(woolly Canadian fishing headgear). Kayak fishing above the 46th
parallel in
November was going to be different. I’d never heard of anyone running class IV whitewater and fishing the sections between the rapids in sit-on- top fishing kayaks. Nor had anyone I knew considered doing a multi-day trip with sit-on-tops. But that’s what we had to do to fish the Petawawa River, one of Canada’s classic canoe tripping routes (and a famous muskie hunting grounds). Besides, I’ve come to realize things that wives think are crazy are usually what make for a good fishing story.
•••
THE FALL IS THE TIME to hunt muskie. As the lakes and rivers around the Great Lakes cool, the muskies’ internal alarm goes off and they move from their deep summer hangouts to shallow waters where they start chowing down on whatever they can find in order to store reserves for the long, cold winter ahead. As the water cools and the leaves change colour during the latter part of September and early October the muskie lurk in one to two feet of water amid the lily pads and rushes, along- side logs and stumps. Research indi- cates that 4 to10 degrees is the optimum water temperature (for the feeding muskie, not sit-on-top kayak fisher- men).
Dangling your toes over the edge of your kayak looks very appealing in photographs but doing so in muskie territory is not only chilly, but can be risky.
Muskie are known to grow to almost 70 pounds and up to five feet long and sometimes eat mice, ducklings and muskrats; they’ve been known to order take-out that’s up to 45 per cent of their own length and sometimes die trying— muskie have been found dead with their last meal lodged down their throats. A true case of one’s eyes being bigger than his stomach.
TACKLE TALK AT THE LAST STOP HEADING INTO ALGONQUIN PARK, ONTARIO, CANADA.
ADVENTUREkayakmag.com 25
Dan Droessler was dangling a leg over his canoe in Iowa County, Wisconsin, when a 36- inch muskie decided it looked pretty tasty. When he yanked his foot out of the water the muskie let go and fell into Dan’s canoe. According to Randy Rosslin, a local park war- den, Droessler and the fish both went to the emergency room where he (not the fish)
received 60 stitches. Rosslin took possession of the muskie, explaining, “It’s not a legal size for one thing, and it’s not a legal way to catch fish—with your foot.” Droessler wasn’t charged for illegal fishing but failed to see any humour in the ordeal. “I don’t think it’s funny at all,” he later told the Wisconsin State Journal.
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