OK I guess I could be classed as lazy… no blog for so long… hey, winter’s a depressing time for an open water angler!
We just got back from the Detroit River shooting an episode (Mike & I) with Sean Patterson, a Durham police officer that has lived part of his life in Windsor. We met him at a kids fishing event last year. Angelo and Sean hit it off quickly and before we knew it, a shoot was set up.

The Detroit is a very odd fishery. Dead in front of Windsor is some of the best Walleye water in the country and right across is the amazing city of Detroit. There is a big misconception that Detroit is a hell-hole, eye sore that no one needs to care about however when you look across from Windsor, it’s one of the most beautiful cityscapes I’ve ever seen!
Now comes the twist though, at either end of these great cities (both sides of the river) is an industrial oasis that would make any heavy-metal band want to produce their next rock video there. This… is a very unusual locale for Canada’s favourite eating fish, the Walleye. Normally this great fish is associated with pine trees and rock shores having very little boat traffic. On the Detroit, 200 yard long ships, coast guard vessels and a wide array of smaller boats are the norm.

As for the Walleye fishing, although we hit it only mediocre, it can be phenomenal. Our biggest fish would have went between 6 & 7 pounds. The biggest killer for us was the weather; hot and sunny one day, cold and windy the next with coffee colored water (with a bit of milk of course).
Sean has had many 100+ fish days with his largest fish being a male over 11 and a female which I believe he said was over 12 or 13!!! Those are big fish in any water.

A couple of weeks ago we travelled to BC for a double trouble trip looking for Bass and Sturgeon. We hooked up with Justin Rempel and Vic Carro in search of our quarry. Again weather affected us but this time even worse. With Bass in the spring, everything has to be perfect for both the fishing and shooting a show. A huge front blew through and we were essentially at mother nature’s mercy. We did however find some great fishing areas like Hatzic Lake and Mill Lake, as well as Justin showing us a phenomenal little area that we will definitely be back to hit at a later date.
Getting a Princecraft/Merc set up for Bass fishing in such a “trout” oriented area is nothing short of nuts, but with the help of Wayne at Cascade Marine, he had us in the perfect BC Bass rig; a beauty 165 with 4 stroke 50 Merc and a trolling motor… all we needed to search out this unfamiliar to BC species.

As for the Sturgeon, Mike and Ezio Sbrizzi from Coleman Canada took the stage and got their strings pulled but again weather had dirtied up the river so bad that even these bottom feeders were put off. Vic from STS Guiding did a great job as usual by putting the boys on to fish in such bad conditions. It was great to see a guy like Ezio tangle with a fish that essentially “fights back” so-to-speak. In average Canadian fishing situations we fight a fish with angler dominance, however when you battle a 4 foot+ river dweller, the fish usually sets the stage for the battle. Ezio’s first fish took him totally by surprise by ripping out drag and making some great head shakes and death rolls!
We stayed at the luxurious Above and Beyond and were again 100% pleased with this outstanding facility. Their name truly epitomizes both the “house” as well as their hospitality. Thanks D.
Thanks to BC Tourism, Allison Jack & Kevin Poole of the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce, STS Guiding, Above and Beyond, Justin Rempel & Cascade Marine (Chilliwack)

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