singingdog

Depends on the weather, but it can happen within a couple of days of the lake turning over. Once the visibilty comes back a bit, and the temps stabilise, the fish will start to develop more of a pattern.

My favourite smallie lake turned over in the last couple of days. I was out Sunday and it was 65F and clear, clear, clear. I could spot boulders in 18' of water, and see depth changes just from the colour change of the water. They were hugging bottom, but still hitting. I got out for a bit yesterday: 62F and about 4' of visibility. The fish either moved or had shutdown. I couldn't buy a bite, even on the regular hotspots. Looking forward to the post-turnover bite.....that's when the big ones start hitting.

That is a great night of musky fishing...congratulations.

I rarely troll for brookies. I find it much more productive to cast for them. They are often holding very tight to cover that is impossible to get a lure to while trolling. I wouldn't go onto a brookie or splake lake without; 1. a "5 of diamonds" pattern little cleo 2. a bucktail jig No difference between splake and specks when they are in the pan....or on the end of your line.

Private lake? If it's in Ontario, I doubt very much that it's a "private" lake. Even if all the land around it is privately owned, the water itself is public property. Private lakes are very rare, and usually only occur through some kind of error in the original surveying. My understanding is that a lake is only truly private if a landowner has been paying property taxes on the area of the lake. Doesn't sound like the case here. There are several huge (full township sized) private reserves in Haliburton County. They all encompass lakes that are completly landlocked by private land, yet the lakes themselves are still considered public property. Once you're on the lake, you're golden.

Tough decision, but sounds like you have given it lots of thought. Blessings to you and your family. Thanks for being one of the good guys.

Lipless cranks have been a great producer for me this year. Nice fish.

If I can head out as a storm or big weather change is approaching, I will do everything I can to get out there. I have had some epic fishing moments on the leading edge of approaching storm, but it doesn't usually last for long.

Definitely true in the Haliburton area. Aquatic plants in general are sparser this year....but the minnow populations seem to be going the other way. It definitely affects the bass pattern on the lakes I usually fish.

Beautiful fish. Congrats to both the guide and the catcher.

Beauty fish!!!

Some folks really need to get out fishing...or something (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more). What a grouchfest.

Nice size eye there. I have never heard of them being in that lake system. Could be somebody's private stocking program

I'm going to be spending 2 weeks on the North shore of Superior....mostly around the Neys Prov Park area. I'll have a kayak, and can obviously shore fish. Any tips? I'm thinking lakers in the lake, perhaps specks or bow in the Pic river? I would love to get on some area rivers or inland lakes as well. As always, feel free to PM if you don't want to make it public. Thanks all.

You need some kind of measurement to estimate weight....at least length.

x2. If it's a big one that I want to get to the boat for a photo, I bury the rod tip as soon as they look like they are going to jump. If it's less than photo-worthy, I let them jump as much as possible.

The bite is definitely different this year. I have heard that it's a banner year for cisco, and they are pulling bass off of shallow structure and into a more open-water mode. I'm still catching smallies in the 18-20" range, but you can't get fixated on one presentation. Lipless cranks seem to be my most consistent bite these days. Big LM are tougher to find. Several of my best LM have been in 15-18' of water, near no real structure. Typical jig-pitching fishing isn't producing well for me so far.

Yep. Doesn't cut down on feel at all. Slowing down your retrieve when you bring it in for another cast will help as well. That's when most line twist occurs....I think.

Was reading a great article on esox leaders the other day. The author was commenting on the irony of using "invisible" leaders on lures with 7/0 hooks dangling off of them

Part of being a "conservationist" is knowing the regs.....especially limits and slot limits. I personally don't buy his story.

My guess on that fish would be around 5. I don't worry much about weight, but do measure length of large fish. Length tell you how big a fish is, weight tells you how well it's been eating

Unfortunately, this is waaaay to common on that lake. There are a fair # of locals that believe that the regs don't apply shore-lunch fish.

I'm looking for contact info for the new hunting/fishing store in Huntsville. Anybody help? Thanks.

Too late! Baitcasters are great when pinpoint accuracy is necessary (casting to cover). Spinning reels are great for lighter baits and open water where distance may be more important than accuracy. Baitcasters are also good for making a seemingly competent angler look like a complete idiot for several months.

It's definitely a different year. Deep weedlines are not ver well established on the lakes I am fishing. Smallies seem to be more open-water oriented. LM seem to be all over the place: super-tight against shore, on the flats, on the edges of drops....