Aaron Shirley

Awesome stuff Mike! I really like these adventure reports. Makes me want to break out my 12' tinny

Very nice. Gotta love a quick smallie fish so close to home

Thanks everyone. It something that I enjoy for sure. It's how I started fishing, and I will always enjoy it. You just have to pick your years. This year just so happens to have all the right ingredients for great trib bass fishing for mature fish. A bit of a later season start and high water levels are key. You can still get into bass in lower water in normal weather years, but mostly juvenile fish. The other great thing is that almost every decent size trib on Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron etc, have a run of bass, so good local creek and river bass opportunities for many. It's such a basic way to fish and a ton of fun! I can't wait to take my son there to try it out, he'll love it! The Hogs Weed is a very serious thing for sure, I've been lucky enough to be informed about it early and haven't had to experience my skin peeling off after touching it. It can quickly ruin a good day of fishing if you are not careful. I didn't know about the UV thing, good to know, thanks. Just another reason to steer clear away from that nasty weed!!!

I got out on bass opening day to a Lake Ontario tributary to have some fun with my Rapala 6' F2 ultralight rod. This was a short 4 hour solo trip that turned out to be one of my most memorable creek bass experiences ever I packed really light and walked miles casting everywhere that looked good... which was almost the entire creek with the high water levels and stained water conditions. Over the 4 hours I fished, I banked about 24 smallies, mostly between 1-3lbs with some dinks and one tank about 3-pounds (that's a pig for a small creek). I also lost about 6 or 7 smallies and had many swipes and misses which was entertaining as hell. I had several hot lures, the original Rapala Floating F7 in perch, Mepps Black Furry Exude Helgramite on a 1/4" jig head and the Mepps Thunder Bug in stonefly. It was a beautiful day out, and some spots reminded me of being in a tropic setting while having smallies smash my lures It was absolutely awesome watching most smallies go airborne and fight like stink on the ultralight rod! It was 4 hours of pure adrenaline-packed action that was only 5 minutes from my doorstep This is a rare year for such great creek bass fishing, so get out and enjoy it! Most years the water is low and clear and the bulk of the adult smallies migrate back to Lake Ontario by the time the season opens. One of the great things about this type of fishing, is not spending money on gas, being able to shore fish without much preperation and fishing so close to home. Also, it takes me back to when I was a young kid and first got into fishing. I was only nine years old and wanted to try fishing on my own accord. I bought a cheap rod and reel combo and 2 lures with my allowance money. I had no idea what lures to buy, and I chose a Mepps black furry and a Rapala F7 in perch. Did I ever get lucky with my lure choices back then, as I instantly smashed smallies on both of them and became a fishing freak ever since! I didn't take many photos, but managed to snap a few of some good fish. Enjoy the pics This is hog's bush, stay away from this plant! It is spreading rapidly throughout SW Ontario tributaries and you will be very sorry you ever came into contact with it. It is very nasty, and I believe much worse than poison ivy or poison oak. Be very careful out there, and wear light waders and a light long sleeve shirt for protection if possible. Good fishing! Aaron

Good stuff Bunk, that is a tank of a gar! Congrats on a new PB

Ron, you're such a rebel! lol I think you have the support of many on this one, including myself. Our rights as anglers have been slowly eroding in Ontario, despite the fact we have legislation implemented by past Premiere Mike Harris with the Fishing and Hunting Heritage Act. This act was supposed to support our rights to fish and hunt. Obviously, there are exceptions for obvious reasons, like fish and wildlife sanctuaries, certain parks and recreation areas etc. Your case does not appear to be one of those reasonable exceptions and opens up a big can of worms. Exactly what you wanted, and for good reason. It's a ballsy move on your part, but you are an activist fighting for a good cause. In my area, the Town of Oakville has done something similar to the old "social sanctuary" that was lifted a few years ago. As soon as the OMNR removed the sanctuary from Bronte Creek from Hwy 2 to Rebecca St., the Town of Oakville put in a new by-law to ban fishing in that stretch of Bronte Creek. As far as I am concerned, this may actually be illegal by Provincial law - The Fishing and Hunting Heritage Act? As Michael has noted, this is at the very least discrimination to one user group, as people may do anything they wish on this land but fish. It sounds like your case Ron is very similar to the Bronte Creek issue with the Town of Oakville and anglers. Your case can be argued on many levels. First, there was a swath of enforcement reading by-laws just to try and come up with something to charge you. This gives you an argument off the hop. Secondly, it doesn't sound like there were any signs posted about a fish and wildlife refuge on protected land. Another argument. Third, their by-law may conflict with Provincial legislation designed to protect angler's and hunter's rights. I thought only the Provincial or Federal Government could legislate a fish and wildlife refuge? I don't know the answer to this, but something to look into to determine the legitimacy of the by-law you were charged with. Fourth, public scrutiny and outrage to allow fishing on the pier, or at least a compromise for the East pier may be possible if enough people send e-mails to the right authorities. The more people that send e-mails to town council on this matter, the more possible it will be to have your court case end favorable for you... and ultimately, for anglers. If anyone knows the proper e-mail to send to the township of Cobourg, lease post it here. There is no good reason to ban fishing on the piers that I can think of in your case. Unfortunately, your scenario is becoming more prevalent across Ontario, just like Bronte Creek, and countless other examples. Shore access spots are disappearing quickly around my area and over our Province. This concerns me a great deal when piers, pond and creek shore access is taken away or banned from fishing. Apart from discrimination, kids will not have anywhere to begin fishing from shore if this continues. I started fishing at the age of 9, riding my bike with a rod over the handle bars to fish the very areas that are being slowly stripped away from us and our kids. Good luck Ron! As a side note: We have a Provincial election coming up this fall people!!! This election is the time to act and put our great pastime in the limelight with the party leaders. Public pressure on political leaders will work if enough of us act, especially during an election campaign. I tried to get people here to see this over late winter, but I realize I was going about it the wrong way. An "unorganized write a letter and mail it to party leaders before this fall election" will not realistically gain much support. After watching the success of openmedia.ca simple webpage with a form type petition to email political leaders to fight for the internet, the light bulb went off. This can be a simple and easy way to send our Provincial leaders a message during their campaign and put fishing rights for Ontarians in the spotlight. Anybody want to help me with this? Ron? I know of a cheap way to host a webpage. I can write a letter in conjunction with some of you. I don't know where to start for the form aspect of the webpage and email address for all party leaders. Sorry Ron, didn't mean to hijack your thread. This type of thing has been really bothering me for quite some time now, and I want to do something about it. I admire your tenacity and wish you luck with your court case. I'll send you a PM. Aaron

Good stuff Michael. I plan to take my son to this one day, hopefully next year when he's three. I'm sure he will love it.

Some nice pike from shore, WTG

Hey Wallacio, I see you took gar on the fly. That's pretty awesome. That is something that I've always wanted to try. I plan to try gar on the fly this summer. Thanks for the stinger hook tip. I'll make some stinger hooks out of 20lb titanium wire and try it.

It's pretty much impossible to keep bass from hitting your pike lures, even larger lures. All you can do is release the bass and get them in the water as quickly as you can without taking a photo. If you are catching multiple bass on a spot, just move to a different spot. That's about it. Some larger lures will limit the smaller bass, but you may be limiting your pike as well with only musky-sized lures... and you'll probably still catch some bass. I have always liked a Mr.Twister trailer on a Johnson Silver Minnow, pike love the twister tail on them Good fishing! Aaron

That's a great fish... how big? Congrats on your new PB

Thanks everyone. It was such a great experience! After I settled down a bit, I thought.. "holy crap, did that just happen?" lol. It was not expected, and I thought that if I got a 40" plus fish, that would make my day... well, that fish made my year!

I had an opportunity to film a pike show with Bass Pro Shops employee Andrew Marr over the long weekend. Actually, Andrew worked his last day at BPS on Friday before the long weekend, as he is heading far north soon to guide for big pike at a resort. We had an absolute blast fishing for a day and a half on one of the central Ontario lakes that Andrew knows well. Our other friends Mike, Glen and Melanie fished in Glens boat, and Andrew and I fished in my boat. What made it even more fun was the 2-way radios we had to razz each other throughout the day Things started a bit slow with a small pike in the first couple spots and some missed fish, so we started to spot jump to try and find bigger pike. It didn't take long for Andrew to find the bigger pike and a pattern with his experience. On our 3rd spot, I saw a log close to shore, so I made a cast to it. The water erupted and the log moved making a plume in the soft bottom! I shouted "holy crap, that isn't a log!". Andrew looks over and said "it's still there". I made a cast back and twitched my gold\black Husy Jerk, and the big log moved toward my lure. Another twitch and it was nose to my bait. Another twitch and SLAM! I had on a nice pike. It was peeling drag like mad as I let off on my drag a bit. Every time I got it closer, it would peel off more line. My heart was in my throat when I finally got a good look at her beside the boat, then she made another few runs. We thought it was about 44" which is about the largest size in this lake. As I got it beside the boat, Andrew slid my big Beckman under the biggest pike he has ever seen on this lake, and we were as excited as a couple of kids finding a hundred bucks I unhooked the big pike and held it up for a quick photo op, then in my Frabill floating cradle for a measurement in the water (a technique I adopted from Marc Thorpe). The big girl had a length of 46.5" without swiping the tail or pinching it. It was at least 8" thick across the back and heavy. It was a muskie-sized pike and crushed my PB by a long shot! She swam away well, and I didn't care if I caught another pike the entire weekend lol. A couple shots of my new PB northern We did get into a few each and lost a few over a day and a half. Andrew had the big pike hand after my biggy (I used up all my big pike mojo in the first hour lol). Andrew got one close to 40", lost one about 40 and got a nice 41" pike. Our best lures were Husky Jerks, Lucky Craft, size 5 Mepps bucktail and Mepps Marabou in-line spinners. Andrew found the fish in less than 4 feet of water in shallow warming protected areas. We had to run and gun to a lot of various spots and shallow bays to keep finding fish. A couple shots of Andrew's 41" pike It was a great time, and I would like to thank Andrew for the invite and his hospitality. He is a class act, and the people who have him as a guide at the lodge he is going to for big pike are in for a real treat. It was also good to see you again Mike, Glen and Mel. Good times Good fishing! Aaron

Nice to hear ya got pike in tough conditions. Maybe the paddle boaters just wanted the pike for themselves lol.

That's a great fish! Congrats.

The original floating Rapala F11 works great for shallow water gar. Dustin Boczek showed me that one. One size bigger or smaller doesn't work well, it has to be the F11 size due to hook spacing. I also replace the stock trebles with upsize 4 Gamakatsu trebles. You will have two hooks foul together the odd cast into the wind, but the size 4 Gammys seem to stick them a bit better while the other hooks get caught around their beaks. I still lose some gar, but get most of them with this technique. I also use 20lb titanium leaders with a small Stringease snap to keep the weight of the leader down and give the lure the best action. I know some guys use small modified crankbaits with the back treble removed and a wire added on the back with a treble extended from the body. I've never used this technique, but it works well from what I hear. You may be able to find this technique with a Google search? I am totally hooked on gar now, they are awesome fish that go berserk when hooked! I have gone for gar for the past three years now. Have fun My website is currently down while a brand new site is being built by our OFC Admin Rick O'Banion. You can watch the gar vids on YouTube: Good gar fishing! Aaron

Awesome gators Those are solid fish, and such great weather as well. WTG I think I recognize that spot in the third photo, I remember seeing that spot when I was a teenager lol

Thanks everyone. It was a very enjoyable day, I can't wait to get back there! I wonder if I can get away with calling in sick to work tomorrow... I can say I have the Thunder Bug That sounds serious

I got out this morning to fish steelhead on a Lake Ontario tributary and enjoy a peaceful day in the beautiful weather. I didn't expect much, just wanted to enjoy a day out casting spinners on my Rapala F2 ultralight and hoped to get a few bites. It was a bit cool in the morning, and I took my time getting there. This day was to be a lazy enjoyable day in serenity. No rushing, just a peaceful time out in a normally hectic life. I started fishing about an hour and a half after sunrise, and it didn't even bother me (it normally does lol). Within 5 minutes of casting a brown trout coloured Mepps Aglia 3, I had a violent hit from a beautiful steelhead. The fish went absolutely nuts and peeled drag like crazy making many runs, going airborne about 10 times, and then more reel peel It took about 10 minutes to land as it was so full of energy, but I got it to the bank, unhooked and released her. This chromer already made my day. But that was just the start I got a smaller one shortly after in the same pool, and almost as spunky. I enjoyed action on that spinner only a short time, as the sun grew stronger, the bite slowed. I was about to switch up to another fav spinner, but I thought I would try a few things I rarely try for steelhead, small cranks, floaters, jerk baits, countdowns etc. After more than an hour casting all kinds of lures from top to bottom without any action, I had to try my favourite Mepps Thunderbug spinner in green and silver. I had about 6 steelhead swipe at the Thunderbug spinner in the next 20 minutes I decided to leave my confidence spinner on the rest of the day, and I'm glad I did. I fished several miles of river with various lures, but when I moved back to the same spots with the green and silver spinner, I got bites. Violent hits, reel peel and nobody in sight but a beaver, a blue heron, other birds and wildlife This was just what the doctor ordered. The warming sun peaked between the trees, birds chirped happily in the spring air, and the peaceful river made it's own music with nature. As a bonus, I got about a dozen ballistic steelies to the bank, lost a few and had multiple swipes and misses. I absolutely loved every minute of this trip. it is my favourite trip this year by a long shot, and just may be tough to beat. I used to hook well over 50 fish a day back in the 80's and early 90's in pools surrounded by guys. I would take the day I had today over those big number days any time. I feel like a very lucky guy to have this type of experience in our province. It felt as if I was far up north in the middle of nowhere at times, and I kept thinking about the hussle and bussle in the city suurounding the serenity of this urban river I fished. I heard no cars, no trucks, no trains, no voices, just nature and steelhead erupting the otherwise peaceful meandering river. It's funny how most people have no idea what is in their own backyard. The steelies are still around and active, try out an ultralight and spinners for an awesome experience you will not forget anytime soon Enjoy the photos. Good fishing! Aaron

The launch at Bronte isn't the same for sure. I have been lucky so far with no vandalism, but have heard many horror stories the past couple years. They are at it again this year, as a piece of wood with nails sticking up was left at the dock area with intent to injure. It's getting worse. I use the Bronte ramp all the time because I live close by, and I take my wife and 2-year-old there at times. I can't imagine my son stepping on someone's booby trap and putting a spike through his foot, or worse, tripping and getting it in his eye or head. This crap has to stop. If you see anything suspicious, or have vandalism to your truck or trailer, file a report to the police. The more complaints the police receive, they may do something. Report every incident people. This isn't going away until someone gets caught. The boaters hate the anglers launching in the morning with a passion. They are responsible for the security guys now hired to reroute anglers in the morning around the speed bumps that make trailer noise. The vandalism and intent to injure is more than likely angry boater/s, as this makes the most sense; however, no accusations can be made until someone gets caught red handed. The past 6 years or so has been a nightmare to launch at Bronte. Boy do I miss the old days at Bronte hassle-free. We used to drive straight to the launch and line up in a straight line on the left, launch and park. No rerouting around the main lane into the parking lot, no hassles. The only noise I can ever remember is trailers squeeking over the speed bumps and outboards starting at the ramp. It's a public boat ramp, what did the boaters along the lane expect when they got a slip? We have been launching our boats to go salmon fishing in the early morning for as long as I can remember, which is over 30 years. I believe it's only going to get worse until most anglers don't launch at Bronte anymore. Rates will keep going up and vandalism and intent to injure will rise. Keep your eyes open people. The truth is, wealthy boaters are taking over Bronte and anglers bother them. The launch in Oakville is also $17. Now Bronte Outdoors is gone and so is the GOSD weigh-in for Bronte. You will need to weigh your fish at Port Credit or Fisherman's Pier now. I miss the old Bronte with the weigh-in for the Star derby at the Home Hardware. Different user groups seemed to get along back then.

I fished the lower Niagara in gale-force-plus winds on Sunday with a bud Joe. I filmed a great salmon show with Joe and the Barnes brothers last July, and it will be available to watch or download by tomorrow at surelyfishing.ca I knew the weather wasn't looking good for us Sunday, but I didn't care. I HAD to get out, I was getting the shakes from fishing withdrawls lol. I didn't have a chance to fish in weeks, and when we got to the river to find heavily stained water, I wasn't impressed. I was hoping that the dams were spitting out muddy water, and the water would be cleaner up river. It was, and we had a good few hours of steelhead fishing Although I only had the morning to fish, we did well with a dozen steelies in the boat, including some good fish. We tried several baits, but fresh bow roe was the ticket in dime-sized peach spawn net, with some on pink or orange. The wind was so intense, I had my 80lb thrust trolling motor between 80 to 100 percent and still got blown off course badly. The harsh wind definitely wreeked havoc on good boat control, limiting opportunities. It's a good thing the fishing was so good to compensate The winds blew spray off waves over 50-feet at times! The wind was so severe I actually thought about packing it in... but the fish were biting lol The good thing was, we were fortunate to have dodged the rain and snow, until our drive back home. It was actually sunny for a good part of our fishing Some photos from our day. We had to put our fish in the livewell and head to calm areas to take pics, as the wind was too crazy where we were fishing to take photos! Good fishing! Aaron

Sorry to hear this sad news. John seemed like a very genuine and down to earth guy.

Very nice day on the ice with some solid fish. Nice looking baits as well.

I have had both Hummibird and Lowrance over the past handful of years. I believe the Lowrance HDS units are much better out of the two choices. I will never downgrade to a Humminbird again. Don't get me wrong, the HB is a good unit for the money. It works well and there is nothing wrong with the HB units I had... they just don't compare to the quality of the Lowrance HDS units. Some people prefer HB, some people prefer Lowrance, it's a user preference. My preference is Lowrance after using both brands. I also like the standard 2 year warranty on the HDS units. Unless HB changed their policy, they only have a one year warranty. The one thing I am unsure about now is how good the service for Lowrance will be since they closed the Mississauga office. They had great service there, it is a shame they closed it. I'm sure you will be happy with either brand, both make good units. Make sure you research the units you are interested in to make sure you get everything you want in a unit. Happy sonar hunting! Aaron

Good stuff. I saw the weather report and stayed home lol. Looks like I missed out, those are some nice fish