OhioFisherman

Welcome back Jack! I hope it all goes well!

Yes ladies and gentlemen another boating season, talk here is gas could hit 3.50 a gallon by summer, and some mention in the papers about an increase in gas tax, 40 cents a gallon over 5 years. LOL fueling a recession?

Stoty just from what I have heard December thru February is big bass time down there, even if they are not spawning they are carrying eggs(increased weight). Although they all maybe preparing to spawn not all do at the same time so the tactics can vary, sight fishing, actually targeting fish on beds, not real fond of that method. Flip a lure on or near the bed and bother them, jig and pig, lizard, soft plastics that imitate bluegill or something else that eats their eggs. It can take repeated casts to the same bed(fish) to provoke them. They will stage outside of the spawning area at times, area of deeper water near the spawning beds, doesn`t have to be a lot deeper( the first edge ). Regular tactics may work for ones not on bed, they may be feeding getting ready to bed. Large baits sometimes down there than here, just bigger fish. 8-10 inch plastic worms, lizards, heavy line, strong hooks, ambush feeders for the most part, cover, lilys, grass. wood, docks.

If your young consider this, interest on your home mortgage may be your biggest expense in life besides the actual cost of the home, it is nice to be able to cut that in half or more with a larger down payment, or have funds available for a safety net. You never know what is going to happen down the road, having cash on hand can smooth bumps. Expenses, purchase price, taxes, maintenance of a cottage, vs rental income and time to enjoy it? Er and headaches, time for upkeep. A vacant piece of land that you can camp on or put a trailer on may be a easier solution? Less expense up front and less money tied up in case the plans change? But a spot for the future? Just depends on your dedication to the plan I guess.

Thanks Justin! Dollar dropping in value and they still want more for them up there? LOL go loonie!

http://www.nitro.com/boat/index.cfm?boat=2681 What do they sell these for up north?

Congrats! another oarsman!

Not a bad idea to keep your eye on the US boat market, with the rash of foreclosures a depressed economy a lot may be coming up for sale.

Give him our best wishes for a speedy recovery Norm!

Just a tip, take a 1/4 x2 inch strip of the white belly of a perch you are keeping, scale a section first, leave the white skin on. If they are biting it works just as well as minnows and the skin makes it hard to get off. An old Erie trick, we have also cut the minnows in half, didn`t seem to matter to the perch.

on simcoe when the perch are biting that would last you less then an hour ? Catch the darn things don`t feed them! LOL

A ban on the sale, possession, and use of gorge hooks makes much more sense than a bait size limit.

Great catch Mike! Congrats!

Everyone has come up with some good reasons. A changing world and a lot of choices for the recreational dollars. Kids are impatient and in a hurry. I belonged to a bass club for a number of years, age differences caused some rifts. Young singles guys in a hurry to try new places, without taking the time to learn the old. We set up club tournament dates in like February, like 7 tournaments 6 qualifiers and a championship. 5 one day tournaments and 2 two day tournaments. just logical for the older guys with families to limit the driving distance for a one day tournament. Drive 3 or 4 hours, fish for 8 or 9 drive 3 or 4 hours home? Didn`t make much sense to us family guys, our two days were usually in New York or Erie Pa. A bit of a drive but you had more time. A lot of us made a family vacation out of it, a cabin on the lake for a week. A battle every year over locations, and some guys wouldn`t show for the longer one day tournies. Some of the young guys were gung ho, until not doing well in the first couple tournies. Kids with fathers or uncles, whatever stayed in longer than kids without other family members involved. Maybe a tradition thing? Turn off the tv, put the video game down, get out and do something. You don`t need a tv or game to have fun. Fishing is a game, you get out of it what effort you put into it. Our club had boaters and non-boaters, gave people without the resources a chance to fish, a draw for partners so you got to fish with different people and get to know them and learn different styles of approaching the tournie, different methods, choices in locations on a lake. The bickering over tournie locations was a drag, some guys would fish a lake a couple times and not do well and not show for tournies on that lake. You can`t learn if you don`t fish it? Start them off early make a game and fun out of it, expect that some won`t show much interest.

LOL who needs airbags when you have something soft and warm available.

Dang Glenn! Just saw the pictures of the damage on CNN School bus on top the school? If you can tell it`s a school! Glad your OK!

http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14420 The pretty girl in this picture is holding what would be a nice Ohio Brown!

Hookset, not a knob! My Dad passed in Feb of 91 of Brain Cancer, fished all his life, grew up 3 miles from Lake Erie during the depression years, fish was food when work and money were not readily available. Quit school at 13 when his dad died to help support the family, never wanted much, water and a rod and reel and someone to fish with, we were close at hand. Great tribute to your man! I still miss mine!

Just a tip, get a large boat bilge pump and a float switch, 12 volts and may save a flooded basement. You can always take a battery out of the boat or car to run it.

Dang John! That creek usually wasn`t more than a slow trickle, some kid of blockage from the ice? Global warming means you can now go by boat all the way for beer runs? Store? WOW Last time I was up the only store I remembered was Kennedy`s. Hope everyone makes out OK!

LOL Snow? In Tropical Toronto? SAY IT AIN`T SO!

Some guys also use a glass rod, softer action prevents the hooks from tearing out as easily. I didn`t use braid, just didn`t see a clear need for it for bass. Never had a problem with hook sets or feel for the most part. The stretch of mono also can help. A lot depends on the cover for the line, sparse weeds you can get by with lighter line weeds and wood go heavier. Captain Bruce is right with the line diameter sort of a fine tuning for location an depth, light line deeper heavy line will let the lure run shallower. Then there is always changing to the lure(tool) that fits the intended job. Manns shallow runners worked for me. Most of the time I was fishing out of a boat with a bow mount electric, if it got dicey I moved in to pull the fish out. From shore your options diminish. Used small shad raps (size 3?) Storm wee warts a lot, big fish will take small lures.

Best wishes Shelley and family!

I don`t ice fish, but I use a snap most of the time like these http://www.upnorthoutdoors.com/stamina/ter...Lock_snaps.html size 1 will work for panfish but can put you at risk for bigger species, I have had them open. Never had a 2 or 3 open but I don`t fish for pike or skis except up north and it`s been a long time. A stringease snap looks to be the safest beat for larger fish like those. In line spinners and some others will cause line twist, a quality ball bearing swivel will help prevent it. A balancing act, some of the bigger snaps and swivels will throw off the tracking of small lures.

Venice is on the southwestern coast? Most of the better bass lakes are in the central region I believe. One of my buddies went down some years back, took the family, while the wife and kids visited Disney Land he went fishing, hired a guide for a couple days, shiner fishing and got a 10+. Depends on how hard you can hit it and how much you want to spend. 10+ Pretty common down there, pretty rare here $$$.