MJL

I’m just wondering if anyone has ever pulled an overnight fishing session on the Toronto islands before. I love fishing at night for carp but there seems to be an increasing trend for pay parking and night closures at the parks where I fish in the GTA – Plus the rising price of gas doesn’t help either. Is it legal to stay overnight on the islands? I imagine beyond the residents who live there, raccoons and mosquitoes would probably be the only things out during the night (hopefully). There are a few swims on the islands that look absolutely mint for 2am fishing. Any info is much appreciated Thanks

AMAZING report Gavin. Absolutely love the pics. Congrats on finding a nearby lake to fish. I've always wanted to try my hand at some of the fish in the UK like tench, barbel and roach. I would also love to browse some of the tackle shops over there for some new carp gear too. In the future I'd like to visit the UK. It seems like a cool place. There's the guards with the furry hats, deep fried mars bars, people who drive on the wrong side of the road (which I find totally cool), Harry Potter and the list goes on

I was told by a Loomis rep that the Frontier line of blanks were made by Batson Enterprises and assembled in the Canadian Loomis plant. Batson Enterprises manufactures their blanks overseas in Asia while G. Loomis manufactures their blanks in Washington State (cost savings by outsourcing). The 2pc 13' Frontier uses either aluminum oxide or hialoy guides which also lowers the cost of the finished product (Compared to using Fuji SIC's or Recoils). My dad owns a 3pc frontier and it performs beautifully. It's light and responsive and I have yet to hear him complain about anything. I've only played around with the GLX's in the shop and really can't say anything about their performance.

Nothing wrong with owning high-end gear. It can be seen in all areas of the sport Steelheaders can purchase a custom centerpin + custom float rod for $1700+. Bass anglers can purchase 1 top of the line Diawa Steez combo for around $1000 Fly anglers can purchase a top of the line House of Hardy combo for $2000 Just because we can catch fish on a combo costing $100 doesn't mean we have to

Great report and pics. Thanks for sharing What kind of bugs are they?

I'm speechless...Simply amazing Clive

Pretty much carp will take anything edible. I've caught carp on (in no particular order) canned corn, maize, bread, doughbaits (various recipes), worms, roe, chick peas, maple peas, boilies (in various flavours), peanuts, corn pops or puffs (can't remember the cereal), rubber corn, jumbo corn, carp pellets + other baits I can't remember. With meaty or fishy baits, you usually end up getting a lot of bullheads or channel cats instead. Carp will take Spam...It's actually what a lot of anglers in the UK and Europe use

You first Vic. I can make sake to go along with it from some of the bait I prepare

You certainly can. Most of the time when a carp takes the bait and gets hooked, they run like a demon possessed. You'll probably hear your drag going before you turn around to see your rod tip doubled over

Congrats on your catch Splashhopper

When we get a run, our alarms do this The little dangly thing in the vid is a hanger. In the case a hooked fish swims towards you, the hanger/swinger will drop thus providing enough tension for the line to continue running over the bite alarm. Hangers/Swingers are visual indicators. MEANING: you can watch when they rise and dip to tell if something is playing with your bait before they actually hook themselves.

Victor...That's your dream I'm guessing I must be the only one who's able to touch a carp and eat a sandwich right after. Carp don't smell that bad...I'm sure the bait I can cook up probably smells a lot worse

All 3 of us have electronic bite alarms. When a fish runs, they beep and there's an LED light that flashes. We also use swingers/hangers which allow us to know if something is playing with the bait. The lazy man's way of fishing

Great catch Nautifish! Those are real nice fish. I know there are a few of us in the GTA dying to get out that way for some road trip carping...Cough cough Victor/Wolfville Top Angling

Great work Marko. Loving the pics. That river looks prime for some decent carp. In the first few pics, how deep is the water? Do you have any polarizing lens on your camera?

WTG. Congrats on your first pike Great report and pics

The last 5yrs I’ve been on a quest to fish as many waters as I could for carp. I’ve fished the St. Lawrence, Lake Ontario + tributaries + bays, Niagara River, Grand River, Kawartha region and several in-land lakes and ponds in the GTA for carp. On Friday I decided to try Lake Simcoe tributary for carp. My only experience fishing Lake Simcoe was at the Atherly narrows in a canoe so I was pumped this trip. I got to the swim around 8:30am. The swim itself is a muddy hell-hole. Looking at it, I didn’t think much of it till I sunk waist deep into the muck - I imagine heavier people would have gone further down. Each time i had to cast out, put my rod on the bank sticks or fight and land fish, I would have to trek through the muddy hole. The overhanging trees also made casting difficult and another reason to wade out. Glad I brought waders. I cast my rig into the water and within minutes I’m into a small fish of about 3lbs. I released it without taking a pic. From 9:30 to 2:30pm the action was totally dead. As soon as 2:30 came around, I was into another fish. The warm temps we experienced throughout the day turbo charged these fish – They went nuts when they were hooked and charged towards any snags they could. I got mud all over myself charging through the reeds and muck but it’s all good. Another fish landed I think at the end of it all I landed about 13-14 fish and lost 4 fish to snags and hook pulls. I didn’t land any fish over 18lbs but the way they fought made up for the lack of size. My skin now feels smooth and moisturized…Probably the result of playing around in so much mud. A few of the fish I saw cruising in the shallows really did whet my appetite – They had to go at least 35lbs. From what I gather, it doesn’t seem like anyone really fishes for them up there. Can’t wait to fish up that way again. Hope you enjoyed

For the magical hot dogs, "results may vary from person to person. Results can usually be seen in 1 to 72hrs. Side effects include obesity, fatigue and/or diarrhea" You weren't using one of my hair rigs. For 3 easy payments of $39.95 you get 12 hair rigs with uber sharp hooks guarantied to catch fish tied in a proprietary style designed by the one and only MJL

A while back Victor planned a carping g2g for anyone who was interested in carp fishing. Today a few of us OFC members met at Port Credit. Anton and Victor arrived at the swim at 6-6:30am. I arrived with my dad (Lazybum) at 6:40 and Andrew arrived shortly after. CLofchik swung by an hour or so later. The day started out really slow. The 25km east winds were brutal in the morning. No one had gotten any hits or line bumps. The only action that did occur happened when the wind blew Anton’s rod right into the water – we did manage to net it. Group shot My dad managed to snap a picture of some cool ducks that were near by. A few hours later (probably around 10am) we decided to pack up and head upstream to a spot a few of us had caught fish in the past. Sharper met up with us there – I have no idea how he knew where we were. For a while nothing was happening. I grabbed a hotdog from the street vendor during the slow period. After finishing it my buzzer goes off First fish of the day at 18lbs 12oz Group pic (Top Left to Right: Anton, CLofchik, Andrew & Sharper. Bottom Left to right:Victor and MJL. Absent: Lazybum) My dad got one shortly after around 7lbs…We didn’t get a pic…He hates touching carp Andrew hooks into one which took him around a bridge piling He managed to winch it free. 21lbs+ At around 2pm, we were thinking of packing up. Sharper’s rod doubles over and he’s fighting a decent sized carp My dad, Victor, Sharper and I ended the day at around 2:30. CLofchik and Andrew stuck around for some more action. It was great to meet everyone today and despite the slow action and brutal winds, my dad and I had fun. I'm sure all the others who attended also did as well. We have to do it again sometime!

Anglers International is bringing in a few bits and bobs of carp tackle You can see here http://www.topmixbaits.com/Carp%20Web%20Catalogue%202008.pdf Here for dealers http://www.topmixbaits.com/dealer_list.htm I get most of my gear from friends who smuggle in over from the UK You can get almost anything online or through mail order I highly recommend ordering from Jeff Vaughan at the Long Sault Motel. He managed to ship my new baitrunner + other tackle from his place to mine in about 3 days. You also don't have to pay customs or additional provincial taxes which you'd otherwise pay ordering from the US.

I should be good for Saturday.

I've never fished down there. You might get some useful info from the Trout Bum Diaries II DVD if you can get a hold of a copy. They're in New Zealand fishing for browns, rainbows and some brookies (I think). From what I gather, it's not the easiest trout fishing there is but the quality of fish certainly makes up for the quantity. For fly fishing, most movies I watched recommended casting 13-15ft (minimum) leaders which is no easy task in wind...The fish are super spooky in the gin clear waters. Good luck...Australia/New Zealand are places I would like to visit at least once in my life.

Those things are huge! Great report TUF Congrats

Great report and pics. Gotta agree with 1leg...Those things are gems. I have an ultra-lite outfit I've always wanted to use for those little brookies but never got around to pursuing them...Maybe this year will be the year....You've inspired me

About 4-5 yrs ago my friends from high-school wanted to do a camping trip in Algonquin park right after the May long weekend. They have been camping only once before in summer. None of them were (still aren't) really outdoors type of people. Their plan was to do the Canoe Lake -> Big Trout Lake -> Burnt Lake route (Or something along those lines). I was up for it. None of them are really strong paddlers either and none of them really had proper rain gear (Still don't). They also never planned on the weather to be -10 degrees at night. The weather was horrible the first day with heavy rain and ultra high winds. 2 of them in one canoe also didn't know how to paddle straight. I was comfortable in my Gore-tex gear, waterproof socks/shoes, waterproof gloves, etc...They obviously weren't. At night it dropped to -10 or so and I was relatively warm with a few layers of fleece and wool...They definitely weren't. We spent one more night at the same lake (they didn't even want to portage/paddle any further) and they had just about enough of it. We ended up going to Orillia and they went to Casino Rama while I fished Couchaching near the narrows for panfish in my canoe. We stayed at the Days Inn across the casino for a couple nights - The 2 most desperate ones of the group took the bill for the hotel.