trapshooter

With my softwater season over and ice fishing about a week away, my season has come full circle and I thought I'd put together a year in review report. I kicked off the 08 hardwater season fishing speckies in BC. We made several trips to a back country lake on a bench half way up a mountain. Fun to access on a sled winding around the switchbacks as we climbed up to the lake. It never failed to produce for us either. Here is a view from the trail in, across the valley. Absolutely beautiful country out there. A typical fish from this lake. Most were between 15 and 18 inches. Every fish was taken on a small jig tipped with a shrimp-ring shrimp! You learn something new all the time. Spring found me back in Ontario and in southern Ontario late April means one thing..... Wild Turkeys! What a thrilling hunt this was. I harvested this Tom on the 2nd morning of the season. 22lbs, 10 3/8ths inch beard. On May 1st I made my annual pilgrimage back to northwestern Ontario for another season of guiding on Lac Seul. With winter holding on, this is the scene we found when we arrived at camp. Froze SOLID!! Walleye opener found us dodging ice flows to get at some of our spring spots. The highlight of spring fishing for me was this pike. Taken in late may, twitching a husky jerk off a primary point in a big bay. Textbook pike spot and it held this girl. 40" - dark, clean and beautiful. If you've ever spent any time in the bush in northern Ontario in the spring you'll be familiar with the thump-thump-thump drumming of the ruffed grouse. I caught this fella with the camera doing his dance, trying hard to impress the ladies. As spring melted into summer the walleye action heated up. I spend the majority of the summer targeting walleye and here's a selection of some of the nicer fish and photographs from my 08 season. 29 1/4" I guided on the 2nd day of the season. A chunky spring fish. I targeted this fish in deeper water then we were catching higher volumes of smaller fish and it paid off. I found a really hot bite one day with my guests and brought my wife, Kelly, back to the spot that evening. They were still there and we had a blast pounding away at the walleyes until dark. The spot is a small sand point that juts out underwater from shore, making a perfect little cup that the wind was pounding into. As you can see, I painted this spot pink with my GPS trails earlier in the day. And just a bit of action on the graph too! Kelly with a nice walleye. Me with an average walleye from my little hot spot. One more from that evening on the fish board for a quick measure. That evening of great walleye fishing with Kelly is one I'll never forget. It seems that every time I get Kelly out in the boat she is a good luck charm. On a sunny summer afternoon we got into another big school of fish. Kelly with both of our fish from a double header. hook-set result That afternoon I caught this guy flying overhead Here is one of my favourite fish that I've ever guided. Julia is 9 years old and this was the 3rd year that I've guided her and her family. She is quite the little fisher girl - tying her own jigs, baiting her hook, netting, unhooking and handling fish like a pro. I really wanted her to get a big walleye. In the last 5 minutes of the last day of their trip I watched her set the hook and saw her rod double over. I knew it was big and she battled it like a pro - lifting up slow and reeling down until it was in the net. Check out that smile!! Talk about job satisfaction! Another nice Lac Seul walleye for me. And a big fall pike to round out my season at the lodge. This girl hit a bucktail burned along the deep edge of a weed bed. On sept 15th I started chasing the grouse with a shotgun instead of the camera. Here's what the grouse were eating. And here's what I was eating In October Kelly and I moved to Sioux Lookout and I turned my attention to muskies. Although I didn't catch one myself, my fishing partner Graham got 2 beauties in my boat. What a thrill. How's this for 'match-the-hatch' Mid November I was chasing white-tailed deer and was fortunate enough to harvest this 6pt near Dryden Ontario. That was my 08 season. My only regret is having to wait all winter for a chance at my first muskie. For now, bring on the ice and snow - it's time to ice fish!! Cheers, ben

For all you guys talking about deer numbers being down, I know where they went.... they are all in Dryden Ontario! Seriously, there are deer everywhere up here (WMU 8). I shot this 6pt last week. My first deer ever so I couldn't be happier. Hope to fill my doe tag soon.

Congrats on your PB pike. Tough goin on the walleye but you'll be back I'm sure.

That's an excellent report. Thank you.

Well done on the pike. Thanks for the report and pics.

Have a great summer Ramble. Lac Seul is ICED IN and we're likely going to have to cancel the groups in camp for opener. Never seen it like this up here in May. Winter just won't lie down and die. Take care.

I heard they just got a bunch of snow in dryden. I'm sure the ice is still on up there. It can take as long as May 10th to all go.

Sounds like a great set-up!! Can't wait to see your report.

LOL! I'll make due Debates like this can go on forever... Tiller vs. console, Ford vs. Chev, Diawa vs. shimano It all comes down to what kind of expereinces you've had with certain brands and everyone will develope their own brand loyalty. PS - TILLER, FORD and SHIMANO!! haha To each their own!

The only diawa I ever owned failed miserably after a month of use. The bail went and even after repair it failed again. Last diawa I ever own. After 3 years of hard use (over 350 days on the water) my original Shimano Stradic is still going strong.

I think there's a place for both braid and mono when you're talking about jigging walleye. I have 2 jigging sticks, one with 8lb trilene XL and one with 20lb Power Pro braid (I always use a fluoro leader with the braid). I like the braid when fishing deeper - it's more sensitive and you'll feel the hits better. Sometimes though when the bite is tough, I swear that mono is more effective. A bit of stretch in your line isn't a bad thing either.

Amen! Load it with 30-50 lb power pro, on a 7' MH rod and you're set. Can't wait to see your report and pics from your pike trip.

Great replies so far. If you can fit a minnow bait in there, the same Rapala Count down can be fished at multiple depths.

Great info there Raf. Excellent resource for the board.

Angling Outfitters in Woodstock has HH suits on sale below cost... bigger sizes XXL and XXXL. Just a FYI.

Thanks a lot guys!

Hey guys, anyone have experience with the T2200 form for claiming work related expenses? I heard that your employer has to approve the items you want to claim as being necessary for your job. Can I download the T2200 online? Any other fishing guides able to claim their work related gear? Thanks for any info guys!

Hear about the one armed fisherman? He caught a fish THIS big! (*Stick out one arm only!*) Total cheese but I laughed at it...

Haven't tried their waders but in my experiences BPS has been very good with warranty on items with their logo on it. If they leak, there's a good chance they'll take em back.

I've been telling you guys here on OFC about Joslyn and Angling Outfitters for years!! Glad to hear the new store is busy as the old one. Can't wait to check it out and have a visit when I'm in SW Ont. next week. Jos definitely earns all this great word of mouth advertising that he's getting from all the OFC members.

I'm lovin' your video reports iceguy!! Nice job fellas.

BEEF JERKY!!

Mike - the Legend Elite is a higher end blank then the legend tournament series. Check them out at www.stcroixrod.com Another high end rod to consider is Kistler. They just got a canadian distributor. They are famous for their Helium series rods, which are supposed to be the lightest most sensitive rods on the market. If it was me, I'd evaluate the warranty when spending that much money on a fishing rod. When I've had a problem with a Croix, it's always been replaced no questions asked, for the price of shipping.

The legend elite blank is Croix's top of the line, above avid and above legend tournament. Mike were you talking about Legend Elite or Legend Tournament? Either way, both are lifetime.

I have a Legend Elite but it's a jigging stick. I love it though. Is the Cumara a new rod for Shimano? I am completely biased to St.Criox though - probably have 8 of their rods and love them all. You certainly have a nice reel so might as well pair it with a nice rod!