The first days at Algonquin Park were really great and I was able to catch my first muskies, and from now on there were still a few days left to go fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass. But first there were two days without fishing. On Saturday morning a bit of sightseeing in Downtown Ottawa, then pick up our friend Jim at the airport and finally a surprise visit to Will.

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Sunday was all about Thanksgiving! My first Canadian Thanksgiving was a great day with lots of friends, family members, a giant turkey, campfire stories and live music from the Sons of Ned. Although of course a few beers were drunk, we sat in the kitchen at 7 AM the next morning to have a coffee and start the next fishing day. Finally normal people!

We loaded the Mayfly for Jim on the trailer, stopped at Tim Hortons, missed a deer on the road by a few inches and then met with the Jackson Kayak Fishing Team members Roberto and Eron on a beautiful lake. Eron gave me some promising baits and good tips, but it took me some time to finally catch two nice big smallies with the drop shot rig. A great day on the water with great friends! In the evening James cooked us a Beef Stroganoff, followed by delicious pumpkin pie and frozen yoghurt.

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The next day started early with a breakfast, then we met with Zack from Frontenac Outfitters at another lake. I have never seen so many beautiful lakes at once. We paddled for about 100 meters and had to pull our kayaks through a wide reed belt. I did not pay attention once and landed in the mud up to my waist. A great start to the day! The lake was not easy to fish that day and after hours of not finding bass, I changed my strategy and immediately caught a few beautiful Canadian pikes on a Salmo hardbait. In the afternoon we drove to Scott’s cottage and ended the evening with some cool beers and BBQ spare ribs.

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The weather forecast for the next day was terrible and so it was that we were only a short time on the water due to continuous rain and a lot of wind. We packed our wet clothes and drove together to the Redneck Bistro for extremely tasty burgers. Then we drove home to dry all clothes and relax a bit.

It also rained a lot the next day, so we drove to the Bait Casters Tackle Shop and Cabela’s after a breakfast at Equator Coffee. In the evening we were invited to dinner with Will and June.

For the next few days we had a nice cottage right at the Ottawa River. The first night was over at 6 AM and after a boosting with eggs, bacon and cheese we paddled on the Ottawa. This location is unbelievably beautiful, endless creeks and hidden lakes, where you often have to carry the kayaks over huge beaver dams.

Throughout the day we were able to catch lots of bass, lots of pike and James also a few walleye. A really great fishing! In the afternoon we watched the rapids from the Ottawa River before we had a nice evening in our cottage afterwards.

The next day started again in the dark with frosty temperatures and lots of fog on the river. We were able to catch so many smallies and pikes that I have not even counted. And my last cast brought me a nice last pike from this wonderful trip to Canada, because the next day I had to fly from Ottawa to Montreal and via Zurich to Bremen.

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This kayak fishing trip is one of the best I have ever done. This was definitely not my last time in Canada! A big thank you for great memories to James & family, Jim, Will, Roberto, Eron, Scott and Zack! It was really fun!