wallacio

Amazing Mike...some great fish and pictures. Thanks for taking the time and effort with these captures!

Bottom bouncers or 3 way rigs with spoons (my personal favourite is a small Williams Wobbler in the hammered gold finish),

Yup...off Port Weller to be exact. It's certainly a long haul, especially for Bill but that's where the fish are right now.

We were out off the south shore of Lake Ontario

All of the Kings and Lakers were released. Bill kept two small Coho for his father and co-worker. As for Bill, he doesn't eat fish!

That was a great day bud...thanks getting me out there! There's nothing more satisfying than figuring out a tough bite and then putting some Silvers in the boat!

Nice pics! All across the midwest, everyone is noting the population explosion of Red Admirals. http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/04/19/19654036.html http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/04/17/red-admiral-butterfly-population-exploding/

10 Mile Bay is good for Smallmouth (as is the whole lake). There are a few Pike in LOB but not many as it generally doesn't have shallow swampy bays for spawning. The few Pike that are in the lake typically have found their way in from adjoining lakes

We use black dacron ie fly line backing or the stuff you use for spooling tip-ups etc.

Thanks. Yeah, bunny strip leech pattern but not articulated. I find that they like black or white flies but they'll really hit anything if properly presented. They generally don't like to move so you need to get the fly running right past their head and they'll usually snap at it. When they take, you want to really lay the wood to them and keep constant pressure on them to ensure that they don't shake the fly/lure. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. Another view of the same fish:

I also use the stinger trebles for flies...they work great as they keep the Gar's snout closed and it's harder for them to shake the fly.

Gar are fond of basking in shallow back-bays when it's sweltering hot. Approach slowly, ideally from behind the fish and get your offering ahead of them and retrieve back to them.

I'll second Curryale's recommendation. I've been out on a bunch of charters (entertaining clients) and hands-down I would recommend Ryan of We Pound 'Em. Not only has Ryan become a personal friend of mine, he and his crew are very professional and most importantly they are passionate about what they do so an amazing day is almost a given. Last trip out my clients had the time of their lives with the highlight being a fish that was in the top ten of the week in the Great Ontario Salmon Derby.

Rodcaster and Whiskey Wizard are correct...they are groundwater monitoring wells. I work for a laboratory that tests soil and water samples for environmental contaminants and my clients (environmental consultants) routinely install these wells to monitor/sample groundwater.

It was 38" to be exact!

Definitely...in the places I've fished for them, we've seen ones that were pushing 7'! I'm with you, they are good fun on a calm summer day...especially on the fly. If you want greatly increase your landing percentages try using the small stinger trebles that are intended for Walleye jigs. The small treble keeps their snout closed and it's much harder for them to shake the hook.

You would be pushing your luck with a 5wt. It could be done if you are targetting small fish ie the ones that are found in Georgian Bay but if you are in an area with 5-6 footers, I would go armed with a 9 or 10wt!

Give me a break...do you honestly think that posting a link showing the year-round open season for a given river is going to cause any harm? It's no different than stating that the Notty and Credit (to name a few) have year-round open seasons as well. There is a HUGE difference in clarifying regulations and posting river reports complete with pictures (often with recognizable backgrounds)...something that you don't seem to have a problem with doing on a regular basis.

Here's the map with the open season boundaries shown. http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@letsfish/documents/geospatialmaterial/241300.pdf

LOL...trust me, Bill is an expert on these matters!!!!

Correct. Here's some information on the status of Lake Sturgeon in Ontario: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@letsfish/documents/document/289879.pdf

Great advice has already been posted in this thread. I was out on the weekend and had some decent success by employing a number of the same tactics described already. Most fish were taken in muddy bays (adjacent to deeper water) in four feet of water (under the ice) or less. The lake in question is teeming with aquatic insects so the fish were in shallow water in search of this prey. In fact, every single hole that produced a fish had these insects (which included Water Boatmen, Predaceous Diving Beetles and even case-making Caddis larvae) floating up into the hole after it was drilled. Small rocky points that formed the headlands of the muddy bays also produced well...usually the biggest fish were caught here. While quiet should always be exercised, I agree that Brookies are often curious about sounds of commotion as a number of fish were taken immediately after the bait was lowered into a freshly drilled hole. This day, only 1 fish was taken on a set line. The best producing presentation was either a 1/2 piece of worm threaded head-first onto a jig or a chunk of worm on a small spoon. Subtle jigging took most fish, often on the drop. I took this piggie on a jig head with a worm in less than 2' of water under the ice so don't be afraid to go shallow! We also punched a lot of holes and in some cases only 10' away from each other in order to cover as much real estate in the individual bays as possible...despite this mild winter, the ice is getting thick on small lakes so be sure to go with a good auger with sharp blades!

I like the soft bead pegs myself...you can get them at Hook, Line & Sinker in Guelph. Scroll down in this link to see a few pictures of the pegs. http://www.hooklineandsinker.ca/hls/index.html They can also be held in place by a knot...see link: http://www.troutbeads.com/How_To.html

Nicely done bud! Do I know the river???

Actually it is not...the UC is open until Sept 30 which coincides with the peak of the Salmon runs (at minimum, the start of the runs).