crappieperchhunter

I'll try to set this up a little bit so maybe you folks can appreciate what today meant to me. My son has never been a fisherman despite my best efforts when he was younger to get him interested in my passion. He moved out of the house in Aug 2010 at 21 and bought himself a townhouse. He is currently working part time and going to college full time. So he has school 5 days a week and works both days on the weekend. Frankly I have no clue how he pulls it all off. To say he is busy is a gross understatement. So one night this week I get a message on Facebook. Dad I don't work this weekend...do you wanna take me out ice fishing? I think he was 8-10 the last time he was on the ice with me. Take you fishing...HELL YES !!! I had tentative plans made to hook up with someone from the board here. I PM'd that individual and explained my situation and that I was going to get out with my boy instead. He was a class act and gracious about it and for that I am grateful. Phil thank you for your understanding. Hopefully we can do it some other time. So we fished out of Port Bolster today from 7:30 until 2:30 and managed 11 keeper perch between the 2 of us...one of my worst days ever on the ice for perch...but it was a great day. We had an hour in the car up and an hour back to solve the problems of the world and 7 hours on the ice to torment a few fish and just spent a good day catching up. It was over way to fast for me. This past summer he got out in the boat with me twice as well. So three times in the last year. For the first time I have a glimmer of hope that he has started to actually enjoy time spent fishing. Some times the best days on the water have nothing to do with catching fish. Today was one of those days for ME

Wow you take a couple of younguns out to your new perch honey hole..you GPS them right to the spot and one of them post it on OFC and never even mentions you in his write up. I guess gratitude isn't what it used to be You think it was good Sunday...I sure wish you could have been there with me the day before. Saturday was Unbelievable We will have to hook up again Mike. I never did take your propane auger for a spin and I really did wanna give it a go, just to see what all the fuss is about.

I have been doing this for years. They will wear down before they rust off.I never have much of an issue with rust really. I get about 2-3 seasons out of mine before I have to change some of the more worn ones.

You got out and got some fish..good job In 30 years of perching Simcoe I have never had a good day for perch when the water is swirling down the holes like that so don't feel bad if you didn't pound them. BTW nice job on the boot modification. I did the same to mine so I to have traction all the time as well

Thx for sharing Bruce. Glad you got into them and had a good day

All my perch rods are between 22-24. Two of them started out as 28 inchers...but thats a whole other story Anything over is just too long if your in a Fish Trap pro hut like mine and if you have a tendency for hard hook sets like I do.

Makes COMPLETE sense to me OK now I'm FINISHED

Thx Solo I got a real good laugh out of that And yes he would have chimed in with SEVERAL 10,000 word rants I'm sure.

Check out the tail quiver on the finesse shads...that is exactly why I'm sold on them...and why they catch fish.

I love a feed of Bluegills. They are pretty much the only fish I keep in the summer months when I want fish. However I have never made a point of targeting them through the ice. Mainly because I enjoy eating perch more and I chase them all winter. But I have been getting the urge for some winter gills from the Kawartha's. Anybody out there targeting them or getting them with any consistency? I'd love to hear from you if you are. PM me if you wanna keep it quiet. And thx to all for any help I might receive.

Finesse Shad 1/16 unpainted lunker city head made specifically for these bodies with a Arkansas shiner body. You don't need anything else. A little tough to fish if deeper then 20 ft because the jig head is so light but it works. Good luck on your quest Phil.

I appreciate the return post Gregg...I know the drills and I would never EVER put myself in the same class of fisherman as yourself. I have just grown tired of how poor the walleye fishery is there compared to a short few years ago. Truth is walleye are not even in my top 4 of fish to keep for the table so unless I am getting into a ton of fish...which is what I used to really enjoy about Scugog...then I would much rather chase perch or gills or crappie. There might still be alot of walleye in there...but not enough to keep me interested in chasing them. No offense ment by any of this Greg...just stating my personal opinion. Like I said in the beginning...good on you for getting out with your son. To me that is far more important.

You got out with your son and iced a few. Congrats on that But 2 walleye for someone like yourself is the reason I don't fish the bog through the ice anymore even though it's the closest fishing hole to me. Not too many years ago 4 fish each would have been a brutally poor day. Double digit numbers fish for the 40 minute window of an evening bite was not uncommon. The walleye fishery is a mere shadow of what it used to be.

I have been on Couch since Dec31 so I'm betting St John is as good or better. But I have not been there so I can not say for sure. Play safe and don't go alone.

Could be 18...looks more like 15-16 to me. Nice fish none the less.

Always a good day when we hook up. The fish where certainly active...but you really had to weed through alot of small ones. Next time I might wander around more to try and find some better fish...but yesterday was all about having a good visit and enjoying the weather. Thx for making the trip up Bruce. My fish fry is tomorrow night

It as become an all to familiar business practice...that for some reason is "acceptable" in todays world. Sorry to hear the news.

ATTA BOY Cliff :thumbsup_anim: Sorry to hear about the car Beansie. Glad everyone is OK though.

Christ Irish. If you didn't catch anything to eat you could probably get a few good fillets off of that

X2... could not have said it any better. For the life of me I can't figure out how anybody in Ontario could complain about this.

What us fishermen leave in Innisfil is peanuts and it benefits very few. Myself I get a coffee at Timmies for the ride back home and that's it. I know some spend more but some don't even make a coffee stop. But when the mayor has to listen to the voters ....who each pay more in property taxes in one year then most of us will spend there in a lifetime...complain about the traffic, crowds and garbage left behind by us out of towners...who do you really think the mayor or counsel will listen too? We are unwanted guests plain and simple. I'm not happy about it either...but that's the reality as far as I am concerned.

I'm sure it's the same as when they did a new dock at Sibbald. They do the work when it effects...the lest visitors or resident people. That would be fall or winter...plain and simple. I'm not happy about it either. But I understand how these things work. Relax people there are lots of other places to fish on Simcoe. It's a big lake.

Great thread Cliff. Customer service keeps you coming back. To that regard I have to jump on the Moen band wagon as well. That's all I have in my home and it's all I will ever have. Why because everytime I have a problem I just go to Home Depot and get another free cartridge for me leaky tap. Lifetime warranty on cartridges. Pretty hard to beat that. My son bought his first house in 2010. One of my first words of advice was if you get any kind of taps in your home for the kitchen, bathroom or laundry room make certain it says Moen on it.

If you only want big ones...move to find them. I don't keep a lot of fish so the dinks really don't bother me that much. From my experience though there is no magic bait that will keep the small ones away. Those aggressive little buggers hit everything.

Great people and a great little store.I have been stopping in there for about 15 years now. They always have quality live bait and keep a good selection of tackle that works for what's biting in the area. Plus a little tip for anyone who goes up there alot. Mark gets stuff in from his supplier on Tuesdays I believe. We have a place in Caygeon so I am up there every weekend from May until October. I can go in there on the weekend and if he doesn't have what I am looking for, he will order it and it will be waiting for me when I go up the following weekend. There prices are right in line with places down here in Oshawa. Some stuff cheaper even. No surprise to me that they treated your folks well GBW. I try to give them as much of my business as I can.