Fang

I've had buffs tucked in every tackle box and a few spares in the boat for a few years now. I wear nothing but long sleeve flats shirts and try to keep the dry fit long pants handy too. Figure the best remedy is to just keep out of direct sun. Hats are still a bit of a pain not having found any shade hats that are functional. For any of you that get out to the west end of the city, there is the new outlet mall at Trafalgar and 401. The Columbia outlet store has a fairly good selection of PFG gear and long sleeve flats shirts in the back corner. I drop by every couple of months to see what's new.

Over the last few years I've fished Lake Erie a bit more than Ontario and find it a neat fishery on the eastern part. I launch out of Crystal beach or Port Colburne depending on what's going on. More Walleye in the east than rainbows but as you get west of Port Abino they tend to show up more. Use Google Search to find Lake Erie Chart 14838 to help with references. Port Abino is in the middle of these 2 launches and the trolling areas are typically in 45-60 FOW east and west of this point. I've had more success out deeper close to the shipping lanes (straight lines on the map out by the border). Word gets out about where the fish are so watch for boats working an area. It's the easiest way to get pointed in the right direction. As for gear a GPS in my opinion is must have. Keeps you on the Canadian side if you've got the proper maps and you'll be weigh pointing fish and bait all day as you work areas. Best set up is 3-4 colour lead core behind in line planer boards running big blade worm harness. I start with #5 blades and then play with color, size if bite is slow. Smaller blades tend to attract more perch and sheepshead for me. Metallics, Oranges, purples, greens are good starts. You can also run 2-3 oz bottom bouncers or drop weights. I prefer the drop weights so you can run longer leads behind the weight. Trolling here is like Quinte, 20-30 ft down seems most productive lure depth. Slow with worm harnesses and a little faster with small slim spoons like Dream Weaver SS Jet plane and dispey will also work. with mentioned lures

His smile in the boat pics says it all

On a fly in lake I used to go to annually, we used 6-10 oz ball weights on a dropper line to get down for lakers. Used a H action flippin stick and a line counter spooled with 30 braid and with 220-270 out was hitting bottom in 90-120 ft of water. This set up also got double use tied to a large dispey as well

That could be Bay Distibutors 705-476-6910 They do Humminbird

When I had a trailer out at Hay Bay, all sorts of stuff stolen out of boats all the time - no matter how much you try and lock it up. Big problem with the type of rod holder you show is that they can still walk off with the reels. Only true safe way is if your boat had under deck storage and you can lock them. I always pulled my boat out nightly and locked my stuff back up in the truck/trailer as our spot was way up in the back away from the docks

most likely alewife - typical size between 4-6 inches long annual spawning run occurs when waters reach around 10C and they are much more prevalent around the bigger rivers like Credit, Bronte,.... they are not very tolerant to rapid temp changes so as water warms up and then a hard wind turns the lake over again in the spring, mortality rates climb

The one at appleby and qew today had top water frogs

There's 2 version of the 832 out there. One is caller Performance which offers a thinner diameter and claims deeper sink rates as the conventional lead core. I needed to update my lead core last year and went with the performance brand. For the amount of time I used it I did notice a depth difference vs the other rod spooled with same lb test but older conventional lead core

Early in season I prefer #5/6 bucktails like the Mepps Muskykiller and Blue Fox and then go bigger through the summer and fall Big spinnerbaits too like Lew posted Gotta have a couple jerk baits like suicks and sledge One of my better go to casting baits that has works in a number of different lakes is the Rapala Super Shad - Perch and Crawfish color and tried and true top raider (also pack a change of shorts for the first few times you throw that)

These times are special, believe me time flies by.

For 26 years, the last Saturday in April has been the exact same ritual with me. While actual trout openers go back farther as I turn 50 this year, my current focus has been on one of the cutest little creeks you'll come across. For most of the year it doesn't have enough water in it to keep creek chub happy but every spring enough steelhead run this wood infested creek to keep me coming back. Some years the run is early and there are no fish left come end of April, but other years there's enough left to make the drive worth while. With conditions this year, I had no idea what to expect, so Easter Friday I took the drive down and walked the creek to see what I could find. It was sure a surprise to see real low water and gin clear conditions when some of the bigger rivers close to home were still muddy and high. Not one sign of any trout for a mile as I walked the banks. Kind of dejected I drove back home and wondered what to do next Saturday. Stopped in at a few shore casting spots I know of on the south shore and found guys catching some decent browns and a few small salmon. I stopped at another spot to visit some carp buddies and as I pulled in I see a bent rod and a nice 10lb carp landed. Decisions, Decisions,.... do I break the streak for more reliable fish or just go with the flow and keep the streak alive. It wouldn't be the first time I drove all that way and found nothing left in that creek. Well halfway through the week, the decision was made for me as my 15 year old son asked if I could take him river fishing again, like we did when he was younger. Decision made!!! Found the last pair of size 9 hip boots at Canadian Tire and got my old vest ready for the morning. As a flashback here we are back in 2009 with one of his 6 fish that day. Even with the Friday rains, the river was low, gin clear and the traditional pools I was familiar with had radically changed this year. The creek was starting to flatten out and deep water this year was probably no more than 3 feet and there was a lot less of it than in years past. This was going to be a tough day fishing wood and undercut banks. The good thing about that is the long rod and float fishermen ignore most of the fish in this river. Got to a favorite spots and waiting for the sun to come up. Drifted a longer 10ft run (long for this river) covered in wood and started to hook fish. Big disappointment to find my freshly bought leader spool to be crud. Lots of breakoffs that day on the leader knots and I didn't have any back up. Of the 50 ft spool I brought home about 30 ft in my vest that broke in my hands right off the spool We pulled 4 fish out of that stump in the back ground. Was a 3ft undercut that we drifted roe and worms bck under with 1 small splitshot. Lost another 4 fish that snapped us off on the wood. Favorite memory of the day was hearing my son yelling after a huge trout roared out of the wood, busted the crap leader but kept jumping 4-5 times with my son just standing there watching. My view at the next spot, a small depression about 4x4 and 2ft deep right under the tree was stacked with fish. I was on my rear flipping 6ft upstream an unweighted worm. several small guys landed, more bigger guys broke off and finally one decent one beached Sun was staring to break through and it was getting longer between any action. Last fish set a cap on the day for me. Drifted a half dew worm through and got smashed. Fish was 10ft upstream before I could close my bail. Don't know how I was able to get up off my rear, not hit my head on the tree while this trout just tore up the pool. This fish fought just like a rodeo bull doing the roll after roll and lunged up and down the pool. This fish beat me up. Broke my worm box getting up, My rod popped the top eye during the fight. In the net the fish flipped and twisted my wrist and then holding it for a picture it thrashed and I cut my finger on the hook. Really happy that my son wanted to go fishing and that we got to share time on the river again. Catching some fish was an extra bonus.

Last time I was at JB Fishing Depot I'm sure I saw a few pegs of these. Didn't notice size but they were larger sizes that would be for pike and muskie plastics

I took my kids on fly ins when they were young. Plan a couple very simple meals to cook around the campfire Roast hot dogs on a stick that he picks out of the forest. Make simple sandwiches for in the boat but wrap them in tin foil and pull in for a shore lunch. Make a small fire and heat the sandwich up over the coals and you must take a bag of marshmallows and chocolate cookies with you to make smores Stop by dollarama as they have cheap hot dog roasters, campfire grills and such to take with you My kids remember these little things still today more than they fish they caught

The Canadian version is to roast a tidbit over the campfire. Roast it like a marshmallow but idea is to just heat it up. The adult version of this is to then dip the roasted tidbit in baileys

KCCO

I've bought bits and pieces from Princess Auto as they've been putting various LED trailer lights on sale over the winter. Just have to replace the running lights and I'm done. The 12V rectangle submersible LED kit is on sale now on the web. Not sure about in store http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/Light-Kits/12V-Submersible-LED-Trailer-Light-Kit/8434235.p

A four rod spread will keep you busy enough starting out. I would suggest buying all 4 reel with line counters. Based on seasonal techniques you will have times were you run boards and flat lines so the line counters are helpful Run 1 run rod for each rigger and add a slider - 3ft section of 20-30lb mono with swivel on each end. To one swivel attach a spoon and then put the other snap around your main line. Throw the slider over board and the lure will travel down and sit for a while on the bow in the main line. I like smaller/lighter spoons on my sliders. For your other 2 rods look at a diver set up. You'll need 2 extra rod holder that can take some strain as divers pull hard. Start with 30 lb mono and get used to the set up and then next step would be to go braid or wire. The braid and wire set ups are a littler harder on tackle. Get your self 2 in line planer boards like the offshore ones. In the summer I run this set up when the bows are around. 3 color section of lead core off the board to 50 ft on mono and a spoon or jointed plug. My diver rods can double as planer rods and I can switch them out if needed. I always have a set (or 2) of in line planers in the boat but run the divers pretty much all summer/fall. The planers do excel in the spring and fishing up high when out deep in the summer.

some very interesting opportunities just east out of Cocoa beach. There's lots of offshore stuff but after my trip in March I'd recommend an inshore day for redfish out of Mosquito Lagoon. The flats are fishable pretty much every day regardless of the winds and loads of fish around - redfish, trout, black drum. You get to fish light tackle too and boy do redfish pull hard. In May you should find the Tarpon also getting good in the canals and offshore beaches.

Fishing World in Hamilton had a pretty good selection last time I was in. Lots of beads and quick change clevices and a really interesting selection of higher end blades. Nothing smaller than #4 though. They sell the bigger stuff for the guys trolling Erie Bass pro shops had a sell off barrel of XPS blades (3 pks) recently but odd colors and sizes. Think it was in front of the reel counter last time I was in there. If your looking for solid colors pretty much luremaking.com is it. I buy my smaller sized blades from them. Basic reds, oranges, greens in size 1-3. FYI, decent place to but bottom bouncing rigs 1/2 to 2.5 ounce is Canadian Tire. Save up some CTC money and you can get them basically for free. I change the swivel on every one I buy to a higher end

Back in last night from a week in Cocoa Beach Florida. My fishing time has been reduced the last couple of years as my son has been playing rep baseball year round. Last fall he tried out for the Oakville Royals in the Premier Baseball League of Ontario as a 15 year old and was offered a development contract to play and train with the 16 Y team all winter. He was also offered a travel spot to Florida for their spring training in Cocoa Beach. Wasn't a hard decision to take a weeks vacation to go down and watch some high level baseball and get the chance to do some inshore fishing in the famous Mosquito Lagoon. I searched many redfish guides through google, youtube and other Florida fishing forums and liked what I saw about a young Captain located out of Cocoa Beach. Booked a 3/4 day with Captain Jamie Glasner who runs Fin & Fly charters and the weather was perfect. Got picked up at the hotel at 5:45 and we drove north to launch out of Haulover Canal. As we drove we chatted about fishing and tackle and found that Jamie was a full time guide getting out on average 20-25 days a month - what a life!!! It was still dark when we were the first to launch but the ramp was getting really busy behind us. Had to be 6 boats pull in withing 2-3 minutes and all were guide boats. I got to drive out through the channel as Jamie got the bait and lines ready. In the dark I could here the manatee rolling in the channel. My spot for the day. Out in the Lagoon we headed east across to spot number one, a sandbar that had a water pipe ditch right off the one edge and a deep sand whole off the other side. After hearing about the size of the fish he was hitting the last couple days I left my rod under the deck for possible use later. We chatted on the drive so Jamie could get a sense on what I was looking for and I had an idea of first making sure of getting into some fish, then going for a big one and if all the stars aligned I wanted a fish with multiple tail spots. The first 2 were possible in spot number one. As we were slowly pulling up, the water went crazy in front off us as a big school of reds turned in the shallows and went back in the ditch. Jamie got excited as he indicated a school of big reds were here. Also on the ride up, Jamie explained that if I wanted to chuck lures I could but cut bait was the ticket for big fish and numbers at this time of year. No questions from me as I learned a long time ago to listen to the guide. We chucked out 2 lines with 4" slabs of fresh pinfish and in less than a minute (7:14 am) the right side line went tight and just kept going. I'd heard redfish pull harder than a lot of other saltwater fish and found out very fast how true that is. This fish peeled off half a spool from a 2500 shimano before it stopped and ran out to the side. The only word to describe this fish is BULLDOG, such power on each run and I was really laying the boots to this fish as it desperately wanted to rejoin the school. My arm was feeling the burn and this was just the first fish. I got to have the hands on experience and Jamie asked if I wanted to tail my first fish. Heck Ya!! Leaned down over the rail and grabbed my first red, what a fish - 32" and around 12lbs (Jamie's guess). Another item learned is the guides around here frown on those boca grips being used on redfish. Kept chunking out the cut bait as the school moved in and out around the sandbar for the next few hours. A clone of the first one came aboard a little later So with a couple redfish caught, someone read the script and I felt a pick up on the rod I was holding. Fed some line and it kept running. Jamie said to hit it and when I closed the bail and lifted back on the rod I could tell this fish had some bigger shoulders (7:59 am strike time). The fish peeled well off over half of the spool of 30 lb braid and just would not give up any line. It was a full 14 minute fight of straight pull, pull, pull mixed in with big head shakes. My arm was killing me and I had to use my left hand above the handle numerous times to lessen the burn in my right arm. My big red at 36.5 inches and maybe 16-18 lbs We worked this school a bit more and was holding both rods on the bow with cut bait out and had simultaneous takes going in different directions. Handed the right rod back to Jamie and set the hook into another solid fish. The other fish came unbuttoned after a few turns of the handle but I got wish number 3, a double spot 34" We must have been making a bit of commotion as more and more boats had gathered around us. Jamie's phone went off and his good buddy was pulling in just behind us. He had 3 guys in from Texas and hadn't seen a thing all morning and asked if he could slip in and get some baits in the deep sand hole. Being an OFC member here has taught me the importance of kharma and without even asking I told Jamie not too worry and tell his buddy to come on in. Didn't take them long to double up and the guide and guests thanked us several times. You can see 2 other boats in the background out of the 10 or so around us. Things did die down after this as there was alot of traffic around. Had a couple other big bumps but nothing committed. As we pulled off this spot, I was treated to a rare sight but did not get pictures. We pulled off the flat and as we fired the big engine up, off to the right about 25 yards the water started to churn up in a series of big swells. Jamie points and says "manatees". They are huge!!. Got to watch them for a few seconds until they got a few feet of water under them and disappeared. We moved down to a long big flat of seagrass and sand holes and got a few more small redfish and small sea trout, nothing really pic worthy except this guy. Jamie couldn't really see it from the back so when I asked him what the slot limit was for gators he first thought I was asking about big seatrout. This one was somewhere in 8-10 ft length and I was told to move back off the front of the deck if it got closer I'll definitely be back one day in August when the redfish spawn and 30-40 lb fish are in and aggressive. If you're going down it's only a 30 minute drive from Orlando to Titusville for some awesome saltwater fishing A good day fishing

Sitting here in cocoa beach Florida just wrapping up a week of junior spring training baseball for my son. Will have my report with pictures when I get back home but go saltwater, those fish pull crazy hard. I did a full day redfish in mosquito lagoon and will remember it for a long time. Things are starting to heat up offshore with spring weather coming in. Around here it's cobia, kingfish, and snapper offshore and redfish and sea trout inshore. Gotta watch spring winds as they may reduce the number of days offshore. Big swells and windy here last 2 days but inshore you can still get out. In this area you're only 45 minutes back inland to Kissimmee area for good largemouth too!

Can't tell you if it's readily available but R&B from BC have a Bacon stout that was hard to put down. A buddy brought some over at Xmas and I never asked where he got it. I have to be in that perfect frame of mind for stout but bête noir out of QC is good and one that I have not found but read great reviews is from Yukon brewing company

My boat is 1100 lbs, motor is 400 With gear, 3 batteries, full tank of gas I spec'd my towing weight out at 2200. Other vehicles that have been used to tow it, Ford F150, jeep liberty If you go to some car websites like auto park and auto dome they will show spec on towing most of the times. One that caught my eye but I could not find one to test drive is the Chevy Traverse. Towing rating of 3500 lbs, loads of room and great gas mileage Other thing I did was to use auto trader and pick SUV category. Type in the $ range and see they types of vehicles as we'll the dealers in your area that have good selections of brands. In around oakville you can test drive and look at a number of different SUV's on the same lot at Autopark, JP Motors and Autodome I really like the Durango but I wanted more power features and navigation built in

I'm in Cocoa beach later in March and will be on Mosquito lagoon hopefully 2 days. Booked a 3/4 day with a guide and we're gonna try to split that for reds in the morning and then head out off the beach for cobia