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Something has been bugging the dickens out of me to go back up to the rocky mountain foot hills where my trail cam went missing, so I did first thing this morning. In my almost 70 years on this planet, one thing I have learnt is to go with my instincts. I knew there was a poacher prowling around in my stomping grounds from the tracks I'd previously found. Well this morning I found fresh tracks leading into the bush so I followed them and I caught him in the act, sneaking through the bush with a rifle. He didn't see me but I saw him. To try and make a long story short I beat it the Hell out of there as there is no phone service, once I had service I phoned the report a poacher no. about 40 minutes later a game warden showed up and I led him into the bush where the guy was and with the help of the game warden and my walkie talkies we caught him red handed gutting a white tail doe. We caught his buddy as well of course that was driving around so as not to create suspicion with a vehicle sitting on the side of the road. I told the warden about my camera gone missing and he asked me what brand it was and I told him, he reached into the back seat of the truck and brought out a trail cam and asked me, does this look familiar? Sure does I replied. So I got it back minus the SD card. The warden ran their ID. turned out the two guys had multiple warrants for poaching and fire arms offences, so the warden called the RCMP and they were cuffed and taken to the crow bar hotel where they belong. So all in all this was a very rewarding day, got my camera back and put two bad guys in jail. Thanks to those who took the time to read this, I know it's a long one, as usual Hahah.

Its been a while since Ive had something to report.. but we finally.. finally made it up To Camp Jiggy Jiggy. It was winter of challenges, and a spring of projects we couldn't get away from but finally after 7 months we are back.. It always amazes me how well the place holds up in our absence. Last year I installed a camera with cell service outside, and added a solar panel the battery made it to the end of Feb before it died.. but had manages to take a charge again and reset it self late march. Its really quite nice to see the pace all winter long and know all is well. The camera overlooks the river as well. The one couple we know locally used to comedown here to fish occasionally, but they retired in the fall and moved away. Its the beginning of july and the camera hasn't picked up a boat or a canoe on the river yet. So for now at least we have our little stretch all to ourselves again, something Im very grateful for. We've had the place for about 18 years now i think and i know its selfish, but its hard to share lol. here are some pics for everyone. My mug.. yes i need to shave... My view from my office this morning.. Had to clear the trail in as always every year. The kids got me this Milwaukee chainsaw this year.. honestly for light to medium work its a game changer. Ill never ever tire of the view up the river Fishing is still as good as ever, maybe even better this year.. theres a nice size year class of pike that's prevalent in our space that are all about 30 inches, and some like Moniques best yesterday are a bit bigger: this one went right back in the water: LOL.. this one diddnt... Creek is still coughing up dace which we used last night to get four eating sized pickeral. After all this time bigger pickeral still elude me, but we have at least found some spots for some for eating. Still cant find the bigguns though. So that's it for now.. gonna be a hot one up here.. oh and last but not least... they look silly but on a breezeless day saved our afternoon from baking in the boat.. although we had trouble not laughing at each other.....

Hello gang Most of you don’t know me as I’m not very active online anymore… but I used to be many years ago I was a cocky bugger and often mistook some sage advise of some of the members in here… puffed my chest… and was very argumentative and dismissive in some cases for some reason for a while now I felt the strong need to say 2 things on here 1 - to all you you cocky live scoping… power poling… satellite imaging…. $100k boat driving… and all the other stuff I don’t even know about… 20 something year olds trying to get a foot in the door of the fishing industry… youtube… guiding… pro staff… sponsored… etc…. the older long standing members on here know their stuff… nearly all the advise i can remember ever getting on here was right or at least came from a good place but it took me too long to realize that. So please really try to understand their advice and be accepting of it. I've lost friends… opportunities… fishing spots… time… all cause i didn't listen 2- to anyone that ever tried to help me… if I didn’t say it… thank you... trying to remember some… Bill M? Terry? Pikeslayer? Spiel? of course Lew…. Mercman… many many more now I'm 38…. Have 2 kids and a respectable job… fishing is for me and making me happy… I hated guiding even though I delivered good results and still get calls 10 years after stopping… it just wasn't for me… sometimes gas money isn't worth as much as a good net man that can keep a secret… fishing trips sometimes aren't about fishing and thats ok… and sometimes you gotta fish for what your buddy likes or some day you wont have any fishing buddies Anyway sometimes you just gotta do or say something and that's all this post is about for me Thanks and tight lines

Well for me anyways. I have been tying the Ice Grub the past few years, keeping it my own way, and improving on it each year. This year I thought I came up with some cool ones . I guess they were good enough to get asked to sell on a web site. Meegs lures asked if I was interested, and after a talk,I was game to see how they would do. Reaching out to more customers. This is a one time batch of my ties to see what interest there was out there. Day after they were posted on the site,there was an order going out to Lithuania . This was crazy news first time. Pretty cool to see my name on a web page. https://meegslures.com/?fbclid=IwAR1bFeJW3Tiy1pWObZ-tL4FpWE2iqgDK4kzypJhLAJZaU4eNYAKnIo8OFGc

What started as a low level tieing for minimum profit, has got me in a bit deeper then expected, but the rewards of seeing what I can do, is a bonus. Retirement is coming and well, I want to keep my hands and brain busy . Some of my latest works. o

Got out yesterday with Tim Hales, a solid 8+" of ice where we were. It started off slow, didn't have a single bite in the first hour. Then I landed a nice one and as the day progressed so did the bite. It never got crazy busy but the ones we were getting were all good size most were in the 11 to 13" range with several over 13. Now here's the interesting part. My fishing partner was using our triditional drop shot rig, he caught 10 fish all day. Of all the other huts we talked to, most reported 6 to maybe 15 fish, I used my new secret weapon.

After all the hustle and bustle another Christmas is in the books. Time for this jolly old elf to go out and play.

Hi all, Went down to my favourite shore fishing spot only to find it was unexpectedly frozen up. Fortunately there was some open water a bit further up the shore with access, turned out to be a fun hour, lots of bites and I didn’t fall off the cliff. Not long now before the ice is safe enough to walk on.

Way back when I owned a bass boat that did 60+ mph and jet skis seadoos topped out at about 40 mph, I was out fishing having a good day when 2 guys on jet skis started buzzing my boat and turning at the last second to send a big splash my way i I decided to teach them how to make a big splash so I took off and followed them, quickly overtook them trimmed my motor to send out a rooster tail 20 ft high and 60 ft back from the boat and just flooded the to guys They had to stop their machines so I stopped mine , they took off again and so did I drowning the poor buggers again. One of them turned and went the other way so I just kept on the one guy every time he tried to move I soaked him good. They quit trying to soak me so I guess I won the water fight but I could see the other guy close to the shoreline so I paid him a visit and played one more time The other guy showed up too so I talked to them and asked why they didn’t want to play anymore. They said they didn’t mean anything by splashing me, they were just having fun. I said me too and I’m not tired of the fun yet They said yeah we get the point. So I asked where to you live , they said just right there he was his way home when I soaked him the last time so I said good stay there till you see me leave the lake. If I see you come back I will will continue to play the game and if I hear anyone else say a jet ski splashed them I will spend the whole summer playing the game they went home and I went back to catching bass

As many probably know, the fishing has been ridiculously good on Lake Ontario this year. Things seemed to have slowed down a bit lately - back to a normal level. I don't do many fishing reports anymore but here you go. We launched at Fisherman's Pier this morning and fished our way over to Bronte. In around 5 hours fishing we went 5 for 9, including this beast that weighed in just over 22 pounds and hit in 120 feet of water. Water temps on the surface were a balmy 74 degrees.

It's been 10 years since SPIEL has tied up this fabulous Rain Shadow for me. Still going as strong as the day I picked it up. I'm thinking I've caught at least a dozen fish on it. 😉 Thanks SPIEL for your quality work and craftsmanship. Cheers!

Had a great year last season with tonnes of great numbers. Hammered walleye from a kayak in a super back lake with my dad. Later flipped the same kayak in the middle of a trout lake and almost died of hypothermia lol, was a fun year!

Hi All, So way back in December last year Brian sent me some of his buggy type jigs to try out, after many excuses and missed opportunities I put them to the test today....WOW....the crappie loved them!!! The fish were being picky as hell and I had tried everything with no resultslts except window shoppers, then I remembered (at last) that I had Brian's creations in my jig box, I tied one on and window shoppers became repeat customers....the fish just smoked them! Thanks again Brian, very kind of you to gift me some of your jigs, I won't be hesitating or forgetting them again.

Hi all, Got down to Eagle Lake for a couple hours before sunset, not tons of bites but got supper out of the the deal.

Today marks 35 years since I married my fishing and hunting guide.. lol.. and on this auspicious occasion I took what is considered to be the rarest of rare photos. A jiggy sunrise. Yes I had to pee.. and yes I went back to bed.

Up until 4 weeks ago I had a Silverado to pull my boat, bought it brand new. First ever new vehicle in my life, my intention was to drive to the wreckers. That did not happen as I had it towed to the transmission shop instead. A result of GM's fuel management system where it shuts down 4 of the eight cylinders when not required. This does bad things to the torque converter and that results in glittery transmission fluid and burnt clutches. I ended up selling the truck to the transmission shop and started shopping for a replacement. I was advised to get a F150 with the 5.0 engine. I did not want a crew cab, so I had to search far and wide to get one with a super cab (cab and a half). This is what I ended up getting as my new to me truck: And here is what I hope to have it looking like as often as possible

My wife

Pictures of some of my favorite mountain lakes. Most are so gorgeous they look fake, but are not. I hope you's enjoy. Maligne Lake, Peyto Lake, Waterton Lake, Lake Louise, Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes where in 1983 while fishing from shore I caught the Alberta record Bull Trout, Alberta's provincial fish, one oz. shy of 18lbs. And it still stands today. Lower Kananaskis Lake, Abraham Lake. I have a couple more that are well worth a gander but as usual my computer decided to take some time off, I will try and post them later.

Hi all, walleye bite went nuts from 7pm for 45 minutes. must've got 20 or so between the two of us....nice evening too .

Hi all, Finally got out for trout for the first time this year. Got 4 or five decent pike waiting for the lakers to turn on, lost one, had a couple chases with nothing more than nose bumps, but landed a nice 35”er that was just CHUNKY! Took almost 6 minutes to reel in, seemed like a lifetime after just getting snapped off a few minutes before.

This is a long story as I am sure some you know I am not very good at making them short, LOL. I hope I do not bore to death those who chose to read it. This is a mule deer I had been taking pics of off and on from September to November. The third Saturday of the following January I was to enter a wildlife photo contest that I had won several years in a row. I was not really happy with my pics so at first light, the very day of the contest I headed back out to see if I could get some better ones. I was walking to the area where I figured he would be and there he was and a bunch of does. The other times I had photographed him, I had to go very slow but he would let me get close to him (I did not have a zoom lens just a 2x adapter) He would give me the most evil look, I could see it in his eyes and facial expression so I called him Malsum, the devil deer. Any way he was just about to have his breakfast of poplar leaves and twigs and then he spotted me. stopped browsing and stepped forward and just glared at me with that devilish look. After a few seconds he charged. I had no where to go as I was out in the open so I started taking pictures which was not easy with a 35mm manual focus camera in mere seconds. Every step he took he was purposefully throwing up dirt into the air with his hooves, head down and I am thinking this guy is serious and this is it. It still boggles my mind the things that went through it in such a short time. The main one being well when they find me and develop the film they will know what happened to me. Even though I was in good shape there would be no way of holding him back, it would have taken a half dozen Hulk Hogans to do that. I did not move, I held my ground and just kept shooting, there was nothing else I could do. When he got just a few feet away he stopped, thank god, looked at me, and then to the east as much to say good morning, I am just lookin to see what is over there. We stood there like that for a few seconds and I slowly started backing away, tripped over a rock and fell flat on my back so I was expecting another charge as he would see me in a vulnerable position but he never moved. I turned around watching him over my shoulder. After about half a km I reached the bush and he was still standing there watching me. Went to the photo shop to develop my film. Any way I entered the complete series and won the contest LOL. I went back in the spring to look for his antlers and not a sign of him or the does, they had obviously moved on to a better food source which I never did find. Any way I walked away with a story that few will ever get to tell and the pics to prove it, and the pics suck as I had to take a picture of the picture from the 35mm. Whew, this is a long one. A few more pics of him at the end.

2nd last day of hunting season, last one for me. Took these early this morning while looking to harvest a big and my 40th white tail buck, which didn't happen. The pics of the grey owl aren't all that sharp, although it appears to be bright out it was very low light conditions. Not a huge bull moose but he is a very beautiful one as all moose are to me.

Hi all, The crappie are starting to show up in good numbers on the steep shoreline drop offs, not much happening with them on the reefs but they will be there soon enough. The ones we've been getting are really nice slabs, 14" would be average with a lot of 15"ers. They are pretty scattered, some even hitting suspended half way in the water column, but although spread out they are aggressive when you find a couple.

Had a loyal customer send me this. All are my ties I have done for him. Messenger_creation_475e72f9-c63d-4ce9-b034-a7562c1c649b.mp4

Hi all, went camping for a couple nights at the beginning of this week at our local Provincial Park which is on a lake trout lake. I headed out two mornings in a row at the crack of dawn as it’s my experience that the fishing is better before 9am. First morning the trout were chasing and biting, the second morning out they would only chase. Both mornings produced some really nice walleye, something about walleye in trout lakes, they are tanks, difficult to find sometimes, but when you do find them it’s a blast! I finished both mornings with a few bass once the trout and walleye bite stopped around 9am, WeatherRadar was perfect, fishing was great and was back in time for breakfast.

We were casting a bay one evening when 2 clowns on a jetski decided to mess around with us. They came in close and started doing donuts around us for about 5 minutes then took off. They only got 100 yards and tried to make another sharp turn but instead rolled the machine over. We could hear one of them screaming in pain in the water so we motored over and asked if he was hurt and he said yes, it's my back. I said "ahhh, that's a shame" and continued on our way.

Hi all, with the laborious initial 2hr break in under the belt it did not take long to get the next 8hrs on the new Merc. The sliming got better the last few days as I hit up the trout lake at our local Provincial Park where we have been tent camping the last couple of nights. The lake trout have been fussy but got a few, the bass have also been fussy, but got a few, and the walleye have been fussy as well…. sigh… but have had 3x26”, 1x 28” and a chunky 29”er with a couple small ones thrown in during two crack of dawn sessions.

Just got home from a quick 3 day trout trip in Quebec.....another amazing time catching bows and speckled trout. There were 3 of us and we limited out on Speckles and caught 9 bows......I personally caught a 3 1/2lb, 3lb and 3 x 2lbs speckies....I am already looking forward to trip# 3 in 4 weeks. I LOVE retirement!!

Hey All, Thanks for much again for all the responses. The Toronto Region Conservation Authority called me in response to my email. I spoke to head of water management. I sent him the real estate listing as well. He was pretty great about it, couldn't find any issues on their end as to why I can't. If it's private property, not fishing out of season, have a license, etc. Which was my main concern of TRCA officers showing up at my door to fine me, and not being able to fish there anymore (worst case scenario). The city is the "landlord" of the pond so they set the rules for their property, but since we have riparian rights, as it says in the ad, we're permitted, as I thought. He gave me the email for the park manager, they get calls constantly about high park etc people are understandably protective. I'll in the meantime I'll just ignore them. Or if I'm feeling sassy maybe paddle across and ask to see their (whining) licences, as angler harassment is illegal 😛 Also got this little almost 4lb nugget last Saturday.

Sorry!

The season is here once again for my fav fresh water fish. White fish. Opens in the morning and I am all loaded up and stoked.

Almost 12 years since I last logged into OFC. I saw a post of Facebook with some yellow jackets and grey hats and figured I would check out what’s going on in here! See lots of familiar faces, so much has changed since I was 13 years old discovering OFC with my dad, over the last 18 years one thing that hasn’t changed is my desire to chase Muskies. In 2017 I bought what at the time was my dream boat, after a boat accident and a couple boat upgrades later I am now fishing in a boat I could have never dreamed possible. During Covid I was unable to book at Lakair lodge or Memquisit lodge on the west arm of Lake Nippissing, one place on the upper French river was allowing guests so I took advantage, after quickly falling in love with the area I decided I wanted to dedicate my time to only fishing The French / Lake Nippissing. Last season I decided to start guiding, a life long dream that always seemed like a dream was now reality, being paid to bring people out to catch fish??? SIGN ME UP. The guiding aspect was very different, I went from bringing buddies on the boat trying to get them a fish to now needing to get people on fish, the fish cooperated quite well. I just wanted to thank all the OG members of the community who made things so much fun when I was younger, we would have never went to Lakair Lodge/Lake Nippissing without OFC. Here are a couple fish from my season last year: His first musky My GF with a 51” 51 x 26 September whale 51” fall fatty 55” 43.6lb last spot of the season, MAGIC.

Really like how these turned out. 7/32 tungsten glow beads. Very cool.

I agree with you 100% Terry, Emergency Service are in business for a reason and that reason is to help people when they get in trouble, whether it's through carelessness, misadventure, bad luck or just plain being stupid. Every year people get injured or killed doing crazy stuff and most times Emergency Service is there to help but it doesn't mean they also need to be punished for whatever they did.

Hi All, got out from 11am to 4pm, have to say it was sloooooooow. Got 8 crappie in all and a bunch of dink perch, but some of the crappies were 15”ers, can’t complain. Had to go back to my new spot…again, tried to get to my walleye lake yesterday but there were three 5 foot high pressure cracks on my route, the last one had water on the surface, decided I had better things to do than die that day.

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Hi all, Got back to Eagle lake for the sunset bite, this time I was flying solo, catch and release this time, just a good way to relax.

Not many days like this left this year so I decided to get the oldman out for a little troll. Timing the cisco spawn is real tough lol! Was out a few weeks ago and water was 50, today you can see it's 44 (a bit cooler out in the big water) No muskie today but the oldman got into a real nice gator. Fantastic few hours out on the water.

What a crazy fall we are having. Warm,cool,cold,warm. Not a fan of this. I was out one morning and it was 0 deg. Next day 14 deg. COME ON mother nature. River has yet to start to take on it,s fall color. Still a sandy look to it. Not my fav,but have done ok for the times I have got out. More swings and miss,s,but that is fishing. I hooked into what would of been my personal best this past weekend. Float dropped,set and out it came. I was gob smacked. Holly molly. I was in awe. Had to be 30" plus and thick. I tried to hold it,but me nerves got the best of me. My rod could not of bent anymore. Silly me,try to turn and well,pull the hook. Next drift,rain starts to come down. I am thinking the old saying as I watch the float drift away. Rain makes a bite. Sure enough,float drops,set and game on. Not a single jump,just bull dogging me. WTH. Salmon? After a good fight,finally get it close enough to see and it,s a nice fresh chrome. In the net and well,he went where I like them. In the smoker. My oldest boy has been telling me I need to go with him,as he knows where the bites are. Hmmmmm,I am catching I say. LOL He likes to hit the out of the way spots. Ya,I did those a lot as well,but my knee is not the best for that. I gave in and we hooked up. Wind is howling from the north all the way during my drive. Thinking this might be a good morning with the waves crashing on shore. We meet up and start the trek. Walking was not bad til,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Carefull pop,if you slip,yer going down a steep hill. What am I doing???????? It was dark,but we both have great head lamps. Head down and watching my steps. I stop on the narrow path and shine my light on the drop off. All I was thinking was, yup,that will end my day.That was positive thinking. Once we were past the,death do us part section,it was a nice walk. Got to spot with like 2 hours til any daylight. Thankfully,I had my java and some tunes. Once fishable light arrived,it was nice to see a very nice drift. I fished the tail out,he fished that darn fast water. I could never get the hang of that,but he does very well in it. An hour pass,s and who gets the hook up? Ya,the ole man. Nice fish that was jumping around like a jack in the box. I love that. Son came down to help land . Wind never let up all morning. right in my face,rod swaying back and forth. by noon,I had enough. Was a great morning. Walking back all I was thinking ,stay to the right and do not look down.LOL We made it back safe and shared some smokey treats. I have to say,he has turned into one hell of a river rat. Hope I had some part in that. Were entered in a derby as a team next weekend. Not sure where were fishing,but I will follow. Think I have lead long enough. Time to pass on the leadership role.

This is two of the many teaser pictures sent to me of a custom reel that I'm having built that is nearing completion. Once in hand I'll be in high gear to get a matching custom built rod for it to fish this Fall's Steelhead season.

I think I solved the problem to the, I Need skein,,,,,, Worked on this for a while and it seems to be catching on . Sold over 145 the past weekend Real skein and my tie. Soft 6mm eggs. It,s caught on so well,guys are asking for smaller for steelhead.

I find it funny that this response doesn't mention the slaughter that happens or the conditions it happens in. Fishing in that section isn't sporting. It's shooting fish in a barrel, I wouldn't even want to guess how many fish are flossed/snagged/pitchforked/netted or whatever during a single season run. This is the absolute best thing that could have happened, I hope it continues for years ahead.

Thanks everyone the owner was found👍👍👍

That’s one infested piece of tail

I had a customer visit me recently and he had supplied some of the components he wanted me to use as a cost saving measure. I was not big on the idea as I was certain in short order he would not be happy with the end result, so I talked him out of it in favour of this one off design based on my earlier seamless fore grip reel seats. Fairly inexpensive but definitely shows that the rod is custom work. He is extremely happy with the direction change.

I feel like a kid again on Christmas Eve.....I can't even remember the last time I headed out for a spring Trout excursion due to heavy business travel.....It's been 7 weeks since I have retired and I'm feeling great! Leaving in the morning to drive 3hrs north in Quebec and we will be targeting native Quebec Reds +Speckled Trout on the lake that our cabin is on and then some remote lakes for stocked Rainbows and Browns.....Very stoked just to get back in a boat and this will be the first out of 4 fishing trips that I booked in Quebec this year.....Hopefully the fish will cooperate and I'll be able to make another post....I know the Black Flies will be cooperating

I remember when I was a wee lad hearing the heavy horses pulling a wagon coming down the road at Oxenden, the farmer going to town to get their groceries. I would run up the road and stand just a few feet away and watch them go by. I could feel the ground shake. It was quite a spectacle that I will never forget. Here's just a couple pictures of the most stunning and beautiful Noriker draft horses I have ever seen and likely ever will see.

Read the room fellas, you missed the temperature, and you're overcooking the roast. Further, ever tried charging a child under 12 for a grip and grin? Nothing bad will ever come of this, even if posted on facebook.

I was starting to find it hard to lug my lead acid battery around. I love my argo but it's not quite as efficient as a boat so with the lead acid battery i could only troll for about 4 hours. I decided it was time to invest in one of these. What a huge difference in so many good ways. No worries about off gas when charging. I can pick this thing up with one hand and lift it in and out of the argo easily. I am not sure how long I can troll with it on the Argo but I have run it for over 7 hours at a time including wide open down the lake and back about 1/2 an hour each way with a 55lb thrust trolling motor. No issues at all. Only thing I would do differently is I would spend the extra to get one with the Bluetooth capability. Guess what I'm getting my son for his birthday this spring😊