| 2004 Dave Schabell Spanish River Fishing Trip |
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| The fourteenth annual fishing expedition to the Blue Heron Resort on the Spanish River in Ontario, Canada was conducted from Thursday, May 20th through Saturday, June 12th. Bill Hagedorn and I arrived to find Canada just awakening from a stubborn winter that was just yielding to spring. The trees were devoid of leaves, the grass was just turning green and the water temperatures had barely eclipsed the 50 degree mark. However, the fish apparently decided to get a jump on the season and we caught fish from the very first night with our largest smallmouth bass and biggest walleye coming on nights one and two despite the cold water and late spring. Bill boated a 22 inch, five pound hawg right in front of camp (unfortunately neither of us had brought out our cameras) and I picked up a "snag" on night two while trolling which turned out to be a five pound walleye just before dark on Friday night. Our first serious day trip earlier that morning had resulted in 25-30 quality smallmouth bass coming over the side of the boat from the normal hotspots that we have learned over the years....Saturday was more of the same with Bill taking a 21 inch bronzeback. Fishing slowed for the next few days with the onset of a major cold-rain-wind front and we managed only two plus-twenty fish days for the next seven days. It wouldn't then be until Bill's last day in camp, Friday, June the 4th, that we would send him out with a twenty-seven fish day. We took more care to count our catch this year and had recorded 290 fish |
| Just About As Good As It Gets! |
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| caught during the first fifteen days of the trip, and a total of over 370 for the entire trip, which is down about forty fish from the phenominal success that we enjoyed last year. The weather was cool and windy for the most part and the bugs were on a feeding frenzy during those periods when the winds would die down, but the fishing remians excellent and is FAR SUPERIOR to anything that can be experienced here in the Commonwealth or its surrounding states. Nathan Seiter, Ryan Shelton, and Kevin Menkedick arrived in camp on Saturday, June 5th with the "Big Dawg" Derrick Rhoden in tow, who I had promised a week of fishing in Canada upon his graduation from high school. For the next five days Seiter and Shelton would outfish the rest of us about 5 (or better) to 1 using a bait and tactic which will remain a secret in this report. I am a now a confirmed believer and picked up a few of the baits on the way home during a stop a Cabelas. We arrived back in the real world late on Saturday, June 12th already missing the sleep-eat-fish routine of the Blue Heron Resort and already anticipate our next journey across Highway 17 and down Kring Road to a small slice of paradise. |
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| Hawg Heaven - Bill displays a whopper 21 inch smallie and had caught a 22 incher previously BUT we left the cameras in camp. |
| Here a Bald Eagle sits perched upon a stick-up watching us drift by. We always see quite a few eagles and osprey during the early days of our trip. |
| Above is a scene that was repeated over three hundred and seventy times during our twenty-two day stay. At left, Bill works the shoreline and at right Ryan Shelton, Ryan Burt and Kevin Menkedick show off a twenty pound plus Carp they hooked.. |
| Fishing for Walleye in the Spanish River was excellent this year with all guests limiting out and catching enough for their fish frys. This is a nice walleye we picked up trolling right in front of camp |
| The size of the Canadian Black Crappie present in "No Fish Bay" amaze me. This is one of only a very few caught this year. Crappie fishing is sporadic at best |
| Nathan Seiter and Ryan Shelton are incredible fishermen and seemed to catch fish at will, while the rest of us had to really work for them. Credit their know-how to fishing tournaments on a weekly basis for their success. |
| Canada is famous for its sunsets and it seems that each night's is more spectacular than the one before it. Canada provides nature at her best, with fresh air, fresh water, fish, birds, and all sorts and varieties of wildlife. We even rescued a seagull from a turtle on this trip. |
| The Whopper with a whopper. |
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