MJL

I'm hoping there will be a surge of interest from single, highly attractive female anglers who dig steelhead and don't complain about the cold, rain or bugs...That may be wishful thinking though

Sweet vid Dave. Nice goldfish

Hang in there Richard. Best wishes

Don't be silly. Carp, salmon and gobies don't run...They swim

Bull trout sashimi? I am craving seaweed salad, spicy salmon and BBQ unagi soooo bad Once I acquire a few more pieces of tackle, I will be on my way...And yes, I do have a new set of waders and boots ready

In February I was asked by Hammercarp and Jeff Vaughan of the Long Sault Motel to be a part of this year’s CanAm Carp cup team. Back in 2008, the idea of a Canada VS USA carp tournament was spawned by several people – Bob Giordano and Ed Sheffield of NY and Lorne Morely (Hammercarp) and Bryn Thomas of Hamilton (who sadly is no longer with us). From 2008, the tournament has been held in Waddington, NY (2008), Dunnville, ON (2009), Ogdensburg, NY (2010) and for 2011, it would be held in Long Sault, ON. This would be the 4th year in a row I have participated in the tournament (it would also be the 4th year that my dad would join me as a runner). Last year Canada lost to the Americans so it was time for some redemption and bring the plaque home to where it belongs. Back in 2008 I got to keep the plaque for a year as top Canadian in the waddington tournament Thursday night the competitors met at Grumpies Bar in Long Sault. I was fortunate (or unfortunate depending on how you look at it) to be pegged with American carper Dave Moore. For most anglers, Dave Moore wouldn’t pop into mind when it comes to a celebrity angler. In the carping world, he is a master of the craft and a highly seasoned tournament angler who has competed internationally in France, Romania, Hungary, Canada and across the US. He was also rated by Outdoor Life magazine as one of the top 20 anglers on the planet…I certainly had some serious work ahead of me to be competitive. Outdoor Life - Dave Moore Friday morning, Dave and I made our way to peg 16 in an area known to locals as the Bird Sanctuary. It’s located on a beautiful section of river with some seriously gnarly current at times. My peg also had some serious weed to deal with as well. My setup Dave drew first blood 3 times at our peg before I had a run I lost the first fish which got into seriously thick weeds Baiting up. 40lbs of maize, 30lbs of boilies, 20lbs of groundbait/method mix and a bunch of other baits accompanied me on this trip. My style of tournament fishing is all about endurance – fish steady, fish hard, wait till the competitors tire and jump all over them when they least suspect it . Through the night I managed to catch up to Dave’s 4 fish with 9 while he was napping. Unfortunately points-wise, we were still closely matched due to the smaller average size of my fish. The good news was at that point, the other Canadian anglers were doing great and we had a big lead on the Americans Morning brought a beautiful sunrise and some nice fish. Dave and I got into a double header. The rest of the day was quite slow with only a few fish coming out between Dave and I. We did get into a double header though News that the Americans were catching up fast in the points was a little nerve racking. Would they come back from behind like how we Canadian’s did in 2008? For the most part, the only way I could land fish was to wade out up past my waist and winch them out of the thick weeds that lined the deep channel drop-off. Cautiously wading in the dark to find out how close I can get to the weeds. There was an annoying hatch of tiny white mayflies going on. Through the night I managed 3 carp and 2 channel cats (one of which was around 8lbs...Who knew catfish liked peanuts . Dave skunked during the night on carp and landed 3 channel cats. Channel cats don’t count for this tourney. In the morning I had the edge over Dave in the points. I widened the margin with a few extra fish. That Buff headwear scarf thing saved the skin of my face from the sun all weekend – No more sunscreen in the eyes anymore ...With that said, I probably wouldn’t walk into a convenience store or a gas station booth wearing one. After 52 straight hours of fishing, the tournament ended. In the end, we got the news at Grumpies Bar that the Canadians just dominated . Canadians caught 174 fish (for 338 points) to USA’s total of 116 fish (for 224 points). Quite tired from having slept 15mins over 52 hours, but it was worth it. I didn’t make it in the top places this year with my 19 fish (the winner got 33 and the top 6 caught over 24 fish), but I did win an awesome rod bag in a raffle...I also beat Dave in terms of points which was so sweet after receiving some friendly smack-talk Thursday night . So far Canada has now won the event 3 times to their 1. Team Canada photo A big thanks goes out to Jeff Vaughan for organizing and donating prizes. Simon Stewart of Carp Kit International and Len Perdic also donated amazing prizes as well. My dad has been my runner for 4 straight years and does all the things I don’t want to do while I’m fishing (like cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner, running to the tackle shop for more stuff and driving me home when it’s all done). Couldn’t have done it without him. Some other pictures Len Perdic and Bob Giordano were in peg 15 next to Dave and I. Raccoons were up to no good. They actually jumped into Bob’s Jeep and stole his Kiwis and Pop tarts Len is one of the carp consultants for Shimano Canada (He’s also been a guest on Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing Show and Fishin Canada with Pete Bowman). He gets to play with some VERY expensive toys. Hope you enjoyed

If the fish didn't hit, you must acquit

Best wishes Richard As Wayne mentioned, a good sense of humor will get you through a lot of it. Also never take your eyes off the prize of fishing with the granddaughters. You'll do great

Sweet fish Stephen and great report Congrats! On another note, do you have any of the Kamasan B775 in #4 and 6 in stock yet?

Sweet fish Edwin! So when are you going to be machining a pod of your own?

Last week I made the decision to do something I probably haven’t done for around 15yrs – Hit up a local stream for some summertime river smallies. Back in elementary school, my uncle would take me to various stretches of the river a few times a week after class. We’d sometimes even wade in the river and catch crayfish to use as bait. I’ve caught some of my biggest bass ever from that river. Would they still be there? Armed with a 13ft float set-up and a bunch of jumbo dewies, I returned to a few stretches of river I haven’t visited since I was a kid. The scenery has sure changed quite a bit. The grassy meadows that lined the river are now mostly gone...Shopping plazas and new housing developments are the primary landscape now . The good news is that the smallies I left behind were still there...The poison ivy and huge mozzies were also still there - I was mostly covered up by my waders and wading jacket though Didn’t manage any real big bass but I did manage to snap some nifty underwater shots with my camera I also managed to catch a couple crayfish by tipping over rocks but the fish weren’t interested in them. Thinking back, a rod under 10ft would’ve made life so much easier in the bush. With the carp action still quite slow in most places, I’ll definitely be returning (possibly with a fly rod). I almost forgot how well smallies fight Hope you enjoyed Mike

Welcome to the hardest time of the year to fish for carp (aside from the middle of winter). Early in the season, carp inhabit the shallow bays to A. warm up and B. to eventually spawn. This is the EASIEST time of the year to catch huge numbers of carp provided that the temps are right and they haven’t yet started to spawn. There is a fine line between catching 30-100+ carp per day and catching none. It’s all about the temps. For the post-spawn period (which in many places I fish, is now), you often have to work for your fish. Going from pre-spawn to spawn to post spawn can all happen within the span of 1-3+ weeks depending on where you are. The majority of carp that you saw in that bay are now cruising around Lake O in much smaller groups (as opposed to the hundreds or thousands of fish you saw stacked together). Lake O has way more everything that they need – A bigger food supply of natural items such as zebra mussels, crayfish, etc and cooler temps (with more oxygen). Because carp can withstand higher temps doesn’t mean they prefer it. With that said, there will usually be ‘resident’ carp in the area that stick around all-year but in much smaller numbers. As for baiting up at this time of year, 1 mistake that a lot of anglers make is they bait up their swim as they would during the pre-spawn time. They’ll keep on chumming vast amounts of bait in the hopes of attracting MORE carp...Eventually, this mass baiting technique might work if you don’t mind waiting for the rest of the fish to arrive a few days later (if at all). It’s a waste of bait IMO to keep chumming tons if you’re not getting any action. With fewer fish around, and tons of bait in the water, you ruin the chance to get the carp competing with each other for food (and hopefully your hook-bait). What usually ends up happening is the fish tend to just hover around your pile of bait, slowly feeding and picking out what they like. My carping philosophy is to fish where the fish are. If you fish where the fish are, you don’t need much bait at all to attract them...They’re already there. The only time you really need to use a lot of bait is to keep a good bite going. At this time of the season, look for deep water or moving water as a general starting point (or areas in close proximity). Fish will still frequent the shallows if conditions are right (low barometric pressure, strong west winds that stir up the windward side of the lake/river). There are still some places around the GTA (especially along the harbourfront) that fish OK in summer.

Awesome news Wayne and WTG Jen

I remember stocking up on glow in the dark spoons from BPS called Little Leos Didn't realize they were missing the C till I got home . I should've known something was up when they were only going for $1.50

Sweet smallies Chris...Congrats

Thanks for the comments guys. Glad you liked the pics. Just found a cheque in my room I haven't cashed yet...I may spoil myself with even more camera gear Not too sure which pic he'll use yet. He said the book will be due for publishing in September. I've got even more pics to choose from though. The last month or so, I've probably taken 8-9,000 pictures.LOL

Sweet brownies Mike It's been over a month since I last caught a trout...Very tempted to hit up some spring fed creeks for some after reading this report.

The last few weeks I’ve been spending some time hunting down giant goldfish. It’s always been one of my most favourite things to do during the summer since I was a kid. Just like with my trout fishing earlier, I also brought along the underwater housing for my camera to take some pics. Also got some pics of a sweet mirror carp One writer in the UK who wants to use one of the shots for the cover of his carp fishing book Some above-water action I did a couple trips up to the Kawarthas to a few spots I hadn’t fished for a number of years. Fishing wasn’t like I remembered it but it certainly brought back a lot of memories...I love the scenery up there. A pretty mirror carp...At least to me Frozen-fire and I spent one morning with our heavier float rods and centrepins chasing carp in a muddy (and buggy) swamp...Got into double header action and I got to test out my bug jacket No more malaria and West-Nile for me Being the good friend that I am, I conned Frozen-Fire into getting some new carp gear...But before we hit up the tackle shop, we did some fishing on the way to the store. Landed 1 fish that broke someone else off...Didn’t escape from me though 2nd mirror carp of the year Biggest carp so far this season Can't wait for my next trip out. Hope you enjoyed

Oh sweet Jesus! That pike is huge! Nicely done

Great report Wayne Those walleye sure do look tasty...Hoping to try my first one this season.

Thank guys Lorne, I'm hoping to get the camera working underwater for the carp...Hopefully it doesn't involve snorkeling in Hamilton harbour Hey Joey, I'm using a Canon 40D. Glad you liked the pics Chris, the only thing more awesome than dunking a $2,000 camera underwater is dunking one costing $10,000+ For me it's a toss up between the Nikon D3S and the Canon 1D Mark IV for my next camera...Obviously you'd need 2 just for a backup Ryan, I actually used to be a lot like that. I figured anything that didn’t grow 10+lbs wasn’t worth fishing for which is probably the reason why I never really fished for anything other than steelhead or carp. After taking up small stream fishing a couple years ago, it really opened up my eyes to things I never really knew or thought about. It has enhanced some aspects in my other fishing as well - Like stalking carp in the shallows or fishing water I’d never normally think to fish for steelhead. You pay closer attention to stealth and the smaller details in finding the fish. I find fishing for those tiny trout more difficult than steelhead in many respects. For me, the journey involving research, recon, hiking in thick bush, dealing with blood-sucking insects and snagging up on something almost every cast adds a whole new dimension to my fishing. For tackle I'm currently using an old 5’ Shimano stimula rod I got for $20 at the fishing show more than 10yrs ago. The reel is spooled up with 4lb mono...I figure I’d have a better shot at getting my lure back if I snag up than with 2lb line. One day I'd like to get a 3-4wt fly rod and try for them that way. Can't wait for your report. Mike

So does this mean you'll be spending more on a new set of carp rods, baitrunners, pods, alarms, slings, nets, bait, sling shots and other tackle?

Nice Fatty! Great catch

Wayne, there’s a few of the medium sized rivers I fish where you can comfortably float down them in a canoe...It’s great if you don’t mind hopping over a few hundred beaver dams along the way Hey Bill, I was using my Canon 40D for the underwater shots – Above water I was using my Panasonic FZ18. I have an Ewa Marine U-B housing and got a 67mm adapter for the lens. Without the adapter, you get strange reflections off the front glass port or you get tunnel vision ...This is what it looks like when the adapter pops out of the front lens port...It's always heartbreaking when you flip through the pics on the computer and see these If I had to do it over again, I’d probably get one of the EWA Marine housings with the flash compartment so I can stick a remote receiver inside for easier shooting. Overall the outfit is fairly hefty and is generally a pain in ass to carry around on the streams…It’s also fairly hard to use and almost impossible to change settings for a lot of things. For the price over a professional hard-case style housing, I can’t complain. It's the most awesome feeling dunking $1200 worth of camera equipment in the drink Shayne, I cannot confirm or deny that it might have been me... Panther Martins have been my go-to lure for specks since I started fishing for them a couple years ago. Funny thing is I’ve never caught anything on that particular one in the pics (silver with the orange dressing) until yesterday.

I personally can’t think of any other fish prettier than a brook trout...Resident browns rank a fairly close second. Brookies also live in some of the most beautiful pristine streams and lakes you can find. The last little while I’ve become possessed in ‘mining’ for these little jewels in gin clear streams. Last Sunday I loaded up my hiking pack with food, water, camera gear, waders + boots and my rod, and traveled the roads on my mountain bike. With the bike, I could find the small ditches and streams impossible to see from a car. The fishing wasn’t as great as I hoped but there were a few gems at the end of the trek to make the cramping legs worth it. With rain in the forecast, I left home today at 6am for a full frontal assault on as many streams as I could fish before they blew out and turned to mud. From medium-sized rivers to small ditches no more than 3ft wide and less than a foot deep, I scouted and fished whatever new spots I could find. There was no real plan or schedule to follow. It was just a day of reconnaissance and discovery and getting lost on dirt backroads - My compass really was screwed up The brookies from one of the streams were amazingly coloured with fiery red bellies – They looked as though they were in full spawn mode In one stream I caught a dozen or so small brookies that were a beautiful dark blue/purple colour. The ditch they came from – Stealth was paramount A silvery one I pulled from a hidden culvert...After landing PB chub after PB chub, I definitely wasn’t expecting it A nicely coloured one Some fish-eye view pics I missed the shot but those red fins and spots are stunning Smashed the spinner Hope you enjoyed