trapshooter

Nice park. I camped there on a may long weekend a few years ago. Horrible weather, cold and rain but we still caught some pike but no walleye. There is a website (do a google search) that people rank campsites in different provincial parks. helped me to pick a good one, because there're not all created equally. Good luck.

Hey Jamie, I did a couple day trips with idyle time last year. He always put us on fish (walleye, pike and perch) and his huts were big with a great woodstove with lots of wood. We fished 30 feet of water. Got walleye just off bottom with small glow jigheads and a minnow. Small-medium sweedish pimples w/ a minnow also produce on nipissing.

G - let us know how the prices were in woodstock if you talk to him. Jos is a good guy, I've dealt with him a lot in the past. Cheers, ben

What raf said. There's no need (IMO) for any extra's on the business end of your presentation.

Here's to a speedy recovery for all involved. Stay strong Shelley.

good info, thanks.

In my experiences the reels that come with the ice combo's are of poor quality. If you're target is perch or panfish, they'll get the job done. However, if you're targeting something that might take some drag I'd recommend a better quality reel. I learned my lesson last year with the cheap, small ice combo reel. It's low capacity for line and poor drag system cost me a big fish. Why fish with good equipment in the summer and crap in the winter? I now have 2 1000 size Shimano Stradic's that do double duty - winter and summer, and they work great.

Niiiiiiiiice perch Joey! Congrats.

How deep were are you getting the fish and what presentations are working?

Wow, that first river looks like a nightmare to drift!! Glad to hear you found some fishable water and even landed a beauty. Great way to ease your mind I'm sure. Cheers, ben.

LOL! Good report and welcome to the OFC. I should mention... pictures, we all love pictures! Cheers, ben.

That's funny raf, I was going to put up this exact pic as my fav of 2007. What a trip!!

Hey Mike, so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. It looks like you guys made a lot of great memories together... times in life you will never forget. Again, my condolences. ben

Well deserved catch Derek, congrats!! That's an awesome perch for sure. Thanks for the report. Cheers, ben.

Nice report Aaron. Good on ya for getting the young lad out for his first ice fishing experience. I'm sure he's hooked. Cheers, ben.

SABRES!!!

My boss, the owner of the lodge I guide for, is also one of the guides. He's having his cake and eating it too. The most important thing to consider re lodge ownership is the fishery. If the fishery isn't strong enough nobody will come back. it's all about the fishery, everything else can be built/bought/made or otherwise controlled by the owners. Also, in order for a trophy fishery to be sustained, you need a large body of water. Good luck.

D-rock! Another awesome report man. Nice to see you get out with your dad and get a bunch of nice crappie on the ice. Happy new year. Cheers, ben

Spring for a colour and GPS combo unit now and you won't be putting up a similar post in 2 years. Trust me, both are invaluable and you can only understand why after using such a unit. Oh yeah... LOWRANCE

Now that's a fishing report people!! Lots of good detail and useful info in there Derek, nice job. I'd take that report with no pictures over 10 pics with no information. Well done!! Cheers, ben.

I'd say keep it simple your first time out. You can get relatively cheap rod/reel combo's at CTC. I would definitely invest in quality line, berkley 8lb XL, and get rid of the line that comes on the reel. Buy some jigs in various colours 1/4 oz is enough to fish 30' deep in the winter. My all time fav. for ice fishing walleye are glow jigs. Tip the jig with a live minnow and you're in business. Start on bottom, litterally bouncing it off bottom to create a stir. When jigging I tell my guests that less is often more. That is to say I like a lot of 'pause' in my jigging method. But try everything from big 3 foot jig/fall pattern to just twitching the rod tip for a little effect of the jig. I try everything at all depths in the water column. Start on bottom, reel up 3 feet and do it again. I also advocate run and gun fishing on the ice... if it's not working in one hole, move on. Try different depths. There's nothing wrong with revisiting an old hole either. Another presentation I did well on last year for walleye was a buckshot rattle spoon tipped with just the head of a shiner. The williams ice fishing spoons do well too. Heck, you can catch fish with just a spool of line, a sinker a hook & minnow and tree branch. Once you know where you're going head to a local tackle shop and ask questions. They'll know how to target fish in their area. Have fun! Cheers, ben.

What kind of fish are you fishing for?

For sure on a minnow bait I'd have the shank as the leading edge... so if the minnow bait was facing left, the hooks would hang as a backwards "J". Tip upwards as Fisherman said. Make sense?

Not sure of the make but I'd trust any reputable hook manufacturer. I like sticky sharp hooks though. We had a variety of hook sizes to match the baits we were using. We used some very small in-line spinners (note: this smallest bait caught the largest fish of the trip!) and baits up to the J-13 size. Small spoon/spinner = smaller single hook, larger baits got larger hooks. I never even considered hook direction!! lol. But I like the way you think

Nice eye's. It's amazing what they'll cram down the gullet and then still hit something else. They're oportunistic feeders and when instinct says "that's food" they react. I caught a big pike this spring that had 4" of tail sticking out its throat.