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Two is not the total number of walleye harvested this past winter season on Lake Scugog. Two is the total number of walleye harvested and recorded by the creel survey team. The creel survey team doesn't record all catches, only a sample.

Garnet is on the right track, I think. And there is funding available to help support local clubs that want to undertake shoreline rehabilitation.

Glad to see a constructive discussion, means we care. If you can, please attend the meeting in Port Perry to voice your opinion and get answers to your questions. If you can't attend contact them directly. This is not a done deal and they (MNRF) do want to hear from the public. Personally I favour habitat restoration, above stocking. A walleye closure combined with improved spawning habitat and better management of the water levels will hopefully result in a recovery. Time will tell.

Important changes have been proposed for the walleye fishery on Lake Scugog. Please follow the links below for more information. Also the public meeting information has been determined: Date: Tuesday April 28, 2015 Time: 5:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. - Open House (short presentation at 7:00 p.m.) Location: Rotary Room - Scugog Memorial Public Library, 231 Water Street, Port Perry, ON Please feel free to share this information. If you would like more information, please contact: Email: [email protected] or phone: 705-755-2001 https://www.ontario.ca/travel-and-recreation/fisheries-management-zone-17-fmz-17 Fact sheet available here: http://apps.mnr.gov.on.ca/public/files/er/walleye-recreational-fishery-on-lake-scugog.pdf

Here is a little background on the bass regulation change for FMZ 17. I sit on the advisory council for FMZ 17. Below is my interpretation of data that was presented to council. Bass are climate change "winners". Over the last century temperatures have increased and these increases have translated into ice out dates on average 10 days earlier. Extra days of soft water means longer growing cycles for bass before winter sets in, and bass populations are thriving especially in FMZ 17. Also, research shows that when spawning season begins there is a bias towards large fish, meaning the largest fish in the population (the ones that need the most protection through regulations) spawn before the smaller fish. Any nest that is still occupied by the opener are most often small males guarding empty nests. Current regulations protect bass almost entirely throughout their spawning season in FMZ 17. Two of the main reasons we have fishing regulations are: 1. protect the resource and 2. to provide fishing opportunities. In short, the biologist that presented for the FMZ 17 council concluded that opening bass one week earlier would not negatively impact the spawning season of bass and it would provide increased fishing opportunities for anglers; a win, win situation so to speak. One side benefit of opening bass season one week earlier is that it may give the walleye another week "off", as many bass anglers often target walleye before the bass season opens. I hope that answers many of the questions that may arise.

I wrote this a couple months ago. Explains the legalitities for Ontario anglers. Cheers A Game Changer??? Every year the fishing world is inundated with new lures designed to help anglers catch bigger and more fish. Every shape, size and colour of lure is out there it seems and fishing trends come and go. I am not immune from the latest crazes, and I enjoy following the current trends. The latest and most interesting lure to hit the market is the Alabama Rig also known as an Umbrella Rig. An A-Rig as it is being called is a castable spreader designed to present multiple lures on a single cast. The rig pictured above (“The Alabama Rig” by Andy Poss) is able to present up to five lures to mimic a school of fleeing baitfish. The goal is to attract multiple strikes from aggressive feeding fish. This rig or rigs like it have been around for many years and are commonly used in striper fishing. It wasn't until a month ago when a well known bass tournament angler decimated his competition using an A-Rig that the bass fishing community started to wake up and discuss this lure. Paul Elias used one to beat his competition by an unheard of 17 pounds and led the Guntersville FLW Tour event from start to finish. By the time the last day rolled around all the top 10 anglers where using an A-Rig to catch bass. What makes this rig unique is it turns the fishing world upside down from a culture of stealth and invisibility to one of noisy and shockingly visible. This rig consists of nothing subtle, with thick metal arms, large swivels and clasps. The idea is an aggressive feeding fish will attack this lure and not inspect it closely, therefore no need for subtle thin diamter lines and fine hardware. It is also possible to catch multiple bass in one cast. Numerous online videos show anglers catching 2 or 3 fish at a time. This alone makes anglers like me wake up and pay attention. Interesting questions arise when this rig is discussed. One question is ethics; if this lure is so successful at catching bass maybe it should be banned and deemed unsportsmanlike? Time will tell if this step is necessary. Another question is whether this rig is even permitted by Ontario law? When it comes to regulations I thought it would be best ask my friend Tan Tallion at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for clarification. I sent him a picture and a few questions. Here are his answers: 1. Is this rig legal in Ontario? No, the Ontario Fishery Regulations subsection 31(1) states ‘No person shall angle with a line to which more than four hooks are attached’. A ‘hook’ is defined in the OFR as ‘means a single or multiple-pointed hook on a common shaft but does not include a snagger’. In the picture you provided the device appears to have five separate hooks attached to it, not on a common shaft. Therefore, this device is contrary to Ontario law. 2. If this rig is not legal, what modifications could be made to comply with Ontario regulations? Any modification that would reduce the number of hooks to four (4) would bring the device into compliance with Ontario law. 3. Rationale for current regulation? Bait and gear restrictions are typically implemented to achieve one or more objectives. The restrictions to four hooks are intended to facilitate effective catch and release and also to reduce the harvest of fish. Additional rationale for the provinces bait and gear restrictions are available in the Regulatory Guidelines for Bait and Gear Restrictions found here http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@letsfish/documents/document/stel02_178932.pdf I am positive I will not be alone on the Canadian tournament fishing circuit throwing these monstrosities around next year. Unfortunately with the tournament season over and the bass fishing season closing in a few weeks, we will have to wait a long six months to see if these rigs work up here north of the border. Tight lines, Andrew http://www.mykawartha.com/blog/post/1254469--a-game-changer

Garry's got it, follow his instructions and you'll get them out. If you have stubby fingers a corkscrew makes a great knot picker.

Big congratulation goes out to Bob Izumi for his win this weekend in the EverStart Northern Division at the 1000 Islands on the U.S. side of the border. Bob Izumi has fished and won numerous Canadian tournaments over the years, but a win down south has eluded him. For his win Bob Izumi will take home a new Ranger boat, motor and trailer package plus over $27,000 in cash. Lets hope this is the start of a string of victories for Bob Izumi this season. Congrats again! Also congratulations goes out to John McGoey (Omemee) and Cory Johnston (Peterborough) who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Normally Canadians do well in these events that border Canada, but I can’t remember them ever doing this good. Sure shows we can Canucks can compete, and not just through the ice. Tight lines, Andrew

thanks!

Oh What a Weekend This last weekend I was in Belleville for the eastern stop of the CSFL Bassmania tour. The Bay of Quinte is one of the best fisheries in Canada, and this weekend it lived up to its reputation. Day 1 In practice I had located lots of smallmouth bass (including a few big ones) on Lake Ontario, a 60 mile run from the boat launch in Trenton. The weather cooperated and Doug Strong (my fishing partner) and I made the long run out to Lake Ontario relatively unscathed. The day was going great with lots of big fish in the boat. I knew we had a good limit of bass, but I was not confident it was enough for the win; and it wasn’t. The Johnston brothers of Peterborough came in with a record setting catch of 27.3 pounds to take the win. We ended up in forth place (of 75 boats) with 23.55 pounds, my heaviest ever limit of fish. Day 2 The winds were still cooperating on Saturday so we made the long trip out to Lake Ontario; this time with mixed feelings. The only fish we didn’t catch the day before were the smaller ones, so we would have to get lucky this day to bring in a big limit. This day also went exactly as we had predicted. We caught over 40 smallmouth bass (half on the jerkbait which was an absolute blast), but none over 4 lbs. On day two we weighed in 17.25 pounds good enough for 20th place (out of 63 boats). A good day and we were happy we with decent points to help us qualify for the year-end classic. Day 3 On day 3 Lake Ontario was out of bounds so we would have to find some largemouth bass in the Bay. Doug and I had pre-fished the Bay of Quinte (excluding Lake Ontario) just one day and it was a tough practice catching only small fish and only able to fish certain sheltered bays due to high winds. We had little hope for this day and again needed to get lucky to pull off a good finish. In the end it was another day of catching lots of fish, but this time none were over 3 pounds, so we ended as expected near the bottom of the pack in 44th place (out of 56 boats). Even with a poor showing on the final day it was a great weekend for us. It is pretty tough to complain when you weigh-in your personal best limit, competed for top place and catch over a hundred bass. Congratulations to day one and day three winners Cory and Chris Johnston and congrats to day two winners Jim Dodd and Chris Giles. Another impressive performance by the Johnston brothers. Tight lines, Andrew

Weather to go fishing or not… Many anglers believe storms impact fishing, and I can not disagree. What we anglers can not agree upon is exactly how they are impacted. Some days the fishing is great so in retrospect you can apply that weather pattern and claim it positively impacted the fish, but then try and duplicate that success on a similar weather day and you will often find yourself scratching your head in frustration. The truth is fish are impacted by weather PLUS a myriad of other influences from weed cover, water temperatures, current, wind and wave action, bait movements etc. So instead of dwelling on the weather good or bad, just go fishing and find out for yourself. The day after numerous storms rolled through our county, I was able to get out fishing for a few hours with a couple friends. With no power at the cottage we had to “MacGyver” an electric winch to launch the boat, but we were fishing without much delay. The plan was to cycle through my “milk-run” of known musky spots and see if we could coax a musky to bite. We had to wait a couple hours and not until spot number five, before the over sized Beckman landing net got some action. After a couple high-flying leaps, we quickly landed a spunky low 30” fish and promptly released it to go and grow. We fished another few hours, but never had another hit, nor did we see any follows on this slow day. No complaints from the crowd; we were all just happy to be on the water for what turned out to be a pleasant day weather wise. Tight lines, Andrew Reds' Fishin' Blog Pattern: The lone musky was caught casting a jerkbait in six feet of water on the outside edge of a weed line adjacent to a main lake point. All day we focused our efforts on outside weed lines and mid lake rock shoals. What worked? Lure – 6” bull frog coloured Bomber Herky Jerky jerkbait Depths – 6 to 12 feet Rods - All Star 7’6” Heavy Action Reels - Shimano Calcutta 401 TE Line - 80 lb Power Pro braided fishing line Leader - 130 lb Seaguar Fluorocarbon Weather Conditions: Overcast Winds were 10-15 km/h from the sorth Surface water temperatures 22° Celsius (72° F) Air temperatures reached a high of 25° Celsius ( 77° F)

Thanks for the support! I think helping someone land their first is better than catching one my self, very fun. Online that picture looks like the reds and greens are off, but nevertheless it was still a good looking fish. Tight lines, Andrew

A memorable muskie opener I was lucky enough to fish with my cottage-neighbour (Dave) this muskie opener on Buckhorn Lake. He has fished the lake for a few years, and caught plenty of bass and walleye but no muskies yet. We hit the water early on Saturday to try and change that. At around 9am we had our first strike; about 12 feet from the boat a muskie took a swipe at Dave’s jerk-bait but somehow avoided the six barbed hooks. An hour later we had our first muskie on. Dave hooked this one about 25 feet from the boat and played it out perfectly, constant pressure and letting it run when it wanted to. After a solid fight we finally got it in the Beckman net. We took a couple quick pictures and then released it to fight another day. With the smell of success still in the boat (muskie slime has a strong distinct odour) we quickly got off the water as an approaching thunderstorm rolled in. Cheers, Andrew Blog Post June 4, 2011 Pattern: I was casting an 8” perch pattern jerk bait, but had no action. My neighbour was casting a 6” perch pattern jerkbait and had both hits. We tried outside weed lines and mid lake rock shoals but rock seemed to be key. Both the muskie came off rock in 12 to 15 feet of water. What worked? Lure - 6” perch pattern Rapala X-Rap Depths – 12 to 15 feet Rods - 6’ Heavy Action Reels – Ambassador Line - 50 lb Power Pro braided fishing line Leader – 12” Steel Leader Weather Conditions: Overcast Winds were 5-10 km/h from the north Surface water temperatures 18° Celsius (65° F) Air temperatures reached a high of 15° Celsius ( F°)

Nice work!

Thanks for the positive feedback. Looking forward to adding walleye to a few blog posts next week. Cheers, Andrew