BrianV

I am thinking of picking up some spinnerbaits to see if they will break my 'skunked' streak. I haven't tried them yet, but I think doing something different may be what I need. Which ones seem to produce well for you? I fish in both murky and clear water. I would like something that works well at night, too.

Mesh bag hung in hole #2. The reflections of the cans seems to attract some attention from the fish

Bah, you should come out to a shack. I usually fish in a t-shirt... if you have a stove in your shack, you can keep it at a nice 21-22 degrees, absolutely beatiful!

A 15" jumbo? That's pretty impressive. I've had many 12-13"... but never seen a 15", although perhaps this is the year! (fingers crossed). And never caught a walleye through the ice. One of my favourite sights when ice fishing is looking in the hole. I love watching the perch scatter, followed by a pike coming in like a freight train, stirring up the silt behind him as he rockets through my little view. By the time he turns around or makes another pass, I try to get one of my Rapala jigging lures down in his way - I've found that the 'Perch' patterned one is the best performer. (example here) Usually that lure triggers a strike... it works decently on the perch as well - I tend to put a few maggots on the front and rear hooks, and the bigger perch will suck her in... Can't wait!

Perhaps it's heresy to mention ice fishing while so many of you are still out on the open water, but I am really looking forward to it this year. It may be due to the fact that I have been more or less skunked this year. Despite hours spent fishing the various lakes of Algonquin park and the St. Lawrence west of Cornwall, I haven't had a good keeper either from a boat or from shore. In Algonquin, I've caught ~120 smallies this summer. None were more than 6-8". In my numerous trips on the St. Lawrence, there has been no luck, for me or for the people I go with. Obviously, I need to try something new, although I still have *some* ideas before I give up on open water. Ice fishing, however, has me excited. Now, I am not one of those hardcores who you see flying across the ice from tip-up to tip-up in their snowmobile suits and grip boots. I am more static than that... I am more of a 'sit in the shack with the stove going, drink beer, and fish for 12 hours at a time' ice fisherman. Despite being static, I've had good luck with it - too many perch to count, and a 30" pike last year. A lot better return on my time than the other fishing I've done. So, even though freezeup is still several months away, I am really looking forward to it. Perhaps that will be the end to my fish drought this year. Who else is looking forward to it?

Hope the strike isn't too long... Enjoy your fishing anyways!

You didn't go to Lakeport, did you?

I was *there*! More than that - I recognize you from the concert. I was in 108 section - sidestage, directly to Alex's right, about 20 feet away from the stage. I thought we had good tickets. During the intermission, I was 'crowd watching', and I remember looking to see what kinda people were lucky enough to get front and center seats, and I could swear I saw you guys there. That was an amazing show. Also, my first Rush concert, despite being something I've wanted to do since I was 13. Hearing those songs live is a completely different experience from listening to their CDs. Wow. BTW, I thought they played the new stuff really well - in fact, that was probably the strongest part of the show. As much as their older stuff rocks, they looked a lot more comfortable with the new stuff - it was still exciting for them! Plus, Geddy's vocals were awesome on the new stuff - he looked comfortable singing it, not like he was straining to hit notes he hasn't been able to hit easily since sometime in the '80s. Either way, I can't wait until they come around again. I hope they tour long enough that I can still catch more of their shows! p.s. L'il Rush was great. And Geddy as a Scotsman... Did you see the guy rocking out right to Alex's right / left of the stage? The guy that looked like Santa Clause? Apparently that was his 108th show... p.p.s Great pics!

I'm new here, but I will throw in a guess... 98?

Those are some great fish. Hope I have a season like that soon!