MJL

Great pic Craig I would imagine the vast majority of fish in the smaller and medium sized rivers would be done spawning by now. Even the dropbacks have mostly vacated my local rivers. The past few weeks I've been hitting one of the bigger rivers and have been getting into a good number of fresh fish that still haven't spawned yet. I guess we could still see spawning fish into the end of May/Early June. Rainbows/steelhead (especially males) turn a similar dark brown/dark green colour (with a red stripe down the side) when they migrate up river to spawn.

OMG

Does he spend all fall gorging on spawning salmon swimming up from Lake O to prepare for his hibernation? LOL

I fish beads just like any other bait, fly/jig or lure below the float. I would tone down the hook sets though. Beads are far less water resistant than roe bags and if you miss on the hook set, be prepared for a bead/hook combo flying back at you at warp speed.LOL

Congrats on getting your first DSLR...I'm sure you will enjoy it. The T3 was a great camera and the T5 should serve you well. Time to go lens shopping A little late, but in terms of getting shallow depth of field, there is no difference between a mirrorless camera and a DSLR with the same sensor size. When you are comparing cameras that have the same sensor size (ie. both have APS-C sensors like a Canon T5 VS Sony A6000), the same lens focal length (as an example 50mm) and using the same lens aperture (As an example - F/2.8), you will achieve the same/similar results. Of course this does not mean that the quality/smoothness of the 'bokeh' (ie. the blurred background) will be the same. The quality and construction of the lens plays a bigger role in that.

Great meeting you today. You know what would be more fun? Actually targeting them with rod and line Mike

Great vid Simon. Really enjoyed it. It's hard not to envy you with all that great fishing right in the backyard.LOL

Welcome to OFC! On another note, your screen name just makes me think of this.LOL

Volunteers help net and lift 200 rainbow trout over an impassible dam.

A good number of mirrorless cameras actually do have viewfinders. The only difference is that most mirrorless have an electrical viewfinder (EVF) VS Optical viewfinder which all DSLR cameras have. Both types of viewfinders have pros and cons. If I was primarily shooting sports, action and fast erratic moving wildlife, the slight lag on the EVF would drive me crazy. A pro for the EVF would be that the EVF displays a very close approximation of what you are shooting with a given set of camera settings. You can adjust your settings without having to take your eyes away from the viewfinder or take several test shots to figure out if your settings are OK. Some mirrorless cameras have a hybrid rangefinder type of viewfinder. I haven't used any mirrorless rangefinder type of camera to comment on. For me, I still prefer using the DSLR over a mirrorless (but that's my preference). The bigger camera body feels more comfortable to use with larger zoom and telephoto lenses. Although a lot of mirrorless cameras tout to have super fast autofocus, I'm still on the fence with that one. I did a side by side comparison with the Olympus OMD-EM1, Sony A6000 and the Sony A7R II and neither were as accurate or could lock on focus as fast as even my beater Canon T3i (which is an entry level DSLR with only 9 basic focus points). Granted, the focus spread on the mirrorless cameras are generally a lot bigger than pretty much all DSLRs, so there are pros and cons with both types of cameras. Keep in mind that mirrorless camera bodies with viewfinders (that are large enough to be useful), aren't that small. They're obviously not huge (like most DSLRs) but they aren't quite pocketable (especially with a zoom lens). Battery life on all mirrorless cameras is a lot less than any DSLR (so plan on buying a few extra batteries if you go the mirrorless route). On that note, the evolution of mirrorless cameras is still ongoing whereas the technology of DSLRs has plateaued (IMO). There's a number of mirrorless cameras with in-body image stabilization and autofocus is getting better with each generation. Lenses for mirrorless cameras on average are smaller than DSLR lenses which is a pro if you do a lot of traveling (That's even if you do a direct size comparison between APS-C mirrorless vs APS-C DSLR and Full frame mirrorless and full frame DSLR). Best word of advice is to visit the camera shop, get a bunch of cameras in your hands and shoot them. Regardless of whether you go the DSLR or mirrorless route, you're going to be spending $ on glass and that is what fixes you to a certain brand forever.LOL If you're near Scarborough and are interested in trying out a Canon T3i + Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for a week, let me know.

I'm a DSLR fan myself. When I'm concentrating on just photography, I prefer the form factor and feeling of the DSLR VS anything else. When it comes around to underwater photography, my choices of cameras are a lot more limiting with what I want/need - the poor battery life of mirrorless cameras is a huge disadvantage for me for my underwater photography. With that said, I just bought my first mirrorless camera (a Fujifilm X-70) as a camera that I can keep on me most of the time (it fits in a jacket pocket just fine). I shoot Canon but have also used a few Nikon DSLRs (D40, D300, D800 and D3). Both companies have great cameras. I prefer the ergonomics and handling of the Canon cameras over the Nikon (but that's just me). Visit a local camera shop and handle a few cameras. As Bill mentioned, you could be spending a lot more on lenses than the actual camera body.

Youtube is your friend...Many TV shows have uploaded full length shows on youtube (eg. FishTV, The Real Fishing Show, Canadian Sportfishing, etc)

Is it because you saw me land hundreds of steelhead using Kwikfish from the Luhr Jensen Company...For all of your Kwikfish needs

Great vid! I opted to stay in on that Saturday when it was -35 + windchill.LOL Great tip on how to work those jigs...So far I've only ever caught 1 fish (a whitie) on that style of jig but it's something to try next season

Brian, unless you're planning on swinging spinners in heavier current or require additional casting distance, I don't find longer rods all that useful for casting hardware. If anything, I find longer rods (over 10'6") aren't that accurate when pinpoint casts are necessary, they are heavier in weight and after a long day of casting, you'll feel it. I also find longer rods are generally less sensitive - Not for feeling bites from fish but rather for feeling the action of the lure as you're working it in the river. Using light line when tossing hardware is not necessary...Fish just smash it. I'm also looking for a better hardware rod for medium sized rivers. My 9' Shimano Convergence has great backbone and is fairly sensitive but it's too stiff for casting smaller lures like size 2-3 spinners accurately. It's a great rod for spoon chucking or tossing bigger plugs in the Niagara though.

Thanks guys Thanks John, I used 2 cameras with a few different lenses in this thread: Above water: Canon 5D mark III with either a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II or a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens. Underwater: Canon 7D with an 8-15mm f/4L fisheye (I also sometimes use a Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 or an EF 60mm f/2.8 macro depending on the situation). I use an underwater housing + dome port + various accessories to keep everything dry. I've thought about having my pictures printed in calendars in the past. Still thinking about various themes for each month.LOL

Thanks again guys. Really appreciate it One day I'd like to publish a book of my own on the various freshwater fish species found in Ontario. It's been a dream that I've had since I was a kid. This year my goal is to try to get as many pictures as I can of muskies, pike, walleye, panfish, smallmouth bass and various minnow species. I'm not much of a multi-species angler yet so we'll see I have had a few pictures published in magazines and books in the UK and US (primarily for carp fishing). I've been contacted by several Canadian/US based magazines over the past few years. We'll see how that goes Thanks for your kind words. In the past I've had a few pictures printed to hang on the wall as gifts as well as sold a few bigger prints to friends. It costed more than I would've liked. It's definitely an idea that I haven't stopped thinking about though. I did print out one of my trout pictures as a gift and gave it to a property owner on one of my favourite steelhead rivers...Nothing like scoring private access that I can fish in solitude I do have a basic web-site up and running but it's primarily a small portfolio of my work to show interested editors or writers. Maybe one day I'll have a retail store (I haven't decided yet). Thanks again guys Mike

Very sad...I've been following the iditarod for the last 10 years. I have no doubt that incident was the deciding factor of the winner of that race. I believe Aliy Zirkle was running second when she was hit and Jeff King (4 time champion and consistently in the top 10) was running 5th and closing in fast on the leaders. Would've loved to see Aliy win her first iditarod after several 2nd place finishes.

Great report! I've never fished the Haliburton lakes before but they're definitely on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing

Thanks guys...Glad you enjoyed the pics. With the milder temps this winter, it was the first year that my camera didn't freeze into a solid block of ice when I took it out of the hole Brian, it's not like I didn't have my camera gear with me last fall...You do need to catch a fish first...Just saying... I've actually never caught that many sheepies or white bass in one day before...It was certainly one of my most favourite trips of 2015 I've got a few photography ideas to try out this season on the boat

Beauty brownies! Nicely done Look at the gut on the brown in the 2nd pic!

I grew up fishing the Eastern Ditches and still get out maybe two or three times a year when my usual go-to rivers are blown or I need to stop into Gagnons for something. They are what they are being so close to Toronto. There are a handful of regulars on each river who are usually super chill and have no problems sitting back and letting you take a drift (often times they'll actually insist you take a drift). I find a lot of the guys nowadays (usually the younger ones) don't even ask before they crowd you out of your run (usually after they see you hook up). If I can make it through a trip without having some kid tell me how I need to use Hevi-Beads, G2 Floats or Streamside rods and reels to catch fish, I'd consider that a good day.LOL Glad to hear your son got hooked up Ryan.

Congrats on the PB! Well done Is that a St Croix wild river rod that you're tossing the skunk Kwikfish with? I'm definitely in the market for a new hardware stick.

For me, the 2016 ice season has finally come to an end. Ice fishing isn't my favourite type of fishing, but it's way up there just behind my love of autumn steelhead fishing. When the lakes freeze over, it's one of the few times boat-less anglers (such as myself) can explore off-shore areas in search of fish. Sonars and really short fishing rods add to the excitement of hooking and landing large fish through the ice. Add to that, the fact that you have a large, (often crazy) fish doing donuts below the hole while you try to grab it, really gets the heart pumping. I never really played video games as a kid. Watching an aggressive laker on the sonar, shoot up 50 ft from the bottom and chase the lure another 30 feet before smashing it, makes up for all that I missed growing up When I wasn't at work, I was probing the lakes with my friends and trying to catch whatever I could bring in through an 8" hole. The 2016 ice season was more of a grinder for me with a lot of hours of hunting down fish VS actually catching them - Numbers were down for me this season. At least a fish or few made an appearance each trip to avoid the skunk. As usual, I brought my cameras along with the hopes of capturing some interesting shots above and below the ice. Hopping ice sheets by Mike Leung, on Flickr Open Wide by Mike Leung, on Flickr On the Blade by Mike Leung, on Flickr Below the Ice by Mike Leung, on Flickr Kick for freedom by Mike Leung, on Flickr Healthy bend by Mike Leung, on Flickr Wrapped in the ducer by Mike Leung, on Flickr The smell of cucumbers in the morning by Mike Leung, on Flickr Black and Whitefish by Mike Leung, on Flickr Perch on plastics by Mike Leung, on Flickr At the hole by Mike Leung, on Flickr Black Crappie by Mike Leung, on Flickr Icy Gator by Mike Leung, on Flickr Splash by Mike Leung, on Flickr After literally 7 seasons of trying, I finally caught my first whitefish from Lake Simcoe (and a good many more in the trips after). Definitely the highlight of my ice season Hope you enjoyed Mike

@ All Star Wings later that night... Kevin: "You need to start up a Canadian rod blank manufacturing company to produce Canadian made ice rods" Mike: "I'll need to hire some pro-staffers to get the word out there" Kevin: "You can hire me" Mike: "I need people who can land lakers..." Great vid!