johnnyb

Ahhhh, whatever....all you Zone 17 guys are gettin' fat on Crappie....you're just keeping the hotspots to yourselves, and making it sound like you're not catching anything so as to keep the crowds away Don't worry Ron...sounds like you're going to find those slabs soon!

yup...that's what I thought...at least it's on the small reel...hopefully I won't make TOO much of a mess! Thanks guys...and good insight with the spinning jig/cautious perch Terry...without a camera you'd never really clue into something like that.

While hitting up the perch on Simcoe, I twisted the heck out of my line using the jig and minnow. To prevent it in the future, I'll tie in a swivel a foot or two above the jig. But, here's my problem: how to get the twist out? In the summer, I just let all the line out with nothing tied on behind the boat and let it sort itself out. Can't really do that now. I suppose I could walk down to a local river and let the current do it for me...but there's gotta be a simpler solution. I know running the spool under warm water for a minute or two takes out line memory...has anyone had success removing line twist this way? Any thoughts and/or solutions are welcome

HMMMmmm....you could always call the nearest Canadian Tire and ask them if they do licenses? Not sure which way you're travelling...although if BPS is on the way, then the 400 bait shop should be as well. First Petro-Can/Timmies/info center north of Major Mac...behind the Petro Can is the bait shop. I usually try to avoid buying my bait there, simply because the scoops are too small for the $

Beautiful!! Congratulations!!!

Just bought the place? Does this mean John is finally done running Bait on the Lake? I hope the new guy is as good...heck, I hope the new guy is half as good! I love that shop! Sudsy...glad to hear W-mere is good to go...next time I'm up I'll drop you a line!

No WAYYY!!!! That is super cool :D PM Sent! And congrats to the lucky so and so's who won the tackle

Jeeeshh...I wasn't assuming or anything...but I did speculate you were talking about driving a car/truck on the ice. Snowmobile's a different story I guess. 184. WOWzers

Awesome report...and those pants! Definitely don't want a roundhouse kick from someone wearin' those bad boys Very envious of the spots you get to hit up there Jay...keep the great pics and stories coming

Wow. That is awesome...thanks for sharing!!

Safety would be what limits your speed...lots of reasons not to drive faster than 25km/h when on the ice.

Good to know!! Thanks for that, Wayne

Holdie hits the ice...nice!! Can't see the pics from work...but will check it out when I get home. Sounds like it was a great outing

Right at the corner of Hwy. 89 and Yonge Street...great little shop.

LOL -- two different batters...just left one batch in there a bit long One batch of shake'n'bake, one of instant pancake batter mix...both dry dipped...very very nice. I kept 14...and I'll be darned if they didn't look bigger in the hut! Got home and realized I really need to pay attention and stick to 10 inchers and up....a few too many 8's snuck in there, which made cleaning them a pain. Ah well...eating them made up for it :D And Wayne...are you up for babysitting so Jessy can get out there and show us all some real fish? She's great with letting me get out...but I really miss watching her reel in the big ones

Beauty!!! Nice to see that it's finally laker time!!!

Great to see another season of "THE SHOW" underway, and what a way to start it!!! My son and I were blown away by the size of everything involved in Grouper fishing....the hooks, the bait, the 600lb. test line!!!!...and the fish themselves were staggering My favourite line: "I know big girls and these are BIG GIRLS" tied with "I done hooked Shamu!!" Awesome stuff...thanks for putting a great show together Dave...can't wait to see what else you've got for us

Last year, on the second Friday of January, I was walking out on 4 inches of fresh ice at Big Bay Point. This year, on the second Friday of January, I had to force myself to leave the trout/whitefish tackle at home, so that I wouldn’t be tempted to go do something regrettable. Dropped my son off at school for 8:30 in Brampton, stopped at Innisfil Bait & Tackle to check in with Keith and get my scoop of pinheads (he’s been running the store for the last 4 years and it’s a great little shop…on my “A list”), and was parked in front of Simcoe by 10:00am. Headed out to 26 FOW and dropped a small jig with a pinhead down one hole, and my x67c transducer along with a Lindy Darter down the other. Didn’t take long before I had some lookers, and one decent perch flopping around my fish trap. Thinking I had found “the spot” I got comfortable and waited for the action to begin. But not much else happened for a while. I moved to 16FOW…shallow enough to clearly see bottom in the gin that is Cook’s Bay. Happened to be right on the edge of a clump of weeds….but had absolutely ZERO takers. But it was an allright day to be out. It was getting brighter out….so I figured the fish might be a bit deeper…moved out a little past my original holes, and found myself in 29FOW. By now it’s 1:30 and I have a whopping total of 3 perch on the day. One on the minnow…one on the darter, and one on a small jigging rap. Start up with a buckshot and minnow….and a fresh pinhead on the deadstick beside me. Half an hour later….my floor started to look cluttered This is more like it! By now I had to put down one rod just to keep up!! I kept dropping the small jig and minnow, as it was hooking the fish easier. With the Lowrance, I could watch my bait fall, and see the fish rise up to meet it…then just watch the tip of the rod and wait for an ever so subtle tap. Set hook, reel, repeat! By 3:00 I lost count somewhere in the 20’s, and had enough decent sized fish for a fry-up. Time to pack up… …hit the road…. …and go home for dinner! All in all, a successful day. Well, as successful as can be, without trout or whitefish. I would say it was presentation over location….aggressive jigging with a darter type lure really seemed to draw them in…and I’m not discounting the effectiveness of a rattling lure. Once they started mowing down on the jig and minnow though, it was a super easy combination. As for depth…I hit a pile of them in 29 FOW…but another fellow out there was in 16 and he limited out….also jigging to draw them in then switching to micro jigs once they arrived. That’s all for now….see you out there next time!

Dang...very painful to read! I'm happy for you...but was free on Friday, and opted out of checking the point...I'll continue to tell myself there wouldn't have been enough ice on Friday... NIce shootin....thanks for sharing!

Not too shabby! I think I still would've opted for that over perch Friday...I'd always risk a skunking for some trout

You think even walking off the road would be out of the question, Wayne?

Nicely done, Terry! If LakerJessy sees this post, she's going to want to go fishing with you again though...all those toys

WOOHOOO!!!! That's some fanTASTic news...thanks for the updat Sudsy!!

Wow. My PIN for my bank card was always 2204...the weight of the original record bass...I figured it would never change. Unfortunately, I had to change my PIN 'cause my card was compromised ( a few times)...so don't be gettin' any ideas

Goodstuff Hearingfish! I was out there on Friday and it took a couple hours for me to find them...but once I did it was a nice afternoon! Castgame...go to Innisfil Bait & Tackle at the corner of 89 and Yonge St. Keith will treat you right...has good bait and some decent gear in there if you need anything last minute.