Up next in 10
Ontario Muskie: A Lean Mean Fighting Machine
4K views
Apr 15, 2025
This Fish’n Canada episode showcases Canada’s number one freshwater predator, the giant Muskellunge! Angelo and Pete reveal where in Ontario to find Muskie, including where they experienced the best Muskie fishing of their lives. For anglers that take their Muskie fishing seriously, you do not want to miss this episode! ► Subscribe http://bit.ly/youtube-fishncanada Don't forget to leave a COMMENT and give us a LIKE if you enjoyed what you saw. SUBSCRIBE for new videos and episodes released weekly! CONNECT WITH US -------------------------------- ► WEBSITE http://fishncanada.com ► FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/FishnCanada/ ► INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/fishncanada... ► TWITTER https://twitter.com/angeloviolafnc/ One of Canada's longest-running fishing shows, Fish'n Canada travels from coast to coast in search of trophy fishing opportunities. First started by brothers Angelo and Reno Viola in 1986, The Fish’n Canada Show has been on the air for over 30 years. Today, Angelo is joined by lifelong fishing buddy, Peter Bowman, and the pair continue to travel across Canada educating anglers using the experience they’ve gained over the years
View Video Transcript
0:00
[Music]
0:06
on today's episode we're going to cover
0:08
what amounts to some of the best
0:10
musky water anywhere
0:13
whoa baby
0:17
oh my god
0:22
angelo that's your biggest musky ever
0:27
holy oh my god
0:31
oh my god i am shaking
0:34
what a beast the fish in canada show
0:38
brought to you in part by ram trucks
0:41
built to serve princecraft boats
0:46
dominate the waters garmin
0:49
plot your paradise reel them in
0:52
mercury outboards go boldly
0:56
and ontario canada in partnership with
0:59
destination ontario
1:03
[Applause]
1:04
[Music]
1:08
hey everybody i've got a question for
1:10
you
1:11
what would you think if i told you it
1:12
was going to take you 10 000
1:14
casts before you catch your next fish
1:17
i'll bet most of you would think about
1:19
taking up lawn bowling i know i would
1:22
so why are some anglers so fixated with
1:25
the pursuit of esox masking angie
1:27
that is a beautiful beautiful fish
1:31
after all it's known as the fish of 10
1:33
000 cash
1:35
cast after cast after cast after cast
1:39
again and again what's a guy gotta do to
1:41
hook up with one of these beasts of the
1:43
north
1:44
i suck i suck i suck i suck i suck
1:48
i've made four thousand two hundred and
1:50
eighty seven casts and i haven't caught
1:52
on bosky yet
1:56
as you can probably tell this fishing
1:59
canada episode
2:00
is all about the muskie lunch the
2:02
nation's number one freshwater predator
2:04
whoa baby that is beautiful what a
2:08
gorgeous wow
2:09
the muskies range in canada is somewhat
2:12
limited
2:12
waving by by idea bye-bye it's nowhere
2:15
near the distribution of lake trout
2:17
northern pike or walleye in fact
2:21
as far as we can tell they're pretty
2:23
much limited to quebec
2:24
new brunswick and ontario but in this
2:27
small select portion of the country
2:30
the muskie reigns supreme as the
2:32
heavyweight champion of freshwater
2:33
angling
2:34
oh look at the size of that thing
2:37
it's been called the great white of the
2:39
great north
2:41
oh my god they're so freaking easy
2:46
holy mackerel oh my god
2:51
oh my god i am shaking
2:56
the mystique and allure of the muskie
2:58
brings along with it a huge economic
3:00
boost to whatever community it calls
3:02
home
3:02
which is perfect for these rather
3:04
difficult times brought on by the
3:06
pandemic
3:07
even though covet 19 has altered the way
3:09
we travel for our fishing
3:11
this is one creature worth pursuing but
3:14
make certain to follow
3:15
all the health protocols on today's
3:18
episode we're going to cover what
3:19
amounts to some of the best musky water
3:21
anywhere
3:22
right here in the province of ontario
3:24
[Music]
3:30
here watch your run john
3:34
we're done oh here we go
3:39
yes guy we've been working hard for that
3:44
one
3:47
get the net get the net get the net
3:51
yes yes yes
3:56
oh my ah god
4:01
look at this fish oh you got her
4:04
pete yeah little one come on that's all
4:07
right get her up here
4:08
pete yeah snot rocket yeah boy
4:11
it's not an eagle lake giant but it's a
4:13
lot of fun that's for sure
4:16
okay mikey i'm gonna put her down beside
4:17
you there buddy yeah there she goes
4:20
now if you really want to take advantage
4:22
of what we think is going to be a banner
4:23
musky season
4:24
and want to try your luck in the number
4:26
one muskie area in the entire universe
4:29
then you need to venture to the
4:30
northwest portion of ontario
4:33
this area is so packed with musky water
4:35
that it will blow your mind
4:37
from tiny little obscure lakes to
4:38
massive complex water bodies
4:40
this area is like no other captain mike
4:43
is the definitive muskie fanatic
4:46
even as an american he considers the
4:47
province of ontario the muskie big
4:50
league
4:50
that's why he makes the long voyage
4:52
several times a year comes up from west
4:54
virginia
4:55
yeah how long to drive 250 miles 250
4:58
miles
4:58
and they just he comes up here for one
5:00
thing only there's bass here there's
5:01
walleye here but these guys come from
5:02
muskie and that's
5:03
that's that's it it's a muskie
5:05
fisherman's playground yeah
5:07
where else in a single area can you run
5:10
a lake the lake
5:11
head-to-head comparison of top-class
5:13
muskie fishing destinations
5:15
like lake of the woods lac sewell eagle
5:18
lake
5:18
plus many many more
5:28
[Music]
5:29
come on big boy i don't know if he's big
5:31
or not he's not bad
5:34
you know what he's a muskie i'll take
5:36
him right now here he comes jump
5:39
that's what my ski fishing is all about
5:41
right there that is awesome
5:48
how's that for an eagle lake beast right
5:50
there folks that took
5:52
a long time to catch that fish he's not
5:55
a giant but i'll tell you what
5:56
he's a healthy one that's a beauty
6:00
yeah there he goes
6:03
look at that fish gorgeous mustang
6:07
good looking muskie there he is again
6:09
look at that
6:16
as you just saw north western ontario is
6:18
arguably the hottest muskie area in the
6:21
world
6:22
i've got no idea where else you could
6:23
compare it to that said
6:26
if you travel further south in the
6:27
province that's when you get into
6:29
specific water bodies that harbor true
6:32
world-class giants if you're looking for
6:35
an absolute beast of a muskie
6:38
lake nipissing the french river and
6:40
georgian bay
6:41
which are all connected by the way have
6:43
put up as many giant muskie on the
6:45
bumper board as pretty much
6:46
anywhere else in the world oh baby lake
6:49
nipissing
6:50
and the upper french are directly
6:51
connected making it a vast area to cover
6:54
but there's always somewhere in this
6:56
musky mecca that will be protected
6:58
enough
6:58
during even the nastiest of conditions
7:01
adam yep
7:02
he's on i'm in i'll get the net yeah
7:06
on this side
7:10
drake's oh that's a nice fish oh yeah
7:13
get up here baby
7:23
totally different than a northern pike
7:25
eh the same size
7:26
yeah yeah you can feel the difference in
7:28
the fish yeah you really
7:30
can it's right
7:33
get out of your way here and get him
7:36
close if you want to turn his head
7:38
towards me i got him yep
7:43
[Laughter]
7:49
that is absolutely outstanding nice job
7:52
they're so girthy
7:53
[Music]
7:56
yeah george and bay along with the lower
8:00
french are two bodies of water that can
8:02
intimidate even the best of anglers
8:04
between rocks and big water it's hard to
8:07
even find a starting point
8:09
however just like the upper french and
8:11
nipissing there are always protected
8:13
areas from the harsh elements
8:15
[Music]
8:16
these are fish
8:21
i got one there's a surprise right there
8:27
oh yeah god
8:32
it feels like a big ol log is what it
8:34
feels like
8:36
no it's going back again look at that
8:42
what if i got it biker there he is what
8:44
is it micro muskie
8:46
monkey it looks like a musky to me i got
8:48
a good glimpse of it
8:50
nice it's a bonus fish for me oh that's
8:54
awesome
8:56
look at that fish gorgeous mustang oh
8:59
yeah
9:00
whoa easy mama
9:04
good luck and musky there he is again
9:11
oh my god okay i got to get you in the
9:14
net somehow
9:15
big mama oh god get in there
9:18
i got her somehow i got that fish than
9:21
that
9:21
and i have no idea how there's a beefy
9:25
that's georgia bay muskie bonus fish
9:29
holy smokes what a bonus
9:32
fish oh that's awesome
9:37
oh there she goes not right there is the
9:40
fish of a lifetime
9:43
[Music]
9:46
killarney i love you coming around the
9:49
side nice fish
9:50
stay down oh my god
9:55
are you kidding me
10:01
if you look into an avid muskie anglers
10:03
lure collection
10:04
you'll see a mind-blowing array of baits
10:07
thousands
10:08
and thousands of dollars worth but not
10:11
to worry
10:11
you don't need to go that deep into your
10:13
own bank account if you're just getting
10:15
into musky fishing here are a few ideas
10:17
we recommend
10:18
if you're after the most exciting strike
10:21
in
10:21
all of muskie fishing then a top water
10:24
bait is a must
10:26
sometimes the hit is subtle often it's
10:29
pure
10:29
mayhem next is a crankbait style lure
10:33
this is a great choice for trolling now
10:36
sometimes they can be expensive to
10:37
purchase
10:38
but they last for a long time that's the
10:41
one he said was magic though
10:42
i remember vividly last night
10:45
he said okay i'm bringing out the magic
10:47
bait
10:48
there's no such thing in fishing as
10:50
magic baits except for that one
10:52
next is probably the number one muskie
10:55
lure of all time
10:56
the bucktail spinner double blades from
10:59
a number six up to number 12
11:01
and lots of hair tinsel and flash make
11:04
this
11:04
a deadly bait well double bladed
11:07
bucktails
11:08
i guess are the last big revolution for
11:11
us right
11:11
right they've been around for 12 or 13
11:15
years
11:16
and in that time they've caught more
11:18
50-inch muskies than any other lure in
11:20
the history
11:21
of muskie fishing so if you're not
11:24
throwing double-bladed bucktails you're
11:26
not
11:27
paying attention moving to soft plastics
11:30
vertical jigging baits often with a tail
11:32
spinner are
11:33
perfect for knocking fish right on the
11:35
nose especially in current
11:38
giant tubes can be used weighted or
11:40
unweighted making them the ultimate
11:42
in casting lures
11:45
big swim baits are perfect for casting
11:47
and believe it or not
11:48
trolling and finally a huge chunk of
11:53
colorful plastic
11:54
with all kinds of crazy legs cast out on
11:56
heavy gear
11:58
will often get the job done when nothing
12:00
else will
12:01
getting back to the ultimate and musky
12:03
fishing locations
12:05
the ottawa river is another amazing
12:07
musky factory
12:08
that simply put blows the minds of even
12:11
die hard addicts
12:12
season after season said johnny tell me
12:15
you've been fishing here first off how
12:16
long
12:18
on the ottawa river i used to ride my
12:21
bike to fish on the ottawa river when i
12:23
was
12:24
14 years old okay so how long have you
12:26
been fishing muskie seriously on this
12:28
water
12:28
seriously for 35 years with a length of
12:32
over 1200 kilometers
12:33
and a discharge of around 1950 cubic
12:36
meters of water per second
12:37
one would think that the ottawa river
12:39
was chock full of musky
12:41
the fact is their range is quite
12:43
specific with the strongest numbers in
12:45
the southern section of the river
12:48
i got one good one a good
12:56
coming around this side yeah
12:59
oh yeah it's a nice long one oh yeah
13:01
baby you got the net there one i'm ready
13:03
nice fish oh it's a nice pete baby oh
13:05
pete
13:08
oh my god what a beast
13:12
coming at you johnny booyah
13:26
are you kidding me oh my god this is one
13:30
of my better muskies ever
13:33
get that eat i'm one fine species of
13:36
fish
13:37
oh god yep here buddy you helped me so
13:39
much of this one
13:40
what a monster beautiful fish you want
13:43
to put it back in the water then instead
13:45
of the net yeah yeah
13:46
okay here mama oh that's a great fish
13:51
easy easy girl she wants to go look at
13:53
the head on this thing
13:57
you want to give her i'm gonna give her
13:59
honey look at that
14:01
oh yeah into the weebly come on yeah
14:03
yeah
14:05
love it yeah nice
14:12
what a gorgeous mustard look at you
14:15
angelo
14:16
that's your biggest musky ever oh for
14:18
sure without question oh bud
14:20
look at that fish
14:33
probably the biggest question especially
14:35
from novice anglers
14:36
is do i cast or do i troll this 100
14:40
percent depends on the anglers skill
14:41
level
14:42
and their desire to work okay let's do
14:44
this
14:45
if you are at best an occasional muskie
14:48
angler
14:48
or a novice all-around angler wanting to
14:51
target muskie
14:52
then trolling is our recommendation you
14:55
see with trolling you don't have to
14:56
worry about backlashes
14:58
extra long leaders figure eights and
15:00
most of all fatigue
15:02
i ain't giving up yet boys essentially
15:05
you can drop back a short amount of line
15:07
directly behind the boat
15:08
put the rod in a rod holder and wait
15:12
that lure will track perfectly in any
15:14
direction the boat driver chooses
15:16
it truly is precision fishing if you put
15:19
in the time
15:20
and troll a bait like a believer
15:22
eventually
15:23
you will catch a muskie fish fish fish
15:27
fish
15:27
fish this
15:30
keep going there you go go ahead go
15:33
ahead just fight fight [ __ ] that real
15:34
real real
15:36
no you will not put it out bud you got
15:39
her
15:40
you got her just reel heart heart heart
15:43
keep reeling okay now lift up lift up
15:47
it's dumb yeah
15:49
[Laughter]
15:52
wow nice job bud
15:56
nice job this is your first trolling
15:58
muskie isn't it this is my very first
15:59
troll
16:00
good job the alternative method to
16:03
trolling is casting
16:05
this is for more ambitious musky anglers
16:07
heavy-duty bait casting gear
16:09
is a must here if bait casting
16:12
intimidates you
16:13
then you best plant your butt back in
16:15
the driver's seat
16:16
and troll ready we always said our hats
16:20
go off to the hardcore muskie addicts
16:22
who insist on casting during every
16:25
outing
16:26
muskie guys are the most hardcore
16:28
freshwater fishermen that there is
16:29
there's no doubt about it well this guy
16:31
right here i'm home big
16:32
bertha you're not gonna keep that up all
16:34
day be surprised for an old man how much
16:37
i can
16:39
because i know what is in here by the
16:42
way
16:43
there is a third muskie fishing method
16:44
that works fantastic
16:46
when the conditions exist in rivers or
16:49
lake systems with strong currents
16:51
drift fishing becomes a tremendous musky
16:53
fishing tactic
16:55
and it was those exact conditions where
16:57
we experienced the best musky fishing
17:00
of our lives on the saint lawrence river
17:02
possibly the number one trophy producing
17:04
musky water of
17:06
all time
17:10
bottomer fish that's got me bottom
17:15
yep i think it's moving towards us isn't
17:18
it is that your drag going out
17:20
oh it's fish that's a fish yep yep
17:22
that's a big boy
17:27
mayhem mayhem and brainy
17:37
i'm going to try and come around the
17:39
side of the boat here what a gorgeous
17:41
mustang look at you angelo
17:44
that's your biggest muskie ever oh for
17:46
sure without question oh but
17:48
look at that fish there you go there you
17:50
go beautiful
17:53
oh my god oh my god show them
17:58
the world what that thing is made of oh
18:01
my god buddy
18:03
oh what a monster as good as i could do
18:06
boys
18:06
oh little mario can you get a oh right
18:09
there
18:10
oh my god dance that is a beast okay we
18:14
got to get her back
18:16
well that's probably our biggest muskie
18:17
on tape yeah i think so it's taken 30
18:19
years to get this fish
18:22
i guess my work's done here yep bye bye
18:25
look at him wow wow
18:28
done i am absolutely
18:32
blown away by that
18:36
if there is a better muskie fishing
18:37
destination anywhere in the world than
18:39
the province of ontario
18:41
well we'd appreciate getting the info as
18:43
we'd love to test those waters
18:45
until then i think we're going to stick
18:46
with the big o and keep the odds in our
18:48
favor
18:49
oh that's awesome remember everybody
18:52
as we've said over and over during this
18:55
crazy season
18:56
be vigilant be smart but above all be
18:58
safe
18:59
and borrowing any travel restrictions go
19:01
get yourself a giant muskie
19:13
this garmin hotspot is along parker's
19:15
point on eagle lake ontario
19:17
the way point on your screen will get
19:18
you there this long main lake point runs
19:20
from deep water into a weedy bay
19:22
a perfect combination for musky i used a
19:25
downsized version of a double 10 tinsel
19:27
because i was looking for biters and not
19:29
necessarily big fish
19:31
finally always keep your eyes behind as
19:33
well as on your bait throughout the
19:35
entire retrieve
19:36
muskies are masters of deception for
19:39
more hot spots like this one check out
19:44
[Music]
19:50
fishingcanada.com
19:52
to get to today's whirlwind muskie
19:53
adventure i drove north on highway 400
19:56
to highway 69.
19:57
i then headed northwest on highway 17. i
20:00
stayed on 17 at the highway 11 17 split
20:02
and carried on northwest i turned south
20:05
on highway 594 and finally turned right
20:08
on cold grove road which brought me
20:10
directly to cole grove's eagle lake
20:12
lodge
20:12
this family-owned lodge is situated
20:14
smack dab in front of some of eagle
20:16
lake's absolute best
20:17
musky smallmouth and walleye hot spots
20:20
some boats from the west arm travel over
20:22
30 minutes to get to this part of the
20:23
lake
20:24
colgrove's eagle lake lodge caters to
20:26
everyone from young families to hardcore
20:28
determined musky addicts
20:30
the fish in canada show brought to you
20:33
in part by
20:34
ram trucks built to serve
20:38
princecraft boats dominate the waters
20:43
garmin plot your paradise reel em in
20:46
mercury outboards go boldly
20:50
and ontario canada in partnership with
20:53
destination ontario
20:56
closed captioning for this episode was
20:58
brought to you by fishingcanada.com
21:00
the gateway to your next fishing
21:05
[Music]
21:14
adventure
21:17
[Music]
#Fishing
#Water Activities