Old Ironmaker

An oldtimer told us stories about his great fishing adventures and prowess from around the world. He said to get ready to catch Halibut out west the would tie a line to a refrigerator on 1 side of the house, go to the other side and try and reel it up and over the roof. Are you ready? Get to the gym bucko. I just read your by-line. I have a buddy from way back in high school that will serve you anything you want at his home, that is as long as it's a Rusty Nail. By the time you are ready to leave you have to Uber ride home.

My God Nick, talk about priceless. I have had many similar days like that, new water, no idea if there is fish in it and catch every cast!!!! Then the alarm clock goes off and spoils the entire trip. Man that Northern is bigger than your little girl! What a beautiful Family you have there Nick, you must be very proud. Way to go. What's this? "I wasn't even going to bring a rod." If I had a business meeting in downtown T.O. I brought my tackle. Often stopping on Front St. for pike or hit the pier at Oakville. Complete with a 3 piece suit and shinny shoes. I once had a meeting downtown T.O. and drove my bosses, boss. I asked if he had an extra 1/2 hour? He thought we were going to Oakville for a Pop. I pulled out my rod and reel once we parked and within 15 minutes had a nice Salmon on. The next time there was a meeting he insisted I go and drive him. When I picked him up he had rod and reel in hand.

The crazy thing about all the electronic toys available to newbie fisher persons is that after a season of talking advantage of and having the ability to use it properly they can attain several years of experience in a few weeks. People don't have the time or ability to spend their lives on a few bodies of water to learn it. Before we got our own sonar in the late 70's we generally went to 3 different areas for our 2 weeks of fishing, spring and fall. The Ottawa, Nipissing south shore and Big Island on the Bay of Quinte. And in those 3 areas we didn't venture far from our local spots until we got sonar. I remember one afternoon my Uncle insisted on heading east from our spot on Nipissing. I warned him that after 8 years fishing at the in-laws cottage for a few days in summer we never ventured far from our regular areas. It took the 4 of us a few hours to get his old 20 foot wooden lapstrake off the shoal we came to rest on after it took a huge gouge out of the keel stem to stern. I didn't know how heavy those old wooden barges were, I did after that day, heavy, really heavy. Our GPS was our arms outstretched to line up the blue cottage with Hollywood Beach for Smallmouth. Start our troll at the burning bush until we got to the Osprey nest, landmarks were our GPC co ordinates, I'm sure they were yours as well. Fishing Lake Erie or Ontario, forget about it. But the stacks at Nanticoke helped a bit when they built the Hydro plant. The old joke then was to answer "Strait off dem dere stacks brudder, straight off dem stacks" When someone asked where did you get dem beauties? We still tell them the same thing and they took down the stacks 2 winters ago. When we hit the fish we earned it the old fashioned way, by working hard. I have a couple of thousand bucks worth of electronics on my boat now (don't want to add it up), and still get kyboshed by the good old Skunk Gods. edit: by the time you get the new gadget out of the box it's outdated.

Inkman, welcome to OFC. Your real world experience and knowledge is very welcome here. I always say the good old days are today.

We would launch the canoes and Kayaks in Wingham and camp at the Legion in Wingham.

Dan, you the Man. You must feel like you just won the lottery. Always wanted to fish British Calabria, it's on my to fish bucket list. My kid brother who can count on 1 hand how many times he fished actually fished the Fraser while visiting in-laws. Even he slayed the Cut Throat. Way to go Dan. A 100 tip for 2 days is fair, that is if you feel the guide did a great job. Not all guides deserve a tip but if they have a job at this resort they must be good. I always leave a tip for housekeeping the day I check in and the day I check out, as well and don't forget your servers and kitchen staff. Check with your fellow guests to see what they intend on tipping, if anything. I usually earmark 200 to 300 bucks for a week for tips, maybe too much but I know how tough it is working hospitality and they depend on tips to pay the bills. Usually working for minimum wages.

I can't see how those little critters can be as bad as the very 1st time I ever fished there. We were on a small lake just east of 69 bordering the Rez. The 1st time I had to wear a face net to eat dinner, inside the cottage. One beautiful area though.

She seems to have a scowl on her face similar to a renowned member here. Are you up at Maskinonge Lodge Lew? We went up for my 60th and Tich bought me a Musky charter with Danny ??? Can't remember his last name at this moment. That happens a lot lately. I had caught a total of 1 Tiger back in 83'. Now I have 4 under my belt. Nothing big but big enough for me. Dan Columby, that's the man. He sure knows his esox.

Not a Salmon fisherguy. I have never understood what would justify killing one Salmon and perhaps hundreds of off spring to go and catch another of the same species then releasing it for the sake of conservation. ??????????.

Down to $1.13 today in Haldimand. For you guys counting the days until retirement, watch what you wish for. Everyone my age that has retired is on a first name basis with our Pharmacists. We talk about those good old days when we were 55.

Thanks for the links johnnyb. I have to say when Gord Pyzer speaks everyone should listen. To the counterpoint of the above data I attended a fishing seminar at the University of Buffalo with a few of my friends and relatives that live in western N.Y. They live and breath Smallie fishing. Often coming to our place for the Ontario opener. All C&R. Of course the speakers also had data showing no negative impact to the fishery on Erie in western N.Y.. That was about a dozen years ago. We live right on the north shore of Erie. Where we are is an outcropping of limestone with a scattering of beach stone on sand from the shoreline to about 30 feet out where it is approximately 6' deep. I have been watching the Small Mouth spawn here every spring for the last 23 years. In late May and June of 2018 I did not see any beds as the waves crashing on the armour rock wall due to high winds and high water making the water very cloudy. I can't imagine any beds would survive those conditions. There are beds that can be seen this year. Just late last week I saw meandering males looking for a good spot to make their beds. They are on the beds today. Our deck is 25 feet above the shoreline and the beds can be clearly seen in the crystal clear water. I use binoculars to get even closer and have snorkelled with my wife watching this amazing time, in our backyard. Some beds are as close as 6 feet from the shoreline. I have counted 10 beds just scattered across out 75' lot. Those are beds I can clearly see close to shore, I am positive there are beds beyond what I can see. I can tell you that those Bass regularly leave their beds unattended. Around 7AM and again around 7PM, twice a day like clockwork. They roam the area to feed at those times. They can be off the beds for up to 5 minutes at a time. We can see them gorge themselves on Emerald Shiners top feeding. The minnows beach themselves so not to be prey for those males. The predatory fish that meander through the beds are primarily a gill net can't tell the differCarp and Gar Pike and from the times we have watched them I have yet to see those fish feed on the baitballs of Smallmouth fry that are left unattended. They look like coffee grinds the size of a beachball. I know there are other fish in the area however they, Gar and Carp, are right in their spawn activity when the bass are guarding the beds and those other fish could care less feeding when they spawn. They are spawning at times within feet from the beds. Once those fish have finished their spawn I have seen Carp primarily encroach on the Bass beds. The males torpedo those big carp. Those Bass are unbelievably fast in a short run. I am not a scientist, just an observer. Above is what I have observed for the last 23 years. I don't know if fishing on Bass beds is right or wrong, I do know that it is done across this shallow pond and the regs aren't about to change anytime soon. Remember it was on the U.S. side that commercial fishing was banned years ago to protect the sport fishery. We still commercially fish here on Erie and those gill nets can not differentiate between a 5 pound Walleye and a 5 pound Smallmouth. We have trolled for Pics through areas where the nets had just been pulled and have seen many dozens of very large Smallmouth in the wakes of the commercial boats belly up or floundering on the surface. Johnny D

Your welcomed.

Yep, a small detail I omitted. It's been a while since I have posted here. If someone gets caught fishing here in Ont. before opening they can say Johnny D told me it's OK. I don't think our fellow OFCers would misinterpret but the hundreds of guests, well maybe. Thanks Grimsby. See you at the Peach Festival. It might rain on our parade.

There are more than a few television series that feature individuals and families that are doing what you wish to do in the near future. In Alaska, The Yukon as well in the lower 48. Bing watch them and decide if you can really do what they are. A few months hunting in the bush alone won't prepare you for 12 months of talking to yourself, then eventually answering yourself. In my opinion from watching these shows it's a lot like crime. You can't learn it in a classroom or start it late in life. If you are retiring I take it you aren't a spring chicken. I see fitness is a huge part of being off grid. For those that are middle age they have a support family of more then a few kids. It appears 60 years old seems to be the age that one living off grid has to tap out if they are indeed solo. If I was 40 years younger I was nuts enough to try it, but, I would have someone to keep me warm other than my Dog. If someone tells you that you are nuts take it as a compliment. Good luck and don't let anyone tell you that you can not do it. And if you try and find you are unable to do it you did not fail, it simply is a life lesson that prepares you for the next adventure in your life.

This is a great thing for kids as well as the game of Basketball. There is a future generation of Canadian players out there that will be positively affected by this historic win. Kids can play and all they need is a 20 buck ball and a hoop on a pole. I know there are plenty of OFCers here that have spent many thousands of Loonies putting their kids through hockey. I have more than a few friends that had very talented kids playing hockey. Before they went to the next level the parents were interviewed and told what the financial burden would be. Before the kid hit the ice if it wasn't in the family budget the kid wasn't given a tryout. I don't know if it's the same today. There are many kids that would have been NHLers in Canada and other countries that will never have even learned to skate because they can not afford it. Basketball is affordable to those that are underprivileged, like I said a ball and a basket is all they need. And it's huge for the NBA that wants to go internationally. I'm happy for the fans, real and bandwagoners. That parade was insane. The fanaticism leading up to the championship and post win celebrations for the Jays when they 2 peted the World Series wins didn't come close to the fervor we have seen in the last month. Good to see. Enjoy.

Just last week I saw some nice size males cruising along the shoreline looking for a nice place to have babies. So they will still be on the beds here. I have been watching Smallies make beds, spawn, sometimes a single bass will try to entice a lady fish 2 at a time. Watching them do the nasty is very interesting. People somehow believe if you throw a cigarette butt on a bed with a male there the fish will hit it, not so. I have seen them torpedo Gar, Sheepshead and huge Carp. Small Gobies don't seem to be a problem for them. They eat them as fast as they encroach on the bed. I have seen the fry the size of coffee grounds make a ball the size of a large beachball on a single bed. For the time being Small mouth at least are healthy in great numbers here. My favorite freshwater fish to catch is definitely Smallies. It's all catch and release unless we decide to keep what we call here are "greenies". Probably year old class, about 12 to 16 inches long and are a brilliant green. However after the 1st or 2nd week of July it's only Walleye for us and the occasional Perch hunt for the table. They can't even come close to the exhilaration of catching a 5lb Smallie and trolling around for 4 hours can be as boring as watching paint dry, until you latch onto a 30" Pic. They go back, the 3 to 5 pounders find their way to a table tout suite. Don't forget it is legal to catch and release Smallmouth in Lake Erie during spawning season now for many years. Studies have shown that it has not impacted the population whatsoever. And don't forget Erie in Ontario is still commercially fished. Those nets can't tell the difference between a 5 pound Smallmouth and a 5 pound Walleye. We have trolled through dozens of big Bass belly up after the commercial guys have pulled their nets.

That's more better. Beauty pooch. The hat though? My former wife used to dress up my puppy and I didn't appreciate it. She got my dog in the settlement, not even visitation rights and she didn't like the dog!!!

It was 88' cumpa, that was my 1st trip to Europe. It was so long ago I think it was Campino. Now I can fly into Pescara and knock off 4 hours of driving minimum. I do not like that tunnel which at one time was the longest underground tunnel for vehicles in the world. It is so deep under that mountain range, La Grand Sass I think, that NASA has or had a lab under there that filters out sound so that the only thing they can hear is ET. Alan Alda narrated a documentary about it some years ago. Very interesting. No accent Americano, solo Canadese with a little Croatian, Ukrainian and French thrown in for good luck. I call it la dialcti de la Steel compani.

Fish the shore along the north shore of Lake Erie in Haldimand County. PM me and I will give you a few good spots. It was only last week I watched the males move along the shoreline looking for a good spot to make a bed. This is very late. They should have already had little Smallies by now on their nests, very late.

I can't seem to be able to open the link. I select it and it brings me back to this thread?????

You are one lucky guy. I spent 5 hours in Italian Customs at Campino Airport in Roma. They thought I was someone else, no fun at all.

I'll say it, it's too small a body of water to advise on the internet for the whole world to see. Some years ago it was almost fished out due to heavy pressure from out of towners. Sorry. There are no exceptions for Bass season in Ontario. There was for stocked ponds holding trout but that was 35 years ago or more.

His I.D. is required to show he is an Ontario resident.

I thought it was 31C at Whitehorse the other day. Maybe it was the wind that was 31. With the weather down here on Erie I swear there is still ice out in this lake. Stopped by a marina close by for lunch today and guys going out were dressed more for early spring or late fall. Then again there is always that guy with no shirt and shorts on fishing off the shore.

You're gonna need more than a few extra spices to make them palatable after a few days or frozen. Believe me we have tried everything including cutting out the lateral line, bleeding them and soaking them in ice water, The first time we caught them was 1990. Cleaned about 200 hundred of the little buggers that day and were so disappointed when we unfroze some of the freezer full of them. Even filled the freezer bags with water like we do with Walleye and Perch. Made fish chowder with tomato's Italian style with plenty of spices, still crap. Good luck, let us know how you make out. I still know a good spot.