Show: Trolling St. Lawrence River Muskies
Destination: St. Lawrence River, Quebec
Anglers: Tex Maina, Marc Thorpe and Pete Maina
Season: Summer
Contact: Marc Thorpe (guiding & lodging), 450-433-4784; www.marcthorpeguiding.com

Marc Thorpe offers a very unique guide service in an exceptional place for those folks interested in a great shot at a trophy muskie. Marc guides in Quebec in the Montreal area, mainly on the many miles of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. While these are huge waters on which it can be very tough to locate fish, Thorpe’s decades of time on the water allow him to know the best areas on certain sections of river during the different seasons. Although nothing in fishing – and certainly muskie fishing – is a guarantee, the exceptional fisheries there (which are arguably the best for ultimate growth on the continent) offer a unique opportunity for a personal trophy to be released. I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced some exceptional fishing with Marc. I’m also fortunate enough to have a great father, who got me into fishing and hunting – who still fishes and hunts with me. (Many of you see have seen "Tex" on TNB television shows.) Tex was looking forward to a chance to tangle with some St. Lawrence muskies … he even offered a few “tips”.

PATTERN:
We were there during the summer period, in early August. As would be expected, weed growth had peaked by now. Summer is a great time time for muskie fishing, and actually, overall, my favorite. The simple reason is that with the warmer water and associated higher metabolisms. While it’s still muskie fishing and long hours can be spent between sightings, and “skunked” days can be experienced, the fish move quick – chase baits and at high speeds … more jumping/thrashing than any other time of year.

Much of the patterning involves location though, as during the summer months fish can be pretty spread out (and especially-so in river systems) – from very shallow zones – to right in the river channels. While we had some (limited) success (mainly follows) casting weeds and weed edges, we realized … by trying a bunch of different things … that we were actually getting more strikes by speed trolling crankbaits both adjacent to weed edges as well as on river channel edges. Time put in revealed a few areas where muskies were hanging.

Then it seemed to be a matter of messing around with lure types and colors – to hopefully fine-tune. In the end, what had worked best for us was jointed crank trolled fast at nearly 6 mph. Depending on light conditions and water color, the preferred colors switched around a bit, but perch and chartruese scored for us. A great time – and some beautiful fish were caught. And my dad Tex – took “fishing fashion” to a whole new level – as well as offering some very timely tips for anglers.

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