb6c3f.jpg quick pit stop for lunch and shuffle the cargo around in the canoes until they floated straight. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10614357_10152264856790047_44394946236889446_n_zps 706d8a67.jpg
we made it to the beach relatively early and after setting up camp and eating supper I tried to salvage a rather low fish count and managed to catch a few little walleye from the shore.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10616531_10152264857445047_7960446059434776039_n_z ps901070ea.jpg
Having the large group definitely came in handy when it came to setting up the camp and gathering the firewood we would need for the long night ahead.
We were a little late getting onto the water on the second day but the boats were sitting a lot higher in the water as nearly all of the beer we had brought was long gone, and having put on a considerable amount of miles the first day we could afford to be a little slower. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10696192_10154551017080284_5691087400291685910_n_z ps2126d1b3.jpg
it didn't take long and we were starting to snag the walleye at a pretty consistent rate. nothing of incredible size but it was a good way to start the day. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/new_zps867876c1.jpg A few corners down from our campsite was a nice hole where the river took a 90 degree turn with some nice big boulders and plenty of deep dark water. After catching a decent number of walleye a few of us decided to move on and the rest of the group stuck around and shortly after we left the bite picked up considerably. The biggest fish of the trip came out of this hole, it was a hog of a pike. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/936691_10154610942910217_1826670139798271805_n_zps 82a3c338.jpg it weighed in at just over 9 lbs but was certainly a monster for a fish of its length.
Meanwhile the rest of us had found our way down to what would be the most productive hole of the entire trip. the river was a pretty even 1-1.5 feet deep all the way across and then just as the river took a slight turn the water went from relatively light to jet black, as it dropped pretty much instantly to around ten feet of water. There was an enormous old spruce washed up on the far bank which created great cover for the fish and an excellent spot to tie up my kayak. the bottom must have been carpeted with walleye as all you had to do was bounce a jig off the bottom once or twice and you would have another feisty little walleye on the line. We caught a couple nice walleye around the 5-6 lb range but both managed to squirm out of the hands of their captors before we could get any photographic evidence. one of my buddies had been using a rather large rapala and had a nice pike on the line twice but both times it managed to spit the hook within a foot or two of his boat. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10403221_10152264858230047_5398094305969197334_n_z ps1858cec1.jpg
after about an hour the rest of the group caught up and we continued to slay the fish for another hour and a half. one of the boys even caught a sucker which was a little surprising as none of us had ever caught one out of this river. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10665858_10154610944735217_1136270326500709024_n_z ps3f3d1c7e.jpg
After nearly three hours tied up in that hole we decided we had better get a move on. The rest of the day yielded a few more decent holes but we kept a pretty steady pace to make it to camp before it was too late. we ended up going a fair bit further downstream than they had usually camped in an effort to make a shorter paddle on the last day. We found a nice big beach with a pretty substantial log jam to provide an easy source of firewood and set up our camp.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10671283_10152264858510047_1310280082844721303_n_z ps43b926b7.jpg
After a delicious supper of fresh walleye we decided to pull out the ol' red ryders and set up a little makeshift shooting gallery.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10458654_10152264859205047_7204274023119209648_n_z psa63a4d1f.jpg
A bit of a storm blew in and most of us headed for the cover of the tents. although a couple of the gusts were so strong that my cheap Canadian tire tent basically folded right over on top of us. It was becoming quite obvious that it was a good choice to put on the extra miles today as it was looking like we were in for a bit of a miserable day on the water the next morning. the storm blew over and it continued to sprinkle for the rest of the night until about 7am the next day and we got a short break to pack up our gear, throw on all the sweaters and raingear we had and get onto the water.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10628416_10154611004100217_2661312105333467946_n_z ps4c2cce0e.jpg
We got on the water and after about a half hour it started to rain again but we knew we had a pretty short paddle. being as cold as and wet as it was we didn't do a lot of fishing but we managed to get off the river before noon, good thing too. Just as we had the last boat loaded into the trailer and closed it up it began to snow.
It was an awesome experience and I've decided I am going to have to buy one of those big rig kayaks in the spring. cant wait to do it again next year.
When we left town it was a gorgeous morning, a little chilly but by the time we made it to the river and started unpacking the sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a beauty start to the trip.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10671288_10152264856425047_7385461871322852599_n_z pse098007b.jpg
The first day was a little slow for fishing but they assured me the best fishing would be on the second day and it was important that we made some miles on the first afternoon so that we would have time to sit for a few hours in the more productive holes the following day. but we still picked up a couple nice walleye and few small pike along the way. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/1538724_10154610906815217_6823551870516070439_n_zp sa7fb6c3f.jpg quick pit stop for lunch and shuffle the cargo around in the canoes until they floated straight. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10614357_10152264856790047_44394946236889446_n_zps 706d8a67.jpg
we made it to the beach relatively early and after setting up camp and eating supper I tried to salvage a rather low fish count and managed to catch a few little walleye from the shore.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10616531_10152264857445047_7960446059434776039_n_z ps901070ea.jpg
Having the large group definitely came in handy when it came to setting up the camp and gathering the firewood we would need for the long night ahead.
We were a little late getting onto the water on the second day but the boats were sitting a lot higher in the water as nearly all of the beer we had brought was long gone, and having put on a considerable amount of miles the first day we could afford to be a little slower. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10696192_10154551017080284_5691087400291685910_n_z ps2126d1b3.jpg
it didn't take long and we were starting to snag the walleye at a pretty consistent rate. nothing of incredible size but it was a good way to start the day. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/new_zps867876c1.jpg A few corners down from our campsite was a nice hole where the river took a 90 degree turn with some nice big boulders and plenty of deep dark water. After catching a decent number of walleye a few of us decided to move on and the rest of the group stuck around and shortly after we left the bite picked up considerably. The biggest fish of the trip came out of this hole, it was a hog of a pike. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/936691_10154610942910217_1826670139798271805_n_zps 82a3c338.jpg it weighed in at just over 9 lbs but was certainly a monster for a fish of its length.
Meanwhile the rest of us had found our way down to what would be the most productive hole of the entire trip. the river was a pretty even 1-1.5 feet deep all the way across and then just as the river took a slight turn the water went from relatively light to jet black, as it dropped pretty much instantly to around ten feet of water. There was an enormous old spruce washed up on the far bank which created great cover for the fish and an excellent spot to tie up my kayak. the bottom must have been carpeted with walleye as all you had to do was bounce a jig off the bottom once or twice and you would have another feisty little walleye on the line. We caught a couple nice walleye around the 5-6 lb range but both managed to squirm out of the hands of their captors before we could get any photographic evidence. one of my buddies had been using a rather large rapala and had a nice pike on the line twice but both times it managed to spit the hook within a foot or two of his boat. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10403221_10152264858230047_5398094305969197334_n_z ps1858cec1.jpg
after about an hour the rest of the group caught up and we continued to slay the fish for another hour and a half. one of the boys even caught a sucker which was a little surprising as none of us had ever caught one out of this river. http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10665858_10154610944735217_1136270326500709024_n_z ps3f3d1c7e.jpg
After nearly three hours tied up in that hole we decided we had better get a move on. The rest of the day yielded a few more decent holes but we kept a pretty steady pace to make it to camp before it was too late. we ended up going a fair bit further downstream than they had usually camped in an effort to make a shorter paddle on the last day. We found a nice big beach with a pretty substantial log jam to provide an easy source of firewood and set up our camp.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10671283_10152264858510047_1310280082844721303_n_z ps43b926b7.jpg
After a delicious supper of fresh walleye we decided to pull out the ol' red ryders and set up a little makeshift shooting gallery.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10458654_10152264859205047_7204274023119209648_n_z psa63a4d1f.jpg
A bit of a storm blew in and most of us headed for the cover of the tents. although a couple of the gusts were so strong that my cheap Canadian tire tent basically folded right over on top of us. It was becoming quite obvious that it was a good choice to put on the extra miles today as it was looking like we were in for a bit of a miserable day on the water the next morning. the storm blew over and it continued to sprinkle for the rest of the night until about 7am the next day and we got a short break to pack up our gear, throw on all the sweaters and raingear we had and get onto the water.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f124/tygervais/10628416_10154611004100217_2661312105333467946_n_z ps4c2cce0e.jpg
We got on the water and after about a half hour it started to rain again but we knew we had a pretty short paddle. being as cold as and wet as it was we didn't do a lot of fishing but we managed to get off the river before noon, good thing too. Just as we had the last boat loaded into the trailer and closed it up it began to snow.
It was an awesome experience and I've decided I am going to have to buy one of those big rig kayaks in the spring. cant wait to do it again next year.