Master of Bait

Beauty fish. I love seeing great open water reports and pics - been too long.

HUGE perch. Great haul and good on ya for releasing the big preggos.

Beauty fish buddy. Wish I layed into one of those when I was there. Great job!

Great fish. Clearly you earned them with all that blood being spilled. Nice job.

Hey gang, Thanks for the comments - knew I had it coming for the sweater (and the boat!). I painted the boat that ungodly color as a jab at my wife (I was talking trash and she called me on it). Only problem now is that I am not allowed to leave it in the driveway (it stays tucked in the garage because it 'clashes' with... absolutely everything). Cheers

Hey gang, Haven't been posting regularly but I owe you guys a few pics from fishing trips past. Finally got my disposable cameras developed that have been sitting in the garage for over a year so here are a select few shots from a couple of different trips... First, thanks to Rich from the board and fishmaster on the Grand for setting me up with some good catfish info. My buddy and I headed there on Wednesday and, although we were relegated to worms, we managed a couple of decent fish. I am sure that baitfish of some kind would have enhanced our catch but I can't say I am at all disappointed. April 23, '08: We nailed a bunch of small channels, some bullheads and a sheepshead on Wednesday. Just fantastic to get out and wet the line after a long absence from fishing. Fished from the dam down a couple of klicks south. Caught fish at a variety of depths with worms on bottom. Here is the average size of the cats that were hitting the worms (little guys) But then I got a bit better one And my buddy got an even better one And I got a sheepshead Overall, a beautiful river, a beautiful day, and fishmaster has a great launch ramp too. Thanks for all your help (Rich too)! Here is a shot of some Simcoe perch from last October, gorgeous day! We were sitting over "clouds" of perch and watched them fight over our bait. Everything worked, worms, minnows, gulp plastic minnows, etc. Between Georgina and the south shore. And here are a couple of my buddies with my boat in the background. If you see this obscenely bright dinghy out there, be sure to say hi Next up are some shots from last summer: My buddy nailed this little largie at one of our favourite, top-secret lakes. We are always amazed at how many bass we can pull out of 15 foot weedlines trolling crankbaits for walleye and pike. Lots of snot-rockettish northerns there that make up for their lack of size by their abundance. Here is an average one. Sometimes catch 30 a day. Here is a smallie in the bottom of the boat Sunset, time to go home. Don't you all look forward to more of these in the near future? Next up, Clearwater Florida over new year's. My wife and I took off for a few days and, of course, I packed the rods. Ended up doing 4am-8am fishing missions while she slept, thereby maximizing "together time" during the day while still catching fish whenever possible. Unfortunately, many of the pics did not turn out (dark, cr*ppy flash I guess). I caught a shark (24 inch dink), some speckled trout, whiting, grouper and bluefish, but all I have to show for it are these strange saltwater cats (getting a better camera next time!). Finally, Virginia Beach last August (another short getaway). Fished the pier every morning (same deal, I give up my sleepy time to fish when my wife is snoozing, then hang with her on the beach during the day). Unfortunately, the pics did not turn out here as well. I hooked a large skate (ray) that broke me off at the surface trying to haul it up 25 feet to the pier, lots of whiting and these little guys called "spots", lots of bluefish and a spanish mackerel. The only ones that turned out were these bluefish. I would keep 2-3 fish usually and give them to the locals, using some of the fish as bait as well. What I love about shore/pier fishing in the ocean is that you never know what you're going to lay into. I don't even care about size, but just seeing different, unique fish is always lots of fun. That's all folks. Unfortunately I didn't bring the camera for many different trips last year so there was lots more to report that I can't show pics for. I promise to do a better job documenting the fishing this coming year. All the best, hope to post again soon. Try to avoid the "zoo" tomorrow if at all possible!

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Sick. Looks like an unbelievable trip. Best thing is you didn't let the "green" guide get you down. Everyone's gotta start somewhere. Doesn't look like it mattered anyway as you really CRUSHED them. Nice job!

Love that rig. Easy for a one-man trip. Nice fish too!

Nice fish Rich. Awesome whisker shot! I hope to do the same SOON!

Dutch/Jedi, Thanks for the help. I'm piecing together a bit of a mental picture thanks to feedback from the board. Now, I need to make sure that I can execute so that I'm posting fish pics next week instead of a longwinded excuse on why it was the weather's fault that I got... nah, ain't gonna say it.... Thanks again guys, appreciate the shared info! Cheers, MoB

Hey folks, Been lurking lots but not posting much - mainly because I've been doing a lot of... NOT fishing! Finally, however, I'm off to Pigeon this weekend for a friendly CPR tourney with some buddies (we just pair up with non-partners so that we can verify the length of eachother's fish, take a quick pick and release them - no one wants to clean any fish this w/e). Having never fished the lake, I wonder if anyone has any general patterns they could share on Muskies and walleyes in the Kawarthas at this time of year. Lures/colors, general depths and structure - without, of course, giving up any honey holes! Also, if there is a general area of the lake that I should focus on (is known to be productive), please do let me know. Appreciate any feedback and promise to post as soon as I get back. Best, MoB

Gang, It's been a while since my last post as I've laid low since my controversial comments caused a stir (do you recall, OOS fish?)... Been lurking though and applaud everyone on their recent successes following the openers, keep it going! Truly I haven't had much to report for the last while although I do promise to post a few pics when I get them from my friends. I will be paddling the Serpentine lake loop this coming long weekend and I wonder if anyone can provide some insight on this route. I'm not a "hardcore" paddler but I do love this stuff and I have never caoned this particular route (north Kawarthas). If you've ever done this route, would you kindly fire me a reply with any tips or hints you could provide? What I'm looking for is... 1.) Recommended campsites 2.) Where you rented your canoe 3.) Best fishing lake on the route, tips, of course! 4.) Any pitfalls to worry about? Anyhow, would just appreciate it if someone would share their experience more than anything. I have a plan in place but I always welcome feedback from someone in the know. Many thanks in advance. I promise pics - hopefully of BIG FISH! Tight lines to all, MOB

Hey folks, Thanks for the kind words - lots of fun out there. I removed the walleye pic as I should not have posted an OOS species on the board. Thanks to the member that let me know. Awesome the number, size and variety of fish you can connect with on the big lake in and around the city, though. Bly - the sheep was like a heavy, lazy fighter. We've caught a number of them to 9 lbs but I know they can double that weight. Lots of fun when you're not expecting them! Look forward to posting and reading lots of open water lake reports in the near future! Tight lines to all.

Het folks, Just a quick note to let you know that I was contacted by a board member who very kindly and respectfully advised me that posting pics of out-of-season fish is not allowed on the board - I thank you for that. This was in reference to a walleye pic I posted in an earlier note - have since edited and removed it. FYI - I took every care possible in handling that fish and releasing it quickly and safely, but selfishly took a pic because it was a nice fish. Truth be told, I think this is a great rule that is in place as a message that this board does not in any way condone or promote OOS fishing, or targeting fish that are in spawn mode (these guys need to be left alone to make some babies for the future). I should've read the rules more closely myself, and should've known better anyway. Anyhow, just posting this note for two purposes: 1.) To let you all know that I will not be doing this in the future and understand why the rule is in place. 2.) To advise anyone else who may not know this that this is, in fact, a rule of the board. Thanks to all as no one jumped all over me for the slip up. I look forward to posting lots of pics of IN-season for your reading pleasure in the weeks and months to come. Cheers, MOB

Gang, A buddy and I jumped in the boat in hopes of tying into some browns and/or rainbows on the big lake for a few hours Monday afternoon... Fishing for trout was tough as we went 0/1. Totally my fault as I fumbled the landing on my buddy's beautiful 5 lb-looking brown. It was green, flipping around the surface near the boat and I stabbed at it with the net. Unfortunately the hook got caught up in the rubber net and the fish came off pretty quick. Too bad as it was a gorgeous fish. We did, however, connect with a couple surprises. First was an out-of-season walleye. It's one of the larger ones I've caught so we snapped a quick pic but I rushed to release it right away. I had a scale with me but felt rushed to get it back in the water so I passed on weighing it. Have a look at the pic, any guesses? I figured somewhere near 5 lbs? walleye Before leaving, my buddy hooked into another sizeable fish. Unfortunately it was of the coarse variety - not the shiny trout he was after... sheep Regardless, it was lots of fun. Hoping to get out on the open water a little more in the coming weeks....

CCMT - great report as always. Love a good read like that with some great pics. I don't drift for steel (I want to, just no time) but I can just imagine battling big brutes like tht in close quarters with the multiple snags around. Truly a test of an angler's ability. Great job to both you and Bly!

RIDICULOUS! CC, you've got talent! In TUNE with the fish. Great report as always.

Beauty fish buddy. Looks like I'll have to take a trip to Nippissing myself whenthe weather warms up to get into bass like THAT! Keep up the good work!

Nice job ccmt/bly - landing one keeps ya honest! Love the die hard attitude with you two - rain or shine, cold or freezing, no matter...

Bly - great job. And happy birthday! Gotta say there's something special about being out there on your own. Must've felt so good landing that bad boy on your own. CCMT, looks like it's time for a second noodle rod in the house!

Hey gang, Had the fever and wanted to wet my engine on Friday after work so we hit a local spot on lake O for a very short outing to dust off the lures as well as my boat. Gotta say it felt GREAT to be out there on the water again after several long months of fishlessness. Didn't go nuts as it was a dusk mission but we did manage to sneak in a little action before dark. I was trolling my favorite shad rap and lost a couple good fish (too eager, rusty, improper hook sets). Finally laid into what seemed like a decent fish and after a brief tussle was surprised to see this little sheepie come aboard. Quick CPR. Hung in for a short while longer as we pushed it until dark and was rewarded with this little brown before we called it quits. Overall, it was short and sweet but felt GREAT to get out on the water again in 07. ALL OPENERS CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH!!!!!