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!
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.)
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 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.
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 Biggest Walleye of the Weekend
The Ladies – Going into this adventure, I knew half of the women prior to this event. Two were returning from last year’s event, and two I’d met at fishing trade shows in the past. I wondered what it would be like sharing a house with a big group that were not all acquainted. Everyone clicked from the moment we arrived and it felt as if we’d known each other for years. It didn’t take long before we were laughing, sharing stories, and forming friendships. Renting the huge AirBNB house worked perfectly as it gave us the space to cook and hang out. One night we even formed a band and made some music, LOL! I couldn’t have asked for a better group of ladies and I’m so grateful that they all decided on being part of this weekend. The weather was cold and we even encountered some rain but there were no complaints from these dedicated anglers! Thank you to each of you: Jenn, Lori, Paula, Janet, Alicia, Nikki, Nicole, and Heather!
Thank You – A huge thank you goes out to our amazing guides Joe and Greg for another incredible weekend on the water! Thanks also goes to Mustang Survival, SAIL, Nalgene, and GoGirl for donating prizes to participants. Please support these companies and individuals that help support female anglers and the growth of our sport. If you’re interested in booking charters with Joe or Greg, click their names to be directed to their websites.
2018 Event – Information on the Ladies Walleye Weekend 2018 will soon be announced! The details will be posted here first, so please subscribe below and new blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. The coming year has some exciting projects in the works that I can’t wait to share!
In closing… Jenn had this canvas print made (below) of our group as a lovely gift! Each of the ladies along with the guides wrote a message for me which is included on the back of the print. I am so grateful to have this as a reminder of this amazing adventure, new friendships, and memorable catches. Thank you all for such a fun experience and the inspiration to continue hosting these types of events.
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Thank you Ashley! You described our Ladies Walleye Weekend perfectly! We all came for the fun and adventure, without any expectations to catch fish. After all each day on the water is different, you just never know. But we all came away with an experience of a lifetime! New lifelong friends, huge beautiful fish, all enjoyed in the picturesque setting of Bay of Quinte! It was a dream come true for me! Janet.
It was amazing to meet all these wonderful women! It’s true, catching the fish is a bonus to spending the days on the water with them, the amazing guides and learning something new each time out! Thank you Ashley ♡
So much fun! I can’t wait to come back!