Has Lake Couchiching's bass fishing bounced back from a few years of lacklustre performance? Did tournament results from the 2007 bass season prove to competitive anglers from across Southern and Central Ontario that once again Orillia's gem still has what it takes to keep them coming back yearning for more?

Here at Fish On Line Canada we were curious as well so we had an exclusive look at just what some of the tournament results were in the 2007 season.

All of the following events were Cooch only tournaments that did not permit anglers to go thru the Atherly Narrows and into Lake Simcoe.

This popular event is always one of the biggest tournaments of the year on Cooch. This year, it provided one of the biggest overall weights of the season for any event that was held there. No fewer than the top 9 teams weighed in over 18 pounds. The biggest smallmouth was a 5.04 pounder and the Big largemouth broke the magic 6 pound mark at 6.22 lbs.

Angela Mitchell of the Aurora Bassmasters gets her nice smallmouth ready for the weigh in at a small club tournament. Cooch has a long history of hosting large bass tournaments like Pro Bass Classics and annual stops on for the CSFL series, but it also is a favorite destination for grass routes anglers and their small club events. Authors Photo

The Barrie club event took place during a very hot evening when the tepid waters reached about 82 Degrees F. The talk before blast-off was that the smallies would be on the feed. That turned out to be false and very few smallmouths were brought in. Largemouth bass on the other hand were active and dominated the catch. Bill and Darren brought in the biggest sack of the year, and perhaps the largest weight since the present format (4 fish limit each, overall team weight and individual weight) was adopted in 2003. Kyle Heels had a great night, finishing in the money while fishing without a partner. Most fish were caught on soft plastics, senkos and the like, although Kyle reported some success on a surface frog. The big fish was caught with a plastic goby on a dropshot.

Bill Todd, the club’s statistician reported that “It was a good night for big fish, with a total of only 14 smallies and 57 largemouth. 71 fish in all for an average of 2.2 lb per fish. Total weight was 154 lb. 71 fish of a possible total of 104 or 68% for the night. This is by far the largest average size bass of the year.”

For 20 years now, I have been hosting the fall amBASSadors Cup on Lake Couchiching. This small tournament is unique in that only students and all alumni of the bass fishing courses that I teach at *Seneca College, are eligible to compete. Students love coming back to Cooch to fish this tournament and this lake including this year’s eventual winners Danny Taylor and Gary Deluco who took the course about a dozen years ago. They have been fishing the amBASSador’s ever since, and finally this past October collected their first win and amBASSadors Cup trophy.

*At one time Wil also taught at the Barrie, Orillia and Midland campuses of Georgian College as well as at Fleming College in Lindsay.

Wil with an averaged sized largemouth he caught in Cooch during the foggy morning of his amBASSadors Cup Tournament. Jerk baits like the Rapala X Rap that he used here, are typically chosen more for the lake’s smallmouth … but someone forgot to tell this largie that! Authors Photo

Looking at these weights certainly does not give us the entire picture but it does help show that there have been some very good bass caught in Cooch this year. Furthermore, when I looked at weights down in the standings, they were still quite respectable - with lots of 10-12 pound bags brought in. The Aurora Bassmaster club that I belong to decided last winter not to have an event there in 07 because weights have been so low there the last few years. It was only by default that we did have one on Cooch after all or we would have forfeited our continuous record of having a tournament there every year since we formed back in 1995.

So, early Sunday Sept 9th we all headed to Cooch but upon arrival we knew we would have some company. Coincidentally it was also tournament time for the York and Georgian Bay Bassmasters. We checked to see when their clubs would be weighing in 3pm was the reply. By changing our club’s weigh-in time from 3pm to 4pm, not only did we alleviate any congestion at the boat ramp when the other clubs weighed in - but it also gave us an extra hour of fishing and we all know that’s a good thing - you can never have enough time on the water!

That morning started off very slow for the non boater I drew - Brian Ogden of King City. I knew I would have my hands full trying to out- fish Ogden that day because he is one of the finest back-of-the-boat anglers that I know.  He capitalizes on his ability to effectively fish slow with plastics and he is quick to decipher patterns as they develop throughout the day. He’s a thinker that lad.

I landed a nice 3 ½ pound smallie on my Rapala DT16 crankbait and then moved to another spot where a decent largemouth fell for my Berkley Gulp! sinking minnow. I thought perhaps I would have a decent day. But it wasn’t long before Ogden got into them. The first two or three bass though that he connected with managed to come off and they were all good fish. He could have easily lost total confidence and faltered the rest of the tournament. Unfortunately for me, he didn’t let that happen!

The area we were fishing was not the traditional “Limestone’s Area” that Cooch smallmouth anglers have treasured for decades, but the make up was fairly similar Big rocky limestone slabs that Cooch’s smallies just love, particularly in the fall after the Labour Day long weekend. Depth ranged from 5-12 feet.  The interesting component in the mix was that the most productive spots that day were not the obvious transport truck sized limestones below the surface but much smaller, subtle clumps of rock piles. The other key was they had to have a good mix of coontail and cabbage plants nearby.

“Interesting area here Wil - I can’t say as I’ve fished it before - I’ve done ok in behind that island over there but not this stretch of Cooch”, Ogden said. I replied. “I’ve been visiting this section since the mid 80’s when I used to fish the Fall Challenge at this time of year. I had a much smaller aluminium bass boat then but this whole area would be good enough to fish all day long and we’d still weigh in 15 pounds of bass.”

The big difference between then and now was that Ogden’s bass were all largemouth not smallmouth. Smallies were there, but they were shallower and being caught by other Bassmasters tighter to shore than us. The fish Ogden got into came in groups and when he finally landed them they were good quality - including the one just under five pounds that gave him big fish pot for the day.  With only four fish to weigh in though - and not a five fish limit like a couple of the other Aurora Bassmasters, it may come as a surprise that Ogden still won the whole tournament!

Brian Ogden with the largemouth that helped him beat his boater (Wil) and win the tournament. Authors Photo

Lake Couchiching has many attributes that make it a favorite destination of so many tournament and recreational anglers. Being so close to her big sister to the south - Lake Simcoe, doesn’t hurt. Many anglers prefer to launch in Orillia even if they are planning on fishing Simcoe because they like the assurance that they can always come back to Cooch if Simcoe becomes too rough.

Of course easy access via Hwy 400 and 11 right to Orillia is another big plus for GTA based anglers who’d prefer not to travel too far from home to wet a line. Orillia has long had one of the nicest waterfronts in the whole province.  It has a good double FREE concrete launch with fine docks on either side. There’s plenty of free parking, adjacent parkland, and a fairly suitable tie up area for boaters while they go put away or get their tow vehicles. Naturally, the local amenities - great restaurants, plenty of hotels and even that casino down the road help convince many anglers to make a weekend trip out of their visit to Orillia and Cooch.

Of course the phenomenal smallmouth bass fishing that made Cooch famous … (particularly in the fall when they migrate to the Limestone’s and other rocky areas to the north), isn’t the only fishing available here. Northern pike are not only a frequent incidental catch for all bass anglers here, but many come to Cooch ‘just for the pike’.

Largemouth bass too, can be almost equally as impressive as their smallmouth cousins and tournaments have been won here with largies ever since my good buddy Big Jim McLaughlin won the Pro Bass Classic here deep cranking them back in 1990.

Bob Kendall of the Aurora Bassmasters at a club tournament weigh-in hoisting a couple of gorgeous largemouth bass caught from Lake Couchiching. Fortunately, the vast majority of bass anglers here, both tournament and recreational, release their bass - which helps maintain this great self sustaining resource. Authors Photo

For many though, Cooch is the synonymous with terrific yellow perch fishing. It all begins in the spring when the *Orillia Perch Festival kicks off in mid April. Until the festival closes a few weeks later, thousands of people will converge in Orillia from all over Central and Southern Ontario plus neighbouring states like Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania to sample Cooch’s legendary perch fishing. During the summer and fall, fishing remains steady but then picks up again once the hard water arrives and ice fishing for them takes over.

And … speaking of ice fishing - we aren’t too far off Fish On Line Canada readers but keep in mind that we still have some terrific late fall bass, pike, muskie, carp, yellow perch and even black crappie fishing left. And, for all you steelheaders and salmon fishing - well, I bet y’all aren’t ready to hang those long noodle rods up just yet are you? So, stay safe at this time of year folks; let someone know exactly where you’ll be fishing and when you’ll be home, carry a cell phone and all the warm clothing and safety gear you think you’ll need. But, for crying out loud - don’t give up on open water fishing just yet cause we still have some great action awaiting all of us who know that now’s the time to get those really, really big fish that will keep us drooling with pleasant memories all winter long!

Wil with an average sized Lake Couchiching smallmouth bass/Authors Photo

*In 2008, the Festival will run from April 19 to May 10. More info at: www.orillia.com/perchfestival