kickingfrog

Is that an adipose fin, or a bit of ice/slush? If there is an adipose fin then I say rainbow smelt.

Well I dropped off some lures for Meegs to paint. This started because my brother's favourite topwater lure on dark/cloudy days is a super spook in a firetiger pattern and they no longer make the bait in that colour. I picked up some bone coloured super spooks, then figured that I'd get some other lures painted. I went through some of my older pike lures and picked a few that I hardly ever use and figured if they were firetiger I'd might try them more. And as I type this the Jays are on the tv. Come on opener! Thanks again Meegs!

And you know that guy would never stop talking about being on the Titanic at every party.

I joked with my wife that we should make an appointment with our bank and ask them for a mortgage. If we sold our house 30-40 times would could just about swing it.

So, is not having any superstitions a superstition?

Ya, a gambler has nothin' on a fisherman and his superstitions and lucky charms.

Had some time alone at home today so I re-organized some boxes getting ready for walleye/pike. Sharpen some hooks see what needs to be replaced etc. I noticed that my favourite early bait didn't quite match the back-up I have. I don't think the colour has worn off but I can't say for sure, maybe they've tweaked the colour since the other lure was bought? The too big front hook is due to an on water, hot bite replacement that I now have too much angler confidence in to change. I was also torn on retiring the lure and putting it in my "Hall of Fame" but again too much angler confidence and now that there appears to be a colour difference I just can't do it.

There is a site called sonar doc (or something along those lines) and he has some great info for that next level stuff. It's helped me with the interpretation.

If you don't have a map chip then spend some time on the navionics site and get a feel for the contours. Print a map and highlight the areas that look good. The usual stuff, back bays, points, early weeds, saddles. I'd concentrate on water 12ft and less and personally wouldn't fish 12ft deep but run a bait 6-8 down at most. Maybe troll some spots to cover water and get a feel for things. I still troll in spring in spots for pike. In part to take a break from standing/casting, travel from one spot to another and eat. There have been a few threads here on pike lures as well as many others sources. I like the largest husky jerk for trolling and a x-rap for casting (it's a bit heavier and easier to cast with pike gear). Spoons and spinners are classics and plastic trailers add some action and "lift" to help with the slower speeds you usually want early in the season.

Thanks Meegs, and you're right, getting equipped to just paint a few lures doesn't make sense for me at this point. Those look great, thanks for the offer, I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks, I'm going to call him and see what can be done. At this point it doesn't make sense to invest in all the equipment needed to for just a sew lure.

And now for the rest of the story... I do use nail polish to tweak baits but in this case I'm hoping to completely repaint some lures in patterns/colours that the manufactures in their infinite wisdom have discontinued.

So what paint would you use if you were going to paint some hard baits?

I have a bunch of the podcasts downloaded as well.

His stories are a great way to eat up a long drive for fishing or hunting.

Not completely sure what point(s) were being made here... but we already know why that is. My title might not have been clear enough, but I'm not much of a reader. The trout opener comment was in response to another point someone made is regards to misunderstandings that some might make but I also have trouble following a simple thread chain as well. There was no question either or argument, Just a comment: "Maybe it's always been that way but I've not had a chance to fish until the 1st Saturday."

This link leads to detailed maps of the fish management zones and helps with the boundaries: https://www.ontario.ca/page/fisheries-management-zone-14-fmz-14

I likely thought the same thing last year; The opener is the first Saturday, not May 1st. Often the 4th Saturday in April for trout is the last.

Starting to plan some fishing trips and I noticed that the regs say that zone 14 (Georgian Bay) opener is May 1st. I thought it was first Saturday in May. Maybe it's always been that way but I've not had a chance to fish until the 1st Saturday. http://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/fishing/2017/2017_FMZ_13_14_English.pdf

Red and yellow is the proper name for what most know as the 5 of diamonds. I find it hard to get a good pike sized hook on the lighter jigs but now with the swimbait hooks it's easy to have the right wight for those swimbaits.

Well crap. Gutted. She will be missed. The photos, the giant carp through the ice and the one in the cooler are just a few of the things I'll remember about her.

For bass? Not necessarily. For lightish topwaters I won't use flouro leaders, I'll tie the superline direct or use a mono leader if I'm not near cover. For slop topwaters I'll usually have a flouro leader because I think it doesn't cut into the lily pads as much but if it gets nicked up I'll just tie direct to the braid.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant that I use 20-40lb flouro tippets tied to superline mainline. I don't like flouro mainline at all, but that's just one angler's opinion.

A search on here should turn up a few threads on this topic. There are of course varying opinions. Mine is that while braided line it strong it is not as abrasion resistant as the same pound test fluorocarbon. The flouro is thicker and that helps a bit when a pike roles in the line too. I will use mostly 20 to 40lb flouro for pike. The thicker stuff does dampen the action on the suspending husky jerks that I like to use early in the season but with spoons, spinners and such the action really isn't affected so I'll use the heavier stuff then. There are a few different knots that you can use to join the two depending on if the lines are, or are not, similar thickness. Winter is a great time to practice those knots.

Northwestern Ontario really needs some of you to start writing their tourist adverts.