steverowbotham

Thanks everyone. I enjoyed this season a lot and cant wait for next year!

Really cool video!!

I guess it's about that time. The nights are freezing, the days are freezing. It's sadly about time for me to put the sticks away and maybe think about charging the flasher. Okay, maybe not quite, but I am certainly at the end of the road for my 2013 fishing season and I can't wait to review it. From start to finish, this was a fantastic season for me. I had some really tough streaks, some really hot streaks and that, ultimately, is what fishing is all about. It's what keeps me coming back. I caught some big fish, I caught some small fish and I had fun every step of the way. I lost small fish, I lost big fish and it only added to the experience. Recently, as many may have noticed, I havent spent much time doing tournaments outside of our club. There are a good number of reasons including budget that have prevented me from doing them, but most of all, I have really been enjoying fishing. I like the availability of going anywhere, anytime and fishing for anything. When the time is right, I will continue to fish more tournaments, but for now, I am enjoying the "freedom". Ice fishing season this year was a good one. As stated, we had some really tough days and some really good ones. A few days with over 20 lakers iced and a few with 0. Thats the way it goes. I spent a lot of time in the 110 foot range this year, and as shallow as 40 by the end of the season and managed to put a lot of good fish on the ice. One interesting note, even though I do not target them, I never landed a single whitefish this year. Not one. Weird. Ended the season off chasing slab perch at last ice. What a blast! Next up was crappie season, it was a short one, as I only got out a few times, but managed fish every time. Micro tubes under a float produced well for us this spring targeting fish in emergent vegetation. Steelhead season arrived and I actually went a few times this year, both east and north. No really special stories there. Caught a good number of fish on a mix of roe, beads and flies. Spring pike was up next, and as many of you know, it is a favourite for me. I booked a week off work to head north and chase gators. This season was by far the best I've had for giant pike, we fished 4 different lakes over 2 weeks and were able to boat big fish in every one. Fish were pretty awkward to pattern as they were in different stages on each lake, but once you learn their spring habits and routine, a pattern can be made and you will be able to find them. Our top producers were the Imperium Baits Ace, Imperium prototype grub and a Salmo Slider, fish in water as shallow as 3 feet to as deep as 35 feet. Early bass season in the Kawarthas was awesome this year, and I was mostly focused on bass from there on out. I spent a lot of time pitching Imperium Baits Minotauro Craws as well as their Impact Sticks this season, and the results showed, as I earned my 3rd Barrie Bassmasters AOY title. I am so impressed by these baits, from the colour selection, to the soft, yet durable plastic and most importantly, the action that they impart. It truly makes fishing simple. All in all, a great year, I also got addicted to musky fishing, a little late in the year, but next season, I'll be putting some time in! The biggest highlight of my year, was not even the AOY title. It was my fiancee, Kelli's 5th place showing in the second week of the Salmon Derby with a 32.74lbs tank.... her first time downrigging! Lots of fun! Thanks for reading, see you on the ice! I got a good amount of video footage this season too, and I will be doing up a highlight video shortly. Check out the other videos at www.youtube.com/steverowbotham

It used to bother me, but I dont have the time to let it ruin my day anymore. Let the angler be proud of their catch regardless of how big it is. I know what a 7 pound smallmouth looks like and they're not as common as we're told they are. It is what it is.

If bass and pike are your target, I would suggest launching at Innisfil Beach Park or Monto Reno Marina in Lefroy. There is good fishing to be had nearby both access points. For pike and largemouth, look for deep weeds in the 10-15 foot range. For smallmouth, fish the shoals or islands in the area. Sand and rocks are key to finding them.

Thanks guys. I love catching fish, but I had just as much fun seeing her catch that one.

Back in college, I got really into steelheading for a while, but havent done much since I graduated. Early fall, I'd spend some time in the rivers getting salmon, and seeing some of what I saw on the rivers in the fall, really turned me off of it. I'd always wanted my fiancee, Kelli to feel the pull of a salmon. When fellow Imperium Baits pro staffer, Greg Amiel called and asked if I'd be interested in getting down to Lake O for some "real" fresh salmon, I couldnt pass on it, and Kelli tagged along. Watching Greg, a respected guide do his work was like learning a foreign language. Greg worked very hard to get us on fish. on a day that it seemed most were struggling. I cant recall exactly, but I think we went about 8 for 12 and were off the water by noon. We landed some really quality fish out there, and some little guys too. The best part of the day, and probably my season so far, was the final hookup of the day. It was Kelli's turn and when the rod went off, she jumped to it and we immediately knew she was into a good one. After about 10 minutes and a wicked arm workout, Greg put the net around her biggest fish to date. After a few woooos, holys and yeahs, we were speeding off to the nearest weigh station. Her fish tipped the scales at 32.74 lbs she placed 5th on Week 2 of the Salmon Derby! We're all very excited, and very thankful to Greg of Fishing4Tails charters for showing us a great day on the water!

Congrats to TonyB, thats an awesome fish and prize! My fiancee, Kelli just took 5th place for this week with her 32.74 lber , her new PB !! I'm pretty excited for her, and a little jealous she gets to do the fish off without me! LOL

Imperium Baits is new out of Collingwood. Soft plastic company

As an avid angler, it is rare to go out and see something that genuinely surprises me. Every day of fishing has highs and lows, but after around 100 days a year on the water chasing multi species adventures, the highs never seem as high. Don't get me wrong, fish get my adrenaline pumping. The day that changes, is the day I quit fishing, and I forecast a long fishing future. I just fail to gain the overwhelming excitement that I used to. Luckily, it doesnt take much to change that. Yesterday was that day. Over the past week and a half, I have been lucky enough to spend time on 4 different bodies of water targeting water wolves, big gators. So yesterday, I got off work around 8am and decided to rock over to one of the better lakes I had launched on previously. Armed with a devastating lineup of Imperium soft plastics, we went to work. Initially we started off deep with no sniffs. So we moved shallow. We saw some fish but they were very inactive and unwilling to play. Made another move to a mid range spot. Fairly shallow water with some really deep water nearby. We found the honey hole. Tons of fish around, almost all good size and these fish wanted to play a little more. They werent super aggressive, and we did have to finesse them, but they were willing. Ace's fished on ballheads and weightless did most of the damage, and when the going was tough, I switched to a fat 4 inch grub that Imperium will be bringing out in the near future. That twister tail fired them up when nothing else would. In the end, I landed my biggest pike to date. I wanted her back in the water after photos, and didnt get a measurement or weight, but I know she was big. She also showed me her lunch and why she got so big! Check out the video to get a true perspective on her size. http://youtu.be/LH_8clR1r7s

Camera is a GoPro Hero 2 on a tripod

Here's a video with some nice footage from my opener!

Finally!

Just a cheap camera. Nikon Coolpix L120

I tie my own leaders. I just buy a spool of 20# coffee wire from Malin, along with some 20# crimps and tie like a mad man the night before opener lol.

I had a week's vacation starting on the long weekend and I decided that I would spend a good amount of it chasing slime! My plan was to split my time between two favourite bodies of water and that's exactly what I did. The water was chilly this year at just 49F when I first launched the boat on Saturday, though over the 4 days spent up there, I did find some water as high as 64F. I had some good water from the previous years spent up there, but I wanted to find some new water as well. Opening day, I wanted to catch fish, so I hit my usual spots with Kelli and we managed some good fish in the boat. Each other day, I spent some time on new areas of the lake looking for good water. I threw a swimbait to cover water, but once I got into good zones, I switched to the new ACE by Imperium Baits to turn followers into strikers. Over the 4 days, we put 7 fish over 40 inches in the boat and a good number of high 30's also. Great week spent! I'm back to work tomorrow night and hope to make a few more trips in the coming weeks! Enjoy the photos

Started on the energy drinks working nights, as I hate coffee and tea. Drank too many of them for sure. I know its not a huge problem but it's a really uncomfortable feeling and it will take some work to change my diet up. Probably a good kick in the butt to get healthier anyways. Thanks guys

Had to make a trip to the doctor this week with constant stomach pain and a constant feeling of fullness, even when I wasnt eating. Doctor was pretty quick in his diagnosis of Dyspepsia, and prescribed me Rabeprazole for a 30 day trial period to see how it goes. It seems to be working well so far, but I was wondering for those who have suffered from this, what were your trigger foods or foods to avoid? I'm an energy drink addict which is a likely cause so I will definitely be cutting them out. Thanks

Radio World is a great option for fishing electronics!

Thanks everyone for the replies, fish fry was delicious

Shoreline ice was sketchy at best on the way out, but on the way back in, we walked the last 50 feet on floater chunks, so it was my last day out for sure.

Well I decided to call it quits until the softwater after my last day of laker fishing, but this hard stuff didnt seem to be going anywhere, so I had to make one last trip out. The prospect of a perch fry was enticing, so a couple buddies and I headed out to a late season perch spot and made the march out. We're targetting sand/rock transitions getting closer to their spawning bays now. We set up along the ridge, I was the shallowest at 19 feet and they set up in 23 and 32 feet. I started off with a small jigging rap to look for some aggressive fish, and though the showed interest, they wouldnt commit to it. Switched to a pan slammer and knocked off a couple of decent dinner fish, but still wasnt getting the reactions I was looking for. When you're targetting these jumbo perch, they dont school in the same way that the little guys do. A lot of them are solitary or swim in small groups of 2-4 fish. A lot of moving is neccessary for success, or you can opt to be patient and wait for them. We moved around a bunch until we found a more consistent area in 18 feet. There was still a lot of blank screen but when the fish came through, they were the right ones. With the high sun and picky fish, I dropped down to 2lbs fluoro and a pan slammer on a 1/16 oz jighead. They needed enticing, but I managed to ice a good number of solid fish and I should be good for a couple meals while I wait for some open water crappie!!

Well another ice season has come to a close. It's a bittersweet day. I'm sad it's over, but now I can take a month or so to catch up on some sleep and turn my focus to spring crappies and jumbo perch. I had a very fun season, fished with some great friends and enjoyed some quality fishing. My first day on the laker grounds was January 25th and I enjoyed almost 2 months of targetting them. I caught lakers as deep as 123ft and as shallow as 53ft. I wasnt marking nearly as much bait this year as I have in past years, but definitely noticed more lakers coughing up young herring at the hole. They're certainly not starving out there. I also noticed a lot of fish coughing up gobies, which is the first season I've noticed this. Not to say they didnt eat them before, but they are definitely becoming a strong forage base for even the deep water species. I caught fish on a large variety of baits this year but my go-to's were definitely the X-Zone Swammer and a lipless crankbait. I got skunked several times, and I managed a few days with over 20 fish. That's the way it goes out there. High high's and low low's. I hope you enjoy some of these photos and my highlight video of the season! Until next season, Keep It Reel!

http://youtu.be/ZX6lVWZgqm8