Fish the Abyss: an Angling Up North Blog

  Ontario Angling Hitlist: Chapter 4- Muskie Madness The muskellunge is the world's largest species of pike(Esox). For anyone that knows me, they know how muskie-obsessed I am; I am very biased in my enthusiasm towards this species. Muskies ignited my passion for stalking big fish species; this species has a dedicated die-hard group of passionate anglers. Known as 'the fish of 10, 000 casts' the muskie is a difficult species to catch. It is unique due to its propensity to follow lures to the side of the boat offering anglers heart-stopping moments of pure adrenaline and excitement as this monster Esox materializes out of nowhere. The difficulty of their pursuits, the size of the fish, their athletic jumps, and their stalking behaviours cement muskies as one of the most hard-core fish species in Canada. Muskie fishermen typically fit into one of the two camps: they are either team casting, or team trolling with some also running live bait like suckers every fall. There's...

  Ontario Angling Hitlist: Chapter 3- Reptilian Rampage A green coloured, air breathing, scale covered, reptilian, swamp dwelling, primordial, aquatic predator; you'd be forgiven if you believed I was referring to some sort of crocodilian, but I am referring to the little-known (amongst most anglers) bowfin. If muskies are the fish of 10,000 casts, then the bowfin are the fish of 10,000 names. Bowfin, dogfish, swamp trout, swamp muskie, swampfish, and grindle are common monikers for the bowfin; however, in my humble opinion, 'trash fish' should never be associated with this species, they deserve better than that. Bowfin have existed since the Jurassic period; they have been swimming largely unchanged for millions of years. Their closest living relative in Ontario waters is the longnose gar. They range from the cold clear waters of the Lake Huron watershed in Northeast Ontario to the swampy black waters of Florida! Bowfins have an eyespot on their tale, thought to be a false...

 Ontario Angling Hitlist: Chapter 2  Precariously Perch(ed) By: Logan E Read Time: When I started my Ontario multi-species challenge I was excited at the prospect of re-visiting some old angling rivals, as well as chasing new-to-me species; one area that I was lacking enthusiasm was the pursuit of small species that require finesse presentations, but my first micro-pursuit proved me wrong in many ways- yellow perch provided me with an ice fishing experience that rivaled some of my best days on the water pursuing large predatory species.  The yellow perch is the underdog of the ecosystem in many ways, it is a keystone species in a majority of Canadian Shield lakes providing forage for larger piscivorous predators. Northern pike, walleye, lake trout, muskie, bowfin, channel catfish, gar and walleye will regularly consume yellow perch. The perch is a member of the same family as the walleye and sauger and shares the same defense mechanism as their cousins in the form of a sp...