‘KidPro’ tourney makes for ‘reel’ great day on lake

It was just before 8 a.m. on Sunday when angler-in-training Jarred Taylor bid his mother farewell and hopped into Jason Cain’s rigged up boat for the annual Canada Safeway “KidPro” tournament on Rainy Lake.
It didn’t take long for Taylor, 10, to start taking tips from the soon-to-be high school math teacher and fishing guide.
As soon as Cain slipped his Polaroid sunglasses on for the ride, Taylor did the same—slipping his shades down while looking back at Cain for approval.
After a bit of a ride made shorter by the 200 h.p. motor, Cain stopped at a fishing hole that had a good track record for him in the past.
“The second time I fished the tournament, we had 18 pounds after five casts here. Now cast as close to the shore as you possibly can,” Cain told his young protégé.
After asking Taylor some fish-related questions, Cain soon realized the fish aren’t active at this spot—and in tournament play, there’s no time to waste.
He learned that the hard way after finishing last in his inaugural Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship as a Grade 11 student back in 1997.
Now the teacher has the experience to know when to stay and when to go. He and partner, Davis Viehbeck, finished a solid 36th in the FFCBC last year.
“Time to move,” Cain remarked before getting behind the wheel to head to another pre-determined spot.
“We usually have around 20 spots planned, but we try not to go to every spot come the first day,” Cain noted, referring to their game plan once the FFCBC gets underway tomorrow (July 24).
“In fact, last year we lucked out because all of our spots were in close to each other,” he added.
The second spot brought with it better results—but the story was more about the big fish that were lost rather than the smaller ones that were caught.
“That one was nothing compared to the big one that came after it the first time,” Cain remarked after catching a 16-inch bass. “[Polaroid glasses] are a must have. They make all the difference in the world for seeing the fish come after it.”
After 45 minutes and some decent catches, things slowed up so Cain got the boat in motion once again and we started trolling for the open water bite.
“I don’t know if it’s too much excitement during the tournament or what, but it hurts to lose those big ones and it seems to happen more than you’d like,” Cain said.
“I fished this spot a few years ago a week after the tournament while I was guiding and we caught a ton of fish. You never know.”
After a few more casts, Cain started the motor and headed out, ending up near some islands with a lot of potential for bass, noting the cabbage weeds and shoreline structure.
This spot started yielding some catches—and some serious follow-ups from some bigger fish. A lunker jumped at his lure, but didn’t latch on. Cain reeled in hoping bite marks would show the potential fish was not what he was looking for.
“It was a bass,” Cain sighed. “If it was a northern, they would’ve sliced up the bait pretty good.”
Cain trolled the shoreline and the fish came in spurts, but none yielded a weight necessary to compete for the FFCBC crown. He rotated through a few options with artificial bait, noting the tournament doesn’t allow live bait.
“What if you’re fishing with dead leaches because they aren’t alive anymore?” Taylor asked.
“Nope, can’t even use something that was alive at some point,” Cain replied.
Eventually, the fishing got stalled as Cain docked at a nearby cabin to get out of the heavy rain and potential lightning. He surveyed the skies hoping for a break in the clouds so he could hit the water again.
“I lucked out with teaching getting the summers off,” Cain said. “But I guided all through university in the summers, so you’re done school in April and now I don’t get free until July, and some of the best fishing is in June.”
Cain and Taylor resumed fishing in the area after the storm passed, and the fish didn’t take a break as a few more catches resulted.
“In the morning, you can catch them top water, but I like fishing when it’s really hot or the complete opposite with heavy winds,” Cain noted.
After a few more hours in the area, Cain nosed the boat back towards Fort Frances—stopping in one last spot to scope it out. But after 10 minutes and no results, he raced back to the Sorting Gap Marina to meet the 3 p.m. finish of the “KidPro” event.
They weighed in three fish at 7.23 pounds.
It’s better that those big fish got off while pre-fishing than during the actual FFCBC tournament, but Cain hoped it wasn’t a sign of things to come.
Jack Hamilton teamed up with FFCBC anglers Mike Salvador and Reid Norine to catch the big fish at 3.96 pounds and win the “KidPro” tournament overall with a three-fish weight of 10.55 pounds.
Mitchell Graham came second (10.41 pounds) while Dexter Fichuk came third (9.08). Nicholas Jourdain tied for the big fish catch of 3.96 pounds.