Cando

I don't know if this is much help but my friends grandson caught to bass on the may long weekend. I'm not as experienced as most of you guys and I haven't been up to my cottage to see if the bass are protecting where they spawn by my dock.

I don't let my disability stop me from doing what I love. I do keep updated on the weather as most severe weather is predicted in advance. I've been through some scary storms up there but I can always find a safe place ahead of time that I can go to.

lol I am confined to a wheelchair so I know the issues of getting to a basement. I can't build a basement at the cottage. even if we had a drought I'd only get a few feet and I'd have an indoor pool lol

Thanks Misfish. Most of the pics are in the dead of night and you can't see any background lol. Just want to crop out the houses and keep the water in the pics. That way people can't say I went fishing at the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto lol ?

Thanks OhioFisherman. The bottom part of my property is like walking on a sponge. I seen all the severe weather out in your neck of the woods I hope that the tornado threats have ended out there. It would be scary being there with the tornados in the dead of night and not being able to see them. Last I seen was 14 straight days where tornadoes hit your state and the states all around you.

Nice opening catch. I have to edit my pics and hide my spot lol. Is there a size limit for posting pictures or a place I can read on posting photos?

This weather sure is messing up things for me. I can't use my cottage because I need to get a new septic system put in. It was suppose to be done last November but the ground froze up faster than normal. Now it is too wet in the fields for the guys truck to bring the old septic tank to the proper place. I could alway get a Johnny on the spot and put it beside my new neighbours place lol

Nice catch. I haven't fished for them in decades. Use to go to Owen Sound

Great write up and amazing catch. I'd love to do a fly in but I fear being out of range of a hospital. I never know when an infection of some kind will flare up.

I live across the street from lake Ontario on the Etobicoke Creek but I've been too lazy to go across to see how high it is there. Maybe Saturday if the weather is good I'll take a trip across and look the go to the credit river.

I hear it is higher than Lake Ontario. Last I heard it was at 30CM or 12 inches and raising and Lake Erie was up higher than that.

Hi Jimmer, I'm not sure of what they do in Pigeon, Buckhorn and Chemong, I just know Pigeon is not a good lake to try to teach your friend how to drive a boat lol I'd love to have my cottage on Pigeon.. But I've been going to Balsam, Mitchell and Canal lake for over 50 years and they don't take out nearly as much water out of them. Canal Lake is actually flooded farmland they use to keep Mitchel and Balsam levels high enough to keep the Trent deep enough. At one time they use to drain Canal lake dry then restock it in the spring. We use to be able to walk right across it in the fall as my cottage is on the shallow side of the lake. Then they started leaving enough water in where the trent pathway is through the middle. Recently they have taken less water out and late last fall early winter the water was only a few feet past my shoreline. I wish I had my camera there last year in the sprig to get the perch, sunfish and crappie swimming near my firepit lol. I don't think anyone the problem. It is a combo of things is my guess. Mother nature is hard to predict and with all the cuts to the MNR over the years left unqualified people running the ship. Back in 2013 when the figured it was going to be a bad year for flooding. They rose the water level under the ice. Big mistake. They destroyed peoples docks that were there for ages and bent the crap out of peoples rail system to pull their boat up on shore I was lucky. It just twisted on section of my rail system and had to replace the dock. Others rail systems where were pointed up on a 90 degree angle lol Happy fishing this year!!!

Looking at the long range here, it doesn't look as bad north compared to where you are. I hope they are right here and that they are wrong for your neck of the woods.

They have to start taking more water out of some of the lakes like Canal, Balsam, ETC They have all those feeder lakes they use to control the water levels throughout the Kawarthas. They now leave more water in them for ice fishing. Drop the levels throughout the Trent like they use to and they wouldn't have to hold back water farther north as to try not to flood more areas.

Nice fish!!! Balsam can be a scary lake when the winds pick up. What areas do you fish? My dad got a 48 incher many years ago at the opening of south day. There use to be lot around Ant Island as well.My late uncle use to fish for them somewhere near Rosedale from the shore.

Balsam's my favorite lake. I haven't been out there in a few years, but I fish Coby twice a year. I have a cottage on Canal Lake but only fished once this year due to medical issues. Great lake for smallies though.

Pike also roll and slice your line in their gills. Had that happen many times

Nice rig. I was thinking of using one of my old wheelchairs and turning it into a kayak or something like this, Thinking of keeping the wheels on it and rolling it down the boat launches right into the lake.

You can still get to the public boat launch on Canal Lake. Go into Kirkfield and turn left at the new stop sign. Follow the road under the kirkfield lift locks and there sho be a D1 detour sign to take you you to the boat launch. You can also launch your boat at Sunset Cove Marina and it is a short boat ride into Canal lake.

Whoops typo, Should be Balsam.

The pike are in Balsom lake now NL. I have a cottage on Canal lake. I fish Balsam at least twice a year. I caught 6 pike last year. The ministry wants people to keep all the pike caught to try and keep them from taking it over. I haven't caught as many in Canal lake in the last few years. A lot o bass though.