Seaweed

Got out on the river finally on Sunday hoping to get a few hours in before the big storm they were calling for hit. The storm never did show up for the party. But the Bass did. 8) Sunday fun Getting nicer Third time lucky Nice hog I came off the water at about 1pm because the wife said that the storm was close... it's six now and it still hasn't rained. Oh well. Nice pre-fish for the SEBO tournament on the Ottawa out of Rockland next weekend. There should be some nice bags brought in. Although who knows what the rain this week will do to things? Here are some shots of last weeks single fish outings... it has been a bit slow on the river for me this year. Last weekend First catch

I'm going to be up there that week also. Maybe I will swing by the lodge to say hi and go over the map with you to try to steer you right. I think Lew is back up there around then too. Lew ... let's get together and swap some info buddy. Looking forward to meeting you both.

Twice now in my fishing career I have caught very large walleye on 10" believers. Both times at night ironically one under a full moon for sure and the other one I don't remember what the moon was. Both times the fish fought so hard I thought for sure I was into muskie.

The Ottawa River opens for Muskie this weekend also. Up here we fast troll spinner baits on the flats until the weeds make that impossible. I will be burning up a few gallons using this technique this weekend. Best of luck to everyone .... hang on tight to those rods.

A new battery is always nice Lew. I had to get a new battery myself this spring... the old one lasted 8 years though so I'm not complaining. I hope it solves your issue. I have the same problems with an Eagle finder on my boat sometimes. What I have discovered is that I usually have a connector that is loose. I always take my electronics out of my boat after each use... so I have to reconnect them every time I go out and sometimes in the heat of wanting to get out on the water and fishing I get a little sloppy in plugging it in. Check your connections in case.

Generally you have to buy a certain amount of stuff from them before you get the hardcover catalogue .... didn't you buy your new Lowrance from them Lew? I know that I got the hardcover catalogue shortly after buying my Marcum LX-5 from them. I think that means over $500 dollars purchasing customer. Nice book though for sure.

When fishing the St. Lawrence we have been warned to have a lot of stuff on hand because you will be stopped and will be asked for everything that they want. Here is some of a discussion that I found on this from the Renegade.com site in Ottawa. "If you plan on fishing any American water you need a NY license and I would recommend getting the I-68. The I-68 is NOT required. I got confirmation from the US customer officers last year at the US border when I purchased by I-68 back in September. With that said, if you get stopped in US waters fishing, having the I-68 form greatly speeds up the check. If you don't have the form, the officers will take there time and fill out their forms with your information. I was stopped 3 years ago on the St.Lawrence during a tournament and my partner and I didn't have an I-68 and we weren't able to fish for 45 minutes. There was never an issue of being charged or anything like that but they requested our driver's license and fishing license. They fill out a couple of forms and also checked that we had all our boat safety equipment. This raises another point, in the US boats are required to carry flares. They simplied warned us and finally let us get back to fishing. In Ontario/Canada this isn't required for the size of boat we had. My recommendation is, if you are going to fish US waters ensure you have the appropiate fishing license (that should be a given), get an I-68 and also make sure you have all the satefy equipment required for both Canadian and US waters. If you have all this and are stopped, the stop shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. "

Wow those sailfish were on fire that day. Congrats on a great outing. Do you mind sharing what charter you went out on and out of where?

I recently was in this same decision over shades... polarized ones for better fishing. They were a gift so right off the bat price was important... although they are for my son so... I could spend a bit. I wear glasses and use Fitover Polarized Shades for fishing that go right over my normal glasses... what a great idea for us folks that wear glasses. I love these things and they are really affordable and in a variety of shades. Back to my picking shades for my Son though.... I was at the BassPro shop in Auburn NY.... yeah I know we have a Bass Pro in Canada.... but this one is actually closer to Ottawa for us folk up here. There were four... count them four revolving racks of shades to choose from... man what a tough task to pick just one pair. The prices varied from.... Oh MY God expensive to really afforadable... like twenty bucks a pair... and when it came right down to the final choices.... the leaning towards cheaper models far excelled the more expensive pairs... but what can I say they were just more comfortable and some were even floating models. The fish take right beside the rack also helped to visualize what a difference the polarization was like too. So do you really want to make a choice on what shades you want.... then hit the Bass Pro shop and try on some pairs and stroll over to the fish tank and try them out. Enjoy. My son will be happy with my choice... and I also got him a lanyard to keep him from losing them in the drink or sitting on them in the truck or stepping on them in the boat... I wish I had a nickel for every pair of shades that have met an evil end due to people not thinking that wearing a string on them around your neck is cool enough for them....

Well I think sooner or later we will all start to feel the pinch of the out-of-control gas price issue. As Canadians we take too much laying down and don't whine enough and therefore we get steamrolled over and over again by big corporations... that like it or lump it... are backing the governments we elect. I will not be tournament fishing this year. Sad but I had to make a choice because the fuel costs of running the boat to tournaments or just to pleasure fish. It was a no-brainer. I will choose to pleasure fish for sure. I have been an active tournament fisher for five years and have enjoyed it. Learned a ton about fishing bass and met a bunch of fine folk doing it. I think that we will start to see more and more people drop from the tournament scene because of the growing costs related to this sport. I will miss the competition and comradarie and those early morning blast offs in search of those green fish.

How about.... White Water Troller

Good race but I'm not too happy about the call on Carl's tire getting loose on the last pit stop. Nascar is always changing the rules... every race this year has been some crazy decision they have made. The tire got away from the crew... you should get penalized that's all open and shut. Sure the TV guy was in the way... well that too is your job to clear your pit when the cars are coming in. Stupid call once again changed the outcome of the race.

Well it was a tough race for the Dale Jr. fans. Too bad about that water seepage thing. All in all it was a good race once things got going on Monday. Off we go to Vegas... this should be another good race.... can't wait to see the new car at Bristol again.

I'm slightly confused about the end of this year's race... in fact I'm still shaking my head after the end of last year's race. In my humble opinion... Nascar is losing control of the racing. Am I the only one who noticed Kyle Bush go below the yellow line to pass Burton? He never relinquished the position back and yet he wasn't black flagged. He wasn't forced down there either so don' try that arguement with this guy. I have been watching and enjoying Nascar for damn near thirty years... so I know the sport. Last year Mark Martin lost the race to Harvick and in my opinion that was wrong ... they were wrecking all over the track behind Martin and Harvick long before Harvick passed Martin and Nascar should have thrown the Yellow flag when the wreck started... when Martin still had the lead. It is very obvious to me that Nascar says a lot but... does very little to enforce it's own rules. This is one fan that is losing interest in the sport due to poor officiating and perhaps this is one of the main reasons that fewer and fewer fans are paying for the seats in the stands anymore. Hey Nascar it isn't the music that is scaring the fans away... it's your lack of backbone in enforcing the rules of the track.

Federal Worker in Ottawa here Lew... and yep I'm working today. Although the Good Lord might have other plans for me ... or at least for my morning. I went to hop in the truck this morning and low an behold there is a flat tire. I just checked pressures on Friday too when I got the oil changed on her. Go figure... oh well GM roadside assistance is on the way and will have it changed in no time. Everyone enjoy your day off...

Moon phases are key on the West-Arm I have fished there many years running and .... didn't do that awful well but the scenery kept me coming back. Then one year I was there during the full moon period of August. Let me tell you the difference was like night and day. Oh yeah and the nighttime with the full moon out on the water almost seem as bright as daylight too. Got my personal best walleye of my life .... on a Believer. Go figure. I have the same week booked every year and only every four years or so... the full moon will be there. Three to go.

Here are three of my most favoritie fishing shots of 2007. My opening day of Bass season musky My last Bass outing of the year... sweet My most favorite shot... my Grandson with his first Largie.... I'm proud of him for sure.

Well in my opinion.... you get what you pay for. Never have I not been able to get on the internet with Rogers That works for me.... plus I'm a V.I.P. so I get a bit off of everything.

Sirius Monthly 14.99 Lifetime was just about 560:00 if I remember correctly and you can upgrade from your monthly to the lifetime at anytime you want. They also offer annual rates but I don't remember the amount. I'm 50... teflon brain syndrome... nothing sticks for long.

The Weather Network is also on Sirius Nothing beats being able to listen to my Nascar race during a tournament on a Sunday. Lord help me. I just got mine at Xmas and I'm quite impressed but need to direct plug it to my radio to eliminate the static at times ... near city buses is hell... blanks out the signal totally.

Welcome BudsFan to the National Capital Region You have hit fishing paydirt. Tons of great spots and the Ottawa river itself is a wonderful body of water to fish. You are correct though... you need to know more about current areas before you venture out too far on the ice... and World of Maps can outfit you with the maps that will help you spot where some of the shallows and thus current areas are... but the best tips come from the local anglers so getting out with some of them will be your best bet. Try hitting Petrie Island first off and check out where all the anglers are there. You will find that most of them will share a few tips with you openly and will also let you know where not to go. Don't go where you see no foot prints because some areas there are current areas too. If you want I will hook up with you and share a few tips. I live close to Petrie and love fishing. Hope to see you out there.

Devastating news man... my prayers are with you and your family.

Glad to see you got out Rich I hit the ice yesterday at Petrie Island, in Crappie Bay on the Ottawa river. The fish were a bit shy but I did manage five keepers and they will be tasty. Can't wait to get out again. The bite was feather light but with my LX-5 flasher I was able to see them rise to the jig and if I just pulled it slightly away slowly it almost always triggered a hit. Tons of fun for sure.... now I can't wait for Walleye Bay to freeze enough to try those fish on for size.... first ice eyes.... can't wait.

The main thing that jumped out at me was the new ice fishing with live minnows restriction. Apparently no live minnow fishing through the ice except for the Ottawa river. Glad I fish the Ottawa a lot. No bigger minnow than 5" for pike too.... alive or dead. So much for suckers for muskie and pike.

Check Scugog out... you should be able to tell just from looking out from the road that crosses it. Or other members here might be better informed about the conditions there. We are out on very thin ice here in Ottawa.. but hey where there is a will there is a way. Play safe ... don't go alone and bring a rope.