“ Hey Frenchy what cooking, are you ready.” “Sure am.” Meet me at the docks in a half hour.”
It was a great June day. 24 Celsius a lite breeze from the south east and a clear ,blue sky. About 45 minutes later I show up. Nothing cranks me more then being late, especially for fishing. We quickly haul the gear to the boat and we are off . We head down the river towards the first bend. By the time we get there the wind has picked up and the first bend is choppy , which isn’t all bad, but living right in Nipawin I have been spoiled. I cut back into the channel and head towards Staffen’s cabin. . We round the corner at the Grassy Island and the water calms out. I cut the motor jump up front, drop the trolling motor and we are fishing walleye. We had not drifted more then 15 minutes and I see Frenchy feeding already. He sets the hook and before long the first fish of the day is in the boat.
If you fish the river at Nipawin you probably are familiar with names such as “ The White Rock” , “Eagles Nest” , “Long Drift” . If None of these names make sense in upcoming blogs I will try to tell about them and explain the river. We were fishing Staffen’s cabin and the long drift , which by the way has my favorite walleye hole on the river, The Babbling Brook.
By the time we had drifted almost to the end of the drift we had caught 4 walleye each . We had caught a 54 cm. Walleye and a few smaller ones , but for only going less then 3/4 mile it was a good start. There were lots of boats on this drift and all were catching. We were lindy rigging live leaches. This consists of a walking weight above a swivel. To the swivel is attached a lindy rig . My self I like to use about 7 to 10 foot rig with a #6 hook snelled to the end.
I had left my cursed phone back in my truck so we headed back in to pick it up. This may be one of the greatest advantages to living in Nipawin. The fact that some of the best fishing is only 3 miles from the docks. Once again we returned to the beloved long drift again. It wasn’t long before Frenchy had ripped into another walleye and from the bend in his rod it is a pretty good fish. You can tell it is good when you go to set the hook and there is no movement from the depths. That fish just lays there as your rod bend deep in that arc you want to see. The battle is on. Frenchy reels in some line, the fish hauls back and makes his reel squeal as the gears are trying to slow the retreat of the fish . Frenchy pumps and reels. The fish runs and shakes his head in disdain against the resistance it feels. We see the shadow appear from the murky depths only to watch as it disappears back to the safety of the bottom. This fight continue until the walleye comes to surface and we put her in the net. Good start to the walleye season. He has won the battle this time. In the net is a shimmering gold walleye that measures 68 cm. in length and is built like a football. If this is any indication to what the walleye season is going to be like all I can say is “ WHAAAAA WHOOOOO.” I can’t contain myself I have to phone Jim.
“Hello”
“Jim , you’re missing out
“Is it good” Jim comes back
“It’s great, oops got to go I am into another one” and I hang up.
About 15 minutes later my phones ringing.
“ I am at the dock pick me up”
We pick up the lines and head into the docks to pick Jim. We are off, heading back to our little peace of heaven. Again we don’t drift far and Jim is into one, then French. Then me and on and on it goes. This scenario is played out may times thought the evening. Feed , take up the slack , fight remove the hook and release the fish back into his home in the depths of one of the best fisheries in Saskatchewan. We that live in Nipawin are truly blessed with one of the best walleye waters around. Of course I am a wee bit bias. But what would you call it if you lived where you can go out and catch 100 walleye in a day of fishing. Most will be smaller ones but there is the possibility of catching that walleye of a life and 10 pounders are not uncommon.
I myself have caught a 14.5 lb walleye had the opportunity of netting a 16 lb for Jim. Netting a 10 pounder for my son Buck when he was only 8 years old. That may of been my prouder moment fishing. That may be another story some time.
If Ray , Brenda and Jim let me I will continue writing about or paradise on the river. I will try to give people an idea of the equipment use on the river . I will try to paint a picture in words for you of the beautiful shore lines ,the shimmering walleye as the come from the depths to make your heart skip a beat. As much as I can write will never come close to bring that to you. The only way to get the true meaning of paradise is to put your bum in the seat of a boat and go see for your self. The good people of Vanity Ventures , Brenda Ray and Jim would love to be part of your experience of this wonderful peace of heaven. You could not do better then to book with them and get the full experience of FISH THE RIVER AT NIPAWIN”.
