On November 23, a group of 8 female anglers traveled from various parts of Ontario (and one all the way from Texas) to partake in a 3-day fishing adventure on the Bay of Quinte. I rented a house on AirBNB and partnered up with 2 of the best local walleye fishing guides to get these all these gals out on the water. New friendships were formed, we laughed until our tummies ached, and some HUGE walleye were caught! It was a weekend to remember!
Our group! From left: Heather, Lori, Alicia, Jenn, myself, Nicole, Niki, Paula, and Janet.
How did this all come about? – I’ve been fortunate to spend time targeting the magnificent walleye on the Bay of Quinte over the years with friends in their boats, and in my own boat. These large migratory walleye start to make their way into the Bay of Quinte from Lake Ontario during late summer. They remain in the Bay roaming and feeding until spring when they spawn and head back out to Lake Ontario. This migration creates a unique opportunity to catch huge Lake-grown walleye for those willing to bare the elements as the fish reach the Bay in the fall. This is one of my favourite fishing experiences and I wanted more women to get out there have an opportunity at catching these world class fish. (Note: All photos are taken by me unless noted otherwise.)
Nicole bringing in some gold.
Our Guides – Of course this event wouldn’t have been possible at all without a couple of fantastic charter captains who were on board to get this group of ladies out on the water. Guiding again this year was Greg Amiel of Fishing 4 Tails and Joe Pickstock of PB&J Charters. Both have extensive experience on the Bay of Quinte and are among the top guides in the area. I’ve fished with both over the years and when I first had the idea for this event in 2016, neither hesitated to help make this happen.
From left: Janet, Captain Joe, and Alicia with their beautiful catches!
Lori and Captain Greg with her tank of a walleye!
The Fishing – What can I say about the fishing? Well, it was incredible! Embarking on this adventure, all the ladies knew that fishing is fishing. Sometimes you catch and sometimes you don’t. Each came on board this adventure for the learning experience and an opportunity to meet like-minded female anglers. Catching fish is a bonus. Thankfully all participants had an opportunity not only to catch walleye (some for the first time ever) but many were trophy-class fish too! I lost count of the personal bests that were crushed (some several times over). Mission accomplished all around! It took a few days to regain my voice after so much cheering, LOL! You can check out one of my live videos here taken as Lori landed a 13-pounder followed by 3 other catches aboard Greg’s boat! (Warning…. there’s a lot of screaming and cheering in this video, mostly from me!).
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
