JoshS

Nice technique and slick with those cheeks. Never seen anyone filet with a mini machete before...

I might do something local but won't be launching the boat next weekend unfortunately. Thanksgiving weekend has always been a good fishing weekend. And it's kinda the kickoff to my favourite time of year on the water!

Super cool!!

Where do you guys get the "the rate the fish hooks rust is astonishing" facts? I don't think they rust out that quickly. I've found many lures underwater from previous seasons with hooks still intact. Depends on the hook and gauge. I've often wondered what happens to fish with lures stuck in their faces. There's info and a few studies available online. The most likely scenario probably is that it will shake or shed the hook somehow before it rusts. I've toiled over a few lost fish before, feeling guilty I may be the cause of it's demise. But apparently fish are good at ridding hooks. And if not, good chance it will still be able to eat. Don't worry about it!

I don't get it mister G. Pretty sure rust proofing is proven effective. How do you prevent rust?

Is Lebaron's considered big box? Sad they're closing. They are an old school canadian fishing retailer that had a chunk of business taken from them when the likes of bps moved into town. I remember loving to go to lebaron's as a kid with my dad before a fishing trip. Their tackle was always considered reasonably priced. They are also my go to for the common fishing and camping stuff and stock a selection of musky baits at decent prices. I know they had service issues but like Frank said above that was a few bad eggs, I found some of their staff were polite and service improved last few years. They should of embraced the omnichannel retail reality and worked on their return policy to keep up with the times. It's always sad to see fishing retailers go under.

I can see battery power being an issue with a tablet. I bring my ipad sometimes for a second GPS screen but am constantly putting it to sleep and restarting it to save the batt. Can't keep it running all day. Tjames, you should call Angling outfitter's and talk to Jocelyn. He'll answer all your fishfinder q's over the phone with no obligation... He's been very helpful for me and I've actually never bought a unit there...but will my next one. They have better prices than BPS (there are much better fishing retailers IMO!), and will price match. But it's the service that makes it worth it and fact they will setup your unit for you - not an easy task for beginner. Support the smaller stores. I barely know the store and have only been in there once, so do not consider this a plug, they've just been super helpful helping me setup my unit properly and answering questions that I feel obliged to say something. I love sidescan, it's a great tool to find structure. When you're circling around looking for that hump you see on your charts or mapping a weedline, sidescan is a great help. If you can extend the extra cash, go for it. If not, not a big deal, sonar plus GPS is all you need.

Unless you're super technical I think all brands will do just fine. Think about what features you want then shop around for a sale or used unit. You can't go wrong with either humminbird or lowrance. If you can make it out to Woodstock, Angling Outfitters and the owner Jocelyn is the best fishfinder resource in ON and will take the time to help answer your questions and setup your unit for you. Plus he usually has some good deals on used units and can ship to you if needed.

That's awesome. I always say I gotta start making those. It's gonna feel like quite the accomplishment when it gets eaten for the first time.

Thanks, I'll give the place in Hamilton a call tomorrow. No deep cycles at any Costco's in the GTA according to the stores I called.

Nice work! Toon salmon looks like a good time. You gonna add a Lake O 25lber to the list next? That'll be quite the ride!

I'm in the market for some new deep cycles and trying to locate them at a Costco. My old Kirkland served me well. According to the staff I spoke with, they are "pending deletion", which they said means they will be discounted. No stores seem to have any on the floor that I've called, although a few are showing them in stock in the system which I've been told is an inventory error. I know a lot of you guys use these batteries... Has anyone bought a costco deep cycle recently and/or seen them at any GTA locations? Great battery for the price, hope they don't actually discontinue them.

Yeah and I updated them recently. I switch between navionics+ (which shows up when you select the "fish and chips" chart on the bird) and the other chart on my card (think it's my gold card - shows up when you select the auto select chart feature) to see what's most accurate. I think the maps are just weak for the area I was in. I am used to humps and edges being off, but still can't get over how off main buoy's were. I'll play with it next time I'm on a lake I know and see if I do need to offset it.

Bondar, good idea to check that but I don't think I have one... I'll check. The unit is a humminbird 898si. Could be my GPS too. I'll see how it works next time I'm back on familiar waters. If the maps are half accurate on a lake, that leads me to think offsetting wouldn't be much help. Am I wrong?

Yeah I'm well aware it's not even close to 100% accurate. But it can usually get you by. Obviously to be taken with a grain of salt. This time it was a lot more inaccurate than the norm to the point some buoy's were way off on the charts. I had to stop trusting it at night navigating the main channels. You'd think they would at least get the buoy's close. I also don't understand why the data on the new software upgrade is not inclusive as advertised. Some of the stuff that showed up on the old Gold card doesn't show up on the updated card. Maybe I a missing something lol.

Hey guys, I was up on Nipissing last week exploring the south part of the lake for my first time. I cautiously relied on navionics to navigate the new waters and couldn't help but notice how off it was at times. Humps, edges were off half the time, which is expected, but even buoy's were showing up 500m away in some instances. I have spent a lot of time fishing the kawartha's and although it can be accurate there most of the time, there are instances where navionics is quite off as well. E.g. there are a few humps that show up on my old gold card that do not show up on the new "all inclusive" sonar charts+. I would of thought that with data sharing, the popularity of these waters and fact that these spots were on the old software, that the new all inclusive software would have that data. It's a huge advancement from paper maps (lol) and a great product I rely heavily on but I'm hoping they are working to improve it's accuracy and actually offer all the data they have available on one chip.

And like $6. But tasty!

Crazy I just got back from Iceland yesterday. Didn't fish unfortunately this trip. I did talk to some river fisherman however. Met a few guys fishing atlantics, apparently the season just opened (this was in the south east). They said it gets better late aug and sept, similar to here. Also saw people fishing browns all over the country. Most fisherman I talked to were fishing river run browns and were bottom fishing worms. Man did their rigs look ugly! A few guys were fly fishing. Everyone I talked to fishing browns were doing quite well in terms of success it seems. The rivers there and country in general are absolutely beautiful. I've never seen rivers so pristine. The regulations and requirements are strict from what I was told.

Sweet looking fish!

That lake is always on my mind. I've never fished it but can't wait to get out to that area one day. Afraid I might never come back though!

I used to fish for pike mid summer sometimes. The big fish definitely go deep and nomadic. It's nothing like fishing early season. You can notice the big fish transition from shallow in the spring, to the 10ft range weedbeds and edges when water is 60-65, to deep when water exceeds 65. I used to troll baits that got down to the 20-25ft range in the summer. Big cranks that look like cisco did ok for me. Cisco was the main forage on the lake I fished for summer pike. My best baits were the Rapala magnum 18, silvercreek magnum deep diver, Storm had a bait similar to these that I can't remember the name of that pike liked as well. Match the bait in the lake you fish and troll structure in the 20ft range. Late or early in the day, the big fish can be castable. Big swimbaits work well. Try good looking edges that fish can sit out from in deep water. This pattern gets better cool evenings and mornings late summer and into fall. Summer pike is tough fishing for the bigger fish. Look for areas with a lot of bait and troll.

If you're going to start with one rod, go with an 8' or 8'6 H or XH (depending on brand).. you want the lure weight rating around 2-8oz. That should be your best bet for one all round rod IMO.

Cool video Terry. Thanks for reminding me... I keep meaning to try that.

Hey Mike, the curado 300 is a good reel for smaller bucktails. I throw twin 8's on it with little issues. I wouldn't get another reel for that application. Get something for bigger baits. For leaders, just grab some #120lb (or heavier) fluoro. 12" is the best all round length for casting, allowing you to go into a figure 8 easily with minimal line out. You don't need to get too technical with wire vs fluoro, fluoro works for everything. I do use wire for jerkbaits and gliders, but to be honest don't notice much difference with 12" leaders, action on my baits is similar and I don't foul up too often. 36" is a good length if you troll. I wouldn't bother pinching the barbs on your baits. Do get some decent bolt cutters though. Make sure they can snip a musky hook with ease. Buy some spare hooks and split rings that match the size on our lures. Extra snaps are good to have too... #4 Staylocks (i think that's it - the big one). Good selections of musky baits are hard to come by in Canada. JB's has some tackle, but to be honest it's crazy expensive now with the exchange. Le baron's has a decent priced selection to get started, Sail has a few things as well. Bill's Bait in Hamilton had a few baits last time I was there. Pike don't really bite in the figure 8. I've only had one hit on the turn and I've tried it a million times. Like mentioned above, they spook close to the boat.

We sometimes stop at a dam or two on the way home after a day on the water. Those fish seem very pressured. Some night there can be 20+ guys fishing a small area. I think you get more bites downsizing if you're using live bait. Also find that throwing different stuff than everyone else helps. If they're super finicky, super light light line, small hook and small minnow works well. A few years ago we caught a lot on the little swimbait, but recently it's tough to get a bite on that bait. The fish get conditioned quick I think. One night there were 10 guys catching nothing and first cast twitching a musky depth raider caught a nice eye followed by another later.. go figure. It's fun to experiment to see what interests them most and what they bite. Often you'll get them to go from staring at your bait to eating it when you go super light line and small hook. I also found moving around will show your baits to new fish that haven't seen a million baits and you can pick up a few more. As for buying eyes on pigeon, haven't fished it for eyes in awhile. Last time I did a day out there and we got one on the bucktail and a few on the grub pitching weedlines. Last eye I caught on the lake was a 6.9lb on a helidawg!