The Urban Fisherman

Where abouts exactly are you guys? I have a couple of carp / sucker / gar spots right downtown London? Should be loaded right up with suckers and we used to hammer the carp pretty good when we were supposed to be studying for exams! haha

Good work dude!

We've kept a lot of pike that weren't bleeding Frankie! I don't think anybody should have to explain why they kept an IN season, legally caught fish... No matter the size or specie.... if it's in season, it's fair game IMO. I mean I wouldn't keep 50 perch 5 days in a row... at some point common sense has to kick in but u know what I'm sayin.... And I know what you mean about the taste... it's just one of those things... I ate pike growing up without hesitating, but I didn't eat any fish during my girl chasing years, then I tried one a couple years back and didn't like it at all, so unless I'm with somebody that I know will eat it, it's just a sportfish for me now! I wish Bass was in season during ice fishing.... I'd be allll over them if they were! lol

hahahaha Good job Guys! I'm not a pike eating guy but my whole family enjoys a good gator meal from time to time! Glad you got out and caught some fish... well Julie anyways! Cheers, Ryan

I was lucky enough to get my hands on the first few spools in Canada when I was working on a promo for the stuff and I have to say I'm shocked that it hasn't gotten the attention that some other new "superlines" have gotten. The stuff is awesome! OFC got me hooked on the original power pro when I first started chucking spoon off the pier in Port Credit... Back then I could cast much father then most people around me who were using mono! Still took me forever to catch my first salmon hahaha But the distance I was getting over everybody else alone was worth it to me. I still use the original Power Pro for certain applications, but I'm hooked on Super Slick... It's smooth, quiet on my guides, casts like a bullet.... Awesome stuff! And no, I don't get paid to say that!

Wide open here Billy - Hoping to get out with my old man and my daughter on the weekend! Usually we do better mid april.. At that time you can even get into some big slabs with small crankbaits, but I'm hoping the warm winter and early ice-out has got them moving in early! Good Luck - Chautauqua is a fun lake to fish!

I think it depends on where you're fishing and the body of water.... we consistently catch OOS largies when we're targeting perch on my local pond. Doesn't matter where you move to, they're mixed right in with the big perch and will eat minnows, live and artificial, gulp maggots, jigging spoons, you name it...

I think you made a good call on the Voltaeus!!!! My daughter got a 4'6" UL Voltaeus last year and has beat the living crap out of it... not to mention she landed some good sized fish on it... keeps on kickin'! She ripped me off for my 500 sized Sienna and ended up with a great little combo! Good luck with the little ones - that is what it's all about man... you're a good dude for getting out and spending time with them! Cheers, Ryan

I do all my carp fishing from the boat now Roy... The main reason being it's a heck of a walk back to my spots and usually we're trying to get them out from under fallen tree's... so being able to move the boat around when they get tangled up in the wood is a huge help... for me, two anchors are a must, one off each end of the boat so you don't have to keep adjusting your rod for the proper amount of slack... Like Steve said - it's a lot like fishing cat's on the grand - and if they're actively feeding we use strait up 65lb braid.. no finessing here... Cheers, Ryan

AWESOME Family Weekend Report N.A.W.!!! And a HUGE congrats on the baby - I'm so happy for you guys after trying for 2.5 years! Best of luck with everything!

Awesome - all great info here... Thanks for taking the time!!!! The deal that I'm working on right now is, our contractor / home builder is working together with the real estate and land developer... So basically they'd be building me a custom home, at their expense and when the house is all said and built I buy the place.... I can still pop in and check things out as it goes, and make minor changes but for the most part the price will be set in stone.... They will build the place then I'll buy it just like I'm buying any other house. The only difference between this and the other new houses they have for sale is I'm bringing in a contractor I know and trust rather than using theirs, and I'm providing my own plans. This is all preliminary stuff right now though... I'm just fishing for info here from the good folks of OFC... I can't build a house the traditional way because I already have a mortgage... The bank is just going to bridge my mortgage to the new place, and increase it if need be.

Horrible news.... Condolences to the family and friends.... Thanks for the post Roy..

Awesome fish and awesome trip!!! Thanks for the post man.. Someday maybe! I was going to say it looks like a colorful version of the baby Goliath grouper we were catching in Florida.. But everybody else beat me to it! Good work!

No thank you sir! LOL my house is worth about 220 for 3000sq. feet - in port credit, where we used to live its easily be a 750,000 dollar house... Homes are fairly cheap around here

4 years to build isn't bad, it took me 4 years to gut the interior of my house down to the 2x4's and rebuild it haha I pretty much spent most of my weekends and every holiday the past 4 years renovating and I'm sick of it... I'd rather take my kids fishing for the weekend and make family memories then work on the house... So I would either want a dive for 100 g's so I can pay a contractor 100 grand to renovate it before I walk through the door or I want a new house.... I have OCD or something... if there's anything that needs to be done, even if it really doesn't need to be done but it bugs me a little I'll find a reason to do it and waste my summer away working on it... I post lots of reports fishing with Averie, but really in 2011 I posted probably a dozen reports for the 12 times we got way out of 365 potential days... Mostly... I was renovating

Thanks sinker! Much appreciated!! The lots do have water electricity and gas at the lot line, and in my situation I'd be getting a quote on the final build as I'll be buying the house after its built rather than paying in increments.... But I completely understand where you're coming from and fully expect there to be unplanned expenses... Thanks for pointing that stuff out and if anything else comes to mind feel free to let me know! Thanks twocoda, there are some lots that are listed at 70 feet wide... I'll look into them properly once we get our house listed... 1.2 acres IN Rowan?!? Send me the link!!! Haha I agree with the space for the kids but I have to make sure I keep it affordable at the same time... The upside is that the boat docks are about 500m from the lots and the park is within eye shot.... School is walking distance as well... I know where you're coming from HTHM I grew up in Sudbury which has a population of 165,000 and most of my friends from university were from big cities like Toronto and clueless haha Port Rowan is "town" to us but really it's just a little lakeside tourist community that has a permanent population of 790.... a little less then the amount of kids I had in my high school... lol I love the interior of my house but I really don't have any attachment to it or the location... When I go away for a week for work and I pull in the driveway, I'm excited to see Ginny and the kids but kinda bummed out to be back in "frogmore" which is the hamlet I live in..... When we go to Rowan were always so stolked and never want to go home... 2 hours a day driving the kids to and from school, 25 minutes for groceries or anything for that matter is a bit of a pain with 3 little ones... Some of Averie's friends from school live 40 minutes away because they're on the far side of Rowan.... In town there's a grocery store, parks, library, home hardware, doctors office, shops, marinas, longpoint beach the list goes on.... It's just where we want to... Not to mention real high speed Internet would be good for my job!

We're not looking for a giant house, just a house that has the right layout for 4 beds and an office space downstairs.... The rough estimate I got from my father-in-law's friend who builds houses for a living is $120 a sq. foot and we're looking at building a 1200ish sq. foot house.... if he isn't to much over his estimate once he get's back to me it's approx. 150,000 or so for the house + 35,000 for the lots in rowan, which at a ROUGH total of 185,000 gives me a buffer zone of 30,000 for unplanned expenses... They're building and selling brand new 1200 to 1400 sq. foot houses in the same subdivision right now for 185,000 to 230,00 I bought my current house for $130,00 and spent 70,000 and the last four and half years of my life renovating it... I'm not doing it again lol

Wow! You're place looks AWESOME! good work! I love the garage door to the back yard.. my neighbor did that and I think it's great! I'll fire you a PM when I get a few minutes, but how wide is your place? The lots in Rowan are only 55 wide so we have to stick to a narrow house style... Did you do a bunch of stuff yourself, or hire a contractor? Thanks for taking the time to post the place from property guys... we've been inside every house for sale in rowan including that one haha The problem with that place, aside from not liking the layout, is we'd have to buy it and still build a bedroom downstairs right off the bat...so any money I save on negotiations would be spent on that.. also, one of the reasons we'd prefer all the bedrooms on the main level is that our kids are 5,3 and 1 so we just feel better about having them near by at night.... as for the office space, it'd be downstairs for sure... away from the hustle and bustle of the family so I can concentrate when I'm working... This is sort of what we've been looking at.. nothing to fancy, but meets our needs and would be affordable... I just don't really know how much effort is involved in a project like this... http://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plan-57147HA.asp

we've seen them all in person... they're all a no-go... our budget is 200 to 220 maxed out.. I think you underestimate how picky I am when I say NO RENO's brother... lol There's only 1 place that I've actually liked, but the only option for an office would be to built a shop because there's no basement... which blows my budget out of the water haha I gotta work here - I'll text you tonight!

I know one good contractor - he's a friend of the family and did a great job on my in-laws place next door last summer... I'm just waiting for his quote to see if I can afford him... Buddy we've been looking for 3 years and any existing homes with 4 rooms and somewhere to put an office are 300K+, to far from town, or are in need of another 5 years of reno's... I'm DONE with this reno stuff... when we make this move I'm moving into a brand new house or a place that's already been completely re-done inside and out... I want my weekends back... You know me... if there's anything that needs to be "done" in my opinion I'll throw away another couple of summers working on it... :wallbash:

Hey Gang - It's been a freakishly warm winter here.... I mean, a few days ago my kids went to the beach with their grandpa and found a baby turtle that was hatching?!?! Averie's been bugging the heck out of me to go ice fishing but we don't have any ice! lol I don't have time to sneak away for a few days so I think it's going to be her first year without any ice fishing.... We'll have to hope for a good spring season... That's my update - on to the house deal.... For a few years Ginny and I have been bouncing back and forth the idea of moving to Port Rowan, which is where Averie goes to school and where most of my wife's family lives.. Right now we live in the middle of nowhere, a good 20 to 25 minute drive to the kids school. Next year she's going to be going every day, and we have to drive her.... that combined with the fact that my in-laws are looking to sell their place (they live next door) and that houses are selling for higher than usual prices in my area right now has convinced us it's time to make the move..... Let's pretend our house actually sells..... lol the next problem is, we want a 4 to 5 bedroom house (3 kids and a home office). There's a limited market in and around Rowan because it's a small community, and when you go from 2/3 bedroom houses to 4/5 bedroom houses the prices skyrocket, usually because most of the 4/5 bed houses are HUGE or on the lake... way out of our budget... The only real affordable option for us is to build a smaller sq. footage house with 4 beds on the main floor and an office downstairs.. or just unfinished basement for now... Who's built a house? What are the things one should always do, and shouldn't do... Somebody please convince me that it's a good idea! lol Thanks again guys - have a great weekend! Cheers, Ryan & Family

I just wanted to take a second to say THANK YOU to everybody who contributed to OFC this year, to all of our friends here and elsewhere who made the 2011 Fish-A-Thon for a Cure a HUGE SUCCESS (thanks Dan Bouck for going over and above the call of duty) and I just hope more than anything that everybody has an AMAZING NEW YEAR and nothing but Good Times, Great health, love, family and BIG FISH in 2012!!! Here's some memorable photos from 2011 - feel free to post some of your own! First off, I should mention my Personal Best for 2011 - the birth of my little baby girl, Claira! Ice fishing in 2011 was pretty dismal for us as far as success goes.. we managed a few perch and a whole bunch of gobies, but time spent in the hut is what counts! Here's a tip: Don't try to drag a 4 year old and a full sized deep cycle battery around slushy ice... it isn't fun... Thanks to Juli and Frank for helping us out when we hit the ice one day last January! Most of our winter fishing was screwed do to a major reno we were doing in the basement.... Ice out took us to the shores of our local lake.. just a walk through the bush after the cold of winter is enough to make anybody smile! Averie found this and told me "look dad, it' a Heart in Nature" Luke's first time really fishing on his own... Trout opener for me was only a couple hours fishing from shore, but we managed a few nice little browns... Averie got to throw crankbaits on her own this year and we managed a great day on the water slaying crappie and bluegill on tiny little cranks... Bass Opener was special for me this year because it's the first one I've fished with my dad in probably 15 years or so.... The line up at the launch at something like 4 a.m. The old man usually fishes live bait exclusively - this was his first time ever fishing a tube jig and he smoked me pretty good! lol Averie scored herself an awesome 4.5 foot Shimano Voltaeus and put it to work all summer long! I caught a few fish to... managed this while trolling for pike with Luke sleeping on my lap! Luke lost his hat in the wind and from that point on he wouldn't let go of it while the boat was moving! lol There's no nap like a nap after a long day on the water! Some nights Dad fished past bed time , while the kids kicked back to a movie.... When the moon came out the phone was sure to ring, followed by mommy yelling at us to get home! lol The 2011 Fish-A-Thon for a Cure was a HUGE success thanks to so many of you guys... one of my fav. pics was our Junior Div. champion...holding his 5lb Chocolate bar up like he won the bassmaster classic! The kid decided she wanted to catch her first carp this year - her and her little rod handled it like a champ! The boy still isn't fond of holding fish!lol And after slamming largies and bluegill...Averie get's her first case of "bass thumb" By Mid-Summer we finally finished the rec room/office/theater This fall, after 5 years of bugging him... I finally got my Dad out of Port Credit for some in-shore salmon fishing! He caught the only fish of the morning to! Had a great time out with my pops and good buddy Dan Bouck! We hit up Longpoint for our last day of perching, and Slamed them pretty good thanks to Dan! We had a great day on the water chatting with both Dan and Shawn's families as we all fished side by side... on dano's spot! ;o) Averie's first time driving the boat Luke sleeping again... lol After catching a ton of fish, we joined Dan and family for a very memorable night at his cottage! The kids had a great time... And Averie made a new great friend, Dan's little boy Jacob! Hard to say bye to summer with views like this... Fall and Winter has been busy for us... we managed to sneak out once for late season bluegill, but only managed a single stocked rainbow! Luke sleeping.... again... lol last fish in the boat for 2011 All the best in 2012! Ryan, Averie, Luke, baby Claira and Ginny!

I would ditto this but Dano could have done a lot better... hahahaha those are some amazing pictures man - thanks for taking them and taking the time to post them! Cheers, Ryan

well put! Keep on going - best of luck and a Merry Christmas to you and yours! Cheers, Ryan

Hey man I won't knock Bieber's version of drummer boy either! haha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9drSoqs7D2g