Sportsfans… Hello from Ballard’s Black Island on Ontario’s Lake of the Woods. The cold winds of November have arrived, and it’s time to call it here on the island.
What’s new, what’s old, what’s exciting? Quite a bit by the way of island life.
To date the walleye fishing has finished with an incredible BANG. Drop it down… Get one. Drop it down… Get one. Drop it down… Get one. Got the picture. By fall fishing standards it’s been GOOD.
We’ve been fishing “the narrows”, “the channels”, and the windward island points. Surprise surprise some of the BIGGEST walleyes have been coming in the afternoon right off the south end of Ballard’s Black Island. How’s that for making a short run to the fishing hole!
When we talk fall fishing everyone always wants a crappie report. Sad to say there’s very little to report. One here and occasionally one there. Yep, they are few and far between. Why? Who knows. The bait-fish are certainly there (Obabikon / Miles) but the tastily-flashy slab crappies are not.
On the up side? The northern pike bite has been TREMENDOUS in Obabikon! Maybe that’s why the crappies are void? This is an eat or be eaten type of fishery, and right now those MONSTER pike are stacked up in the crappie holes in a fricking feeding frenzy.
The last time we were in there… The size and numbers were staggering. We anchored up in 21.5 feet of water and caught pike after pike after pike. Using a steel leader with a tube jig we cranked away on jacks for the better part of an afternoon. Quite fun!
Musky madness? Yep. The stories are true. FALL is certainly one of THE times to be at Ballard’s Black Island. You can troll ‘em or jig ‘em, and these big girls are ferocious! Submerged shelves off points are good for trolling, but you can also find them lurking deep off the points or in swifter current channel areas. Ironically (or not) last week’s group caught at least ONE musky per day while anchored and jig fishing for walleyes. How’s that for multi-specie action!
The smallmouth bass mania? (My personal fav.) Well… It has been both good and bad. And more so because of the weather. I love to get on those rock piles this time of year and jig-a-thon those big footballs… But the wind, rain, snow, etc has not been conducive for consistent reef fishing.
It seems like they JUST get going on the rocks, and then BOOM we’re hit with another major change in weather pattern. Then they get blown off for a couple days, or become extremely scattered. I would have to say the bass fishing was much more consistent in SEP versus OCT. And that’s basically weather related.
What else? Well… That’s pretty much a wrap gang. Without a doubt it’s been one heck of an open water season here at Ballard’s Black Island. So many new friends, and so many new adventures!
Thanks to all who came to visit. We certainly look forward to seeing you here again next year!
Until then… Keep in touch… And enjoy the winter… (We’ll be ice fishing at BallardsResort.com)
SET THE HOOK!
