Fishing with chick peas as carp bait

 After last fall's success using chick peas as bait for carp fishing, I decided to dedicate most of my carp fishing this season to sticking with chick peas, for pre-baiting, chumming, and hook bait. I was quite hopeful, as in the previous season, I managed to avoid any other "nuisance" species, such as tench, suckers, and catfish. 

Knowing that my first spot for the season typically starts producing carp once the water temps nears 55F, I planned my first pre-baiting campaign, chumming chick peas for 3 days in a row, before finally fishing it on the 4th evening. I invite my friend Warren and his kids out for the outing, and sure enough, they managed to land a carp within less than 10 minutes. Nothing big, maybe in the 12-13 lbs range, but it had them fired up for a bit, until the bite died down and they started getting cold, which spelled the end of their outing.

The rest of my spring carp fishing was a complete shock. Despite a few heavy pre-baiting campaigns using only flavored chick peas, I managed to get skunked 3 outing in a row during what should have been peak carping conditions during pre-spawn.

After a few weeklong trips up North to start the summer the summer, I finally got back to carping late in July. I managed 4 outings within 9 days, all with more heavy pre baiting. Again, I was surprised by the meager results, with 2 outings producing only 1 carp each, and getting skunked on the other 2 outings. At least Audrey and Zev managed their first carps of the season.

At this point, I decided to give up on that fishing spot, and started pre-baiting chick peas in another area. Sure enough, the first outing worked out well, with Zev landing 2 more decent carp.

Feeling confident that I was onto a good bite, I kept chumming the spot. I invited Eli and Audrey out for the next 2 outings at that spot, and again, we got skunked both times. This was getting a bit frustrating, but being my stubborn self, I decided to switch it up again and heavily bait a 3rd area with chick peas, before attempting to fish it with Eli and Audrey. Again, another fail, with us getting skunked yet again.

At this point, I was thinking my last year's success may have been a fluke, possibly just having hit some good timing. I gave carping a break until the fall, focusing on enjoying what was left of the summer, chasing bass and pike from my float tube.

As fall rolled in, we were still enjoying slightly warmer than normal weather. Having a few KG of dry chickpeas, as well as left over range cubes and boilies, I decided I'd try chumming a combination of all 3 baits. After a couple days of prebaiting my carp spot with all of the above, I took along Zev, Eli and Audrey, for an afternoon/evening outing.

Bite was one, we landed 2 nice carp, with Audrey catching her new PB at 28 lbs.

Hoping to build on the streak, I returned with Eli the following evening, only to get skunked again.

After a couple weeks enjoying the Jewish holidays at home with the family, I was itching to give the spot one more shot in cooling water. Historically, I've landed a good percentage of trophy fish at this spot in October, and I knew I had just enough bait left for a couple more pre-baiting campaigns. Again, I went with chick peas, range cubes and boilies, chumming my fishing spot 3 consecutive days before fishing it for a few hours. I timed my outing to coincide the the peak of a mid October heat wave.

For the first time in a while, I went solo, which meant that I had a shot at landing my first carp of the season, being that I'm usually guiding the kids. Sure enough, I got hit within less than 10 minutes, and landed a fat 30 lbs carp. Unfortunately, the passerby that offered to take a picture though they were doing so, but after I released the carp, I realized the pictures had never been snapped. Oh well.

Luckily, I managed 2 more carp within the next 40 minutes, 19 and 25 lbs. This time, I made sure the pics we on my camera before releasing the carp.

Bite died down for a while, and eventually, I had to leave to run some errands. Just as I stared packing up my gear, my rod went off, and within minutes, I landed another 30 lbs carp! 

Gotta love those fairy tail endings whenever they happen. As well, I didn't feel as bad about missing the pictures of the first 30 of the outing.

Being down to my last bits of bait, I return the following week, considerably colder temps in the single digits. Water had cooled by a few degrees, and I didn't manage any bites after a couple days of pre-baiting mainly chickpeas.

At this point, I'm done prebaiting spots for carp for the season. Chickpeas will definitely be part of my next years chumming plans, though I'm likely going to mix in range cubes, and probably boilies as well. 

Walleye, bass and pike in Montreal

Finally got out with my friend Mark, who runs  Advanced Bassin plus fishing guide service. Figured it would be a nice way to end my summer fishing season, and I decided to bring my son Zev along for the action.

After a short boat ride from the launch, we hit Mark's first spot for walleye. Sure enough, Zev had his first walleye of trip onboard within a few minutes.

After a couple more drifts, Zev hooked in to a much better fish. With some expert coaching from Mark, Zev landed his new PB. This 28 inch beauty was in the 7 lbs range, so we set her free in good shape after a few quick pics.

Over the next hour or so, we landed some more keeper sized walleyes and a small bass.

On the final drift of that spot, Zev hooked into another nice fish, this time it was a solid pike in the 30 inch range.

We then switched spots, in order to target smallmouth bass. Using a super slow drop shot presentation, the three of us each landed some decent bass, and missed a few more.

Nice football shaped fish!

After a while, head headed back to attempt drift fishing for walleye and bass, but the wind had picked up, and was no gusting in the 30 km/h range. All we managed, was a small perch I landed just before calling it a day.

All in all, another great day on the water with Mark, who did a spectacular job coaching Zev all day, as it was his first real experience focusing on the drop shot technique he learned.

Mark still has many available dates this fall, which also happens to be prime time for bigger fish, as they start feeding heavily before the winter.

Contact Mark abut an outing today, at https://freshwaterphil.com/contactmark.cfm 

Fishing trophy walleye at Le Domaine Shannon

After a very successful fishing trip to Le Domaine Shannon A couple weeks ago, I headed back for another week of walleye and pike fishing on Lac Wahoo. This time, my good friend Jimmy came along, after I had briefed him on the outstanding quality of walleye fishing my son Eli and I had enjoyed on our trip (see: https://www.montreal-fishing.com/2025/07/best-walleye-fishing-at-le-domaine.html ).

Day 1:

We drove through the night to get to out cabin on Lac Wahoo bright and early. After breaking camp and getting the boat setup up with our add on electric motor, sonar, rod holders, and other accessories, we launched early in the day. Plan of action to start was a mix of trolling, and stopping to cast jerkbaits at spots where Eli and has success finding walleye. Fishing started off quite slow, but eventually, we managed to find a couple pods of walleye while casting, landing a few each, with a couple in the lower end of the allowable slot size.

Eventually, we trolled by a spot where I've run into better sized pike and walleye. Sure enough, on our first pass, my rod got hit, and I landed my first decent pike of the trip.

We turned around to try another pass, and I landed another one in the same size class. 

Not much else to report that day, other than my first ever perch on Lac Wahoo, was actually smaller than my lure.

Day 2:

After a very cold and windy night, we woke up to high winds and frigid temperatures, down to the single digits. Wearing thermal underwear and 2 hoodies, I managed to stay warm enough to fish all day. Most of the day was spent trolling due to the high winds, and fishing was slow. I manage a couple pike and smaller walleye, as did Jimmy. Eventually, we headed out for some evening casting, where we found a couple better fish,

I started off with a decent walleye:

Jimmy followed up with a pike:

That pretty much ended the day for us.

Day 3: 

With calm winds and sunny skies, we spent the morning casting and trolling, with only one tiny pike that I landed. By mid afternoon, the temperature had warmed up enough for me to head out in a t shirt for the first time all trip. Jimmy suggested casting a new spot, where we hadn't tried using jerkbats up until that point. Sure enough, there was a pod of walleyes waiting for us, and we landed 4 nice ones within a short 20 minute span.

Check out the blue dorsal fins on these walleyes:

We knew we had secured enough for more tasty walleye dinners, as usual, I took care of cleaning and cooking our catch.

After the bite at the spot died down, we did a lot more casting at a few spots we planned around the lake. Towards evening, our last spot paid off with a few more walleye, including my biggest of the trip, in the 4 lbs range.

A few casts later, another good hit, and I landed my biggest pike of the trip after a good battle.

After a few more keeper sized walleyes landed, we called it a day shortly before sunset.

Day 4:

Another cold night and early start had us out in hoodies again. We started off at the spot where we had success the previous afternoon, and sure enough, the first 4 cats, landed us 4 more walleyes.

When they stopped biting there, we headed off to cast another spot, out of the howling winds. Within minutes, Jimmy hooked into another seemingly decent fish. As is swam past me in the boat, I was the first to spot one of the biggest walleyes I've ever seen. My first reaction was to yell out "Huge Quinty walleye", referring to the giant sized walleyes that the Bay of Quinte in Ontario is famous for. I netted the trophy walleye for Jimmy, and both of us were in awe.

This was a very old walleye, likely over 25 years old. A huge head, but emaciated body with some strange looking growths, it measured 31 inches, but weighed only 8 lbs. 

My son Eli, actually had the lake record for walleye at 30 inches and 9 lbs. which he caught a few years ago. So Jimmy's fish is now the longest walleye known to be caught on that lake, Eli's is still the heaviest. I'm just happy I was there for both catches. I made sure to get her back in the lake in good shape after a couple minutes in the new cradle.

The day continued with a lot more walleyes landed, a good dozen or so between both of us. At some point, we noticed a couple eagles flying overhead, that were pecking at each other. We eventually found them perched in a couple trees, very noticeable with their big white heads as we trolled by.

One eventually flew off, and we spotted the other one a bit alter on.

Shot some footage, which I'll post later.

Day 5:

Only half a day planned to fish, as Jimmy had to leave earlier than planned. After casting a few spots without much success, we finally found a few more walleyes, not far for where we had seen the eagles the previous evening,

Shortly after noon, we decided to troll back to the cabin, and call it a trip. With my luck, my rod got hit again with less than 5 minutes left in the trip, and I landed another nice pike.

Perfect end to another perfect fishing trip. The cold weather kept most of the biting bugs away, and cool nights made for much better sleeping condition. While the pike were tough, I managed to catch a few nice ones, and as with last trip, the casting bite for walleyes was completely off the charts. Jimmy's new record trophy sized walleye was definitely the highlight of the trip. I'm glad my friend Jimmy came along, and that we got time to spend doing what we enjoy most. There aren't many people I'd rather fish with, and Jimmy's one of the few dedicated anglers that will put in the hours and work required to catch fish, no matter what the conditions.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Serge and all the crew at Le Domaine Shannon, for running a top notch outfitter operation. Though the lake I fished at (Lac Wahoo) is very remote, perfectly functioning appliances and motors are essential  to us being able to pull off these trips. 

Contact them about your next walleye trip by clicking: https://freshwaterphil.com/ledomaineshannon.cfm

Best walleye fishing at Le Domaine Shannon

Finally made it back to Le Domaine Shannon for the first of 2 scheduled trips to Lac Wahoo this July. For this trip, I took my son Eli along. He'd been dreaming of coming back there since his last trip to Lac Wahoo with me in 2022. 

Having previously fished Lac Wahoo during 11 trips there since 2012, I figured that I've spent enough time to know what to expect on a 5 day July fishing trip there. Namely, lots of smaller pike, maybe a few eating sized ones, along with a shot at one or two big pike in the 35 to 40 inch range. Possibly a few walleye caught trolling on a cloudy or rainy day too.

I couldn't have been more wrong....

Day 1:

With heavy rain in the forecast for the entire day, we didn't bother driving through the night as we normally would. We arrived at the cabin around 1:30 PM after check in at the main camp. Unloaded the car, set up the gear, but held off launching in the rain. Instead, we chose to put on our rain suits and bugproof gear to do some shore fishing, hoping to possibly hook into some walleye or pike. Our short outing didn't work out as planned, but we did land a few fallfish. First time Eli's ever caught one.

By 4 pm, the rain let up a bit, so we got the boat setup with our sonar, rod holders, landing net, and new cradle for releasing bigger fish, which I was hoping to break in on this trip. As usual, my plan was to troll 2 rods, letting Eli fight any hooked fish, while I controlled the boat and landing gear if needed.

The troll started off as planned, using 2 Rapala Husky Jerks, #12 and #14 sizes. Eli landed a small pike within the first 5 to 10 minutes. Didn't bother with a picture. After another hour or so without any hits, we hooked into a bigger fish, and given the fact that it was still raining, we weren't too surprised that it was a walleye. However, it was much bigger than the average walleye for LacWahoo. A 22.5 inches, it was over the allowable slot size.

Shortly after, we landed another smaller walleye, and then, nothing else until we called it a day around 8 pm. The rain had finally stopped, and with the setting sun peaking though the clouds, we enjoyed a nice bonfire bbq dinner with a unique view of the lake.

Day 2:

We woke up to a cold, windy day, with heavy cloud cover. We got a later start after morning prayers and breakfast. I was wearing  2 sweaters, while Eli wore 3 to keep warm. After trolling unsuccessfully for a while, we decided to cast on of my hot spots for pike. Eli landed 3 pike within a few minutes, with our first keeper sized fish of the trip.

We decided to cast another area with the husky jerks, and caught a decent mix of walleye and smaller pike. 

After a few drifts and enough walleye for a big dinner, we motored back up the spot for another pass. I suggested Eli leaving his line in the water close to the boat, sort of how one would troll a "prop wash" line for muskies. Sure enough, just as I stopped the boat, Eli got hit by another long pike.

After the casting bite slowed down, we headed back for lunch. That afternoon, we tried trolling different lures. At some point, the spinner we trolled on one of the rods caused too much line twist, so Eli was handling that rod while trolling the bare line to remove correct it. We got up a bit shallow, so I lifted the other rod, which was trolling a red and white spoon. Sure enough, I got a nice hit while holding the rod, so I decided to fight the fish myself. It ended up being my biggest pike of the trip, in the 31-32 inch range.

I was happy enough, and got to try using our new release cradle for the first time as an added bonus.

The day ended with us catching 10 pike and 5 walleye.

Day 3:

We finally woke up to sunny skies and a flat mirror like lake with no wind. Perfect condition to head out and cast some topwater lures for the morning bite for pike. Or so we thought...

No matter what we tried to cast or troll, the pike weren't cooperating with our plans. Heading back to where we caught some walleye the previous day, Eli landed another keeper sized fish.

After lunch, we decided to do some more shore fishing before heading out on the boat again. Eli managed another keeper sized walleye.

After some more very slow trolling action, We planned on more casting. None of the spots we normally fish were producing, and eventually, I went into a small bay, where I've never managed to hook anything. Sure enough, Eli hooked into another keeper sized walleye.

Working the shoreline out to the main section of the lake from that bay, Eli and I started catching walleye after walleye, a mix of keepers and undersized fish. We ended the day with a total of 2 pike, and a whopping 16 walleyes. Way better than we've ever managed on Lac Wahoo. We enjoyed another nice sunset on the back end of the lake before calling it a day.

Black flies tend to be horrendous at that time. Leaving no skin exposed keeps them from biting, so appropriate clothing, gloves, and bug nets are in order.

Day 4:

Another gorgeous morning, we got started bright and early. Despite the seemingly perfect conditions, we spent the first half of the day with not a fish in sight no matter what we tried. Very odd for what we are used to when fishing there. We knew that the fish were bound to start feeding at some point, and after a late lunch, we headed out for the afternoon session just as the clouds started rolling and and the wind picking up. We started off trolling, and sure enough, we got with within a few minutes. Eli landed his biggest pike of the trip, another cradle worthy fish.

We kept trolling, and eventually came up to an area with a shallow hump. as we both lifted the rods to avoid snagging bottom, I git hit by a nice walleye.

Having had some decent walleye casting around that hump during previous trips, we made a few casting passes, and landed a few more.

We eventually got hungry enough to leave the good bite, and Eli setup lunch while I cleaned the catch.

After lunch we headed back to the spot. I landed another walleye, before heavy rain chased us off the lake. Went back again after the rain, managed one more walleye before we again due to lightning.

We ended the day with 4 pike and 6 walleye. 

Day 5:

Our final day of fishing for this trip started off with sunny skies and no wind. Again, another slow start until the wind picked up. We timed it perfectly, ending up at our walleye hot spot. Sure enough, Eli managed another over slot size walleye at 23 inches.

Caught a few small pjke while trolling when the casting bite slowed down, then got chased off the lake again by heavy thunderstorms. Thankfully, they only last about an hour or so, and when the skies cleared, we got onto some more great walleye fishing casting the husky jerks.

Eli led the way, catching the majority of them, and all were caught at spot that I've never seen walleye at in all my years fishing there.

This fish had been attacked by something much bigger, most likely a large pike.

With about 1 hour left to the trip, we tried casting a weedbed where Eli had caught a smaller pike earlier in the day. Eli hooked into another big walleye right at the boat, and ended up landing the biggest walleye of the trip.

At 25 inches, and probably pushing the 6 lbs mark due to it's girth, it was by far the largest one of the trip. Another nice cradle release.

Perfect end to a perfect trip, if we hadn't kept catching more walleye until past sunset. 4 pike and 9 walleye landed on our final day.

All in all, I couldn't have dreamt of a bigger surprise. On a lake where we normally catch about 20 pike for every walleye, we manage to landed a total of 34 walleyes to only 21 pike, with most of them in the allowable keeper slot size, with 3 bigger ones too. The only missing fish to this trip was one of the big pike that keep us dreaming of going back there every summer, but we were more than happy with our new found walleye success at Le Domaine Shannon, on a lake that isn't one of their "walleye lakes".

We ate walleye dinners for 4 consecutive nights, and brought home a bag limit of them, in addition to a few pike we kept as well.

While Eli was sad to leave, I'm scheduled to return there in a week's time with my friend Jimmy. Hoping to have some more good fishing to report when I get back.