crappieperchhunter

Agreed Brian. I have a Marina on Simcoe I fish crappie and perch latter in the fall, and we get hog rock bass too. Tried them once in late fall...mid November if I recall, and I actually liked them better then crappie. Never really kept many though because we always managed lots of perch which are my favourite. Tried them from the same marina other times of the year and did not like them near as much and I have tried them out of the Kawartha's in the summer and they are garbage, for my tastes anyway.

Just seeing this today Brian, I have been away from computer land for awhile. It is too late to try for this year but I would recommend Fafard Veranda Mix for any of your container growing. Once Debbe discovered it for our Flower pots at home and the cottage we have used nothing else. It really holds water well. The front of our cottage is all windows and we have a 7 foot deep roof overhanging the porch...so in the afternoon the sun just shines in there and the windows reflect heat and the roof traps the heat so it is very common for it to be 35-40 celsius on our front porch in the afternoon sun. And with all this going on our flower pots get watered twice a week during the weather we have had lately but most of the season when the weather is not as extremely hot or dry once a week is enough. Like I said Brian for containers we use nothing else but the Fafard Veranda Mix.. A local nursery here in Oshawa has it every year and I grab two 112 litre size bags, but judging from your pictures I think one bag would possible get you through 2 seasons. However having said that I would also recommend you go with bigger pots for next season. More soil equals more water retention and more room for root growth. I really enjoy tending my veggie and herb gardens and my planters with herbs at the cottage. There is just something I really enjoy about growing food and it looks like the bug has bit you too. Good luck with whatever path you choose Brian.

Well done Bruce !!! Sounds and looks like an excellent adventure. Thx for sharing.

I have never tried it with the tomatoes Brian, but it makes sense. I think I'll have to experiment with that this summer. Thank you for the tip.

Looking good Brian. A little tip for your peppers. Once they start to flower get an empty spray bottle and fill with lukewarm water and a teaspoon of Epsom salts. Shake well and give the peppers a really good spray, soak the whole plant. The magnesium in the epsom salts really helps the peppers set fruit. I have had pepper plants fall over in the garden from the weight of the peppers on them. With good conditions you can easily get a dozen or more peppers per plant.

Have always liked the sail in Oshawa but only with regards to the fishing section as I have purchased almost nothing there except fishing related stuff. The fishing staff there have always been helpful to me. Two years ago I got a rapala electric knife from them and it died before the 1 year warranty was up. The warranty stated that the knife be returned to Rapala not Sail. But they said they would take care of it for me and took my knife and replaced it with a new one free of charge. I hope they get through this. You can never have too many options for supplying us with our outdoors stuff.

Looks good Brian. If you still have problems try leaving the spikes sticking out even further. I put in 10inch sticks and leave at least 4-5 inches sticking out of the soil. Then the furry buggers can't even walk in it.

The squirrels where brutal in our planter baskets at the cottage Brian. Now as soon as we plant something in them I grab a bunch of pencil thick 8-10 inch twigs and basically stick them in the pots wherever they will fit, and remove them as the plants grow. Still get the odd squirrel once in a while but I have lost zero plants since I started doing this maybe 10 years ago.

Been using road worms for over 20 years....once I got too lazy to collect them at night with a flashlight and have never had a problem. I collect them after a rain and they go straight into fresh moss I pick out of my back yard with a sprinkle of corn meal to feed them. Then they are in my fridge until I use them. Generally get used up quickly but I have had them in the fridge for 2 months without a problem, just have to give them some more cornmeal every once in a while. In all this time I might of had a dozen dead ones. Maybe our street here doesn't have any harmful chemicals on the pavement or whatever causes the worms to be contaminated?

Looks good again Brian. Debbe makes awesome raisin bread but I could not find her old recipe. Truthfully she has not made it for years but it is really good. If she still has the recipe hidden somewhere I will send it your way.

I read this and in the back of my mind I hear a line from an old Dire Straits song repeating itself over and over again. "Two men say there Jesus, one of them must be wrong"

Summer of 1980 worked as a JR in a camp at Kiosk in Algonquin Park. My best friend from that summer was a huge Prine fan and played his music all the time. Been a fan myself ever since. Simple from the heart music. RIP John Prine and thank you for all your great stories.

John was a good man. I too read his articles for years. Still use his recipe for doing roe, but never fished for bows with him. However I ran into him every spring for probably the last 25-30 years fishing a favourite shore spot on Lake Simcoe for perch, a fish we both enjoyed chasing. Shared many conversations about fishing and gardening standing side by side tossing perch in our buckets. Last April he was not looking good but I was hoping he would get through it and I'd get to see him again at the "spot". RIP John and my condolences to all the friends and family of a great man.

Same here. My only exception is with a long time fishing buddy. 30+ years ago we started the one person drives then the other buys the coffee when we go fishing. Still doing it when we hook up.

13 years ago when I learned I was diabetic I switched from double/double coffee to black coffee. And I always went to Timmies. The first thing I noticed when I started drinking my coffee black was just how horrible Timmies coffee tasted. I stopped being a customer then. For my tastes McD's is the best of the bunch now and Country Style would be my 2nd choice. But 99% of the time I make my own at home. When I was drinking Timmies I was easily going there on average twice a day. Many bagels muffins and Tim bits too. Saved a lot of money since I broke that habit. Maybe others will go through the same money saving learning curve because of this closure. I hope they do because it all adds up.

Saw one putting on a show for 5 ladies coming home from ice fishing yesterday. Would love to have been close enough to get some photos like you do. Thx for sharing.

Nice fat fish but there is no way anyone could accurately guess its size from this photo. I'm sure many people who target perch like I do have caught fat 12 or 13 inchers and if held as close to the camera as this fish is would get similar photos.

I can relate to what you're saying. Noticed coming back from fishing Wednesday that I was over milage on my oil change. Phoned Thursday to see when I could get it done and have my winter and summer tires swapped while I was there. They said I could come right away if I wanted to???? Pretty much all the staff just standing around talking when I walked in the door. The guy who did my paperwork said that it had been dead for over a week and Wednesday when I was there was there busiest day, but it was only about 20% of what they would do in a normal day. On the way home I was thinking the dealership was paying a lot of $$$$ to have 80% of there staff show up to work and do nothing. Best of luck getting through this Dan. Employers having to make these kinds of tough decisions on top of everything else, it must be tough.

Good point HH. And besides if we run out of people food people with pets will be able to make some serious cash. Anybody ever tried dog or cat🤪

It was explained to me that many feel our TP is imported from China so we will stop getting it because of sanctions. I have always been one of those freaks who buys a ton of it when it is on sale and I just happened to stock up about a month ago. Same with wine. Our fav Australian red was on sale last month at the LCBO and I stocked up about an 8 month supply. So we have enough TP and wine to get us through this gong show😃

Looks gnarly. Pike fishing from shore when we where kids. My buddy and I and his younger brother. Gabbing and not paying attention my buddies brother went behind us to get something out of his tackle box just as I was casting and a buried a treble hook from my rapala in the back of his skull. No crying or carrying on as these brothers where farmers. We just jumped on our bikes and pedalled to the Fergus hospital about a mile away. I can still see my fluorescent orange rapala swinging off the back of his head as we travelled along. Got to the hospital and they shaved a good sized patch on his head bald so they could remove the hook. Within an hour we where fishing again. This was 40+ years ago I assume Neils parents where contacted but no parents came to the hospital while this was going on. I can't imagine it would be handled the same way today.

I'll never say never but I don't see a 20 incher happening. Been a hardcore 3 season percher on Simcoe since the mid 80's and I have had many many days where I have gotten many over 14 inches the same day, happened this past Monday as a matter of fact. However I have still never caught a 15 incher. People are talking about the perch sizes getting bigger but I have not seen this yet. People had a theory that perch would start getting bigger when the gobies invasion started...that's been about 20 years now has it not? I'd love to see 15+ inchers happening more regularly but from my experiences I'm not holding my breath waiting for it.

I already make $$$ while fishing Craig. A shore spot I fish in Bobcaygeon has the usual amount of garbage left by those too lazy to pick up after themselves. Last summer I started taking a shopping bag and cleaning up while I was there. Lots of beer and cooler cans some weekends. Saved all the empties $$$ in a jar. Had over $30 by winter, enough for 3 bottles of the wine we enjoy. I'm not getting rich but I'm having fun with it.

I was thinking the same. Everyone who knows me has heard me speak of Jen more then once. Sorry your time with her was cut short but you had a special young lady there Wayne. Cherish all the good memories cause I'm sure there is many.

Perch fishing the Talbot river. It used to be a regular occurrence for a mink to come up to you and check out what you where throwing in the white bucket. We feed the critters and birds at the cottage but this winter we had a first. Looked out to see if I needed to top up our treats on the porch and right outside the window was a fox eating peanuts, shell and all. We fish a marina on Simcoe in the spring and fall for perch and crappies. Lotsa friendly geese and ducks around so I'm sure the boaters feed them throughout there summer season. One time in the fall, some ducks swam over to my boat while we where taking a break and eating our lunch. One duck beside the boat jumped up out of the water and sat on the middle bench and just stared at us until my buddy gave him a chunk of bread from his sandwich. He ate it and asked for more, so he got some of my sandwich too before he jumped back in the water with his jealous friends. However my favourite is feeding a Blue Heron and a Osprey while I'm bluegill shore fishing at the cottage. The osprey will sit in a tree behind me and if I get a small gill I step on it to kill it and then throw it way up in the air. By the end of the summer it will have the routine down and will be flying before I throw the fish so it grabs it in the air before it lands in the water. Same with the Heron.Kill a small gill or perch and throw it to him on shore. I think the same Heron comes to me every summer because he is very territorial and loudly and aggressively chases away any of the other 2-4 Herons that are watching us. As the summer wears on the Heron gets tamer as well. Some years by the fall as soon as I show up at my shore spot he will just fly over and stand right beside me waiting for his free breakfast.