kickingfrog

Thanks... want to clean my fish too? ;-)

I've done that with these poor results...

Fall smallies

Spring fishing is great after winter hibernation, but fall has got to provide the most and best fishing opportunities. I just wish it would last longer. @#$%# photos

Could I do the same with Google's Picasa?

What do I need to do to post a photo that is a reasonable size? It seams that I have to do a lot of manual resizing just to post a small, low quality photo. Most of the other post have nice sized photos that can then be "clicked" on to enlarge to a proper size. It can't be as hard as I'm making it, can it?

Great "new" feature. I'll look though my albums and post some more.

When did boats start coming with air bags?

Great, so there is a lake in Canada were you can catch lots of walleye, blue gill and pike, and you don't even have to open your tackle box. I need to get the grid coordinates. Who's got 'em?

Nemo's got it. As with a lot of fish there are many common or local names: burbot, ling, freshwater cod, ling cod, lawyer, eelpout, loche, luch and I'm sure a few others. I think the scientific name still is Lota lota, but even those names change occasionally. They're found in just about every province and most northern states. Rob

Let's get Mythbusters on the case. Rob

I usually don't go up until the end of May or early June (I think the fishing's better then). But I have a relative in the hospital in Sudbury and some others in North Bay so I think I can sneak a rod (or five) in the back of the car, and maybe wet a line between visits. If I do get out it will be the south shore between Hunter's Bay and Calender. While walleye will be the primary target some pike, perch and drum are sure to make an appearance as well. Good Luck to all on the "big water" this weekend, the weather forecast is good, which is bad for fishing, and I'll report back early next week. Rob

Headhunter's bang on the weather is the X factor. Bug jackets work. I did a 5 week canoe trip to the Arctic Ocean and the bug jacket worked, so did tightly knitted nylon pants and shirts. You can find them at most outdoors stores. The nylon clothing will also protect you from the sun and dries quickly if it gets wet. Lighter colours are said to attract less bugs. Rob

I've used plastic worms on harnesses the last 2 years on Nipissing, and I'll be using them again this year. I won't say they work better, but I didn't notice a difference from my brother using live worms. There is less fussin' and re-baiting with plastics and I suppose a bit of a cost savings although that's debaitable . I have used plastic worms on jigs for Nippissing walleye as well, no complaints. Check your harness at the surface, the plastics will sometimes make the harness role and some people feel that hurts the "action", I'm undecided. In the end if the fish are really on I'm not sure if it really make any difference, and if their not on then why not switch it up. I remember a magazine article from a few years back that suggested not only changing presentations when things are slow but also when they are hot. The gist of it is you already know what's working and you can come back to it, and in the mean time you might hit on bigger fish, or even more fish. Personally I find it hard to change when the bite is on, but when it works you can feel pretty good about yourself. Rob

North Bay has Can. Tire/ w-mart etc. Lefebvres used to have tackle, but I was there last summer and it looked like they had gone more towards outdoor gear and clothing. As for Calender and the smaller places around the south east area of the lake you can find the typical gas/bait/groceries stores. Not the best selection but it dosn't make business sense to carry walls and walls of stock. I try to cover all isuses before leaving and either make due or head into North Bay if I can't. Rob

Plastic works great. But torn up pick rubber sitting in a tackle box doesn't have the same charm as a jointed perch patterned pikie with teeth marks. Rob

At first I thought you were talkin' fish finders.

Nice. Haven't caught one yet, but when I did some spring trap netting with the MNR out of Matchadash(?) Bay we would usually get a few in the nets. Rob

Sharin' spots is always risky. You're two friends tell two friends who each tell two more friends and so on... and so on... It's too bad because sharing a great spot with a friend or relative is a great way to create memories and stories. My other fear of sharing a "spot" is that the person you tell will already know about it... and tell you that everybody fishes there... and that the fishing used to be so much better... before you started fishing there. There is something about "discovering" your own secrete spot. That said, I have friends who have shared some of their gems with me and I value their trust and respect it by not claiming the spot as my own or broadcasting it to the world. A person's fishing ethics ie. how they treat: the fish, the law, their fellow anglers and the environment, say a lot about the person's character in general. Rob

You don't hear much about rainbows in the "Bay". Are they there and just not targeted, or just not there in large numbers? Rob

For most situations I'll use a small swivel to join lines. The swivel helps lessen line twist and I have more confidence in my improved clinch knots than my blood knots or nail knots (and I can tie them faster and in poorer light). In most cases I use a leader or tippet of 3 or 4 feet long depending on the conditions and the right swivel will fit through the rod guides. I still like mono for main line, but I'm using braids more and more. I will also use a swivel to join mono to mono sometimes if I want a lighter line at the business end or have a high visibility line on the reel. Another benefit of mono teamed with a braided is the shock absorbing ability of the mono. Rob

Got out to a small stream that I used to fish a lot 15, 20 years ago. I haven't been there in years, but I thought it would be a great way to spend an afternoon and get my 18 month old black lab, Murphy, some exercise. I feel guilty leaving him at home during my fishing trips, but I don't want him wrecking peoples drifts (he loves to retrieve everybody's floats and help land their fish). I figured there would be no one there and the only person's fishing ruined would be mine. Murphy loved it. Every new pool was a chance to go for another swim. It reminded me of when my brother and I fish together. Each of us trying to beat the other to the next pool, but Murphy is faster than my brother... or me. And if you think a bad cast or shadow can put the fish down picture a 95 pound dog splashing about in a stream that is 5 feet across. After a while he slowed down a little and would watch as I would try to get my #2 panther martin first into and then out of each promising hole, pool or pocket. I carefully worked my way towards a pool that looked to have 3 or 4 trout in it. The first cast to the head of the pool resulted in a quick strike from a small trout. Murphy became very excited. The brook trout was 5 inches long and I had to fend Murphy off as I tried to take a quick photo before putting it back in the pool whence it came. Murphy then promptly dove in to "retrieve" it for me. I can only imagine what the remaining fish in the pool thought as they scattered as he splashed about. That was it for that that spot so I moved on leaving Murphy to wonder why we were moving on from such a great spot I'm sure. I caught another 5 incher at the next pool, with similar results. My last fish of the day was the biggest, 10-11 inches or so with a nice little fight because of the trees in and over the water. After the photo and release Murphy seamed to understand that he didn't have to go after it. Time to get home, we had been out for 3 hours and it was a 45 minute hike back to the car. My wife never has any issues with my trips, but if I can make it home in time to have dinner ready for her all the better. Murphy was tired to say the least. I wanted to include a photo of him, but there is no more up load space available. Rob

I've started using fluoro more and more for leaders and I always use mono or flouro "tippets" when using braided lines. Pros: less visibility, more natural lure/bait movement, less kink-age. Cons: more knots therefore more week links. Your confidence will stem from familiarity. Don't go cheap on a leader only to lose a $10, $20 or $30 lure. Rob

The inflatable are great because you are more apt to have it on because they are comfortable and unobtrusive. The one drawback of the manual inflation ones would be if you were knocked-out. As stated above the auto ones can be an issue in some situations as well. No matter which one it is inflatable or traditional "foam" style if you don't put it on it isn't much use. Rob

My wife insisted on a stone patio??? Rob