Here’s a quick synopsis of our just finished field production from spring to fall of 2024 of Fish’n Canada shows to be aired in 2025. More detailed articles will come out as the episodes air.
NORDIC POINT LODGE, PERRAULT LAKE, NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
The first shoot of the season was at Nordic Point Lodge in northwestern Ontario, situated on Perrault Lake.
This was a fun shoot with pretty much a “full team”, along with some special guests.
Ang, Pete, Steve, Dean, and Vova (camera op) made up our side of the story and we were joined by TD “Bank Boys” Scott, Brian, Andrew, and their good bud Mike. These guys bid a hefty buck at the Eric Lindros Celebrity Hockey Classic in order to secure an awesome trip to Nordic Point and be featured again (they won a Muskoka trip last year), on an FNC episode. We ultimately shot two shows here.
The first one was Ang and Pete hitting the always productive Perrault Lake for Walleye and Smallies, and then hauling their Princecraft to a nearby, small, drive-to lake to taste one of many “extra” opportunities in this amazing part of the world. The highlight of the episode (in our opinion) was a blundering yet honest mistake of forgetting the fishing net at home… and then having a borrowed net secretly taken away from them during a dark northern Ontario night. It’s pretty much mayhem, but what Ang and Pete did to recover… UNHEARD OF!!!!
Angelo Viola with a stellar NW Ontario Walleye
Our second episode featured the aforementioned TD group that were guided by Dean Taylor and Steve Niedzwiecki. Deano and Stevie did a great job putting the guys onto fish and, for their reward, got to do a two-man fly-in to a small nearby lake… in which one of our lads boated a BEAUTY of a Walleye. Great episode
Dean Taylor hoists a “high 20’s” fly-out Walleye.
LUMBERJACK LODGE, STURGEON LAKE, NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Trip number three took us to Lumberjack Lodge on Sturgeon Lake, again in northwestern Ontario. We state in this episode that there are many bodies of water with “Sturgeon” in their names, however, this one has a special story. Ang and Pete heard through the grapevine that the Walleye population there was in dire straits until an unbelievable rehab program took place. This they had to sample.
Walleye weren’t the only suckers to be caught on this shoot!
Along with a great bunch of Walleye, they also discovered an amazing bunch of Smallmouth Bass and the odd Pike mixed in. They also discovered a new multi-species pattern that you won’t want to miss!
BRABANT LODGE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The next trip in line was an exotic one, and one we’ve been waiting for a long time to happen, Brabant Lodge in the Northwest Territories.
Northern Pike were the quarry here, and Ang and Pete were the ones participating.
The lodge is situated on the Mackenzie River which joins Great Slave Lake with the Beaufort Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean. Yep, that’s a long way north, eh???
Big Northern Pike start to venture from Great Slave and make their way to select spawning grounds at the mouth of and into the Mackenzie.
This is one of many Northern Pike that Pete Bowman (and Ang) boated on this trip
Armed with large suspending jerkbaits and twitch baits (from Yo-Zuri) our guys had the trip of a lifetime, boating Pike after Pike… and they just kept getting bigger. As well, there were lots of Walleye along the way and even a unique capture of the elusive “She Fish”… an Inconnu. Such a great episode!
Dean Taylor with a rare Inconnu caught on the fly!
CHAUDIERE LODGE, FRENCH RIVER, ONTARIO
Location five had Pete and Steve returning to the now-famous Chaudiere Lodge on the upper French River. This was Steve’s first visit since selling the lodge. He’s now a visitor and not an owner… and it gave him a whole different mindset. Now he could just go out, fish, and come back to a delicious supper and some fantastic accommodations and staff.
Pete Bowman holds up his favourite of all freshwater species from this episode, a nice Largemouth Bass
They started by hitting the massive Lake Nipissing (accessible from the river) for Smallmouth but quickly decided that, due to oncoming bad weather, and some crazy “incidental” catches, they needed the protection of the river. A quick species change to Largemouth was all it took and the boys were in their second Happy Place!
LOON LODGE, LAKE TEMAGAMI, ONTARIO
Trip six of the year took Ang and Pete to Loon Lodge on Lake Temagami. The last time they fished here (many years ago) they targeted Smallmouth Bass. This trip was all about Lake Trout.
In speaking with lodge owner and fishing guide Adam Pugh of Adam’s Outfitting, our guys set up a milk run of different deep water structures to concentrate on.
Angelo Viola hefts a beast of a Laker while Pete Bowman approves
With contours and deep humps in their minds, and Garmin’s Livescope in the water, Ang and Pete went on to put together one of the best Laker episodes of our entire time… and to boot, the location is only about 5 hours from Toronto and the GTA!
LAKE OBABIKA LODGE, ONTARIO
Number seven of the season was Lake Obabika Lodge which incidentally, is very close in location to Lake Temagami. On this adventure, Dean, Steve, and Pete were put to work. Pete’s job, however, was quite different from his normal duties. He was there to oversee Dean and Steve as they were about to embark on two new journeys… hosting FNC episodes individually. Dean on Lake Trout and Steve on Smallmouth Bass.
Steve Niedzwiecki holds up a great Lake Obabika Smallmouth Bass he caught on this multi-patterned shoot
Steve started things out by systematically dissecting Lake Obabika into three awesome little patterns. The first being boulder piles off shore in the shallow portion of the lake. The second being an expansive sand flat and point, and, third, the deep open water that people often miss. All three patterns worked to a “T”. As for Steve… great job!
The Lake Obabika Lake Trout population has rebounded in a big way in recent years and Dean Taylor holds the proof
For Dean’s portion of the show, he hit the depths of the upper section of Obabika. His deal was finding fish on LiveScope, and dropping down or making short casts to fish near the boat. With some specific bait alterations, he dropped a Yo-Zuri Rattlebait (Lipless Crankbait) directly into the wheelhouses of these hungry lakers and had a heyday in the process. He too did an amazing job on his first solo mission in front of the camera.
The Yo-Zuri One Knock rattle bait with some deep-water modifications
ST. JOHN RIVER, FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK
Our next most excellent adventure took us all the way to Fredericton in the province of New Brunswick. Here, again, we had almost the entire team up to bat.
We decided on a multi-species shoot here in order to highlight the amazing diversity of the St John River.
Up first was Nik who had the honor of fishing for Shortnose and/or Atlantic Sturgeon (whichever would bite). We say honor because none of us (at least that we remember) has ever fished for or caught one of these eastern dinosaurs. With the assistance of Pierre-Oliver Blais from Clutch Angling, Nik did awesome in boating two Shortnose Sturgeon… an amazing first for The Fish’n Canada Show!
The ever-so-cool Shovelnose Sturgeon held by the ONLY FNC host to ever put one on camera, Nikki V
Next up was Pete on Smallmouth Bass. This was probably the easiest assignment of the trip in that the St John is stacked with Smallies. In typical Pete (& Ang) fashion though, he wanted quality and not quantity. Through hitting a series of weed-surrounded rock piles with Yo-Zuri crankbaits and jerkbaits, as well as a backup Ned Rig, he had a fun, fish-filled day.
Pete Bowman released a St John River Smallie that he picked off using the latest in fishing electronics.
Dean was next in line with a nighttime Striped Bass assignment. Again, with the assistance of Pierre, he put a couple of perfect eaters in the boat and of course, had a giant pull off. They fished after dark with Muskie trolling tactics and gear. A very interesting portion of this show!
Dean Taylor and guide Pierre-Oliver Blais try their hands at nighttime Striper fishing
Steve was up last with maybe the hardest task of all… Largemouth Bass. Now although Largemouth fishing isn’t normally deemed as a “hard task”, the largie population in NB isn’t near as prolific as their Smallmouth. With the numbers of fish making things tough, Steve still pulled some of these green beauties out of this beautiful part of New Brunswick.
Largemouth Bass in New Brunswick… “You bet” says Steve Niedzwiecki!
This will be a fun-filled, fish-filled east coast episode.
BAY OF FUNDY, NOVA SCOTIA
Our next tour took us to the province of Nova Scotia to visit Greg Belliveau and Amanda Perry of Bass Barn Fishing Charters and Tours. Here Pete and Nik took the reins on the main FNC shoot while Steve and Dean (along with good friend of the show Joe Anthony) took on any of the web shooting to be done.
To sum this shoot up, even though the Minas Basin and the Bay of Fundy had a CONSTANT east wind blowing on a daily basis (never seems to be good), all the boys boated a phenomenal amount of Stripers along with some crazy catches of Sand Shark and Skate.
Nik arm wrestles with a fantastic Bay of Fundy/Minas Basin Striper
No absolute giants, but definitely some good ones!!!
ST. JOHN RIVER, NACKAWIC, NEW BRUNSWICK
Our final trip of the season took us back to New Brunswick but this time to the quaint town of Nackawic. Here the entire team did something completely different from shoots of the past. They essentially covered the 2024 Pan Am Black Bass Championship, an event filled with bass fishing teams from around the globe. Canada, along with the USA, Dominican Republic, China, Mexico, Columbia, Puerto Rico, Turtle Island, and Wolastoque did battle on NB’s St John River and showed the world just how amazing this Bass fishery is.
Pro bass angler and television host Scott Martin had a 20+ minute struggle trying to land a 3 ½ pound smallie… it was an epic battle all captured on film.
Who won you ask? Well just check out this two-part addition to our already stellar line of shows for the season.
CONCLUSION
That sums up the travels of the Fish’n Canada team during the season of 2024. These episodes will air in 2025… hopefully, you’ll come along and enjoy the ride!
