trapshooter

Nice fish for sure. Wish I was still after them up here.

Awesome, that's a nice fat walleye. Great specimen!!

Like other have said, compre or croix are awesome rods. For a casting rod, get an 8-footer or 8'6 - so much nicer for casting big baits but the biggest benefit is in f8ing. The long rod allows you to make bigger 8's/ovals which will help you convert more follows into strikes.

Careful with dbl 10 bladed bucktails and that curado 300 - you will destroy it. Dbl 8's are fine, which is what I use mine for... that and some topwater applications.

Nice fish Aaron and Mike. The moustache really adds a look of authority!

Great report Aadil. Looks like you and Cody had a great time. Some HOGS for sure, gotta love Quinte and the fat-fat walleye it kicks out. Hope you get out again soon.

Managed to get out Saturday for a few hours on a local lake for Brookies. We did some bush whacking to get to the back of the lake where we found 4" of nice black ice.

Felt good to drill some holes and ice a limit of brook trout.

Funny thing is that I could have been muskie fishing on Lac Seul 2 days earlier, if my boat wasn't put away. Gotta love NW Ontario!!

Thanks for the great feedback everyone. I'm definitely going to be collecting more video footage this winter.

With that in mind... the first ice fishing trip of the season is in the books! Gotta love NW Ontario.

Rich puts up some amazing fish every year. His website is amongst the best muskie porn out there. Congrats to Rich and Dan for a catch and release of a lifetime.

Tough numbers for sure but 3 between 12-13 is worth the trip, IMO. Nice fish!

I never get tried of seeing those big fat Quinte walleye. Sounds like a good trip, thanks for the report.

Musky and walleye together.... sounds like my kinda day!! Nice fish man.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It was a season to remember.

If I hadn't put my boat away earlier I could have got out for muskie on thrusday, it was plus 8 here and one of the launches on Lac Seul was open still. Interestingly enough, the small back lakes are froze over and I went ice fishing on saturday! Not many places other then NW Ontario where you could ice fish and fish from a boat in the same week!

They are open all year long across a large part of NW Ontario.

I've caught them out of 25-35 fow on Lindy Darters, jigs/minnows. I'd bet that all types of ice jigging baits would get em, once you find them.

Great job Emil! It's awesome when something new fishing-wise grabs ahold of you and gets the blood pumping.

Aadil!!

Welcome and great pics buddy. Some real Quinte pigs there... LOVE IT!!

Great season, Nice Skis!! Did the Jake happen to be " black perch"?

Nope, not black perch. They don't even make this colour anymore.

Cool video and slide show! Thanks! Thats the first time I seen a baitcaster used for ice fishing..cool Also was that one pic of a carp? If it was I have never seen a carp caught thru the ice either. So thanks for that..Let me know of you want some company one weekend this winter..You and Simon sure do have some beauty spots out that way to fish..

The closest thing on there to a carp is a smallmouth bass. Then there's a couple ling, trout, walleye, pike, whitefish....

Hey Gang, check out my ice fishing video I just put together. It's all footage I shot last season.

If this doesn't get you pumped up to hit the ice, nothing will!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEhlFP4tN-k

I think it turned out decent considering it's the first video I've ever made.

exactly raf. I only use mine for dbl 8's and top-water prop baits. Guys who try and throw dbl 10's with a 300 curado will be disappointed after it's destroyed in 1 season.

I'd pony up and buy one if there was a lefty. Hopefully they get the picture and make LHR soon.

This reel makes the 300 curado look like a kids toy.

They are totally bad-a$$!! I got to see/throw one a couple weeks back when I was visiting Lake of the Woods. They handle pounder bulldogs no problem. I heard the same, $500 bucks and NO lefties!!! Boo!

Hey Paul,

If you are Right hand retrieve you have a lot more options then left hand retrieve. If it was me, I'd get the Shimano Tekota - no questions. Unfortunately they don't make them in Left Hand Retrieve so I use the Okuma Convector. I have a couple of the 20 size for lake trout and walleye and a 30 size that I used all fall for muskie. It held up really well, actually. I was surprised but we'll see what another few seasons does to it. For the price point, though, I can't complain if/when it dies......

Thanks gang!

nice work on those fish,is lac seul all catch and release if it is it sure is working!

Yes, Lac Seul is catch and release only for muskie.

Not sure why those photos are sideways... they look fine in the gallery??

Hey Gang, thought I better check in now that the fall fishing is officially over here in NW Ontario. The small lakes are froze over and the big lakes have a layer of ice on the bays. Won't be long now until ice fishing is in full swing.

I spent much of my free time this fall feeding my muskie fishing addiction. Overall it was great fishing and I seemed to have luck on my side, or at least a couple lucky lures.

I mixed in more casting this fall then I have in the past and was rewarded with several fish. The bulldog was hot for me, putting several in the Beckman net, including this 49"er.

The cool thing about this fish was that it came on the first spot of the morning, maybe 10 casts in.

As the water cooled through the 50's and into the 40's trolling took centre stage for getting muskies in the boat.

I rigged my boat out with the Salty Down-East rod holders on Bert's Custom Tackle mount/track system. These are the most solid rod holders on the market today and IMO are the only way to go when trolling for muskie. And that Thorne Bro's custom trolling rod was just straight up good luck for me!!

Here's a few trolling fish from this season - all caught on the same 10" jake!

This next fish temporarily replaced my old PB, stretching the tape to 52.5"

I also had the pleasure of fishing with Tim Allard who was up doing a photo shoot for Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine. Here's a little teaser, but you'll have to wait for next fall to see more pics in the magazine

Thanks again Tim, I had a great time with you in the boat.

Some more muskies....

This next fish capped off my season and set a new PB. 53" of pure Lac Seul awesomeness!!!

It was the only fish of the day, on the very last spot. Just goes to show you "it ain't over till it's over".