MJL

Beauty fish! Congrats!

WOW! Big congrats

Some really awesome information here guys, can't thank you all enough!

 

I need to vary my approach from corn now as the golden shiners are tearing it all apart in seconds down there. Sounds like I should be using more boilie style baits!

If you move away from canned corn or bread, there are many other baits you can use to avoid small nuisance fish (like shiners). Maize (aka field corn or cow corn), tiger nuts, chick peas, jumbo corn, maple peas and boilies can be used for carp without having to deal with many other species of fish (aside from bullheads and the odd big channel cat or sheepshead)

In my experience, when you consider the variety of baits that carp anglers use, then yes larger baits do often account for the larger fish. I’ve caught greater numbers of larger carp using boilies (20mm baits) VS corn or any other type of smaller particle baits (like maize, tiger nuts, various peas and beans).

Keep in mind that there are various factors that go into hunting for larger fish (ie. specimen hunting – 30lb+ fish are the target). One strategy that most specimen hunters who target larger fish use, is to avoid spending time catching smaller fish. There are universal baits out there such as corn, bread, soft dough-baits and worms that catch carp of all sizes. Generally specimen hunters reach for boilies first because of their larger size. Larger fish are generally the only ones who can eat the larger baits. Can you catch small carp with boilies? Yes, but it’s far less than what you’d catch with corn. I have friends who roll their own boilies up to 2 inches in diameter. They may go weeks or months without catching a fish, but usually what they catch is much larger than average (to them a fish under 30lbs is considered small). On that note, large fish often school with smaller fish. Having those smaller fish feeding on your loose offerings is often key before the larger fish gain confidence to feed (from my own observations with stalking carp in very shallow water).

Another strategy that can be successful is to stalk the fish in shallow water (provided they are cruising around in shallow water). Sometimes you can pick and choose the fish you want to catch.

If you have a chance to look through various European carp magazines, you’ll often see the term HNV (High Nutritional Value). It’s in reference to how nutritious the baits actually are to the fish. It is hypothesized that over time, carp can develop knowledge of how nutritious the food they eat actually is. From my own observations, this may actually have some merit. When you consider the various carp baits and their sizes, boilies do offer a more balanced diet (if you can call it that) VS corn. Big fish don’t get big by just eating corn.

From what I can tell, the biggest factor when it comes to catching large carp is the timing of the seasons. You won’t catch big fish if they aren’t around. The Hamilton guys know exactly what I’m talking about when certain areas of the harbour cough up 40+lb fish in spring and again in late fall. The same fish are phantoms in summer and are almost never caught.

I used to spend a fair amount of time specimen hunting around Toronto when I was still in school. For 4yrs there was 1 fish I saw almost every time I fished the harbour that I’d guess was around the 50lb range. It never did stop to look at any of my baits and would slowly cruise the same path at the same time every day. It was an exercise in futility. I eventually just gave up the hunt.LOL

I use the baitmaker however I threw away the metal thing and just use the orange plastic base.

Lay mesh material over depression on orange base. Put eggs on mesh over the depression. Take finger and push eggs into depression (doing so folds the edges of the mesh upwards for easy grabbing). Grab the folded edges of the mesh with one hand and grab the other half (bottom end with eggs) with the other hand. Twist till you reach proper roe bag firmness and pinch so it doesn't unravel. Take spider-thread and wrap a few times (either snap or cut the spider-thread). Cut excess mesh material. Roe bag done. It's easier done than said.LOL

The guys at Tightlines do something similar except instead of using a baitmaker, they use a wooden board with about 30 depressions. They can do 30 roe bags at a time

I bought my baitmaker from Barclays in Oshawa when I was 8 after seeing a demo. The guy doing the demo used a soldering iron to cut away the excess mesh material. I just found it more time consuming to do it that way.

Nicely done!

P-Line Hydrofloat?

Never used it myself but it's supposed to float

The last 2 weeks I’ve tried the UV flashlight VS my larger camera flash (Canon 430EX II) VS LED headlamp VS cheap LED flash light.

For speed, the camera flash wins out achieving high intensity glow with 1 flash (on full output) – It took 8 passes of the UV flashlight to achieve the same glow intensity. A smaller flash (as found in most disposible cameras) probably wouldn't be able to achieve similar results.

For glow longevity, the camera flash and UV light are about the same (provided that the spoons achieved the same glow intensity at the beginning). I also achieved similar glow intensity and glow longevity with my friend’s high output headlamp (possibly 200 lumens or higher – It is super bright)

For portability, the UV flashlight is easy to fit in a pocket. I could not achieve the same glow intensity with my LED headlamp or LED flashlight (they are not high intensity light sources – Rated 45 lumen and below). The flash is quite large and won't fit in any other than a bigger wading jacket pocket.

Keep in mind that some spoons are painted with longer lasting glow finishes. I have some spoons that will last 10 minutes with a flash or UV flashlight (obviously with degrading glow intensity over that time) and many that won’t glow much after a few casts.

Find someone with an underwater camera like an aqua vu. Mount the camera to a stick and probe the bottom. You definitely don't want to be digging around with your hands in Oshawa creek.

Nothing better than free range chicken.

Free range indeed...He's got the whole neighbourhood.LOL

I'm surprised a coyote or a fox hasn't gotten it yet

Nicely done Rick...You've got a very talented first-mate

Totally awesome Joey! For years I've tried to take pics of flickers in my backyard without success - They're not common visiters to begin with. I always have a camera close to the door, just the wrong lens mounted.LOL

From my understanding, the lake sturgeon was once super plentiful throughout the great-lakes. They were by-catch for commercial fishermen and their nets would often be destroyed while trying to get them out – They were slaughtered and left to rot on shore. Once commercial fishermen realized that caviar was popular, numbers further plummeted. Dams blocking migration routes up river and environmental degradation have also taken their toll on sturgeon numbers everywhere. It takes many years for sturgeon to reach sexual maturity. Stocking sturgeon makes absolute sense to me. It would be my first species of choice as something to stock our waters with in this day and age (despite not being able to fish for them).

That's what it's all about. Thanks for posting Brian

Thanks guys for the comments. Glad you liked the pics. It really means a lot

Great post MJL.
Hope all is well on your end. Excellent photo skills too !

I too live by some Zombieland rules........

# 8 - Get a kick ass partner
# 14- Always carry a change of underwear

Take care of yourself dude

Thanks MSP. I also live by Rule #31 - Check the backseat...I don't want anyone stealing my custom float rods

Very cool dude, amazing shots - question for ya - are you shooting with a DSLR? Underwater housing? Bag?

Thanks Dozer. I am shooting with a DSLR setup:

- Canon 7D

- Canon 8-15mm f/4L

- Aquatech sport housing & dome port

I have used EWA Marine baggies in the past and the pics came out great and it was super easy to travel with. I would however not recommend them for use in sub-zero temps – The seams become brittle and fail.

aybe you can get up for a fall morning steelhead fish.

 

Take care Mike.

Brian, I’m definitely making my way up to your neck of the woods this fall. I totally missed out on the spring steelhead/trout season this year.

Awesome photos, and some real nice fish to boot. That's a cool variety, was that all in one spot? Show the big C who's boss and kick its arse man! Hopefully things go well.

Thanks Locnar. All but 1 of the pictures were taken from the same river. The fishing hasn’t been all that great for me this season numbers-wise (compared to what I normally average) but I guess it’s a good thing as I spend my time recovering

Nice pictures and catches. I played around with underwater photo's/video with my Fuji camera, need to do more of it next time I'm out. Love underwater images.

 

Thanks for sharing,

 

MTBF

Thanks Mike. Do you still work at the shop? I may need to pop in for your advice on lures for bass next time I'm in the area

Beautiful work Mike. I'd love to spend a couple days with you up here some time. Get yourself better Bud.

Dan, it's one of my dreams to come up to your neighbourhood and fish with you

Awesome shots Mike...I'm glad to hear you are getting out and about...

 

Your soul therapy is the same as my mental health therapy...

 

Anybody you know ???

 

Pboro 03 Sep09 004.jpg

We need to hook up again...It's been too long

And that was me 8lbs lighter than I am now.LOL

Thanks again guys

As many of you know, back in February, I was diagnosed with cancer for a 2^nd time in 2.5yrs. For 3 months I underwent one of the more intensive chemotherapy regimens available. Things didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped and my treatment took longer than originally planned; anaphylaxis was one of the bigger issues. By the end of it all, I was beaten and broken down. Throughout my treatment, I kept my eyes on what I wanted to do and the places I wanted to visit when it finished.

Have I accomplished what I wanted to do? Not even close

Am I having fun doing what I love to do, whenever I can do it? Absolutely.

The last 2 months I’ve been able to get out onto the water a few times to enjoy some Soul-therapy. There are very few things I enjoy doing more than my fishing & photography. My dad and friends helped drive me to the rivers and carry some of my gear down to the bank. Here are some pics that I took:

Carp

The release

Big Shoulders

Redhorse

According to a redhorse ID chart I found on Google, it looks like a silver redhorse. I caught a few with worms. They do fight well.

Sheepshead

Channel Catfish

White Bass

Mystery Gar

According to the fish ID experts that were contacted, it’s either a rare spotted gar or a Florida gar that someone released from an aquarium. Either case, it’s a neat catch.

One day I'd love to get underwater pictures of all the 154 species of freshwater fish in Ontario. In reality I probably won't get them all but I'd like to photograph as many as I can and have fun trying. Maybe in 20-30yrs I'll write a coffee table book.LOL

If there’s one thing I learned during this stint of chemo and watching streaming movies online while in quarantine, it’s rule #32 from Zombieland: “Enjoy the little things”

Cheers

Mike

Congrats Mike

As always, sending my best wishes

Not familiar with those two Bruce.. amazingly enough though all this.. but when she gets to the Taxotere (or Docetaxel will probably be on the bag).... it will crash her white counts and she'll be given Neulasta or Neupogen needles to try to protect her immune system. Neulasta is $2814 a needle (for 0.6ml!)... so make sure in advance of getting to this stage that you find someone to help you find a program that will fund it to (hopefully at 100%) some extent for you. The Neupogen regime is usually 10 needles over 10 days.. somewhere around the $1200 mark. Bone ache is the downfall of at least the Neulasta. Warm baths seem to help Jen get through...

I guess they jacked up the price for Neupogen. It’s $2000 for 10 shots…And it makes your spine and pelvis hurt like hell

My condolences Albert.

Awesome report Pete. Thanks for sharing

Just incredible! Thanks for the report Mike

This is definitely getting me motivated to land my first musky

Very cool Dan

Totally awesome! The baits came out great

I've been looking into making soft plastics of my own for my trips to BC (pink worms, artificial egg clusters, etc). Finding unscented and unflavoured baits locally is tough. Soft-plastics with scent constitutes to being bait out west - Not so great for rivers with a bait ban.

My only real experience with jigging lakers is on the ice. I have 8lb Berkley XL or 8lb Seaguar Senshi spooled on my reels. I run it straight to the lure. I think either would work OK as a leader. In the past I’ve tried 10lb PowerPro and an 8lb Maxima Ultragreen leader and caught fish as well.

Or how about Sepia?