BudsFan

Happy New Year to All! I've recently relocated to the Rockland area (east of Ottawa) and am looking for spots to do some hardwater fishing. I see the odd hut here and there, but not knowing the river yet I don't know if I'll be fishing in 5 ft or 50 ft, or on a shoal or on a flat. I've been trying to get my hands on depth charts for this area but haven't had any luck yet...the vendors I've dropped by are all sold-out until spring. I'm C n' R only (for all species), so you need not worry about me harvesting your honey holes. Any insight anyone can provide would be much appreciated. Cheers. BudsFan

Good Morning All, What a difference a week makes... With relatively calms wind yesterday evening, myself and a couple of my buds hit the Nip. Unlike last Saturday, last night we couldn't keep 'em off our lines. Went out just before 6 pm and was back in off the water by 9 pm. In that three hours, we probably landed probably about a dozen and a half...half of which were well within the slot size, so back they went. Out of the remainder, we each kept a couple for the frying pan and the rest went back to live another day. We were fishing with the masses...out in front of the North Bay waterfront. By my estimate, there must have been about 5 or 6 dozen other boats up and down the shoreline...all pulling them in one after the other. The fishing was so easy, it was almost criminal...drifting from about 15 ft into the 8 ft range...bouncing a worm (or as I prefer...a GULP minnow) off the bottom as we go. Although we were catching lots, we were marking probably 5-6 times more than what were hitting! We each hooked into a Sheephead, which gave us a nice fight...and made us briefly think we had tied into a walleye that was going to surpass the upper end of the slot size. Hoping to get out again soon...but it doesn't look like it will be today...the wind is picking up and they're calling for rain. Until next time...tight lines. Cheers. BudsFan

A quick intro.. Hello to all! As a newbie to OFC, this is my first posting...and what better way to introduce myself than to give a quick recap of my first outing of the year. I'm currently living in North Bay..and seeing as how Saturday was the opening of walleye/pike season on the Nip, then what better way then to start off the day by heading out on the big water at the crack of dawn. As I launched the boat at 6:00 a.m., the real die-hards were just coming in...but they didn't have much to report. With a slight chop and swell to work with, I decided to try a few of my favourite spots close to shore. Didn't turn up much...one jumbo perch was all we could land. As soon as the waters calmed we made a b-line out across the open water to a spot that routinely produces for me. Wasn't long before we started marking some fish...and within a few minutes I landed my first Nipissing walleye of the year. At 52 cm it was within the slot size, so back into the drink it went to gain a few more pounds. Unfortunately, that was the only walleye to be had. The young fella who we had in the boat tied into one heck of a northern, but we couldn't get it in the boat...it broke the line just as we were trying to land it. Needless to say, he's got one heck of a story to tell his friends over the next little while. We estimate the pike was probably in the 10 lb range...but to that young kid, it was as big as the boat...not to mention his dad and I playing it up, doubting that we could have fit it into the net anyway! The rest of the weekend was pretty windy...so it kept us off the big water. The bite is apparently slow right now...but hopefully things will heat up over the course of the next couple of days as the water temp continues to rise. Until the next report...