FisherJuli

Wow, now those are some crazy big fish, guys- nice work!

Thanks for the offer, but I framed it already in a little frame. If I get a full set, I will definitely have to get in touch with her! Have you ever pulled a fish tooth?! It was wild!

You know, if it makes it more fun and doesn't cost a crazy price, she'll have fun with it. My vice: I have standard gear but love my 'pretty' lures. Frankie65 used to laugh at me on my choice, but they do catch fish! It's all bout having fun together, and however you make that happen, roll with it! I was terrified of muskies a few years back... this year, I handled my own. Just have fun with it!

Liverelease: Who couldn't smile at catching that fish?!

Beans: world's greatest sportfish, amen- the put up a scrap for their size!

Hahaha.. Thx to the rest of you!

But come on-- no comments on the crazy musky tooth?! Is it more common than I imagined?!! That thing is so sharp... Well, it's a flippin' musky tooth!

Thanks, guys! Funny enough, the only Muskies I have caught have been with a worm harness and clearly not my target species... of course, a 'pretty one' seems to be the trick! Yeah, they are so much fun to catch, and are really amazing and powerful creatures- it was a BLAST!

It seems like forever since we have launched the boat (last fall!), but we finally did it!

We officially celebrated the 3rd Annual Father's Day Fishing on the Kawarthas with my two favorite men- my dad, and Frankie65 (and the two strongest fishing inspirations in my life) and it was a fabulous day!

We were on the water well after daybreak (the longest day of the year is a double-edged sword!)- gliding on the waves by 7:30am. It was forecasted to be sketchy day for targeting walleyes- sun, little wind, and HOT- but not much stops us from trying! Fish, or no fish, it was already breathtaking!

I honestly love the commotion of getting the boat on the water, setting up the rods, finding our first target spot... and that first WHAM! Yep, four casts in to the morning, I was fortunate to be the one to get the first hit! This was surely no perch.. not even a walleye (and I starting whooping with excitement!)! The first fish of the day got the adrenaline going more than my two coffees had yet done- and within a minute or two, I saw my awesome beast jump out of the water and do a little tail dance! I yelled! (my apologies to any Kawartha folks rudely awakened by the echo!)

She misbehaved and ran around the boat on me... then, even came out the other side and did a flip while my rod was still on the WRONG side!), but I got her after a 5 minute scuffle. (I am stubborn, and this was gonna be MY fish of the day!) For the first time, we used the fish cradle (from FisherPete!!) and she glided in without any more scuffle. She was wonderful- all 33" of her, with the most beautiful greens and blues I have ever seen on a musky. (some just look like a dinosaur's decendants to me!) Sorry- the better shot here is on my dad's camera, yet to be retrieved. She's my personal best musky, and I am pretty darned proud of that!

She took a bit of work to send off- but after 3 minutes or so of hanging out with me, she was off for another day! Video of the release below.

On a weird note (and you guys that have seen me set the hook may understand how it could have possibly happened!), I inadvertantly did a little dental work on my girl (I found it later on the hook that had already fallen out of her mouth): she left me with a very sharp 1/2"+ long tooth on the end of my worm harness! I thought it was a zebra mussel.. but nope! Sorry, girl!

What a fan-tabulous way to start the day with my heart racing like a runaway train!

And so, the day then 'ramped up' with some itsy bitsy babies... and some more... and my dad took the prize for most from the nursery.

But you know, jumbo or mini- I never get tired of these gorgeous little guys!

While the morning was warming up, still and calm, and we were just getting in to a rhythm, my dad nailed this nice 'little' musky of the morning, and after a couple shots from the cradle, off she went!

The boys took some turns at some more little ones... and I think the fish were afraid of my now musky-scented worm harness!

The colours on the fish intrigued me this year- I don't think I have ever seen so many interesting camouflages! (for those of you dispising Rock Bass, please scroll past this one!)

And the day continued to heat up, but we were still smiling!!

Luckily, by noon, a rigid breeze blew throught to cool us off, and allow a drift down the lake. And still, more beautiful, tiny-ish fish!

Over the course of the next couple hours, the fish were well fed, Frank became the King of the Crappies, and my dad took my long-standing title of the most species in the lake- he got nearly everything EXCEPT a walleye!

We were there to try to get some walleyes, and they knew it! 7 hours in to our trip, and not a single walleye! And then- WHAM! One nice tug on Frank's line, and we added a walleye to our list of caught and released for the day!

Nice, toothy, and fun to watch him catch!

All in all, it was a fabulous day with the Top 2 fishermen in my life... and always a blast for me! My 'pesonal best' was icing on the cake, and it would have been a great day without it... but it sure does something for my ego to get the biggie of the day, too!

We FINALLY got out in the boat yesterday on the Kawarthas (full details in General Discussion), had a great time, AND I caught this baby!! Here's my muskie- it was a scrappy one, and so much fun to catch, measuring 33"!!!

Looks like a fun outing, even if you didn't kill 'em (you've got to start somewhere!)!

Ice... I had to check the date on your post twice! What beautiful colours on that Laker... Very nice!

Congrats!

Great shots- especially the misty morning ones. Algonquin never loses its grace and beauty. And nice fish, too! (too bad for the soakers!)

Too cute... Silly dog!

Awesome shots, Joey- i love the ruffled edges on these ones! I just took pics of my red ones yesterday (not quite as fancy, with normal trim).

Very nice sunset- i really like the sun in the distance, shining off the water!

Very nice contribution, Spiel! Frank is a rod junkie.... I bet he's drooling over yours already!

Looks like a fun time with great scenery (love those sunset shots), friends and fish!! The shore lunch shots make me crave a fresh meal!

Very neat underwater shots, Ryan- you successfully capture cool views that I would otherwise turn blue to witness!!!

Ryan-- Did that thing eat a balloon?!!

On a serious note, Lenwaltenberry--strength to you in your hard work ahead.

Great work, boys- good thing G's getting bigger so that he can handle those bruisers! I bet it was a blast bringing them in!!!

Great work, Mike! I really tried on the weekend, but only managed to get the walleye's midnight snack!!

Great work on the video, Dan- you captured it all perfectly! That's icing on the cake for a video summary... Thanks!

Thanks for all the feedback, guys!! Rick- I certainly hope we can get a fishing trip in there soon! Yeah, Frankie got the biggie, and I may have to step down from team 10 if this luck doesn't change, tho!! Dan- you said it right about the best moments... They were pretty CHEESY!! Ooooooo- Vince- i didn't congratulate you on your choice of pretty lures, but thank you!!!

Cudos to you, Ryan, for starting this great event and building a super team of participants- I am confident that we have all lost loved ones to cancer and would love to see a cure... And it's obvious with Dan's devotion, Mike and his wife's auction, and so many events to support this that they feel the same. You know you can count us in!

It seems like forever (especially since Frank has been fishing from a boat already this year), but for me, this was my first adventure on the (soft) water in 2012! Only because Frank's awesome, and he gave me two seats on a U & Me fishing charter for my birthday (YEAH- thank you, Frank!!), and my favorite guide Lloyd kindly donated the day to the Fishing for Tyler event that I was lucky enough for my first trip to be this one (THANK YOU, LLOYD!)!

Picton is such a cute little town, and it's always a treat for me to enjoy this view of the harbour, complete with Lloyd's bat-light from further up the channel!

And while I loathe anything earlier than 6:30, I can always make exception for outings like this- there is a certain magic at a very early hour...

Needless to say, I was pumped to get out 1) with Frankie on a boat to fish, 2) to get out with Lloyd to fish, and 3) to get out with buds Dan & Vince to fish!

But down to the meat of things... the hurry up and wait moment we all live to experience. It was a beautiful morning, but certainly not ideal for our target species of walleye- sunny, clear, calm and warm.

Being the birthday girl and all (29 every year is such a blast!!), I was fortunate to go first. For those of you who have fished with me (c'mon, Rick & G, I know it's on your mind!), you may be familiar with my LONG, drawn out time required to catch just the right fish. Yesterday was no exception (sorry, guys!)!! 2 hours and 35 minutes later, the fish gods rewarded me with this bruiser for my patience (gee, thanks!!). NO, guys- it wasn't the enormous one I promised that I would hunt and catch... and Mother N herself played a sick joke when I felt such pressure to outperform my better half. ARGH! Here's my little beast who decided to hit on the troll, and who likely didn't get the memo that something larger was destined to strike! (Dave Mercer has a part at the beginning of Facts of Fishing with the bird's nest that perfectly describes my reaction to the little perchie!)

Nevertheless, everyone was relieved that Curse Of The Long Wait Of Juli had expired... or had it?!!

Not long after, Dan was rewarded with a hammer on the line as he reeled in this bruiser! He was beaten and worn, and deseved another day in Quinte, so back he went- all 8.5 lbs of him!! (what's your trick, Dan?! Was it that lucky rub on the line?!)

Hehehehe.. now, the guys have confidence (or did they?!)- Juli's cursed wait is over (or was it?!), Dan's 35 minute wait had expired- the ball was rolling now! Yeah, rolling, all right.... as we practised that art of patience FOR ANOTHER 2 HOURS AND 45 minutes (sure, blame it on our paring, and thus he inherited my LONG waits times!!)- at which point, Frank was rewarded with a surprise! This beautiful little brown trout gave a nice tug on the retrieve, and a few splashes to get all of us excited! (beat on chest, grunt, run in circles... !)

We had left the dock at 5:30 am promptly... we were now nearing lunch hour and while it was slow, our enthusiasm had us still coarsing with excitement. So, we hurried up and waited some more (scroll through the next few pics as we waited, patiently!).

As always, we were rewarded with Ginsu-Lloyd taking care of tonight's much anticipated meal. I know that while this is a treat for me to know that we have a delicious meal ahead, but it's an even bigger one for Frank, since it's the only time he doesn't have to filet a fish!

Did you keep count, and notice that only THREE of us caught fish so far?! Yes, well, apparently it WASN'T me who was the only challenged to catch a fish in notable time- Me (2:30 hr), Dan (:30 minutes), Frankie (2:45 hr), and my poor friend Vince.. well, he had a hot date with Pepe. Le Peu. We simply ran out of time, as did the other 4 charter boats in the vicinity. It was a VERY tough day of fishing, wiith every trick in the book being pulled. Vince wasn't meant to catch a fish this time, but he kept smiling and only swore a wee bit to the givers-of-fish-in-our-bellies.

And while Frank earned the Largest Fish of Our Twosome award this trip (yep, he did!!)... I do hope to get some fighters this year! I was happy to have the opportunity to get out with Frank, the boys, Lloyd, and U & Me charters, and enjoy the spectacular day of fishing, fish-tv, some verbal tourettes (we are all purged of any tendencies now, I can guarantee!) and just a great day to hang on the water!!

It was a great day.. and I wouldn't trade it for a different one (thanks for the adventure to my one and only Frankie, and boys!).

Cool pic, neat fish!!