Aaron Shirley

Awesome report Mike! Now that is my type of fishing. Glad the back lake payed off for you guys. Looks like a ton of fun. Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together Your report makes me want to fish a back lake now lol. Cheers, Aaron

Nasty war wounds.. we all have 'em lol Looks like a good outing regardless. Aaron

Very nice healthy fish WTG Aaron

Tony B and I headed out Saturday for the morning to fish Kings, and we were not dissapointed... although we didn't get a derby fish, we were close. I know it isn't worth weighing in anything less than 27-pounds minimum, and need over 30 to get a paycheck at this stage. We fished out of Bronte and we were into fish right away. It slowed down a bit after the first hour of daylight, but we picked away at them until we left late in the morning. Specific patterns were working for us from 70- to 120-feet of water. We marked tons of bait and hooks on the Humminbird in the morning, then we noticed the bait and fish dropped to the bottom by late morning, so we had to adjust our presentaion a bit to keep on them. An 11" green flasher down 56-feet with a 5-foot lead to artificial and real cutbait was good, as was a second smaller 8" flasher with my own creation 10- to 20-feet deeper off the second rigger. Only one wire Dipsy rod was firing though, with a Mountain Dew Spin Doctor and No-See-Um Real Action fly. Purple SD's were cold for us on the other Dipsy rod, as were a variety of spoons surprizingly. Good numbers on the wire Dipsy were 110-feet in the early morning to 210-feet out on a 3 setting without the ring in the late morning. I don't remember our count for the morning, but we got somewhere around 7 and lost a few. Biggest was close to 26-pounds with 3 other quality fish over 20 and a few under 20. A fish from a couple of weeks ago east of TO Tony with a nice one Me with a solid fish Tony with another nice one Me with another good fish Good luck in the Salmon Derby! Aaron

Sweet largie fishing! WTG Aaron

Very nice TJ, well done. The camp looks like it will be a 5 star resort I think I'm onto you with the duck thing... will we see a trail of bread crumbs to a pot of boiling water in your next report? lol Good fishing! Aaron

Thanks guys, it was a lot of fun, and the adventure of exploring a new area and getting there was half the fun for sure. Kenny, my friend Steve Bedarf got a tip on this back lake through word of mouth. After I had an idea where the lake was, I searched for it on Google Earth and found it. I looked for the best access point, then mapped outor route and printed the page off with directions to the access point Ya gotta love Google Earth! While I was searching, I found several other lakes close by that we intend on trying as well. The OMNR stocked many of Ontario's back lakes with Kawartha strain muskies years ago, and many lakes that were stocked were not even documented, so there are a lot of small gold mines in Ontario. Check out Google Earth and give it a try... you will never know what you may stumble onto. Cheers, Aaron

Can't make this one, I'm working nights. Maybe the September swill and pier fishing. Aaron

Last week I spent a few days of muskie fishing up north at my friend Steve's cottage (annual thing). We hit the tough waters of Georgian Bay from his cottage and boat, and we also took a drive to fish a northern Ontario back lake for muskies as well. We both had a blast fishing together as we do every year, but we really had a wild time fishing the back lake. It was something neither of us have ever done before, and we were pumped for this adventure to explore a different kind of muskie fishing altogether. Steve got a tip on this back lake and we decided to give it a try this summer with my car topper boat.... are we ever glad we did! I'll start off with the tough waters of Georgian Bay... we had a major cold front move in for our 2 days of fishing as we got there on Thursday night Figures! It never fails. Furthermore, Steve saw two huge dead muskies in his spots the week before in an already tiny population of fish. We suspect one of them was the massive fish I lost and he had follow in the past few years (guesstimate at about 55-inches). We felt sick to our stomachs about it. We were determined to make the best of it though, fish hard and have fun. Fish would be a bonus in our eyes this weekend with the odds stacking up against us. As it turns out, Steve hooked and boated a small muskie (by Georgian Bay standards), at 41-inches in length on day one. Things all of a sudden looked up. Steve with his 41" Georgian Bay muskie I got two nice carbon copy pike like this one fishing for muskies and also got a smaller one That would be it for Georgian Bay muskie action, and we didn't get to fish much on day 2 due to a major storm blowing through in the afternoon. Now for the back lake muskie bonanza report We had to launch in a small creek and make our way up the winding creek to the small lake as the creek narrowed with many obstacles like beaver dams, logs and even a waterfall! The creek at a wide section The creek at a narrow section full of trees barely wide enough to sqeeze through my 12' boat! Steve hoists the boat up a 3' waterfall so we can continue on our journey.. sure glad he is 6'4" and 280-pounds of muscle We were met at the narrow entrance to the lake by a guard.. luckily he let us through lol Finally, after many miles of rough winding terrain, we arrive at our destination back lake We set up the Humminbird sonar and down easter rod holders and began trolling to learn the lake's shoreline and structure. It didn't get deeper than 16-feet at the deepest section of the lake After we learned a bit about the lake and didn't get a hit trolling, we decided to cast to shoreline weed growth. I got a nice muskie within the first hour on a Mepps Musky Marabou, but unfortunately, we were not prepared to get a photo and did a quick release at boatside. It was approx 38" long and had beautiful colours. I had the hot hand this day, and continued to boat 2 more, lost 2 others and had another hit all on my favourite orange and black Mepps Musky Marabou and 6" Storm Curl Tail Spin Shad. I also had a few more follows. Most of the fish hit right at boatside on an L-turn or figure-8, which was awesome. I forgot to ask Steve to take his cradle and we didn't have a measuring tape, so we guessed at the average size to be from 32- to 38-inches in length Steve lost the biggest fish of the day in the mid-forty-inch range on a Storm Spin Shad after it barrelled under the boat. He also had several follows. All in all, it was an unbelievable adventure and day of muskie fishing, despite the smaller average size of the muskies in the mid-thirty-inch range. I also had this big snapping turtle follow in my bucktail! I teased it to the boat so Steve could get a pic... man are they quick... I had to pull my Mepps away pretty quickly or my hot bait would have been gone! There is no doubt that we will be returning again to visit this great Ontario back lake full of muskies and adventure. Good fishing! Aaron

Hey Tony, Art had one shark snap at him and just miss his bicep, shredding his jacket! He also slipped while pulling in the 301lb shark and landed on the boat deck spread eagle adn the shark's head was near an area that made us all cringe Definitely a fish that needs to eb treated with respect. Art has only one shark bite in 25 years of fishing them though, so he must really know what he is doing when handling those beasts. Hey Chugger, I didn't know Wayne's World flies in lobster, that is great! Have to keep that in mind. We defintely had lobster while we were there When I get the other pics, I'll post them. Cheers, Aaron

Nice fishing Shaun, WTG. I'm glad to hear the North shore and salmon fishing is warming up I'll be heading out myself soon. Nothing like bright line-peeling kings eh. Good fishing! Aaron

Clive, you lucky, lucky dog! Blue Shark fishing galore man! I really like Nova Scotia, it is a beautiful province. I have been twice in the last 2 years. No traffic and clean air. Fresh snow crab and lobster, mmm. Although the smallmouth and brook trout in the inland lakes are generally small, you have great muskie fshing close by in NB St.John River. Striped bass fishing can be great, and Nova Scotia also has sea run brown trout and Atlantic salmon that are making a comeback. The ocean is what really fascinates me. Mako sharks can be caught as well on occasion while shark fishing. Nova Scotia is a very interesting province, and I wish you well in your new home. Congrats on the move! Aaron

Thanks guys, it was an incrediible trip to say the least. It's all I can think about now. We all enjoyed it so much, we are going to make it an annual trip with the boys I just realized that the banner at the top of OFC is about shark week on Discovery, that's just too funny! DouG, that reel was a Shimano Thunnus 12000. I was shocked at how solid a spinning reel it is and how I could turn such a large shark with it. Still amazed. Cheers, Aaron

Nice buckets you guys got into, nice work Aaron

There is a reason why most people will mention Lowrance, because the have been the freshwater electronics leader for as long as I can remember. I was a die hard Lowrance fan for many years myself because I am a technology junky that likes to own the best, and I still really like them a lot. Don't be so quick to discount Humminbird though, as they are an entirely new animal completly as a couple of years ago. Believe it or not, Humminbird is every bit as good as Lowrance today. I have owned Humminbird for 2 years now, and I love the new technology. I know it is hard to wrap your heads around this fact, as Lowrance has dominated the market forever, but it is true. It is going to take Hummnbird many years for people to realize how good their new technology is now, as they have had an inferior product to Lowrance for way too long. I'm sure you will be very happy with a Humminbird or Lowrance. I would recommend looking at all the units at your price point, and getting the model you like best with the features you want. Happy electronics hunting. Congrats on the new boat! Aaron

Barry Pringle, myself and Mitch Burke went on a shark fishing excursion for Blue Sharks with Blue Shark Fishing charters out of the Eastern Passage Nova Scotia Canada. We were filming an episode for Getting Hooked, and we had the fishing trip of our lives We had good weather the first day, and tough weather with fog, big waves and rollers the second day. We all caught some great sharks, including two big ones. We caught about 9 sharks and lost a few over the two days. Who knew there was such an incredible shark fishery right here in Canada? Art Gaetan is defintely the man when it comes to shark fishing, he really knows his stuff. We took a flight to Halifax on Wednesday, and arrived at our waterfront accomodations in the early afternoon. Barley is a happy guy with the pride of Nova Scotia Our accommodations were directly above Wayne's World Lobster Our brilliant view from the deck of our accommodations Art was out on the water when we got there, but he had his small 24' boat docked right outside of our deck We were all pumped to get out on Thursday for our first shark fishing experience with Blue Shark Fishing Charters We were all restless waiting for Art to get back, so we went for a bite to eat just down the road at this place on the water As we ate, we watched the tide recede and people dig for clams After much anticipation and a restless sleep, we got out the next morning and our Captain (Art) set up for Blue Sharks Art explains why he uses outriggers for drifting so he doesn't tangle lines The bait of choice is squid and mackerel Barry, Mitch and I flipped coins to see who would get the first fish, second fish and third. I got lucky and would get the first fish, Mitch the second and Barry got third crack at it. I think it almost killed Barry I was pretty excited when I got my first shark on the line, about 250lbs It took me 45 minutes to get the big blue to the boat on 50lb braid and spinning gear! Art grabbed the 12' stainless leader and the fish got off as he was trying to pull the big shark on deck to tag it for research, so no photos of my big shark Next up was Mitch, and it didn't take long to get another big fish. Mitch at the start of the fight Mitch after fighting his 301-pound blue shark by himself almost 2-hours later.. it wears ya down! Art wrestled the big blue onto the back of his deck to insert a tag and get DNA smaples for science. A photo of the 301-pound Blue Shark Mitch caught. It almost took up the entire back of Art's 13-foot beam, as the shark was just shy of 10-feet in length Barry caught and released a shark in the middle of Mitch fighting his fish, but Mitch has all the photos on his camera of Barry, John (the cameraman) and I with our sharks. I'll post them soon when I get the pics. Mitch with his second blue shark This is a typical size of the blue sharks we were catching A nice close-up of the head of the blue shark You can see more photos that Art took (and funny comments) of us with our sharks on the Blue Shark Fishing Charter site here: More Blue Shark Pics Here is a quick video of underwater blue shark footage we got (we are saving the best footage for the show) Underwater Blue Shark Video It was a great trip with great friends, and we would like to thank Art Gaetan and his crew for taking us out for the trip of our lives! Good fishing! Aaron

Hey, thanks for the tip Greencoachdog. I was using braid, adn the fish did warp me around the stalks and get loose. I will spool up with 20lb mono and try that. I knew I must have been doing something wrong loosing all those fish. I was going nuts! Grub was from Bass Pro in the US I believe... I got it from my friend Steve. It is a twin tail. I normally use a large single clear silver fleck grub 5" long, but I ran out and robbed Steve's box Not a problem about the morning 007, it was enjoyable to have you out. Good luck on your fishing quests! Thom, it is too bad about the weather, but we made the best of it. We still had a good time. It would have been good to get out muskie fishing with you. Kristi was a little bored at times and read a book. That's ok though, I still got to fish and pushed my luck with her reading a book under my rain suit while I was getting soaked fishing 'skies She was GREAT about it... man am I lucky. Off on vacation again this week to fish hard core with friends this time. Muskies on Georgian Bay and a back lake, then to Halifax for sharks.. yep, I said sharks! Will post a report when I get back. Good fishing! Aaron

Zib, I use 80lb braided Tuf line on all my musky sticks. I had snap-offs with even 65lb braid, and the 80lb is perfect and easier to cast IMO. Try casting a deep-diving 10-inch bait all day lol. Bigbuck, thanks, she is definitely a keeper We stayed dry for most of it though with the dining tent and heater, and took off fishing when the rain stopped. She did get pretty wet when my arms couldn't stop casting for muskies one evening Damn defective arms lol. Lew, orange and black is my confidence colours on ANY watershed for muskies for a reason That modified marabou bait is my best confidence lure for casting by far, especially for big 'skies. I must cast that particular lure about 60 percent of the time. I also have a strong preference to cast a perch Bobbie bait, Poes Giant Jackpot, and Top Raider. No matter where I cast for 'skies, I always start off with 4 rods rigged with those 4 baits, then try differnet baits from there if no action. My other expensive 1000 muskie lures barely get wet unless I troll, which isn't often Aaron

Crap, I can't believe I forgot to include that info Squid! She was 48-inches in length with no tail pinch at all. Addy79, if you fish Stormy for 'skies, look for water with the tall cabbage or other tall aquatic vegetation from 6- to 10-feet of water leading to deep water, that is where you should find most of the big fish on most Canadian shield watersheds That muskie came from such a spot... but shhhh, don't tell anyone lol. Good fishing! Aaron

Hey Addy79, actually it's funny you mention the somewhat connecting Stormy Lake, cause that is where I specifically caught the muskie (just edited the original post to include that). Didn't even see a muskie on Restoule Lake itself, and didn't see another muskie on Stormy or connecting Clear Lake either, despite some great-looking muskie spots. Restoule, Stormy and Clear are some awesome lakes that I could spend a lot more time on. I didn't even fish for walleye once even though I had planned to.... after that early muskie I was on a muskie craze and spent very little time for even bass TB, That muskie was dark, and the pic made it look even darker. There are lakers and whitefish in those lakes, but I didn't fish for them. Too busy casting for 'skies. Good fishing! Aaron

Very nice report and pics! Looks like you guys had some fun. Congrats on a great trip. Aaron

Nice northern smallies! Aaron

Very nice. Aaron

Ouch, that must have hurt! Aaron

Beauty, congrats! Aaron