crappieperchhunter

Actually I'm very happy it has stayed cool. I have next week booked off to be up in Bobcaygeon and I have been worried since mid march that my fav crappie spots would be done by the time I got up there. Now I'm pretty sure they won't be The bugs shouldn't be bad yet either :thumbsup_anim: Another good thing. I have noticed that the water is lower then I have ever seen it at this time of year though. Not real happy about what problems that would have created for the walleye though

Is that what they call walking the dog

Gotta agree with the hardliners here. All three would have been getting the "Donald Trump" from me too. The world we live in and the people in it have steered it towards this. It's unfortunate...but it is reality.

If it's not to late Meely remind me in a couple of weeks when I am up in Caygeon. Our neighbor there did his cement porch last summer. Looked real good too. Had several different color choices if I remember correctly. Anyway I don't have contact info for him so remind me and I will ask him when I see him. Or stop at his place when you are up that way. His name is Ian and he is the neighbor right beside me on the bridge side. Great guy and I know he will happily help you out...plus you will be able to check out the work for yourself. Just tell him Steve and Debbe sent yah.

Perch are by far my favorite fresh water fish. Nothing measures up to them head to head IMHO.

Nice haul. I have a little crappie/mudcat honey hole close to our house as well. When I work the afternoon shift I sometimes head over after an early lunch and fish for 2-3 hours before I go to work. Love it. BTW I have a friend who loves rock bass. Whenever we catch any in the spring he throws them in my basket. After a few trips of this I kept a few to try myself. I actually liked them better then crappie. If they are coming from cold water I would highly recommend you give them a try.

I have tried them boiled and steamed and am really not a fan. But this sounds worth a try to me. Thx for sharing that

I've tried Basil from seed Bob and I don't recommend it. It always gets eaten by something. Bugs seem to really love tender little basil plants. You will have much better success buying plants in the 3-4 inch pots....trust me. If you are growing tomatoes spread them a little farther apart and stick a basil plant between each tomato plant. It is a form of companion planting that is supposed to actually make your tomatoes grow and taste better. I read it years ago and figured what the hell...and have been doing it that way ever since. Also basil plants are very sensitive to cold winds so don't try to jump the season too much. Stick the plants in around the time you would tomatoes in your area. I shoot for the middle of May here in Oshawa. I have had success earlier and failure too..so I stick with this time frame. I do the same with oregano and Rosemary...get the 3-4 inch pots. I also second Woodenboaters comment about sage. It is very easy to grow and we use it in lotsa stuff. I have started to use it in place of oregano in alot of things. If you ever do beer can chicken...or any whole chicken for that matter. Gently stick your hand under the skin of the bird without ripping it. Once this is done take fresh sage leaves chopped up into pea size bits and stick it between the skin and the meat before you cook the bird! It's awesome. Any other gardening question and I'll be happy to help if I can. Good luck with the green thumbing

All the best Bruce Pound the crap out of them

My last spring shore fling for Simcoe perch on Sunday. Then it's good bye to Lady Simcoe until the last week of September. Always a bittersweet time of the year for me.

LOL...thx for the grin

I'm so jealous. I too missed my winter excursion down your way for smelts, so I'm itching for a feed. And to top it off I came home last night empty handed. I'm just happy your post had no fried up smelt on a plate...that would have put me on spin cycle Enjoy your bounty and thx for sharing

Did you just call me stupid

Good one I wonder if he took a dump by the bosses propane tanks too :jerry:

I don't think you will find deep perch this time of year...they are up shallow for the spawn.We have been catching them on Simcoe for almost a month now in under 10 FOW...lotsa quality fish like in the picture from shore too. I don't fish Erie so I could be way out of line. But I can't see the pattern being that different.

Congrats on a good outing Lotsa good eats there for a bunch of fish fries. I had last week off for vacation so I have a bunch of those packaged up in my freezer now too. My favourite fresh water fish to eat.

Nice report The one trip I made down there was very similar. We did a little better...but it was a slow day. Steve really worked to put us on fish. Moved several times...tried lotsa different baits. Even cleaned the fish for the one in our group who wanted to take some home to try. I totally enjoyed the experience. If I wasn't in full Simcoe perch and Kawartha crappie mode this time of year I would make it a yearly ritual. Thx for sharing your day

Debbe is a reader and does read in the boat while I am fishing. And she is very quick on her feet. This gets an extra chuckle from me Phil cause I can in my mind actually see it could happen sometime.

True Dat too Been perching open water with this silly bugger on Simcoe since March 18th

True dat I was in the boat on one of those days

Brian the advice I gave you was based on a typical spring...this is not it. I checked my asparagus again this afternoon. It has not grown at all. Usually when it is ready to go it grows 1-2 inches a day. But typically that is the end of April/First of May and the daytime highs are 16-24 and overnight lows are 6-10. Right now we are getting single digits for highs and below freezing for lows...so it will slow things down for sure.

Brian I checked my garden...my asparagus is just poking through the ground now. Generally that means 3-4 days until harvest so I would say go fiddlehead hunting this weekend or early next week.

They are out right around the time my first picking of asparagus happens in my garden Brian...you can set your clock by it. If I think of it when I see asparagus in my garden I will let you know it is time to go get fiddleheads.

Cool Whale watching is on my bucket list as well...but I plan on doing mine in Nova Scotia. I don't know if they have Zodiac options out there but I will definitely keep that in mind when we start planning the details. Thx for the report.

A little early for me Steve...still perch and crappie to be caught...but you got me thinking about it. I've already checked my groundbait supplies and will be stocking up soon.