tbayboy

I'm sorry to hear that. Was anyone else having luck from shore? I haven't been there since earlier in the year and was able to catch panfish (perch, pumpkinseed) from shore but maybe the weeds have gotten a lot worse since them .

Yowch. Glad to hear there was no real harm done and at least the walleye stayed in the net

Can't say any more than everyone else had - a flat out amazing report. Great pics and a great job telling the stories, looking forward to part 2.

Wow, those are some beauties for sure. Great job.

Great job guys, nice looking fish there.

Beautiful pics as always Dan, can't wait for Rons report.

Those pike are going to torment you til the end of your days. I love the ongoing soap opera of you vs them though, I'm sure there'll be a big season finally when you finally get them

Congrats on the PB, way to go.

After a less than stellar performance Sunday on Buckhorn I hooked up with PatrickG for an afternoon of smallie hunting on the Grand River. I knew I was in trouble when he caught the first fish of the day on the second cast. Fine fine, let me get the camera out - DOH. Batteries are dead Can't believe I didn't try it before we left the van. Sigh. I took a couple casts but couldn't handle the idea of not having the camera with me so I slouched my way out of the water and as I left I joked with Patrick that that he'd probably catch a big one while I was gone. 15 minutes I'm almost back at the bank and I hear "Seaaaannn... get over here" <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1190/1315925893_9ae0b7c0fe_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1740" /></a> You gotta be kidding me. Ok, quickly I start tossing my tube out and what happens: <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1152/1316811230_3d62fed3f2_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1741" /></a> 3 nothing and I've had maybe 4 casts so far. An hour later and its 7 nothing including this nice one along with smaller ones <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1408/1316821022_d4698d3841_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1759" /></a> At this point I've already switched to the same tube but no luck so now I'm blaming my line (yeah I'm desperate). Anyhow, off I go back to the van AGAIN to switch to a braid (stretch be damned) and I bring back a secret weapon - the chug bug topwater I'd forgotten twice already. Pat manages to land a couple more little guys and I missed one topwater hit but finally I get a real hit on the chug bug, the battle is a tough one but I finally land my first topwater fish of the year <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1420/1316822810_686dfc75c8_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1760" /></a> Now its about 12 to 3 I think ... guess who's holding the next one: <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1090/1316824660_b6221a2745_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1762" /></a> yup. <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1340/1316796726_e03e6dd8fb_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1763" /></a> But things are looking up, I quickly land another with the top water after missing a big blowup: <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1035/1316799064_daef3db5dd_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1766" /></a> Notice the enthusiasm I'm showing there . At this point I go back to the magic tube but with the nicer line and finally, just as we're about to call it a day I get a decent fish <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1015/1316802798_b5016704cd_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1767" /></a> And then just as we're leaving I land one more <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1193/1316800860_6a76e70cf9_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="IMG_1768" /></a> So at least I got the last fish even if the final score was probably something like 15 to 5. Ahh well, I'll beat ya next time. Was a great day out there and I managed to get a bit of video as well - watch my frustration rise <object width="425" height="353"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYgfmJa5384" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="353"></embed></object>

Thanks for the responses everyone. Fishing was tough (too say the least) but we learned a few things about the lake. Now I just gotta learn how do a figure eight (laziest looking muskie follow I've ever seen).

Just when I thought I wasn't going to have any fishing plans for today I got a PM last night from fatherof3 offering to show me the sights of the Grand and Nith rivers in Paris. I'd read his posts over the last little while about the 2 pike under the bridge that kept taunting him. I figured I've caught a pike or two so lets check it out. First off - Paris is a great little fishing spot. When I pulled up and FatherOf3 was standing around with no car I kinda wondered what the deal was but it turns out you can't really live in Paris and be more than a 15 minute walk from the rivers. The fishing opportunities are just great with Bass, Pike and Trout all available. Or at least so I was told .... We spent the late morning/afternoon covering a lot of interesting water and we had a few of these guys show up : <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1193/1297680151_8e6492bb05_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Paris - Sept1-1" /></a> Unfortunately we never did find the big one. We also managed a couple chubs (thats a first for me - weird fish) and I managed to get a sucker on a crank bait (go figure). Then just at the end of the day my x-rap went a little crazy -woohoo - finally got a good one. Get a glimpse and what do you know, I've snagged a carp on its top fin. I don't have any pics but Father does. Now I kinda get the whole carp fetish - they sure do put up a fun fight (and this was just a 7 or 8 lber). Once she calmed down a quick flip of the pliers and of she went with a couple little holes in her back but I'm sure she'll be fine. Anyhow, not a great day of fishing but I'm stoked that Fatherof3 took me around the Paris area. I'm definitely going to be back again, I'm not sure what were doing wrong but I'm sure there's some nice fish in there and its amazing how much water you can cover just by walking around town. Thanks again for the nice tour - I'm sure the fish are there somewhere <a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1018/1298549512_26dc5f8d71_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Paris - Sept1-2" /></a>

She is pretty colourful isn't she. I saw that you'd called Patrick and now I know why - you did better than I did today . Nice fish, see ya Sunday.

Hi everyone. Mikeh and I are going to try Lower buckhorn for the first time on Sunday and we're looking for any advice on where to launch and maybe some general ideas on where to find some bass and/or muskie (or specific spots, hey a guy can beg right?). I have the adventure map of the lake and JohhnyBasses report from a couple weeks back (as well as everythign else I can find via this funky intraweb invention of Al Gores) but I'm always looking for more tips, heck I need all the help I can get . PM me if you want to keep things private, I promise not to give away anything (photoshop guarantee if you want hehe). Thanks in advance Sean and Mike

Nice stuff guys, congrats on some beauty fish (both smallies and the bows from the other report).

What a great reports. Sounds like you guys had a great time. Thanks for sharing.

Couple nice fish there Grant, sounds like a fun way to spend a few hours to me. Good luck tonight.

Great report and really nice pictures as always. The first pic of the boat at the launch is really nice. Oh and nice fish too

Thanks for the advice guys, keep it coming. Good point Raf - better to focus on a new rod for the lighter line/reel and use the existing heavier rod for one of the new reels. So a 6 or 6 1/2 foot medium or medium light 2 piecer is my current thinking. The tough and bang for buck stuff is very good too - I'm lousy at taking good care of my rods so something that I won't break by sticking it into the ground climbing out of the river or other mishaps (or cheap enough that I don't care) might be a good idea

Very cool pics, I especially like the one of the lancaster.

Hey everyone, thank to OntarioCarper I've now got a couple new (to me at least) baitcasters bringing my total to 3 but I only have one rod. I'm trying to decide what to pick up but I'm not sure what to get. Right now I've got a 7' medium heavy single piece BPS extreme rod and I want to pick up one more before this weekend (I'll pick up a 3rd later - payday isn't til next week hehe). What would you all suggest as a second rod to complement the one I have? The 2 quantum MG classics have 50lb braid on them and my existing BPS extreme reel has 20lb power pro on it. I'd prefer a 2 piece rod so that if I'm limited in space I can pack something easier also I want to keep the cost down a bit - say $100 tops? So bring it on - what would you guys and gals buy in my place (target species is just about anything - hows that for narrowing it down ). Thanks in advance Sean

Those shots of you fishing with your daughter in the baby holder have to be the funniest/cutest pics I've seen in a long time. Sounds like a great setup you've got going there. Congrats.

So you got married as an excuse to take a week off for fishing Hehe Just kidding, congrats on the big day and the nice trip up north, sure sounds like a great week.

Great pics. It really is a beautiful river, the conservation guys are doing a good job. I went there Saturday afternoon to try out my new waders. The waders worked great but unfortunately I left the rain jacket in the car and sure enough the 'light rains' they called for turned into a huge dumping before I could get into any fish but like Toronto Angler said - its such a nice place you don't feel too bad when you don't get any fish.

Mmmm fresh fish with lemon and dill. Now I'm hungry again, thanks Joey

Nice fish, congrats.