Bassassins

There are many reasons why we think you are the greatest Bunk - but your true love, passion and respect for the species you target is one of those biggest reasons. To ALWAYS keeping it real fine sir ..... CHEERS!

Yeah it was our first Ottawa cats actually - glad our captain had the solid back up plan. We wanted to take him on an adventure and he ended up putting us on the fish instead. Funny how that works out but won't complain... a very relaxing day. Good Luck - excited to follow your success.

We are far from Oshawa but it was a blast I have to admit.... much more then expected! Those cats put a nice bend in a rod.

Like any good robbery it is great to have a back up plan. With all this nice and sunny weather we went to a spot on the Ottawa that has held Gar for us in the past. UNFORTUNATELY we found that the river being up 4 feet from normal "high" level made the wading impossible for our first Gar adventure. Luckily we had a solid back up plan and ended up having a relaxing day of watching rods twitch. Nice to put a worm on a hook and have success with a simple approach. Rob and Rob - the CAT BURGLARS for a day. Excited to get our BOAT this weekend! Big things coming.... hope you are all enjoying spring. Tight Lines... Smooth & Bass

Thanks guys - super excited you liked it! Rob aka Smooth

An amazing season has come to an end. Always on the hunt for adventure, fish and fun were plentiful. As much as it pains me to let this one go, open waters will soon lead the way to new challenges. What better way to celebrate this harsh but glorious winter but with a “Big Old Mix Tape”. With no further adieu... We had the honour to fish with an excellent bunch of skilled icers. Wish we could have been out with more, but time is so little and more seasons shall come. Early morning walleyes, complimented with pike setting fire to the tip ups, followed by after noon jumbo perch and slab crappy delights...ripping through the water columns chasing lake trout. We had it all. Victory at times came with a cost but no giant is for free and perhaps we still carry the consequences but experience has shown that there is always light at the end for those who pursue and endure. The combination of day trips and local scouting missions quickly became a weekly exercise, surely there was no shortage of opportunities waiting to be ceased. There are no favourite seasons and we are always excited for the one to come. Winters in Ontario can be unpredictable at best but one thing you can be sure of is that mother nature doesn't care for days off work. She is as cruel as she is beautiful. For us, every minute counts and this is a time for great adventure. The hardship is as much part of the experience as the success. Take it or lea-- ...wait a minute is this a trick question? There are no excuses needed as 3 am often comes too soon, little sleep willingly traded quickly for the promise of adventure. Going through minus 35 C without windchill, and no shelter, to the days of basking in the sun with a light sweater on, no chance is left to waste. Fueled by the prospect of elusive beasts, menacing and powerful, under freezing conditions and most vulnerable to the elements with a possible chance for great tragedy, no questions asked. Well... Yes Sir, Of course Sir Nature is at its best when she is raw and intense, bigger than yourself. The challenge is only met by its rewards. Times get tough, the tough go ice fishing... Spring is approaching fast, which means high anticipations at Bassassins' headquarters. Pike spawn, steel-head runs, big carp and gar in May, small mouth and musky all summer long, chunky fall walleyes and first ice. Its a perfect loop. Stay tuned Tight Lines Bass & Smooth

Thanks!

lol thanks guys --- "strangest looking Bass" --- that's the funniest comment all day.

Well today was the last day on the ice for the Bassassins - found some safe ice and figured our last shot at something big. WELL I have to say we finished things with a bang! We are almost done our ice fishing highlight video and Bass told me this morning that there was enough room for one last fish. I decided to fill it with the highlight of my ice season..... Many days chasing these beauties this year and I just couldn't seem to make it work but today was a true example of getting better with every outing and fine tuning your technique to find what will work. I know its a short little report but just couldn't wait to get this picture up......... I CAN'T STOP SMILING! That is all...... Smooth

Thanks everyone - glad you like the report. You are right Rich - some of those boys are definitely eating well. All the best! Rob aka Smooth

All winter we have been chasing lake trout with little success. Pike, walleye and jumbo perch were on the menu all season long. Hungry for one of those illusive beasts we decided to give it one last chance, one more road trip, one more epic adventure. Easier said than done when there is trout are involved, our trip fell right on a full moon with a massive snow storm moving in. Take off at 3 am, though the conditions on the road were rather harsh, the drive up to Boshkung lake was gorgeous. The Haliburton highlands are a real treat for the eyes all year long but in particular when everything is covered in thick heavy snow. We arrived at the lake around 6.30, geared up and fishing by 7, the spirits where high, fuelled by fantasies and the stories that surround this beautiful lake. The bite was shy all morning, marks on the flasher would come and go, chase a little but never really commit. The joys of fishing after a bright full moon...but simply just being out and about with the boys, not being at work, fishing and having a blast is what its all about anyway. Mid day we decided to fish with a little more finesse, minnows on a drop shot gently rocking off the bottom, it didn't take long for the first hit. A nice little laker finally couldn't resist our offerings. As soon as her tail popped through the hole the tiny single hook came undone, trout on the loose, swimming in the 2'' of water under the hut. It kept the crew excited as we took turns reaching under the shack trying to grab a hold of the little bugger. The afternoon passed by while we were chasing bars, cracking brews and jokes. 20 minutes until last day light and we picked up one more grey. Sometimes its the little things, we worked hard all day and got rewarded. Exhausted but happy we all crashed at our room, a few hours of sleep and time for round two. The storm had settled over night and we decided to hit a lake more familiar to us. After a day with a one line limit we couldnt wait to deploy our tip ups. Set up over 10 30′ feet, loaded with big dead bait on quick strikes it didnt take long for the first flag up. About 10 am we decided to move into the bay to kill the rest of the day with some big perch. Leaving the heavier rods behind and switched to light gear. The bite was hot at noon, the perch came up in good size and numbers. There is nothing more fun to us than lifting perch after perch out of the hole, jumping from spot to spot to keep enticing those fat little guys. Late season offers the best perch fishing as they start spawning and are feeding ferociously. The afternoon flew by way to fast and it was soon time to pack up and leave. In a last minute attempt John decided to wander further out towards the mouth of the bay. Fishing in 30 feet he was still picking up perch when suddenly I look over to see this Oh I got a big one. he shouts An intense fight unraveled, the sweet sound of a screeching reel just wouldnt stop. The 2 lb test was under tremendous pressure, so many things could have gone wrong but Johns experience and patients let to victory. 9 agonizing minutes and several ridiculous runs later he iced this beautiful laker. The illusive beast, finally, while jigging for perch Lesson learned today, its never over until its over. Here is a little testimonial to the beast and Johns skills on ultra light gear. Tight lines Bass & Smooth www.thebassassins.com

YOU ARE A MACHINE!!!! Love it Bunk. Smooth

This week will be a LOT different that is for sure.

Thanks for enjoying them all so far! Fishing is always a blast... lol Glad you liked it! More will be coming - 2 epic adventures planned this week thanks for the support!

John from Oziles gave us a call, asking if we want to head out to one of his spots for the day. The forecast called for -32 with windchill, so why not. I’m not going I lie here, 6:30 hit us hard and I believe we all couldn't wait for the sun to come out to warm us up a little. Dressed like we were to embark a polar expedition, we quietly set up camp. The old gas auger had a bit of a hard time in these frigid conditions but she got the job done nicely. We spread out over a fast drop off and had holes running from 30 to 90 feet. While John was building up the clam, Smooth already ran in to some trouble. “Fishing”, he shouts, my favourite statement that is. His rod dipped south in a mad bend, but the sensation didn't last to long. Anyhow first blood was drawn, a welcome sight in this cold front. Fish are feeding Bouncing a Macho Minnow with a stinger à la Bass of the bottom, I was getting bites soon enough. Watching the massive schools of smelt appear and disappear on the flasher was fun but also slightly distracting. Almost not noticing a big red mark separating of the bottom…hit…hook-set and we’re in. A good fight, lots of weight and shaking, felt like a nice eye and it was indeed. I pulled her slowly but steady up from 30 feet, her head poked through the ice and the tiny treble poped right out of her mouth. …Fish on the loose in the hole... slowly slipping back down… …reflex, grab, almost perfect gill job and out of the water she was. Wet, freezing hands proudly lifted 5 pounds of pure gold in to the frozen shut GoPro. All in hope for a prize picture and all for nothing…but this Is it on? Seconds later Smooth was too busy to even yell out, another fine eye couldn't resist the minnow heads this morning. It appeared to be excellent fight and both parties gave it a good go. No chance for escape for this fella here… The sun did an excellent job with the warmth, except not…we both took turns in the captain’s cabin. Seabass's shelter was tempting with a heater and good company as we occupied it in strategic planed breaks. But we braved it outside pretty good for most of the time. ”Fish on…”, John shouts. All lines on board and we both dashed over to the clam, investigating the ongoings inside. A good pike kept John pretty busy. His skilled hands made this a swift project and this beauty specimen full of smelt was released quickly to go hunt for another day. Back to business as John shouts out again. Another pike came up from 40 feet. Gotta love when they dart out in burst of energy, putting some heat on the equipment and operator. At the hole this feisty guy sure put up a good show slashing and trashing, he was one unhappy camper. But nothing seemed to escape from Johns iron grip. Mr. Esox was unhooked quickly and sent back to clear, deep waters. As John looked at the clock and said: “I know an excellent perch spot, you boys down with that?” Everyone knows I welcome a hot perch bite any day and so we head over to a nearby bay that was teaming with good sized fish. Highlight was sight fishing for those little buggers in the clam. Right over 7 feet and a nice weed bed, this was tremendous fun. As we were picking at those greedy troopers, a big pike shot by the hole, heading dead on towards Smooth. John shouts out a piece of warning... "big pike coming your way" .. and I could already hear Smooth was in distress. His line peeled of the reel like he snagged a beaver. There was just no chance on the ultra light gear...and the line goes.. ...tink... The perch party continued, the bite stayed hot all day, tipup produced the larger fish as per usual. But jigging little spoons in such shallow water with light gear is unbeatable for killing an afternoon in the deep freeze. New spots scoped out and a new friend made, I'd say hells yes! Tight lines. bugger http://www.thebassassins.com

" -17 before wind chill today and the weatherman said if you DON'T have to go outside you shouldn't. " Well, we felt that we most definitely should. So 8 am on a frosty but sunny Thursday morning, holes are drilled and it didn't take long at all before we ran it to some fish. The Marcum was showing suspended marks above food off the bottom. Targeting Walleyes with Jigging Raps, it took me a bit by surprise when my first fish turned out to be a fat 11" slab. A beauty Crappie, and the day was off to a great start early. As the morning and afternoon continued it appeared that the fish had their mouth glued shut, we threw everything in our boxes at the marks on our flasher with the odd little guy coming to play but nothing big would ever commit. Most folks must have taken the weather forecast seriously since we were pretty much alone out there for the better part of the day. The few groups of anglers around us didn't seem to produce anything at all. We fished the same general area all day with the same results, mark, follow, play, disappear. After our neighbours to the right called it quits, we decided to sneak over there and take advantage of a fresh set of neatly power drilled holes. A couple of quick flashes and we found a nice drop off, a bunch of marks - time to bunkered down. Three decent Saugers and a small eye came up quickly. Then I yelled out "big mark" and before I could finish my sentence my rod went south. Bass came over but before he could assist me fish off and the screen went blank. Quick check to see if the minnow is still there and the Swedish Pimple hales back down, as it was about half way through the column, that big mark returned...a few more feet of slow agonizing flutter and BOOM, fish on again. A battle that I was winning ended in true tragedy as a big golden flash appeared under the hole and faster then I could say "I love gold"... tink.... it was gone. As I cried into the minnow bucket Bass got his rod down the same hole and was able to land a nice size eater with only a few minutes to go before we had to call it quits. A solid day of hard work and creativity that ended with a big smile on both our faces, a few tears shed but thank you weather man for keeping everyone else indoors and safe. Smooth

Early bird special today included hot morning bite of PERCH 7.45 am, out and about! Smooth is littering the place with holes Drill, Flash, Slush and Catch first blood, 3.2 sec in the game, "Smooth keep drilling, NOT marking anything... " Jumping from hole to hole all morning to keep them excited Big old bruiser, he had some crazy scars gets to swim another day Smooth was working them hard all morning Wicked morning outing, great weather, fantastic fishing, fun company! thanks to y'all! will do this again soon!! check out the whole story at http://thebassassins.com/ been doing way to much reading and fishing and not posting :shock: glad to see that every one is having a blast!! Cheers Rob

Well the Bassassins were able to get out for a few days to start off the New Year - Nothing better really. We hit up Long Island Locks for some perching, spent a day in Bogie where "nothing but wild turkeys would make their appearance." and spent the last day at -30 on crappie bay hiding from the crisp wind and keeping busy with crappie and gills. Full report and pictures here http://thebassassins.com/?p=689 A great way to start the year out testing new gear, catching up with a buddy and keeping a bend in our rod. Happy fishing to all those who are out..... be safe! Tight Lines, Rob and Rob

THE LEGEND CONTINUES! Bunk another amazing report.... Its reports like that and picture like those that motivate guys like us to get out there every day (including todays -30) to one day be able to come close in any respect to a year end review like that. Thank you for being you and thank you for that amazing read! Rob and Rob

With the end of the world coming I told myself I would GET OUT FISHING AND MAKE ONE LAST VIDEO! That's how dedicated the Bassassins are.... But seriously just a little fun testing out some new toys - Marcum VX 1Pro and a home made underwater GoPro mount - everything is working GREAT! Just need to find some bigger fish..... but a day filled with 20+ of these guys is far from a skunk. Enjoy - Happy Holidays!

We licked it.. that has to count for something!!! Ice was good - a little slushy on top with the wet snow and warmth (our gear got pretty soaked) but the ice itself was over 5inches.... a little wet coming off shore but nothing to worry about.

Well it is that time of year! Time to break the ice... with Smooths new gear all sitting under the tree we decided to still give it a go and share Rob's equipment to get out for our first ice of the year. After a little warmer weather we double checked with the bait shop guys to make sure we were safe to go and although it was a wet one it was a ton of fun. First fish came quite quickly and they didn't seem to stop for the couple of hours we were out... Smooth taking the early lead with a consistent bite but Rob hammered a late rush fish after fish at the end to pull 1 fish ahead and win the day. Nothing huge here at all but it was great to get out and shake all that ice rust off. Will be busy with the Christmas break but can't wait to get back out there again soon. Happy Holidays to ALL! We hope you have lots of fishing toys under the tree and tight lines on the ice Rob and Rob www.thebassassins.com

See I am learning something already - really wish I would have taken a week this fall to go down. Will see if there is anything else available for spring..... Thanks guys. Smooth

I am not looking past this ice season - still very excited! However I have 2 weeks to take for vacation from the 3rd week in march to the end of april. I would really like to hit the runs down near Port Hope / Cobourg in spring... Would that be possible in that time frame? Which 2 weeks would you take? Thanks for the advice. Smooth

Saturday afternoon, a normal day at work for the two Robs, both knowing we were stuck indoors all weekend. Around lunch time we got word from our personal hero, Andrew Bunker also known as MooseBunk, asking if we wanted seats on The Bomber for Sunday. This vessel has its name for a reason, it produces unusually large amounts of big, quality fish constantly! However its true when they say a boat is only as good as its captain. All over sudden we got our selves a bit of a stand off Needless to say we were frantically trying to get out of work tomorrow, ASAP! A few hectic phone calls and desperate deals later Sunday here we come. Bunks last words to Smooth Saturday night were; You tell that Rob, the wizard has it all waiting in Oz, just follow the golden pickerel road. 5.45 AM on a brisk November morning, near Carlton Place, we all meet up. After quick introductions *MooseBunk is shorter then I expected* we get into Bunks truck and on the road to the Bay of Quinte. Time flies by when you are in good company, in fact the whole day seemed to be over way to fast. Launching at 8 am, first rod takes no time at all to fire, but quickly we realized my first fish would have to wait missed it! Probably a good fish too.... For the full report and pictures please check out the link below - Day ended with 1 old grump, a sexy 12 pounder for Rob and a last minute 9 pounder for Smooth..... CAN'T WAIT FOR ICE!!! http://thebassassins.com/?p=568