The Urban Fisherman

Took the dog out this morning and our back-yard pond was frozen over for the first time this season....I'm hoping our waterfall keeps one end open so the fish can get some oxygen this winter... There's nothing like softwater, but we can't do anything about the impending season so if it's going to be cold and snowy we might as well have ice to! The part I hate most is when the ice is to thin for fishing but there's to much ice for a boat... Cheers, UF

LOL that's funny stuff kemper... Nothing more to add here - You're a good Father BITEME, and I'm impressed with the amount of solid advice and open minded people here on OFC. Cheers, UF

yeah man - I'm no muskie fisherman, but I was bassin' in a marina in the upper niagara last summer and we must have seen a half dozen or more ski's hanging around in the boat docks that day. Mostly smaller ones, but a couple brutes to! Thanks for the report Rizzo! Cheers, UF

Ice fishing for largies! The lake I target panfish in has an over-abundance of pint sized largemouth - they're a damn nuisance when you're fishing for perch and gills.... Seriously though, There's still plenty of LEGAL bassin' to be had, two more weeks here at home, and longer if you're willing to head down to buffalo. The state side of Erie has some of it's best smallmouth fishing right up until christmas! cheers, UF

I'm going on 27 so it doesn't affect me, but it wasn't long ago that I was in the proposed age bracket so I feel for guys like Kemper. Also, I have 2 cousins who are in high school and starting college. They're good kids (don't hide anything from me) who've recently lost their father. The elder of the two is 19 and now the man of the house.... and you're telling me he can't drive his 14 year old brother and friends to see a movie, or to their hockey practices?!?! c'mon get your head out of your Let me know where to complain TJ! UF

Ok, so every time somebody sais "WOW, I'd like to catch an X length fish" I have to first do a background check to see if they're being serious or sarcastic. And, " I have to know who and what I'm talking about". Are you kidding me? This is the INTERNET... sorry I don't spend enough time on here to know the who's - who of OFC. And you didn't have to spell it out Dad. As if I'd try to tell Lew how to catch a ski, or Solo how to catch steelhead.... He made a comment, and I figured I'd take a few seconds out of my day to pitch in some advice. You don't see Solopaddler making sarcastic comments about somebodies 15" shaker just because he's caught a million of them that are bigger..... Anyways, I don't normally let myself get caught up in arguments online, it's the reason why people are sometimes reluctant to join the board, and %99 of the time this is a great place to be. I'm sorry for being ignorant and not knowing that Tenguy laughs at the thought of catching 34" gators. Cheers, UF

Whopper - my bad for not being able to read peoples minds when it comes to "online sarcasm"....just trying to help a brother out. I don't exactly come on here and do my "homework" as to who is a fishing pro, and who just plain out wants to catch a certain sized fish. Some people on this board have never even caught a pike before, lettle-own a big one. Sorry for trying to be a nice guy - I may not be a "pro" like some of you guys but I try to pitch in and give a little advice from time to time when I can...maybe next time I won't bother. Sorry to go off-track in your post ChickenHawk....nice fish everybody. Cheers - DUDE, UF

Hey Dude, It's not that hard to catch a 34" pike if you put yourself in the right place at the right time. And you don't have to be Canadian, or go on an insane fly-in trip to get them. This fat 34 incher is from Lake Erie, and couldn't resist my perch pattered x-rap. After ice-out, once they finish spawning all you have to do is find some schooled up bait-fish and you can bet that there's going to be some toothy critters near by. Of course, who wouldn't want to catch a 45 incher, but I sure don't complain about anything in the mid 30's. good fishin' UF

I didn't measure any of these fish but they are my personal bests.....Photography accolades go to my buddy Richie Tripp. smallies - 2 personal bests in 1 day... Lake Erie Smallies on the tube jig...the bigger one was just over 6lbs on the digi scale.. Walleye caught on a perch patterend x-rap - a long fish but she was skinny.... Pike - Victim to a mepps in-line spinner...not a giant (mid to high 30's) Lake Erie Steelhead came in on a Taildancer trolled behind a jet diver... I've smashed every one of my previous personal bests since I started working for Dave Mercer! lol UF

dude, I know tourney guys who fish that lake on a weekly basis, right up until there's ice on the lake... And most of them certainly don't have their boats put away. They just head south as the lakes freeze over. Maybe the recreational guys have their boats put away, but not the hard-core dudes. As for tourney's, yeah they're usually smaller club tournaments, but the lake does get pounded with them in the summer. Regardless of all this, I wasn't necessarily trying to say the guy was going to get run over @ 70MPH, it was more of a joke - didn't expect everybody to take it literally, but common sense says (in my opinion) that you don't go out on a lake in the dark without lights on your boat. Especially in a canoe! Cheers, UF

Point is I don't want the guy to get run over...

doesn't get much better than that! Good Work, UF

Can't help you on the walleye front, I've only fished bass in St. John, but if I were you I would listen to Gerritt adn stay away from the lake at night if you don't have lights on your canoe...it's a popular tourney bass angler lake and I wouldn't want to get run over by a bass boat going 70mph across the lake! lol good luck, UF

Pink X-Rap works great for smallies, largies and pike in stained water... (go-to lure in the Thames River) Pink powerbait trout worms for trout and bluegill in clear water situations... (Reservoir gills and bows)

Uh-Oh, Rod in the mouth and the whole bit... you look like a pro already! Congrats dude.

Thanks for the morning on the water guys! The winds were harsh, and we got soaked on the way in but it was all worth it. Just some paint scraped off the prop - some would call that character..... although I didn't really appreciate getting out-fished on my first outing in the new ride.... By the way - Rich refused the net on that hog - he's hardcore...lol Cheers, Ryan

consider yourself lucky Cliff - many a man would have a tear of happiness brought to their eye if they came home to find their wife's FISHING waders in the shower! I know I would - especially if my wife was still in-em! Thanks for the report Bly - great read and photos! Cheers, Ryan

yeah guys - the new curado is a SICK sick reel. I've used it on a few occasions and can't get enough of it. Light, smooth, and I said it in another thread but the main reason I like it so much is because it's got such a low profile...I'm a smaller dude and I can easily fit my hand around it and toss baits with it all day without getting a sore wrist.....it's #1 on my xmas list this year. Thanks for the tip on lebaron's website - always good to surf prices in canadian $'s cheers, UF

cool Randy, I like the idea of having a clean look with no wires hanging around, but like arnaldo said it might be a winter project....I have to get a second graph anyways! lol I think I'm just going to get a second base/power/transducer/GPS receiver and bring my current graph/GPS combo back and forth.... cheers, UF

awesome guys! doesn't get any better than that - saturday couldn't come any faster! Thanks, UF

great thread guys! I just baught a used PowerDrive motor tongiht and was wondering the same thing....I like the idea of running the wire through the shaft but if it leaked couldn't you destroy your motor? thanks guys! UF

hahaha that was a funny report dude! Entertaining and witty as usual. Cheers, UF

I've lived out here for a year and a half and still haven't been out perchin' in the bay..... maybe this weekend... Thanks for the report! UF

Cooksville Creek was one of my go-to spots for smallies when I lived in port credit...if you hit it right you can get huge numbers of smallmouth from the walking bridge right up until the water get's to shallow for them to move up-stream...I even managed a few fish pushing 3 to 4 pounds on spinnerbaits. When the bass weren't on I'd sometimes go up-stream and catch a few big suckers that live in the pool under the bridge year-round. One day I spotted a real nice lookin' Brookie in that pool and tossed every bait I had in my box at him to no avail....but, the point is, he was there! I walked the creek sometimes up-stream from lakeshore and though I never spotted any trout there's TONS of baitfish in the pools, and crayfish under the rocks. So though it might not be a thriving stream, it has some serious potential....not to mention, in the fall you'll get the odd group of salmon that run up to the bridge, and even the odd bow..... Whenever I pass through the sauga you can bet I'll be fishing that stream! cheers, UF

Was going to go bass fishing in the bay this afternoon, but alas, the stars didn't align and by the time I finished building new stairs for the front deck, most of the day had passed and I still hadn't found a fishing partner for the evening bite. So here's my sunday report. I wanted to try boiling my own maize (cow's corn) with a mix of cool aid and sugar etc. etc. to see if it worked any better then a plain old 79 cent can of sweet corn.... First you hire a 2 year old to do all the work for you - and be lucky enough to have an entire FIELD of cow's corn literally in your back-yard. Then peel and create a corn piramid... Bring your water to a boil, while adding your favourite cool aid... Then add a bunch of sugar... apparently carp have a sweet lip.... Add your corn and let it boil longer than swee corn as maize doesn't soften as easy.... Finaly, cut the corn off the cob and seperate into ziploc bags....big enough portions for your average outing... So after all this work, what were the results......1.5 hours of fishing, with 1 fish landed and 1 missed @ the net. In my opinion - it didn't work any better than just going to the store and getting a 79 cent can of sweet corn. BUT - it was good time spent with the kid. Cheers - and have a good work week. UF