johnnyb

Lot's of great advice here...which I am finding extremely helpful, so, thanks for starting this post! My little man is now 8 years old, and he has loved fishing since catching his first sunfish when he was barely 3 years old. HOWEVER...after trying way too hard, and expecting him to come along with me and be happy to fish for much longer than he wanted to, I am on the verge of ruining a really good thing. This year, he almost wants nothing to do with it. Tells me that he doesn't think he has the patience, just isn't something he is into. I know it's because I've put too much pressure on him, and, after a couple really crappy days ice-fishing, he's not too enamoured with the sport. Thankfully, he's 8, and thankfully, I've got a wonderful woman who is helping me take it easy with him. The other night, we just took the boat out. For a ride -- no fishing! I let him drive the boat (with supervision...an 8-horse on the tinny and small lake), and fishing was never mentioned. The next day, we went out for another ride...he didn't want to bring his rod, but didn't mind if Jessy and I brought ours. So, he drove some more, he picked a couple spots for us to fish, and, sure enough, once I was taking a few casts, I got the "Hey Dad, can I take a few casts with your rod?" Of course, I was praying like a madman that he would catch something right then and there, but he didn't, and that was okay too. My new thing is NO pressure....take the opportunities when you get them, and hey -- it really is HIS decision. He knows he'll always have a fishing buddy if he wants to go. Good luck to all the parents...for fishing and all the other crap our kids are going to put us through

NICE!!! That'll keep him coming back for more Thanks for sharing -- great pic!

hey cpguy....haven't had a chance to try them out in heavy weeds yet....only time will tell. I would think though, that as long as it deploys in clear water it should be fine. And if it's windy enough to warrant using it, the seeds ought to be bent over and out of the way as well. M-hole -- I was on the verge of trying something homemade, but, I was in LeBaron's, there it was, all packaged so nice and neat....end of story

There's often a couple people parked under the Kerr street bridge too....park on the North side of the bridge, on the bend where the shoulder widens, . It's a divided road there, so you have to be coming FROM Speers, heading North on Kerr toward the plazas on Dorval. You'll also see cars parked under the bridge, but those are construction workers, so I don't know if they would want you parked there. As for the fishing...can't say...even though I SHOULD stop in there before work, I never have...but like I say, I do see anglers' cars parked there frequently.

Well since it's out in my truck right now, lemme go check!......I got the MinnKota drift sock, for $24.50 + tax at LeBaron. Says it's ideal for 16'-21' boats, and its 34" deep, 22" diameter. So worth it!

Great combo, but my vote is for the 7 footer, considering you want to be targeting pike. And welcome back to fishing!!!

So I got a drift sock for the canoe/tin boat this year. I've thought about getting one for a few years now, but I always doubted how effective it would be, and would it be a pain to use while canoeing? Would it take too much time away from fishing? Weh-heh-hell!!! It is one of the best $29 I have spent in a LONG time --- took it out this spring, used a little carabiner to clip it to the back of my canoe, and this thing works like a charm! On a day when the main lake is whitecapping, and the only available shoreline still has winds strong enough to prevent any kind of decent cast/retrieve/drift, I put the sock out, and I'm just inching along. If the wind is at a bit of an angle, well, you might drift in to shore and have to adjust the boat every few casts, but you're able to work so much shoreline, that it's no big deal. Is it a pain to haul in quickly if the need arises? Nope...there's a long strap that goes the the back of it, so when you pull it, it you're pulling the skinny end, dumping all the water out the fat opening. And the strap is a different colour than the rest...so even I can't screw it up! Does it get tangled up or wrapped around anything? Nope...the most you have to do is give one of the straps a little tug, and it opens right up and starts pulling kinds of water. So yeah...that's about it. Since every time I go canoeing, the wind seems to be blowing across all the prime areas I want to work, I can now use that to my advantage! And if someone doesn't show up here and buy a car real soon, I'm going to have to keep thinking of stuff I can post

Beeyoooteeefullll

Well they must not have been driving a Dodge, 'cuz you wouldn't have said hi....wasn't me

Nice report! Yup -- I have also seen the monster leeches....really fun working in the water with those things swimming around you -- but they never seemed interested in latching on. I guess humans are just too small for them to prey on?!?! Also saw a couple up on "Kiosk" in Algonquin, ad yes, on the French. Go for the monster muskie though!!! There are a few notorious ones out there!!!

Somebody's gonna be in for a great day....sorry to say it won't be me

very nice --- priceless stuff

the video is at the bottom of the post now...it covers the middle of the fight...things got too hectic when it came time to get the brute in the boat with no net

super fish!!! Are most of the St.Clair muskies spotted like that, or could it be a tiger? OR do they just get like that when they're massive? I wouldn't know yet...

Nice report -- gotta love those Bowfin -- wild fighters and a mean lookin' fish do you catch them frequently on Sparrow Lake? Thanks for posting!

beautiful tip! Thanks!!!

great report --- nice shot of you and the little man

at the falls by the dam right in Bala? Really?!? HHMMMmmmm....looks like I will have to start bringing my rod for the family's annual pictures down at Bala Falls....

Did I hit up the Kawartha Dairy?!?!?! Like a champ!!! Saturday night, Sunday afternoon, and a take home tub for snackin!!!!!

OKay, so we (the lovely Laker Jessy and I) have 3 weeks unil the dockside wedding on Gull Lake near Minden. This means we should be getting the apartment packed up and ready to move into the new place...finalizing guest lists....scheduling rehearsal/ceremony/reception stuff....but it's at the cottage! How hard can it be?!?! And with the weather so nice, the best thing we can do is work on our relationship, right? Translastion -- let's get in the boat and go fishing! So we head out on Sunday morning (stupid work on Saturday...) looking to see what the bass fishing is like on Gull Lake. Headed for a likely looking shoal, and pulled this half-decent fish out with my new Mercer's Magic DT-10 Flatside. Man, that lure's name is a mouthful! We nailed another bass, on the good ol' Zara Spook, and Jessy thought it would be tasty. And the mere thought of eating also made her realize she had skipped breakfast, so, back to the dock we went, fish in tow. Upon our arrival, her 5-year old nephew Jonah, an aspiring fisherman himself, was up and about, and thought that he should pose with the bass, who he was quick to point out, went by the name of Fred. In fact, since Fred was still quite spunky and full of life, Jonah convinced his aunt Jessy that Fred should move to the dock, and live there for the summer. I agreed that it certainly would be easier to release the bass than clean and fillet it, so, into the drink he went. We had a quick bite, and went back out to find some more bass. This time, seeing as how he was already awake, we took Jonah along to see if he could pull his first bass out of the lake. After scaling down the lure size so that he could hook something, he came up with this little guy, who he was much happier to hold than the 18 inch "Fred". After dropping Jonah off, Jessy wanted to take one more crack at it, so off we went. While I was pondering aloud as to the possiblity of Largemouth Bass in Gull Lake, this chunky fella thumped my green tube jig, rigged weedless with no weight. So Gull Lake is looking like a pretty decent little lake, with a few nice bass to show for not much effort. But what Jessy wants is to go after some of these Musky I keep telling her about. So the boat gets loaded up into the truck, and we roll down the road, which conveniently took us past the ice cream store, to one of the many lakes in the area known to hold Musky. Bolstered by the advice of a couple very helpful OFC'ers, I had a decent enough idea of where we should go, once we got there. This was especially helpful, because it was a pretty non descript lake, at first glance See? Just a lot of water...and uh...yeah. I sure like having Jessy in the boat with me As it turns out, the lake had some pretty healthy weed beds, and more than a few shoals. We trolled until we found a likely looking spot, which had the right mix of rocks and weeds, in about 8-10 FOW. Jessy was tossing a firetiger Super ShadRap, and got the first follow. Having never seen a Musky in person before, she was getting pretty excited. The breeze was working with us for a nice drift, so we made a few more, and Jessy actually got a couple more follows and a wicked strike, the drag started peeling out, and the fish, which appeared to be in the mid 30-inch range, was gone. But somebody was hooked on Musky! Some more cruising around, while I'm trying to remember the instructions I've been given on this lake. Dodged a few rocks, but couldn't find too many weeds....until I saw 3 boats, all about 150 yards apart, but in a relatively straight line from each other. I figured they were out there either for Musky or Walleye, as I had seen a few Walleye fishermen pass by already. We head over to the general area, and are greeted with some very healthy weeds in what looks to be 8-10 FOW. Hmmm....time to start casting me thinks.... I figured I would give my clown coloured Buchertail a few more minutes before switching to something similar to what Jessy had been getting all the action on. A few more minutes was all I needed though, as I got a massive hit, looked up to see a huge boil on the water, and we were off! Not the fish -- us! He started towing us as he tried to bury himself in the weeds. I was pretty sure I had a PB on, but didn't confirm it until I got my first look at him. Then the legs started shaking....the camera started rolling (I'll figure out how to post a video soon), and I figured it was a good time to mention that I didn't bring the net. 10 or 15 minutes later, after some blazing runs, lots of yelling and "Oh my GOSH's", I had a 47 inch musky in the boat with us. WOW! Really healthy fish...the best fight I've ever had, and some awesome memories. Didn't take too long to revive, and swam away strong....can't wait to come back! Going to try this video ... here goes....best I can do is a link to it....haven't figured out how to embed yet.

Welcome aboard indeed, Buell! My fave technique for the lakers is a 3 inch white tube jig, WITH a stinger, flopped right on the bottom. For the first 10 or 15 seconds, I just leave it...don't budge it...and expect a fish on the first slow lift. If nothing, then I let it flop again....and just twitch it a bit. Then big pulls up...slow or fast, depending on your mood...always letting it tumble down nice and slow, on a mostly slack line. Pay attention, as when it falls, it may seem to stop before resting on bottom -- usually an indication that it's been grabbed, and time to pull up! Otherwise, be ready as you pull up. And a dead/live minnow works to spice the tube up. a 10 lb'er! Wait a sec...why are WE giving YOU the advice?!?! Thanks for the intro....get some pics next time!

that 26"er IS a fatty! Nicely done....everywhere I go I'm seeing tons of baitfish this year...can't imagine how thick the schools are in Simcoe. Thanks for sharing

NICE!!!!! Musta been one heck of a fight

Let's see....I think I got my membership to the club when I once forgot to move one of the tackle boxes out of the way while unloading for some back lake fishing...told my buddy to hurry up and back the car up and go park it....CRUNCH! There goes the tackle box!

I second the vote on the Credit....and add leeches to the agenda...