TennesseeGuy

You sure made fishing in Ontario seem like a good deal. Need to get myself up there before the leaves drop.

Congratulations to the Leechmans. Any of you youngsters out there thinking about closing in on my 53 years and 3 months?

Frank, thanks for sharing your experience with us. Super that your sons had Dylan in camp to show them around. Ethan is running the neighboring camp, Prairie Bee. Prairie Bee is an OFC advertiser. I've been in touch with Ethan for quite a while by internet and had an enjoyable (1 hour and 30 minute) phone conversation with Bob back around February. The Zimmermans are an outstanding family and it appears that yours is of the same mold. I haven't fished the Chapleau area since 1970, but expect to hit both Prairie Bee and Windermere within the next couple of year. Our first trip to Chapleau was in 1960 and we spent 7 weeks sleeping on the ground. My wife and I drove our 1960 Austin Healey, bugeye Sprite and the couple who joined us drove their 1960 BRG Sprite. We got a hair under 40 mpg at around 32 cents a gallon. Spent under $2 on every fill-up. Good days. Good times.

Mike, thanks for your outstanding report. Successful trips don't happen by accident. Sharing fishing trips with family members is a great investment.

Every once in a while I look up from watching the new web cam at my favorite lake. It's calling me. Calling LOUD. Saw two guests head across the lake last night around sunset. Went to Surprise Bay. They left an hour earlier tonight. Found me a hot spot. Actually that hot spot found me almost 40 years ago.

Shorten this thread by being both a consumer and a shareholder. May as well ride a winner.

According to Rick Taylor's Prime Times Calendar, yesterday was a pretty strong day. Rick gave August 25 moon strength a 62, which is slightly below the full moon rating of 65 for August 13. Rick listed 8:49 pm - 12:11 am as a strong period of activity. limeyangler, suggested periods of high activity don't indicate a shallow or deep bite, just that conditions are favorable for strong activity. It's up to you and me to find the fish and set their dinner table. Note that days with strong moon phases have longer periods of major & minor activity periods. Weak moons show much shorter periods of activity. Marc Thorpe is a master at being where the fish are, just in time for the strong periods of activity. His job is more difficult during weak moon phases. But, he has to produce in order to be successful in his guiding operation. Marc fine tunes his ventures much more than the rest of us. When Marc talks, I listen. I was fishing with 2 friends on LOTW August 8. We left the island at 6:15 a.m. and got into a really good walleye bite between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. It wasn't easy, but we were rewarded with lots of nice walleyes, several over 23". Rick gave the day a 31 rating (really low), but listed 8:18 a.m. - 9:14 a.m. as a minor period of activity. It worked for us. Of course we were fishing where the fish swam.

Dan, will you be in Red Lake the September 24 week? You could take a ride on Pine Ridge Road, walk about a mile or so, and I could pick you up for a little fishing. All I need is enough water to make it back up the rapids to the lake. I'm pretty good at finding little walleyes for a shore lunch. Low water could give us problems with the rapids.

September 12, full moon. Moon phase calendar is beside my computer. Dan, no wonder I couldn't recruit you as a basketball player out of high school. You were wading streams rather than playing hoops. I'm looking hard at the September 24, 2011 week. Should be a great one up your way. Got my 2012 calendar this week. Lots of good (full) weeks in 2012. New moons and full moons are mid week. Three great days, two good days and maybe two days to eat Whopper's pasta sauce or yesterday's fish.

Changes in barometric pressure causes weather change. Weather change often triggers a bite. Keep a couple of extra fish for the couple of days after the front moves through.

Have hit the same water for 27 consecutive walleye openers. We don't discuss it anymore. Just do it. Only change is that I often stay two weeks and sometimes three weeks. It's hard to do the job right in only one week. My outfitter and I have not discussed the date, but he knows I'll have a full cabin for the May 19 week. New moon May 20, 2012. Should be a great May 19 walleye opener.

Good luck finding what you want. Meanwhile you might consider holding down a full time job, plus a part time job until the right job presents itself. It works. I've done it. More than once.

Thanks for the excellent read Lew. You boated some nice fish.

Always hand landed pike until J.P. Bushey set me straight in May 2005. Got a huge Frabill, and big is surely the way to go. Better for me and absolutely great for the fish. Thick netting doesn't remove slime from fish. Makes it a chore lifting from water, but worth the extra effort.

They are fly in lakes because it's easier and more convenient to go by plane. It's not unusual to reach an out of the way lake on winter roads, by portaging and riding 4wheelers. We don't have to board a floatplane to find great fishing. Just get hold of a strong 4 wheel drive puller and take your 14' aluminum deep into the bush and you'll be rewarded. In my case I'll take a floatplane and not be dragging boats and carrying OB motors as I did 35 years ago. No need to become upset because a couple of guys make it to your fly in by taking to their Sorels. If the fishing's good, enjoy it. Making ourselves happy is better.

Millhouse, having an OB motor that stalls can be a blessing when taking Girlfriend out on the water. Use it to your advantage.

Roy, I fished LOTW August 1-9 and met a guy who hunts moose around Ear Falls. He started a fishcop story and I finished it for him. The cop is well known and loves his job. Can't keep a wife or friends, but keeps his job. He stopped me on the road home in May 2010, but after a rather long conversation, forgot to check us for fish. Oh well.

Busting in on your party was careless and reckless. Possibly a behavior caused by being forced to stop playing with themselves at a young age.

Yep, life is good when you do it right.

A less than brilliant use of manpower, time and $$$ when one fishcop could have checked your party at the airway when you returned. There was no probable cause to check you. Could they have been trying to start with nothing and develop a case against you? Possibly.

Thanks Mike. That's life as it's meant to be.

.........it's also a pretty good technique for a pair of 77 year old shoulders with high miles.

Huge pike can't stand watching a Suick sitting still. Throw it into 2-4 fow at ice out and let it sit. Watch for a V or a boil, feel weight, and then hang on. It works. Also give it a chance in September & October. I'm not saying to ignore the instructions on the back of the box, but try what I described. A little wave action or a slight twitch could lead to a nice reward.

CPAP can be a life changer and a life saver. Don't hesitate. Go for it. Haven't missed a night beginning July 18, 2008. There are lots of options for the type of mask. Find one that works.

Circulating Marvin's portrait might help get him a little action in the neighborhood. Shouldn't hurt any.