Sinker

Yep, I'm thinking its the comverter too. I've had 2 fail, one of them was brand new! S.

What type of vehicle? Does it have signal lights separate from the brake lights? Usually yellow.... Sounds like a bad install to me.

Yes, cormorants have a part in here somewhere too. There are thousands of them on sturg. I would be the first in line to buy a license to shoot a few! Great conversation for sure. Ernie, your right, the lakes are constantly changing. The local guys, like the ones posting up in this thread probably know more about them than the ministry of no results does. Can't wait to get out and do some damage on the slabs! This week is looking good to get some ice gone! S.

Ya, I think CPH took me there in '08, and I've been back every year since! Pretty awesome if you get the timing right. Some huge eyes in there! S.

Cheers! Lol I think we had our best run today, and if the forcast is true, it will run. Tomorrow, then be done. When I collect tomorrow, taps are coming out. Its been a long run. I hear ya on selling it, not happening here either. I have to filter my small batches. Biggest batch I've finished yet is 4 litres. Big plans for next year. I've already started gathering materials to build a wood fired evaporator big difference using the 2ft x 2ft pan already. Much quicker. S.

Nice haul TJ! I tried not filtering my last batch like you said, but ended up with a bunch of crud in the bottom of my bottles. I poured them all out, re-heated it, and ran it thru the filter. Came out perfect. I won't try that again. Don't you get the crud in the bottles? I'm sure its harmless, but I couldn't give that to anyone! Its ran real good here the last 2 days. 60l yesterday, and a new record of 100l today. Pretty good haul from 22 taps! I've made 17 litres so far. I'm getting sick of it now! Taps come out tomorrow! I read an arcticle saying that its been such a great run this year, that we could actually be doing harm to the trees. I guess we'll see once they start budding! Definitly my best season ever. I've doubled my best harvest, but I've spent A lot of time at it this year. S.

I'm still skeptical about the carp thing. If that were the case, all the lakes would have declined and recovered at the same time, no? I also don't agree with the wild rice on sturg. I find there is less now than there ever has been. A lot of the small bullrush islands have also disappeared. Of course anglers catching fish has an impact, its just so small when compared to other environmental impacts. The amount of fish caught and kept is only a drop in the barrel when a whole year class (or 3) go missing. Look at the big picture, there is way more going on than fisherman. I also don't see any more fisherman now than I did 20 years ago....in fact, I'd say less. Radnine......really? Grow up! S.

The reason scugog took so long is because its at the end of the chain (or the start, however you want to look at it). The crappies got in there last of all the kawartha lakes, so its the last to crash. Give it a few years, it will come back. The crappie population is already starting to stabilize, and numbers are coming down. If I remember right, the walleye in scugog seemed to disappear at the same time as the carp die off, so I'm still skeptical about the whole carp/walleye relationship. I know JayB personally, but I'm not sure what the wild rice/carp relationship has to do with slot sizes. I know it produces some great duck hunting I have never really thought about carp raiding walleye eggs, but it is an interesting theory, and one I am going to research more thoroughly. This is a great topic, and one I'm passionate about. I enjoy reading the replies. I'm not saying I'm right, and what I say is all fact, but I've spent a lot of times on the kawartha's, lived in the area for the last 25 years. I've even met you personally, Garnet I've done plenty of work with MNR and local CA's, and have a pretty good idea whats going on. That said, I'm no fishery biologist. I speak from experience, not training. S.

Both good boats. I'd go with the smoker craft myself. Don't skimp out on power though, you won't be happy with either if you don't have enough power to get up and go when you need to. St. Clair can get hairy quick. Its shallow, and gets a dirty chop on it. I'd even think about a jack plate so you can get your engine up out of the water a bit. We had a lot of trouble last year down there with really shallow water. A few times we had to get out and literally push the boat over sand bars! S.

I'm with fishindevil, that doesn't make much sense. Carp are pretty inactive when the water is only a couple degrees celcius. The walleyes are spawning while the ice is still on the lakes. Scugog hasn't had zebras since the late 90's either. Maybe the last 6-7 years tops. It was the last lake to get them, the same as crappies. The tri lakes is another story. You have to look at the system lake by lake, they are all different, but they are all being affected the same ways, just at different times. Rice is a prime example. Its already been thru the problems scugog is in now, and has recovered really well.....before the carp die off. The carp theory doesn't add up. Trent severn has a huge impact on the spawn. Water levels mean everything. If the fish get in and spawn when the water is very high, then the water drops before the eggs hatch, there goes another year class. We've been luck the last few years with steady water levels at spawning time. This could be one of those years where the water is high at spawning, then drops. I hope they hold back as much water as possible, for as long as possible. I'm pretty sure they have made some changes to thier mandate to allow the fish to spawn before playing with water levels. I'd rather have fish in the lakes, than run my boat thru the locks! The bottom line is that there has been a lot of serious environmental impacts in the last 10 yrs, that have much bigger impacts than angling pressure. S.

I meant to add that the east coast fishery was sstricly due to over harvest. There were no invasive species, dropped water levels on spawning grounds, or new species introduced. S.

Your comparing apples to oranges with that argument. I grew up on the east coast, and come from a family of inshore fisherman. I know all about the cod fishery. I wouldn't be in ON if there were still fish there. Blame the canadian govt for that one. Even the fisherman were telling them to shut it down long before anything was done. Its hard to blame the fisherman, when their livelihood depends on catching fish, and the govt gave them a "sustainable" quota to harvest. Anyways, its a good discussion, and I do understand your point of view, I just think there are much bigger impacts on the fishery than recreational angling. S.

The lakes can sustain a recreational fishery no problem. Its the bigger environmental issues that hurt the populations. A guy catching a limit bears no weight against trent severn wiping out a whole year class of fingerlings....I don't think your understanding my point(s). The sudden invasion of crappies in the lakes feeding on young of the year walleye eat a hell of a lot more than any fisherman will eat in a season. The clearing water and deeper light penetration. Caused by zebra mussels, has changed habitat that will never be the same again. In the long term, the lakes will recover, whether the limit is reduced or not. I get the point that a fish that has to be released because of the slot is a good thing. Of course it is, but there are much bigger players that have a much more significant impact on the populations besides anglers. S.

All the kawartha's will boom again. It takes time to adjust to these changes, but the lakes are very productive, and will overcome the changes. Its already happening if you watch closely. S.

Scugog was a fish factory, and will be again in time. It hasnt been outfished by anglers, just set back by other environmental impacts. Give it 4-5. Yrs and it will be just as good again. I've fished it for 25yrs, and watched it happen with my own eyes on all these lakes. Radnine, I'm not sure if that was a double post or not, but I don't think it was. Explain how a slot that has been in place for two seasons has made any significant impact on the fishery in rice lake? It takes a lot longer than that to see any changes. Like I said, I'm all for the slot and reduced limits, but it seems to me that you guys are missing the big picture on these lakes. S.

It doesn't make much difference if you only put 100yds of braid on top of mono to start with S.

Its not the slots or reduced limits that brought the eyes bback on rice.....or any of the kawarthas. Look at the big picture. Rice was missing 3 or 4 year classes due to trent severn dropping water levels before eggs hatched. At the same time, crappies were fluorishing, and zebra mussels were introduced. The same scenario will play out on all the kawarthas. The tri-lakes will be the next big walleye boom. Scugog is going thru the same decline now that rice did about 8 years ago.....it just took that long to get to that end of the system. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the slot, but don't think for a second it has anything to do with fish populations after only 2 yrs in place. There are much bigger impacts at play here, not fisherman, slots, or limits. The lakes are going through changes, and take time to bounce back from the effects of those changes. S.

Braid still has a diameter rated in lbs. For example, 15lb test, 4lb diameter. S.

There's not a thing wrong with keeping a limit of any fish for the table! Fisherman have the least amount of impact on a fishery. Get that out of your heads, and look at the BIG picture. There's a lot more going on than guys keeping fish. S.

I think the plan is to compare noted between the two slots and see which one produces the best natural reproduction. The only way to do it right is have a different slot on every lake. They are all different. Trent severn waterways, crappies, and zebra mussles have a much bigger impact than any slots or reduced limits IMO. S.

I could say so much here, but I'll just bite my tongue. I've never fished nippissing, but start a thread on kawartha walleyes and I will write you a book. P.S I have NO problem catching a limit of eyes on any of the kawartha lakes mentiones in this thread, any time I want. The lakes are cyclical, and if you know which one to be on, and when, walleye are easy to catch! Overall, the population is rising if anything. The decline in fish had nothing at all to do with fisherman, or fishing either. S.

Haha.....have u been outside at all today? Ice out aint happening for a couple weeks, at least! S.

Hey beagle dad, stay outta my spot see you guys on the water S.

Crappie, perch, specks, lakers, walleye, salmon, musky......same as always. S.

Yup, we pushe our trout trip ahead 2 weeks this year. Its always nice to be first on the lake, but not very often does it mean the best fishing. The best spring troutin is when the bugs are just starting to bite.