steverowbotham

I finally got a chance to scoot out on my own. Brought the GoPro with me for the first time this season. What a blast! It's kind of nice being on the rod instead of the net for a change.

What an absolute blast. After guiding all ice season with just 5 days off, I needed some heat in my life. We headed to Mexico and got to enjoy a few days fishing the saltwater! It's gonna be weird going for perch now... Enjoy!

I headed north with a buddy on Sunday to chase some muskies. Tough bite with the cold front and I'm no musky expert, so we certainly struggled with the bite, but still got into a few chucking blades around rock/weed transitions in 6-18ft of water. Quick video of some of the fish. Enjoy.

Got out the last couple evenings with a buddy to put a hurting on the Simcoe Lakers. Hope you enjoy the video. What a blast!

A couple years back I started saving my used plastics and re using them with various molds I've made. It's saved me a ton of money and recycling is always good! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rx2FD2RBqM&t=15s

It's tough to define "best" smallmouth lake in the country. Simcoe is my favourite, but I don't believe it's the best. The results are clear to see, winning weight over 3 days is like 62lbs and the 1000 islands this weekend took 75. Simcoe in the fall is a whole other story, 3 bags over 30lbs in one day last year, we were one of them. The problem with Simcoe is that it has world class size, but certainly not world class numbers. Erie, St Clair, 1000 Islands, Georgian Bay among many others can expect 20,30,40 even 50 fish days. Simcoe is a 5-15 bite a day lake. If you're catching more than that, you're having a great day.

Fished the Bronzeback Cup this weekend presented by Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, CSFL and the City of Barrie. Had a blast over the 3 days, here is my recap of the event. Simcoe is such a crazy lake, you never know what to expect. Hope you enjoy!

Went out last week in search of the unheralded bowfin. What a blast throwing jigs at them in shallow water. Sight fishing is my favourite! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrgHHY7fKm0&t=1s

Holy crap did I ever eat some humble pie last week. I pride myself on staying humble and keeping an open mind when it comes to fishing. I feel that closed-mindedness will only get you left in the dust. So last week, when Tom from Fatal Force Outfitters stopped by my hut to offer some tips, I was open ears. I couldnt have imagined what came next... insanity. What a game changer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFJzSav2lFI

Had a blast the last couple of days! Back atter tomorrow!

Hard to say for sure, but I find a significant amount of darker fish in shallow water, so I have to believe that that has a lot to do with it. Diet, sun exposure among many factors.

Got out for a day on the weekend to smack some lakers. Slow day overall, but managed a few nice ones. Every fish caught on the vibrato this time.

Definitely not on lock. It is constantly changing. I moved to Innisfil from Mississauga 23 years ago and have been fishing it ever since. I saw the lake change with the zebra mussels, I saw it change when smelt and herring all but disappeared, I saw it change when gobies were introduced, I saw it change when herring made a come back. The lake is in a constant state of change, and we as anglers need to adapt also to be successful. It's not that I have it on lock, I'll be the first to tell you that there are a hundred guys out there that can catch em better, or have more knowledge of it. I am just constantly experimenting and I think thats the best way to learn.

Went out today for a few hours looking for morning whities and afternoon lakers. Got into a decent number of both, though it certainly wasnt fast and furious. Marked a ton of fish in the 50ft range, but the shallower fish seemed to be biting better. Not a hut to be seen where I was fishing and I love that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmtme7wVXL4&lc=z22odji5emr5jpzmxacdp435h032yb3dqfil1ti4ahlw03c010c

Yesterday, while doing an ice report on Lake Couchiching, we came across some very unsafe ice and decided to try and show what to do if you fall through. Always be prepared and have safety equipment in the early season. I try to do this every couple of years in a controlled setting. It makes me comfortable knowing that I know how to escape properly if it were ever to happen accidentally. Ice picks are the single most important piece of equipment I have with me, other than a float suit. Always have a friend and always have some rope, especially early on.

First person I wanted to call and tell.

I hope you enjoy!

The other day, I skipped the storms and when it cleared up in the afternoon, I launched the boat for a couple of hours with my son Henry. He turns 3 in July and has never been on the boat. I more or less just wanted to take him for a ride but when we started marking good numbers of fish, we dropped down and got into one. He helped daddy reel it in and had a blast. Fun for me, fun for him! It was awesome hearing him tell mommy what happened in his broken english lol

Finally got back on the water for the first time in a month. On Saturday I hit a Lake O trib for some rainbows on opener. Did alright. Tangled with a whole bunch but only managed to land 4 and a bonus little brown. Sunday I launched the boat on Simcoe in search of some jumbos and got into a good school pretty quickly. Landed well over a hundred fish and got some real brutes. A weedline in 8-10 feet of water held the fish and a small finesse minnow on bottom got the bites.

Thanks man. I'm not expert on it and certainly still learning. I try to experiment with something new every time, only way to learn. Same with fishing!

Here's a fun highlight video I put together from this season, I hope you enjoy. The whitefish were rocking all season, but the lakers didnt show up for me until the latter half. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGCr3uu4thU

It's called the "scanning code of practice" If you dont have the "Flipp" app on your phone, you should. Best way to price match items from all over. We save so much money on our trips.

Second video added to include the whities!

It's been an off season for me this year, I really havent spent much time on the ice. Between work and a young family, I havent been out on Simcoe since Family Day weekend. I got a full day to get out yesterday and made the most of it. Plan was to run and gun some shoals until we found fish, luckily the first pick was good and we never moved. Landed 16 fish myself and Seb was around the same. Great day on the lake with a lot of quality fish. Love last ice! Unfortunately its my last day of the season, but at least it ended on a high note! [YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_qUHJFETuo[/YOUTUBE] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4BcKEXr7BU

My buddy Sebastien and I headed out yesterday afternoon to try a new area and it paid off big time. Sebastien landed a 17.95 lbs burbot, passing the old record of 16.8 lbs. Obviously, the official record is still pending paperwork. Check out the video of our day. It was awesome. https://youtu.be/bE6hIgcEc_c