MJL

Hope everyone's OK... The only exciting thing I ever saw while at work was watching a bad driver parallel park into the cars both in front and behind it X 3...Then turning the fire hydrant on the sidewalk into a fountain...Then driving off...

The otters are super cool to the max! Beautiful pics Dave

Beauty bow Jim This past weekend I also found black french blades were key for the brownies.

Tons of landowners have done the same...I don’t blame them…I lost a good spot on the Ganny when the farmer got pissed at the garbage left over from opener…I helped him pick up the trash each year but he got sick of it all and posted it. It also didn’t help that people used his fence posts for firewood… I’ve always tried to keep excellent relations with the land owners who allowed me to fish their property by writing out personal contracts stating that I won’t litter or set their trees on fire – They also sometimes get a cheap bottle of wine…I also have a clause for my dad to join. I’ve only ever had one minor incident with a landowner…But it wasn’t garbage related (it wasn't entirely my fault either)…Something to do with one of the farmer's daughters…I don’t go back there anymore…At least not to fish…

Beautiful pics Mark...Really diggin the browns...WTG

I never really understood the people who pulled over at the side of the road to toss their timmies cups. Or those guys you see with ancient line on their reels stripping it off and dumping it in the bushes when their car and the trash can was right behind them…Whatever I take in, I take out. A number of the steelhead rivers I fish can be dumps (especially in the fall)…That’s just the nature of the anglers who fish close to larger urban centers…I don’t complain about it - It’s pointless…I just do what I can to make it a better place when I leave…It’s also good for karma So far this year, I’ve been fishing trash-free stretches of rivers for the most part and I’m loving it

Thanks guys...With carp spawning at my local swims, I may give the trout thing 1 more shot next weekend...Hopefully I'll be able to stock up on those Thermacell and insect defend patch thingies before I wander around the forests again. I thought I was witnessing a hatch of daddy-long legs...Until they started sucking my blood... I must exact revenge to the biggun that violated me last night!

Too bad no walleye were violated in the making of this report...Still an awesome day out by any means...Well done Mooneye look a lot like herring...I wonder if they're just as tasty?

Congrats Splash on the de-skunking...Great report I wish I had a van ... Or at least something with a comfy backseat:D

Great report Chris...Really digging the long exposures and the moose was super cool Thanks for sharing

Thanks Roy Hey Scott...I don't swing that way either...But I have to admit I did give him a kiss before I set him on his way Around 10pm I saw the big brown swim downstream from a log jam into the pool I was fishing – I had a feeling it would produce considering it looked too good not to produce anything during the day…At first I thought it was a steelhead. Every few minutes he would come up to the surface and splash…I took your advice and drifted a big dewy without any weight on the line from my upstream position. I was feeding the line off the spool as it drifted downstream...He took…Unfortunately after 4 minutes he came undone …He looked as big as a 4lb steelhead. Out of desperation, I waded into the water, arched across the pool in the shallows and stood in front of another set of logs so he wouldn’t go under…I wanted that fish bad! I stuck it out for another hour but unfortunately he wouldn’t hit again - I also didn't see him surface again either I've caught tons of chinny smolts in the past before...Never one like that...If he was a jack, I guess his hormones kicked in a little early

Tom the brown lives near Streetsville town, where the Credit flows right through He lived in there, without a care, till May twenty-two He munched all day on river crays, as well as minnows and frogs. He hid concealed awaiting his meal, beneath his favourite log A snaggy hole for fishermen’s poles Tom was a secret fish. No eagles nor otters or river trotters, He never became a dish. One spring day later on in May, Mike walked the banks with stealth He slid and crawled towards the brown on his belly without a sound Mike tied on a spinner his favourite lure, a lure with noise and flash. It’s made of metal with a bit of fur, it’s a lure that’s bright and brash Beneath the log where Tom did lie, Mike pitched the lure to the stream. Beneath the surface the spinner spun, the blade brightly beamed. Tom the brown could not resist the shiny looking meal It flashed and shimmied like a minnow, a minnow that was real Tom the brown took the spinner down into his big, wide yap For a second Tom was a little confused, till Mike gave a snap Mike set the hook and all hell broke lose, the trout jumped then dove. Tom the brown was a little scared he’d end up on the stove The reel sung loud and the rod was bent, while pulling Tom away from snags. No matter how hard Mike did pull, Tom swam toward the crags A minute or two of give and take, Mike got the upper hand Into the net like a now tamed pet, it was a sight so beautifully grand Golden flanks dotted with dark black spots, shone brightly in the sun. Mike gently unhooked the lure with care, with great relief that he had won. To Tom’s relief that Mike wouldn’t eat, the gorgeous trout Tom be. Mike let him go to the stream again for another angler Tom could see Tom the brown lives near Streetsville town where the Credit flows right through He lives in there, but with some care to not meet angler number two Tom the brown at 17 inches long…The largest resident trout I’ve landed with the UL setup so far Also met: Tom Jr Sally speck Beth the Brookie Bob the brookie Charles the mini Chinny Beautiful spotting pattern This one was too small to name but it was beautifully coloured. I’ve never caught a brookie coloured like this before. Some other friends I made on my trip while wandering the back-roads…I named the white one Craig and the brown one Sinker…They proved helpful this weekend…Many thanks I spent 16hrs hrs fishing through mosquito hell yesterday landing a few dozen brookies and a few browns. I scouted and fished 6 streams, 4 of which produced trout of some type...A couple surprise steelhead also succumbed to the spinners as well. Just couldn’t handle stretching the trip to the 20-24hrs I was hoping for…The mozzies swarmed like bees all day…Literally ...It got much worse at sun-down (which I didn't think was possible)...but I stayed a few extra hours till 11pm tempting the fish of my dreams to hit - only to have the hook pop out as I briefly touched its tail it wouldn't fit in my net …DEET kept the bugs at bay for the most part…I still got bit in places I never imagined I would Next time I head out, I need someone to stroll around the forest topless in shorts as my decoy Any volunteers? Hope you enjoyed For those who are wondering…Tom and his friends may or may not exactly live near Streetsville where the Credit flows right through…

Great report Cliff Panther Martins are the only things I've been able to get specks with beyond worms...I actually have more success using them than worms...Unfortunately most shops are sold out of the ones I use most 16" is massive...At least compared to the stream specks I've been getting lately. Congrats!

It's a tiger splike = Tiger musky + splake Love the markings on that fish. WTG Mike.

Awesome vid Simon Looking at that fish finder footage brings back a flood of memories at how frustrating my ice season for lakers was...In my case, they rose up off the bottom but turned back down without hitting X 100

There’s a special school in the Kitchener/Waterloo area with an exceptional teacher and some very amazing students…Several years ago Darryl Kierstead, a teacher at Bluevale Collegiate Institute started a fishing club at that school for students in grade 9 through to 12. On short notice, Hammercarp asked a few of us to volunteer our time and expertise helping the club out for one of their fishing trips for carp – The majority of their trips is actually for carp as it’s always in season at their local swims. In the past, they’ve also ice fished for perch in Simcoe, fished for panfish all over and toured around the Toronto Islands looking for pike. I took the day off from work and made my way down to Hamilton where the fish-in was going to be held…I got there early around 1:30 and met Darryl setting up a few rods with several of his students… ”Is this all”…”This will be a piece of cake”…I thought wrong… 30mins later a few cars with 15-20 students show up in the parking lot…A few minutes later, another 5…A few minutes later another 5… “How many can there be?” Well there were 50 students all together who showed up ……From 8 students then at the beginning a few years ago, to now over 65 current members, Darryl has obviously promoted and inspired his kids to take up the sport of fishing...A few students - now in college - are undertaking musky stocking projects and some are working in the forestry business (with the hopes of better fishing up north…Or so they think if they have the time ) It was a manic first hour setting everyone up with their rods, hair rigging corn and boilies onto their hooks, untangling lines and retying new hair rigs after discovering that the ones they currently had on their lines were unusable or knotted up…Darryl and I were winging it as the students came. Hammercarp showed up a little later after. Lorne and Darryl Here are some of the pics For most of the day I made my rounds checking the students to see if they needed anything – I didn’t really fish much…Many of them strayed a fair distance away hoping for the promise of better fishing. In the end, though the fishing was brutally slow, one lucky angler managed a gorgeous carp at 25.5lbs (will post the pics later). Even with the slow fishing, the majority of students said at least one of the following - It beats doing homework - I can’t wait for the tournament next week and the next trip in 2 weeks - It’s just nice being out here with a line in the water Fantastic group of kids: Optimistic, out-going, passionate and respectful to the environment they fished - The bank was actually cleaner at the end of the day Hungry, dehydrated, tired and fishless...I’m still hoping to get out with them again for their next fish-in. Can't wait! I also have to give kudos to my buddy John for dropping by with a package donated to the club comprising of: Big Bob's carp corn, boilies, groundbait, boilie-stops, baiting needles (which Darryl definitely needed considering he loses all of them each trip ) and more... If you’ve got old tackle laying around not worth selling and are thinking of donating it to the club, shoot me or Hammercarp a PM and we can provide you with Darryl’s contact info. Cheers

Best post of the year I read it 5 times in a row and each time it just gets better This is Pulitzer Prize material

Spinner porn at its finest The colours are absolutely stunning. Hopefully this weekend (weather depending), I'll have my chance to land one like that. Well done Jim

You should try them next time...Afraz and Fishingitis say they're tasty...Maybe they're like tilapia where their diet of excrement makes them so tender and juicy

He let her know who wears the waders in that relationship I know she's reading this...That's what he told me...honest...

Great report Roy...Looks like a blast with a tasty result Sooo tempted to take a charter trip out onto Lake O one of these days

Can't thank you enough for your tips Dave Funny you should mention frogs…Just hooking one makes me a little squeamish (not that I’ve ever used one before)…Something about their beady eyes and the fact that they use their hands to try to remove the hooks from their head kinda creeps me out a little…Back when I fished with one friend who did use frogs (for pike), I actually bought a few Lucky Strike Alive Harnesses to try out – They’re packed away somewhere in my basement. Thank goodness for warranties...In my case, I have the worst luck with cameras and water Got the rod tip fixed tonight...I should be good to go for this weekend (if carp doesn't get in the way) Cheers Mike

I guess my young, innocent look with bright puppy dog eyes makes people want to sell me stuff …I’ve never had a problem dealing with any of the smaller tackle shops in Southern Ontario (even the aforementioned ones in this thread). I mostly shop around local places for non-specialty stuff I need. The service has always been great, prices are pretty good...Location-wise I live down the street from a fair number of shops…The rest of the stuff (mostly carp and some rod building supplies) which I can’t find locally I order online or through mail order. If anything, when the UPS man cometh with a parcel from the US, I get the Vaseline ready and prepare myself for a violation to the nth degree

Me too...But I gotta admit that fighting larger fish on a dinky rod and using a toy sized reel can be kick-ass fun at times

My dad and I were watching that yesterday afternoon - He finally got a new TV and the National Geographic HD channel They're beautiful fish for sure. I wonder what it would be like to drift 12 inch streamer patterns with a float rod + centrepin combo? One other fish related to the Taimen I want to catch is the Hucho (aka Danubian salmon) from Slovenia...They don't grow as big but are some of the most challenging fish to catch. Oh yes! They’re supposed to be the world’s strongest fighting freshwater fish…The golden mahseer is on my to-catch list…There are several outfitters that you can get to by train + 4x4 provided the road didn’t wash away during monsoon season . If you can find it (in a format suitable for US/CAN), the DVD with host Jeremy Wade titled Jungle Hooks – India is absolutely amazing. Ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted to ride an elephant after watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...I wouldn't mind the opportunity given the chance