Aaron Shirley

Very cool report, just wish I could see the vids at work. Sounds like a good day out. I'll have to watch the vids when I'm at home, really interested in the recipe. I'm looking for a healthier way to eat them, as I only know how to cook fish one way, fried in breading!

Wow, how things change in a week. Good to see the ice is still good enough to drive out after all that rain. Tough going, but we did have strange unstable weather recently. Tony and I wanted to hit Simcoe on the weekend, but the weather messed up our plans. We are hoping to get out this weekend. Hope it picks up by then, it's coming to an end. Good fishing!

Hey Carper, I did recently film an ice fishing episode with a friend from this board Tony B. We did it on Lake Simcoe for whitefish. This show is a bit different, as we talk about a lot of technical stuff that helps us consistently get into fish, from time of year/location, depths, tip-ups combined with jigging, sonar settings etc. We got into the whities pretty good on both jigging anf tip-ups, and a funny thing happened that was all caught on tape... at Tony's expense I forgot to mention, that people can also watch it on my YouTube channel if they prefer. Also, if someone would like to see the high quality DivX HD version on their big screen TV but they don't have a BluRay or PS3 to view it, there is another option that also works great for downloaded movies or TV shows. If you have a laptop with HDMI, you can connect it to your HD TV and use your laptop like a BluRay player to watch shows in comfort on your big screen. I love technology I would really like to hear feedback from people here on OFC. Also, if you have a show idea and would like to film a show with me, send me a PM. I would love to film some shows with fellow OFNers. Enjoy.

Thanks Grimace, I appreciate the kind words. Ahhh, the day of the Giants... I still relive that experience once in a while. I didn't even catch a musky, and I didn't care! Just to be a part of that was awesome, and seeing a good friend catch a 57" and 58" musky within 30 minutes was amazing. Marc really knows his stuff, and my buddy Steve was going through a difficult time when we filmed that show, so that made his year

Lipless baits do work well at times. I think you need a good trip using them one day, and then you will have confidence in them I have caught walleye, smallies, largies, pike, brown trout, Chinook salmon, steelhead and lake trout on Rattlin' Raps and Rattlin' Spots. Good fishing! Aaron

You can now download the latest Surely Fishing episode in full 1080p DivX HD and watch it on your big screen TV in TSN quality HD Surely Fishing Episodes I have to say, that since I am not running a business anymore and just producing a fishing show as a hobby, it is a heck of a lot more fun! Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of what a person originally intended to do with something. I do really enjoy building graphics, editing and producing a fishing show, I just hate the business aspect of it all. It becomes a lot more work than fun when it is a business. Since I have been focusing on family and only working one job, I am having a lot of fun fishing and producing a fishing show. It is really nice to just do whatever the heck I want, when I want and not be bound by deadlines, red tape or sponsors etc. I just go fishing now with buddies or people I meet with no stress I plan on uploading one episode in DivX HD every month, and it will be just honest fishing with real people. No sponsors, no commercials, no bullcrap. I am trying to make the show as informative as possible as well. I want to make a show that most people will enjoy watching, even veteran anglers. I want to produce a show that anyone can learn from, a technique, a new idea, the technical info etc. I will not advertise any lures, gear or anything else, but I will say what I am using to catch the fish... and it will be any brand/type I choose to use that I think will work for the situation. I look forward to your feedback, pros or cons. After all, I'm doing this for all of you to enjoy, so I would like to hear your feedback. BTW if you download the latest DivX player to watch it on your Mac or PC, make sure you uncheck the box to install the Google Chrome browser during DivX player installation unless you want it. If you don't want to download a new player, you can download the codec pack only so you can watch the show on Windows Media Player, which I prefer. If you want to watch it on your big screen TV in full HD, you will need a device that supports DivX HD, like most newer BluRay players, a PS3, some newer HDTV's etc. Enjoy

Interesting read. I don't see anything wrong with Grimace posting his opinion here. It didn't seem to me like a personal attack. I do however, think that he did paint all "pros" with the same brush like Charles stated. I have known Dave Mercer for years, and I have never known him to lie about anything. He has always come across as down to earth and genuine to me. He has always presented himself in a professional manor as far as I know. I will always have respect for the man unless he gives me a reason otherwise, which I don't believe he will. Many pros really do like the products they endorse and believe in them. IMO Just because someone is paid to endorse a product or is on the pro staff, it doesn't mean that their opinion is null and void on the products. Yes, there are some pros that do not have good ethics, but most do from my experience. It is up to you to judge each pros character and decide if they are trustworthy. Unfortunately, it is easy to be left with a bad taste in your mouth if you have a bad experience with an unethical pro. Quite often a bad apple in the bunch can ruin it for others. As for the Koppers baits, they do look nice. Although I have been on the Rapala pro staff for 10 years, I do occasionally use other brands. Like tools in a toolbox is a good analogy from earlier in this thread. I got a few Koppers baits this winter to try out when the situation presents itself in clear water. I'm sure they will have their place at certain times, even though I have boxes full of my old faithful Rapalas. I believe this is all just my unbiased opinion since I no longer have a TV show or have paying sponsors anymore. Take it for what it is worth. Good fishing! Aaron

There is a high vis bright chartreuse 832 available. I have it on a low profile bait caster (for largemouth fishing) and used it with a suspending XRap last summer with a fluoro leader, no issues. Suspending bait worked well with the 832 and fluoro leader. You can see me using the high vis 832 line casting in my latest HD web episode.

Awesome report. Love seeing the kids out enjoying a day on the ice. Nice whities. My 2 year old has been asking me to take him perch fishing this weekend, but the weather doesn't look good. Hopefully Sunday will be ok.

Hey Bob, my buddy did find out about that Ontario record from the DR. What a beast. He was disappointed when he heard, but his fish is still a great fish and very rare. Thanks for the info, I only knew about the record, I wasn't aware that other wipers were caught in the Detroit River. Bob, do you know how prevalent wipers are on the DR? Did Michigan stock wipers on the DR or a connecting watershed? As for your question Egh, I have no idea! I didn't know wipers even existed in the Great lakes until now. I would like to know more about the Detroit wipers myself if several have been caught in the DR. I know the white bass population on the Great Lakes is prevalent, but haven't heard of wipers until my buddy's catch. I was speaking with Marc Thorpe the past couple days, and he informed me that stripers have been re-introduced into the St.Lawrence River the past 5 years and are protected in the St.Lawrence. It's possible that a stray striper got into Lake O and got it's freak on with a white bass? In Marc's words, it could have been interracial sex hahaha. Got that this morning, thanks for that one Marc, still laughing Another possibility is that a wiper migrated from the Detroit River? I don't know how prevalent wipers are in the DR? One thing I do know, is that wipers are very rare in Lake Ontario. If I had caught that beast, I would have thought it was a white bass as well. A striper or wiper would not have even been a thought.. until now!

Lake trout? What story did you read? lol

Too bad I missed this event, I worked night shifts all week including Friday night. I've fished the event for years and really like it. Hope I'm not working nights next year, as I look forward to the Tyler event every year. Glad to hear it was a great turnout!

I just learned that a buddy caught a 15lb Wiper on Lake Ontario in January! He sent me the photos and story, very cool! I didn't even know there were wipers in Lake Ontario until now. Here is a link to the whole story, enjoy: Giant Wiper Caught on Lake Ontario

Hey Joey, what ice kit did you get? There were two different kits, one for a connection like the X67, and one for the blue connection like the 5" HDS5. I just got a kit from Radio World at the end of December, but they didn't send me the new blue soft ice kit, they sent me the old stock grey kit I should have known better than to order something online that I cannot see. Furthermore, it didn't come with a bracket. Luckily, someone here told me when I went to order my kit and got the bracket at the same time, or I would have been in the same place you are. It is frustrating when you order something that isn't fully equipped or receive old stock for sure. Hope you get it on time, and I hear you won the Tyler event, congrats!

Hahahaha, x2

Ya Emil, that is who I was fishing with, Don McCaw from Ice Guidez. Looks like I will be going Sunday. Thanks for the offer Cityfisher, but looks like I will have a few people with me walking out. Good luck this week and weekend everyone!

The Fin Bore III is an amazing auger, I have a 4" and 8" that are both about 5 years old and still cut very well. I've never had to replace the blades on them, but I am very careful with them and treat them well. They shouldn't require and downward prssure to drill holes. I was even up on Nippising and drilled 8 holes through 3' of ice no prob. As others have mentioned, never drill through old holes, bang your auger down on the ice or try and sharpen the blades unless you really know what you are doing. Just get new blades and take care of your auger and you will be effortlessly cutting holes again. Good ice fishing! Aaron

I have a 2008 Ford F150 5.4L, 4 door with 6' box. I absolutely love it and have had no problems at all in almost 3 years. My father-in-law used o be a Chevy fan and hated Ford. Now that he has been in my F150 and driven it, he loves Ford. He will be looking at a Ford when he buys his next vehicle, something he thought he would never do in his lifetime lol. My neighbour owns a Toyota full size 4 door truck, and he is now currently looking at the F150 since looking at mine across the road all the time knowing I haven't had any trouble and how much I enjoy it. He had trouble with his Toyota and wonders why he spent so much more money on his truck than mine. I have friends who own 2010 F150 trucks, and they love them as well. They haven't had any isues, and the fuel economy is remarkable in the new F150 trucks. My bud gets about 1000k per 100L tank! Quality and fit and finish are excellent on the Ford trucks. I have buds with newer Chevy trucks, and they love them as well with no isues. Not as good fuel economy as the Ford, but still not bad compared to the older trucks. Quality and fit and finish are excellent on the Chevy trucks as well. I have seen and driven in Dodge trucks with the famed Hemi. The power was greater than both Ford and Chevy trucks, but fuel consumption was not as good. The quality and fit and finish was good in one Dodge, but brutal on the other. IMO if you want the peppiest truck and don't care as much about quality or fuel consumption, Dodge is the truck you will like. If you want well rounded power and fuel economy, quality, Chevy or Ford is a good choice. If you don't mind paying top dollar, the Toyota is a good truck from most people that I have spoken with that owns one. I would shop around and put the salesmen to work if buying new. Ask them why you should purchase their truck over the other brands. But don't take their word for it, I was in new car sales for a short while and saw first hand what some slime balls told potential customers to make a sale. Do your research before you go into any dealers and know as much as possible about the trucks and all the brands you are looking at. You will realize quickly if a slime bag salesman is giving you a line of crap to make a sale. Things on trucks change every year, so make sure you have the most recent data before you go shopping. Research things like power, performance, fuel economy, quality, etc. Check out JD Power and other reviews etc. It will be one of the biggest purchases you will make next to a home, so make sure you do your homework on the year you are looking at and ask lots of questions while shopping, especially how you will be treated after the sale if buying new or from a used lot.

Nice fish. The Niagara is a nice place to fish in the winter, and the exercise is good too

I work on the weekdays, but I'll be heading out on the weekend. Either Sat or Sun, haven't decided yet. I have a good spot that should produce well for numbers (packing very light this time so I can get to it ), then I plan to hit an exploratory spot on the way back in for giant perch. Send me a PM Emil if you want to hook up, would love to fish with you. It's been a few years since I saw you on the ice. It was when I was fishing with Don McCaw and we all fished together for a while... you were putting on a clinic with your Williams At least I'm not the only crazy nut out there walking a marathon to fish whities

Wow, that is an absolute tank! Congrats!

Very nice. Congrats on the PB!

Good stuff! Let us know what the outcome is, or if they even bring up the subject.

Wow John, those are impressive ling! Did you get those on Simcoe? If so, would you mind sharing your technique for catching them? I've never caught a ling before, and I would like to try for them.. although I don't plan on keeping any lol. Feel free to PM me if you like. I'm not looking for any of your secrets, just want an idea where to start. Thanks. I've heard dead bait on bottom at night works? They are a cool looking fish. I gues you eat them?

Good job on the whities! I feel your pain, I did the same type of thing hauling out heavy gear in the deep snow and a marathon walk with TonyB and a couple buds. We couldn't continue to better grounds and only had 2 bites and a skunk to show for our aching bones You persevered and got a couple good fish! Nice job. TonyB and I have said for the past few years.. "next year I will have a sled!". And every year we forget how bad the walk is and don't buy one One of these years we will have machines!