MJL

One of my favourite reports of the season so far - Really nice stream specks . You're not the only one to forget a vest at home...like you, driving 20km to the nearest CTC for supplies was my best option...Both times

Nicely done Laz...Great pics Shouldn't be too long now till I break out the carp gear

Red sky at night, sailor's delight? Great pics Simon

Oooooooooh ahhhhhhhh....Me likey a lot! Can't wait to join you out there

Thanks guys for the comments. Really glad you enjoyed the pics I bought this one made by Ewa Marine from Vistek for $340 + tax...Seems the price has jumped since then. I think there might have been a sale on them because the price has increased at other stores as well: http://www.vistek.ca/store/BagsCases/243109/ewamarine-underwater-housing-for-pro-dslr-built-flash-up-to-20m.aspx I also purchased the 67mm Ewa marine adaptor for my lens so it would connect to the lens port. The bracket that came with the housing was designed mostly for externally focusing lenses (which mine isn’t). With that bracket, it's almost impossible to use and take decent photos with. Dicapak also makes a DSLR housing for around $120 in some places I think. I purchased that Islander back in the late 90’s I think. Still has the original bearings inside (abec 3?). It still gets hard use throughout the season and it’s probably one of the most dependable reels I’ve ever owned. You can’t go wrong with an Islander For sure Chris. I don’t fish in Hamilton very much myself, but I do like helping out with some of the local fish-ins and carp tournies that are held there. I enjoyed helping out at the Hamilton Waterfront Trust derby last year and hope to be down there again this summer Cheers & all smiles

The last while, I’ve been preoccupied with trout and everything trout (Aside from having to go to work). During my session of chemo back in February, when I wasn’t sleeping, I was pouring over topo maps, journals, diaries and stocking lists in search of hidden away rivers loaded with monster brown and brook trout for when I was feeling better. The good news is, 1 session of chemo was enough and I got the news last Thursday from the doctors at Sunnybrook that my latest CT scans, blood tests and X-rays came out clean – I should be cancer free for the foreseeable future. I would like to thank OFC again for all the support you’ve given me during that rough patch in my life I didn’t do a whole lot of fishing so far in 2011. I didn’t get out onto the hardwater as much as I would’ve liked this winter. I did end the lake trout season on Simcoe with a small but pretty laker. I also got to fish with some great friends Once ice season for lakers closed, I broke out the steelhead-kit for a few short trips. My first steelhead of the 2011. A friend I made on the river this spring…Is it wrong to wonder how it would taste on the BBQ? A pretty surprise amongst the bows...A C&R brownie X 2...He liked my jig so much he ate it a second time after a few minutes. I convinced my dad to get a new reel he really didn’t need (The non-black one)...Technically it’s mine now because I play with it more – It's still waiting to be Christened (Hopefully not on a chub or sucker) As always, I spent trout opener with my dad fishing for steelhead. This year, Victor and Frozen Fire joined us. After we had our fill of rainbows, Victor and Frozen-Fire had a tourney in 1 small creek to see who could catch the most brookies with some fairly rustic tackle... Frozen-fire attaching his seed-ball ‘float’ to the line. No brookies were violated during the event...Only a shiner and 1 rainbow smolt succumbed to Frozen-Fire’s superior presentation over Victor's. With trout season open the last couple weeks, I spent some time on my mountain bike exploring numerous small streams around the backroads. Beyond getting some intense exercise (which I really did need), I found a number of very sweet spots and caught some very pretty brookies from them. A small piece of paradise Bug of the non-blood-sucking-type A couple weeks ago, I picked up an underwater housing for my camera. After years of watching the fish-eye view segment on the Real Fishing Show, I just had to get into underwater photography. The housing is more like a glorified zip-lock baggie with a glass lens port – Definitely not easy to use and impossible to change settings (or turn the camera on/off). I took the housing out this weekend to a small trout stream in the hopes that I could get some browns or brookies on camera. Some pics: Freedom Hope you enjoyed

Pretty trout Rob...Nicely done

Awesome vid Doc. Great footage! That river is amazingly beautiful

Great catch Chris! Congrats on the PB. Can't wait to see the fly report.

Incredible catch Fidel If I didn't just blow a ton of cash on some new camera gear, a trip to Honduras or Guatemala was next on the list

What a shock. Condolences to his friends and family. RIP John...You will be missed

The alarm that suits your needs best (aside from budget) really depends on where you fish. Over the years, I’ve primarily used only a few models of alarms (all made by FOX). I mostly fish large rivers with heavy current the majority of the time nowadays – I.E, the St. Lawrence, Niagara, Trent, lower Grand, etc. I couldn’t live without an adjustment for sensitivity and volume. My first alarms only had an on-off button and volume control. When fishing large rivers with heavy flow, I often use the lowest 4 sensitivity settings (out of 8 on my current ones) so my alarms don’t go off from the current. I prefer adjustable volume more for bank-side etiquette. There’s nothing I hate more than hearing people’s alarms go off as they adjust their rigs after casting or hearing alarms at the other side of the lake in the middle of the night. When I fish tournaments, I often turn the volume to 0 at night so I don’t wake the other competitors... If you’re primarily fishing still water lakes or very slow moving rivers, just about any cheap alarm will do. The sensitivity settings on most are actually pretty decent from the $15-$25 ones I’ve played with and are comparable to the basic FOX M alarms I own (I paid around $50 back in the day for them). I’ve been using FOX EOS-X alarms as my main ones for about 5 seasons which I love, (except for the 1.5v batteries that typically last only 1 season). They do everything I need a bite alarm to do. When it all comes down to it, buy what you can afford.

Very pretty fish Mike. Always a pleasure reading your reports. That Paine falls reel looks like it could be that new toy I just have to have ...And it comes in stealth fighter black too...Just the way I like it

For supplies locally, Angling Specialties, has blanks (St. Croix, Lamiglas, Sage), guides, epoxy, cork (and other handle materials like foam and ), thread, brushes and almost anything you need to build a rod. I also bought a Flex Coat rod turning motor through AngSpec but I still prefer turning my rods by hand. It does come in handy though when it's late and you're busy doing other stuff around the house. I still use the same rod wrapper George gave me when I was 15. Here's one online place in Canada that sells rod building stuff: http://www.rodbuildersupplies.com/index.php I've personally never ordered from them but know a few people who have...They've had great experiences dealing with them. I've ordered from Mudhole a number of times. Great selection to choose from. Shipping costs for me usually were 25-65% of the order cost to get it to my door. Long and/or heavy items will be more expensive to ship. In Ontario, you can always talk to: - Spiel here on OFC - John Collina (JC tackle in Caledonia) - Billy at Wilsons hooked me up with some components for my fly rods. Mike

Just bookmarked it Craig Still needs thousands of old-school steelheading pics to really make it great though...

Looks great MM...I'm sure the giant goldfish will love it Still a few months away till I break out the carp gear. I'm dreading the cleanup on a few of the buckets I left in the garage with some of the bait I had from last season

Very nice brownies Mike The one in the 3rd pic is a tank. Thanks for the report

Too funny Rick I remember when I turned 18 and purchased my first license, they misspelled my last name. I called in, did some paper work they requested I complete, and sent the card back. 6wks later, I get an envelope in the mail, I open it and it's a new card with the same spelling mistake...Go figure

I think naming that laker, Fat Albert would be more apporpriate...That thing is chunky! Nicely done

Sweet report Mike..."chrome bullets" they are Nicely done guys I got Thurs off and it can't come soon enough!

Thanks guys...Really means a lot I managed to end my season on Simcoe yesterday with 1 more smaller laker I guess the Karma for pushing a guy's broken down car at 4am yesterday to the nearest gas station helped There's still 1 more on the way... Chris, that's an offer that no angler in their right mind would refuse Can't wait! Mike

Sweet fish dude . Officially retired the ice gear for the season yesterday...Just gotta spool up the reels and I'll see you out on the water.

I wish I had a cool wristband like that at Sunnybrook Great to hear #6 is done Wayne. I still have a few packs of ondansetron if Jen needs it Thanks for the updates Mike

My dad and I will be going again this year. I get off work at 5 so we'll be doing the after 5pm for $5. I work downtown anyway so travel and parking isn't an issue. The only thing I really want to get down there is a spool of Raven mono. We'll mostly just be going down for a walk and to pick up some free sausage and smoked meat samples

Finally had some time to read the tutorial Lorne. Well written It gave me a lot of memories of how I grew up carp fishing with similar tackle and rigs. As a kid, I spent a ton of time in the Kawarthas with an Abu C3 and an 8'6" or 10' med-med/heavy salmon/steelhead rod for my stalking sessions. I think there would be a lot more people fishing today if they really knew how easy it can be to catch carp. You aren't limited to using 12ft specimen carp rods or baitrunners or method feeders or hair rigs...In many cases, unless you really understand why you're using them, they detract from the learning experience.