tonyb

Fishing this past weekend was pretty slow, but it might have been the outstanding weather we had! Not exactly your typical Walleye weather with glass calm conditions and high sunny skies! We did manage a couple though, here's my biggest for the weekend. Not that you guys already don't know what works, but we caught our fish on deep diving crank baits, primarily TD30 and Reef Runners, typical colours. Good luck this weekend! Tony

Thanks for the support so far, please remember that you can vote each day, and get another name in the hat for the draw. I am also adding a Penn Downrigger rod to the prize pool.

Are you booked you stinker?! Come on Louis, don't hold out

I remember that report! good thing Carp don't have teeth! still an amazing angling feat hehe Vote placed. Tony

Wow you guys braved some tough conditions and still managed some nice fish, congrats. All these Quinte reports are killing me...although I will be out there tomorrow morning chasing 'em down for the weekend. CAN'T WAIT! Tony

This is just a quick post asking if you could please register at the link below and place a vote to support Jeff's neat idea. You can vote once each day for the next 10 days to help increase his chances of success, and for each vote you will get an additional name entered in the draw. As an added incentive, everyone who leaves a comment after registering and voting should PM me their screen name used on the Aviva site comments to be entered into a draw to win a fishing trip of a lifetime (LOL) and a tackle package of various fishing related items valued at over $100! See bottom of this post for prize details. http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf3104 The Idea The Backyard Harvest is a community-based gardening Program where youth are empowered to build, maintain and harvest small-scale organic vegetable ' farms ' in local backyards. The Plan The plan is to begin on a local level within the Greater Toronto Area to create change within the community and expand outward. The Program aims to equip youth with bicycles, trailers and garden tools to grow organic food in private residential backyards. If selected, the support offered by the Aviva Community Fund would provide the purchase of this equipment necessary to begin the initiative. The Longevity Each family pays a fee in exchange for the maintenance of the backyard garden and the harvesting of vegetables. These fees will ensure the longevity of the Program. The income that students earn will help to further their education, be it college or university. Additional income will sustain the future of thisProgram, with the added benefit of scholarships to the youth involved. Surplus food generated from backyard gardens will be donated to community-based food banks and kitchens. The Impact In our highly accelerated and fast-paced society and culture, there has never been a greater need to reconnect with nature and adopt a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Youth employed by thisProgram will acquire essential skills with a blend of entrepreneurship, healthy living, leadership and responsibility. The Outcome Through this unique employment opportunity of developing and maintaining individual backyard organic vegetable ' farms ' , youth reconnect with the earth and expand their awareness of environmental issues, food production and healthy living strategies. This initiative has the aim of not only educating our youth and the extended community, but has the potential to take root across Canada. Here's Jeff last spring with a feisty Chinook caught near Port Weller to keep this sort of on-topic as I believe that if we are eating and drinking from local sources, we will inherently treat that environment better, and that benefits all fish and wildlife. Thanks to everyone who votes in advance! Tony Here are the details of the prize: Trip: 1 day fishing trip for 2 on Lake Simcoe (Whitefish/Lakers) or Lake Ontario (Salmon/Steelhead) in 2010 on my boat (fully equipped 1900 Lund Pro-V) Come fish with me for the day, 100% fish gaurantee! Gear: Fox Guide to Modern Carp Fishing Lake Erie Tube Jig pack - Phoenix tubes and Gamakatsu jigs Down Easter 'Salty' Rod Holder TriggerX Bass soft plastics Gamakatsu Octopus Hooks (Size 8) for Steelhead Spoons from Nasty Boy, Lure King, Lindy and Enticer Lures Maxima fishing line and leader spool for Steelhead Custom lure Tape from Lure King Pair of Crankbaits from Bakers Baits Penn Downrigger Rod Please Vote everyday for more chances at this prize pack!

Ok, where do I sign up for the next available trip in 2010? My gawd! those Pike

Blue Fox Vibrax & Panther Martin spinners are classics for river trout Pretty much all colours will work, some better than others depending on water clarity and light conditions.

Friends Family

South Shore Ice Condos a huge thumbs up for great service...not necessarily great fishing though. Grant took us over to his 'personal hut' on our last evening last year and we hammered fish at dusk, meanwhile the entire weekend the waters surrounding our bungalows were devoid of life. That part was frustrating and was the final nail in the coffin for our group to make the annual trek to nipissings ice bungalows. In the future we will travel with our own on-ice transportation and portable fishing strategy, and forego the drinking aspect. At our bungalow we even drilled many holes in a radiating circle around our bungalow, as we had caught a beer can that we weighted down and had a mudpuppy tethered to it from one of the holes inside the bungalow...who knows what other garbage was piled up down there. I've done the bungalow thing now for a few years and the fishing has progressively gotten worse each year (3 different operators) The problem I see is a lot of operators will set-and-forget their bungalows so to speak. So you never know what has been dumped, dropped into the holes and you could be fishing over a heap of junk that the fish will move away from. I think if there was an operator that was willing to seriously work their bungalows, by regularly moving them to stay on top of fish they would have a large base of repeat customers. It's a gamble booking a bungalow and the only gaurantee is a good time, with safe drinking while you're fishing as nobody has to worry about driving Tony

I'll be there this coming weekend, and will try not to sting too many fish before you guys get up there on the following weekend Who knows, a repeat trip is a possibility, although there are other species and bodies of water calling. Tony

Chunky Simcoe Smallmouth Tony

You guys have some great stories! For me it all began as a kid peering into the water off the end of the dock at my grandmas cottage on Manitoulin Island and seeing fish hiding out in the rock cribs supporting the dock. Nobody really fished in the family, so I was on my own to learn and experiment, so I went searching for gear and found a rusty metal tacklebox with various scraps of tackle and hooks and an old baitcaster with dacron line on it in the garage that was collecting dust and cobwebs. I tied a hook on it and flipped rocks to find critters for bait that I would impale the hook. One day I finally caught a fish, a smallmouth bass. I remember it darting around and really pulling hard and even jumping! my heart was racing and i finally dragged it into the shallows and picked it up to admire how cool it looked, I even ran up to the cottage to show everyone what I had caught...and that day was the start of my lifelong addiction to fishing. We are truly lucky to experience all the beautiful things that occur when you are on the water fishing, a lot of experiences most people will never have in their entire lifetime. Keep fishing and see you on the water Tony

Timing is important, but also fishing where there are actually fish is a good start too. Higher concentrations of fish can be found away from the GTA

It was an amazing day weather-wise and lots of fish and laughs to make for a great day. This was the start of a fish-filled weekend, and I think we should do it all again next year! Tony

Could be ...i didn't have my sound on and am not a hunter so I could be off. Regardless...not something you get to see everyday

What a rush!!! what a video..experience of a lifetime to say the least. Interesting to see the instinct of the 2nd animal take over and start rutting, imagine the stories the forest critters will be telling about that moose that actually killed another moose just by rutting hehe Great reach with OFC yet again...thanks for sharing the info Wayne, makes it that much more interesting.

Dr. S...clearly you don't know the story behind the shirt. Great to see the success of this years egg collection. I heard that they are ahead of schedule which means lots of ripe fish...where were all those matures about a month ago!? Wow...Bruce isn't a small lad, so that king he is holding is certainly 30++! Matt's fish has that super sized adipose fin, typical of the tyee's in the lake as well (although they won't be visible on anything but naturally reproduced fish in the coming years) Hats off to all volunteers...I miss the fun and enjoyment of the event and might have to replace my neoprene waders with another pair of cheap ones. I bought breathable waders after a big male ripped my waders at the '07 collection (hey! what's that tingling?? UH OH! had to get outta the water fast!), and since then haven't been able to get in the water with the electro-shocker...on the list for sure... Tony

Great looking smallies, second time I've seen the pictures man the colorations are popping out on those fish! It's that time of year, so many different opportunities, so little time Tony

Increasing the license fee will also increase the number of people who can no longer afford to fish. The goal should be to increase participation in the fine sport, not the costs. Implementing a sanctuary would only further reduce the available angling opportunities in the province. I voted actually to increase license funds, based on the logic implied that more money would then directly transfer to the SPF for fish and wildlife.

I've read that book, not too bad, takes you through the ups and downs of the tourny trail from his viewpoint. How other experiences in life helped him with fishing and stuff, not a bad read. I didn't really know much about him, so learning about his breakdancing in the boat was comical

http://www.rapala.com/offers/logo_lure.cfm min 500 though...

I'm considering joining up with you guys now after reading this whole thread, sounds like a riot LOL I will be there the weekend before, so at a mimimum I can share some information with you guys. Going to see what the schedule looks like... Tony

Thanks for sharing Wayne, some difficult times for you and your family this year. You did well surrounding yourself with the beauty of the outdoors and some great folks too, and that must have made things a little easier.