Made it out to fish with Marc Thorpe again this year. Scott Buczek and I fished 4 days with high, and very dirty water from flooding in upper Ottawa. The dams were opened a couple days before we arrived. Marc greeted us with a pretty gloomy outlook… The water really was a mess, but the trip was not.
On day 1, we boated a 56 within the first 10 casts of the trip. There were storms coming right at us, so after we released the fish, we sought shelter and waited out the first wave of the storm. We went back out after about 90 minutes, and within 6 casts, a 58 hit… My new PB. The next wave of the storm was on us, so we measured and released her as quickly as possible. After the storms passed, we got a 46, and a 41.5. It was a crazy day.
Day 2 was a grind with post frontal conditions, including a temp drop of 10+ degrees and high BP. But Scott boated a chunky 45 x 25 lb male. Marc is doing a tagging study, and now weighs fish when they are in good shape and conditions allow. I missed a mid to upper 40's…
Day 3 started with a 46 in the morning, then Scott popped a nice 48 around noon. We just got her back in the water, and continued casting and another 56 decided it was time to eat. She was wide and fought like hell… One of hardest pulling muskies I have caught. The rest of the day was fishless.
Day 4 was the toughest day of all due to high winds, and an insane amount of boat traffic. It was really difficult to find water that was fishable. We did manage a really nice 52 mid morning before the chaos broke loose.
We were on the water about 40 hours total, and boated 9 fish casting including; 41.5, 45, 46, 46, 48, 52, 56, 56, 58. All measured in the water in a cradle with no tail pinch.
We weighed the 52 in a cradle and she came in at 34 lbs. One of the 56's had a 23 inch girth and the other was a bit bigger ~24. The 58 was a monster and was missing the upper lobe on her tail, but the lower measured just over 58 in its natural state. We did not tape her girth, but she was pretty heavy. Marc estimates pretty close and said 24-25 inch girth and weighed in at 46-47 lbs. Who knows… She was big…
Can't wait to go back, and can't say enough good about Marc. He works really hard every day to maximize your opportunity at big fish. This was a trip of a lifetime for me, but I will be going back. The Ottawa is an AMAZING fishery, and it needs to stay that way… I would highly recommend a trip with Marc. But then you can't go back on your own. It really is the only way to do it… He knows where the big fish live. And, yes, I have drank the Cool-aide…
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Yup, it was an amazing trip! I can't wait to go back!!! You all should had seen Chad's face with a 56" and 58" in the boat with a total of less than 15-20 casts and maybe 20 minutes of actual fishing. We just hit the water on day 1 and two of the largest fish boated in N. America with just a handful of casts. It was so cool to see such rare fish! This fishery blows my mind fish like that just don't grow in LSC. If they do it's very very rare…. We had a great trip and action everyday. I was thrilled to boat some nice fish and as Chad mentioned none of the fish were measured with a tail pinch so let your mind spin on really how big these fish are…..
Marc is a fishing warrior and the guy just doesn't stop. I was impressed with what Marc has done for this fishery. His drive and dedication is light years beyond others. I really enjoyed his company and his amazing fish stories. He loves these fish and it shows daily on the water.
Chad has put a beatdown on the Ottawa again and the guy just can't lose on this system! We boated 9 fish in 4 days together and all fish were super healthy. These fish seem to fight much harder than LSC fish and even in the heavy current of the Detroit River or Channels. There just so dense and have heads built like Pittbulls. As Chad said these fish are Rail Road Ties… All fish were a team effort in 20-40mph winds and trying to net, control boat, fight fish, tag, video and release.
Just to see a 58" in person is spectacular. They just don't get much bigger than that and I couldn't beleive how they fought! A whole other class of fish compared to 50"ers. As Marc said "we boated the biggest fish in N. America today". Kinda says a lot for this fishery and Marc Thorpe. What a trip!!
Congrats to Chad on a new PB. I'm so thrilled for you and it sure was a trip built on amazing memories for life…we sure had a blast!!!
😯
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