steverowbotham

I bow to you

Yes sir. 5/8oz jig in about 20ft

Every year around this time, I enjoy recapping my season. The boat is put away and I may still get out a few times with buddies, but for all intents and purposes, my season has come to an end. Looking back, I had a very memorable season, and with a wife and young son at home, I was certainly lucky to get out as often as I did. Let’s start off from the beginning. January First ice is always something I look forward to. I don’t enjoy ice fishing as much as I enjoy fishing from a boat, but until our climate changes drastically, that’s my only option. First ice came in decent time this year and I believe that January 11th was my first day out. I planned a vacation from work for the 3rd week of January, so it came at the right time. I was out for first ice on the Sunday that my vacation started. The bite was solid for the first couple weeks, as it often is. We fished deep water chasing Simcoe lakers. There wasn’t an awful lot of bait around in the areas we were fishing, but the fish were very willing to commit to moving baits. The good bite continued into February. This was my first laker of the season, not a bad way to start it off. This fish came on the first drop on my second trip out nice, long fish I only keep fish once or twice a season, these ones made it to the smoker and we enjoyed them as a snack back out on the ice. My biggest of the season in the 18 pound range. February February started off slow. I think I had 2 skunks and took a couple weeks off. We started running and gunning for whities and bumped into some nice lakers along the way. The fish were a lot tighter to bottom and needed more enticing, as the often do during the February blues. nice shallow laker hit a bunch of good whities on this day, they would move through in schools and every school had 1 or 2 that would commit. This was my first spreader fish in years. Decided to try it out and it was a good time handlining them in. March Last ice is always my favourite time. The fish just seem to get hungry. The days are longer, the sun shines more and the comfort level is more enjoyable. I mix it up between lakers and perch for the last bit of the season. The lakers get to swim home, the perch feed me for a while. April I literally didn’t fish in April. Brutal. May I missed steelhead opener, so I got out one time on May 1st and went 3 for 5 or something. Nothing crazy, but always a good time. Perch fishing took up the next couple weeks until lakers and pike opened up. May is always a favourite for me. So much variety, that I rarely experience once bass season opens up. We got some big fish throughout the month. some slob perch more giant Simcoe perch nice laker to start off the rigging season My biggest pike of the year came on opening day, just passing the 46 inch mark Another solid pike Good solid fish from a solo trip June Bass season opens this month, which I always look forward to, but there lots of time before then. Some more rigging and pike fishing, then when the last Saturday of June comes around, it seems not much else matters. My last targeted pike of the season my biggest laker of the rigging season first smallie of the year was a good one Successful day One of the darkest smallies I’ve ever caught July/August I’ll group these months together since it is just one big blur of bass fishing. I do a lot more largemouth fishing once the water warms, but still target transitioning smallies for the first little while. won my first clubbie of the year on Simcoe fun day largie fishing Cal thought he had a giant smallie Biggest largie of the season, well over 6 lbs nice set fun day flipping Fall It may seem I’m getting lazy with my typing now, kinda. Fall is one big season that I always look forward to. I love fall fishing. The fish become predictable and they eat. Enjoy some photos from the fall season, and thanks for reading. first day really whacking them in early fall Jon and I won the Imperium Baits fall brawl with around 25lbs Cal met me on shore so he could come slay them when the bite was on. Greg and I won the Barrie Bassmasters Open with 29.95 lbs… so close to 30! This fish is my new PB. I don’t have a weight, but I believe she is over 7.5, closer to 8lbs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqn7otDFfcc Check out this quick video from my pike season.

The past couple of weeks have been some of the best in recent memory on Lake Simcoe. The lake is on schedule and the smallies are predictably setting up where they should. Fish are averaging 4-5 lbs with fish up to 7lbs showing up for us. I dont have many pictures to offer from the past couple weeks. As a catch and release guy, John Whyte recently posted an insightful piece about smallmouth out of deep water. There is really no need to keep these fish out of water for too long at this time of year. These fish are coming out of deep water and their swim bladders will inflate quickly if not released within 30-40 seconds. In the past I have kept fish for photos and gone through the fizzing process. I am quite familiar with fizzing, but earlier this year had a big one die on me because of it. My neighbour enjoyed it, but I felt quite guilty. I opted to video these fish and keep their health in mind, getting them back as quick as possible. I've compiled some clips from the past couple of weeks. Enjoy.

Christine is legit too. I've spent time on the water with her and she is better than most anglers I've fished with. Great fish!

Didnt take long. Hank Hill butt is a real problem.

Here's a video of the biggest pike I've ever caught, from a few years ago.

Hey everyone. I had some time off work starting on the 11th and I was praying we would have ice by then. I wouldnt want to spend a week off sitting at home or fishing perch. Timing worked out perfectly and I was able to get out on the bay for my first vacation day. I spent 4 days on the ice this week with Callum from Happy Go Fishing and got into some good fish each day. The size that these lakers are growing to out there is incredible. I really do expect to see some high 20's caught this season. I'd love to see someone break 30. Each day was different, so I landed fish on a variety of baits. Swimbaits, tubes, crankbaits and an Imperium Ace did the majority of the damage. There were some spoon and jigging rap fish in the mix as well. The first couple days, the fish were relating to the bottom, so the bottom 20 feet was most productive. The last couple days out, they were mostly mid column fish. Always experiment and don't rely on a single go to lure. That will help you ice more fish. Lots of smaller fish this week too, but here's some of our better ones. I don't keep em too often, but one day we kept a limit of our smaller fish for the smoker. Can't wait to munch em. Thanks for reading. Happy Fishing!

Thanks guys. It was a memorable year for sure. Time to clean out the ice hut and prep for 2015.

That one was just a hair over 48. Still looking for my 50

Yes it was, at 10 days old

You should, you recommended it. Thanks by the way. Lots of fun there

Well folks, it’s that time of the year again. The boat is going away and I’ll be taking a month or so off from fishing to catch up on some family time and put in some extra hours at work, the joys of retail management at Christmas. This year was one of the best in recent memory, with lots of highlights I can’t wait to share. I haven’t been posting much as of late, but with the newest addition to our family, I haven’t had as much time to do so. I always enjoy recapping my season as it allows me to share information and knowledge, but also look back and relive the moments for myself. In any sport, studying and practice is what makes you better. I truly believe that in fishing, there is no substitute for time on the water. You can read as much as you want, but the more time you put in, the more you will learn. The subtleties that come with fishing are things that you can’t read about, you need to learn them and experience them to understand. Every fish caught is a piece of data, and by recapping a season or even a daily trip, you can pick up on those small things that may get overlooked. So let’s get started. January 2014 This was the first year since I’ve been ice fishing seriously, that we had ice on the lake trout grounds of Simcoe on opening day. I missed the new year’s celebration, as I was already in bed dreaming of big greasers. It was a chilly morning and we had already walked and spudded 3km by the time the sun came up. It was still pretty dark when the propane was rocking and the vexilars were flashing. I was expecting the bite to be on fire, but its not always what you expect. We landed a decent number of fish, but nothing crazy, and certainly nothing of any size. Still great to be out nonetheless. Over the rest of the month, we dialed into some really good fish and really put a clinic on them for a while. Our best day, despite frigid -30 temps and howling winds, saw us put 3 fish in the 15+ pound range on the ice, including one giant over 20. The schools that we were on in January were mainly suspended fish and we were really targeting the 40-50 foot depth range, though often over 80-110 feet of water. Some days, the fish were very aggressive and eating lipless crankbaits. Most days, we were a bit more finesse, targeting them with Imperium ice tubes and aces (soft jerkbait). I almost always rig my plastic on 3/8oz heads. If the current is strong, I will go to 1/2oz. February 2014 I always seem to struggle in February. I am a walker, and it hurts me sometimes. Not that I can’t get to where I want to, as I often can. Though often on cold, windy days when the hike through snow gets difficult, I don’t move often enough. Lake trout roam the lake and follow bait. Moving can be the single best decision an angler can make. 50 feet can make a difference in your success, but I am not a fan of the cold. I still had some decent days through February, but not the days I had hoped for. I was able to entice a lot of fish in the lower 10 feet of the water column through February, on a mix of tubes, aces and jigging raps. March 2014 Last ice is my favourite time of the year to target lake trout. As it gets warmer, the days get longer and the fish start to feed. I often begin targeting the upper half of the water column at this time of year, especially on sunny days. The trout chase down schools of smelts and herring and will often rise 80 feet off bottom to investigate a bait. I was only able to get out a couple times during march, as I started a new position at work and picked up a new truck in the process. When I did get out, we got into some good fish, but a lot of smaller sized fish. These fish were taken mostly on swimbaits and crankbaits. April 2014 Not too much to write about in here. I got out once for trout and headed East. It was the Monday after opening weekend, so I wasn’t expecting much. Fishing was decent, but not amazing. Hit fish on a mix of beads, roe and micro tubes. I think I landed 7 or 8 over the course of the day. May 2014 I started the month off doing some steelheading. I stayed local, fishing Georgian Bay. Water cleared pretty good, but really light line helped pick up a bunch more fish. Broke off a bit too frequently, though. Once the steelhead slowed, we spent some fun nights with friends fishing off the piers on Lake Simcoe catching feeds of jumbo perch. Had some good meals and made some good memories. I take fishing pretty seriously; I’ve always been very passionate about it. But some of my favourite trips are shore fishing with groups of friends. Pike opener is mid-May, and I look forward to it all year. I usually book some vacation and head north, targeting big pike. The pike were a little behind this year so the first week or so, we were fishing slowly over some deeper water and were able to put some good fish in the boat. As the days passed, some fish moved shallower and we were able to sight fish them throwing plastics. June 2014 Pike fishing was still in full swing to start off the month of June and we fished them hard until Fathers Day. By the time June rolled around, the fish had vacated the shallows and were found over deeper water. Shoals and emergent weed growth were hot targets throwing swimbaits, invaders and slow rolling grubs on slower days. I landed my personal best 47.5 incher on an Imperium Ace in early June. The fish followed an invader but wouldn’t commit. We ran back later and got her to eat the ace on the same waypoint. Definitely my highlight of the month. Took a couple weeks off then got out for a few hours on Kawartha bass opener. Hit a couple lakes and put some fish in the boat, but nothing crazy, mostly throwing Minotauro Craws and Impact Sticks. Simcoe opener was tougher than expected, but we still landed some good fish and targeted a mix of smallies and largies. My wife, even at 8 months pregnant, still put some good fish in the boat. July 2014 Started off the month fishing the Imperium Baits Pro Staff tournament on Simcoe/Cooch. It was a really windy day, and I really didn’t want to run far, so we stuck around fairly close to the ramp. After 4 hours and only small fish to show for our efforts, we decided to make a run. We only had an hour and a half to fish and got good bites. We needed one more good one, but still managed a 20+ lbs stringer good enough for 3rd, less than a pound back of leaders. After this tourney, I spent a bit of time fishing north and sticking around on Simcoe as well. Got into some good bites and then on July 25, our son, Henry was born. We spent the first week in hospital with him, but he came home with us and is doing great. I thought my season would be pretty shortened, but I was still able to get out a whole bunch. August 2014 My first trip of August, and first since Henry was born, I headed to my favourite largemouth lake with a long-time friend who I haven’t spent enough fishing time with as of late. We absolutely blasted the largies throwing a mix of Minotauro Craws and Impact Sticks. Had some fish over 5lbs and enough 3 pounders to last the rest of the season. We did some more trips up north fishing smallies including a day of filming on a small Muskoka lake, crushing smallies on soft jerkbaits. Threw in one more largie day on my way home from that trip, and that was the end of my largemouth season. September 2014 This is usually one of my favourite months of the year. The smallies start staging and schooling up towards their fall haunts. The boat traffic dwindles. The blistering heat gives way to jeans and hoody season. This year, I wasn’t able to get out near as much as I would like. I got out for some late season rigging with good friend and Lake O guide, Greg Amiel. We hammered on some rainbows and had one good bonus salmon to go with it. Aside from that, I had one day out on Simcoe to practice for the Imperium Baits open tournament and the tournament itself. The tournament was a fun one. Callum and I ended up placing 2nd with 25.45lbs of smallies. The day was a grind, but we made good decisions and put good fish in the boat. We caught fish as deep as 45 and as shallow as 6. We certainly weren’t locked onto any specific pattern. Our big fish at 6.20lbs came on a stick in 6 feet of water. October 2014 I had a much busier month than I did the previous. We started with our annual fall musky hunt. We camped for 3 nights in cold, miserable weather and had a slow trip. We managed to boat a few nice fish and each break our PB’s. I don’t musky fish much, but I plan on doing more and visiting lakes known for bigger fish. After this trip, I spent the rest of my time fishing Simcoe smallies and had a blast. November 2014 I got out just once on Remembrance Day and boated some good fish. It turned out to be my last day of the season. I was hoping for more, but mother nature had other plans. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

awesome!

We had a tough time agreeing on names but as soon as Henry came up, it stuck

Hey guys, it's been a while since I posted on here. Been a very busy summer for us. I've been able to get out fishing quite a bit and on July 25th I witnessed the birth of our first child, Henry. He's doing very well, growing nicely and will be picking up a fishing rod to join dad in no time! Last week I was able to get out with Graham Johnston, the owner of Imperium Baits and we did some fishing up in Muskoka, what a blast, I've added a video at the bottom from that day. Thanks for viewing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZyH4W5rBBI&feature=youtu.be

Well folks, thus far its been a pretty good season, I've gotta say. With the baby due in just over a month, I better get in as much fishing as I can, now. As usual, the season started off ice fishing some lakers, followed by steelhead, pike and now bass... finally! The first half has come to an end, and this is what I've got to show. I cant wait for the adventures that the second half brings and to watch my new fishing partner come into this world. Look out fish!

Thanks for the replies everyone, it was a great fish for sure. Brian, no I wont be at Cabelas. Not working anyways lol Here's a few more of the beauts I've landed this year.

Hey folks, it's been a while since I've posted, but I've been out fishing a bit. This year has offered a tough season for the big pike that I love so much. I've been able to boat some real quality fish, but I've had to work very hard for them thus far. I'm not going to flood the post with photos from the season but I would really like to share a fish that I caught and released this past Friday. I'd been finding some quality pike transitioning from their shallow sunning grounds out into the deeper feeding zones, but after numerous follows throwing bucktails, and nothing commiting, I needed to change tactics. I downsized to a 5 inch Imperium Ace soft jerkbait rigged on a 6/0 Trokar straight shank worm hook, tied directly to a steel leader. I was able to boat a few in the 30-36 inch range before hooking up with the biggest pike of my life to date. I hit this fish in about 9 feet of water and she absolutely crushed it. Say hello to my PB, a 47 inch gator! It may be a while before I top this one in Southern Ontario.

Sad news, I had tickets to see him at Rama later this month too.

Well it appears that the 2014 ice season has come and gone, despite the fact that we will still have ice for another few weeks or more. This year, I would have to say was by far the toughest ice season that I have had in recent memory. There were a few days that we could do no wrong, but there were several that I could do nothing right. Too many skunks for one season. I fished several locations, but was limited to walking for the most part, and my own laziness got the best of me on several cold, windy occasions, when I just stayed put instead of moving. Despite the tough trials, I was still able to find some good success here and there, mostly in the shallower ranges of 55-80 feet. I had my best lake trout success using an Imperium Ace rigged on a 3/8oz darter head jig and an Imperium Ice tube, also rigged on a 3/8oz head. There were a lot of "high flyers" this season, sitting in the top 30 feet of the water column, at one point I had a smallish (5-6 lbs) laker hit the tube just 5 feet under the ice in 122 ft of water. Pretty wild stuff. Hope you enjoy some of the photos from the season! Thanks for viewing. I kept 3 or 4 this season for the pan, but for the most part I practice catch and release. To keep this fishery healthy, I encourage we all do our part to help, CPR. Catch, Photo, Release

Thanks guys, I had a lot of fun this year!!

Enjoy!

If it's the one with the red shirt, I didnt get a weight on her but it was one of my better largies for sure. I'd say 6.5 - 7lbs but thats just a guess

I vary between 1000 and 2500. 2500 comes in handy when you're into bigger fish!