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MJL

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Posts posted by MJL

  1. Quick Salmon Report

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Great job Cliff! Spending so many late nights fishing makes me wonder if you have a real job during the day.

     

    As far as lucky items go

     

    I have my

    - unwashed Simms gore-tex wading jacket (with slime from steelhead, carp and salmon on the storm flap from 3-4 seasons)

    - unwashed seal-skinz waterproof socks (washed 3yrs ago)

    - 4yr old lucky hat (Faded Nike hat...It used to be black now a light brown colour)

     

    I also have my pre-trip rituals but I would rather not divulge such information :whistling:

     

    You're not alone when it comes to searching for that extra bit of help.

  2. ny state fishing license

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Scam Alert!!

     

    Well more like a dont pay too much warning. The site linked by the previous post is not a not end with a .gov designation.

     

    Have you ever seen those Canadian citizenship ads that are not from the Canadian gov't: 'for only $50 you can have a citizenship application'.

    The applications are actually free. The person selling the application is scamming (in Toronto no less!!!).

     

    Here is a link to the NYS gov't site that has the rates posted: http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6091.html

     

    Stuntman

     

    Not sure what the fuss is all about

     

    I got to Solopaddler's link from your link by clicking

     

    1. Sporting licenses

    2. Purchase a sporting license

    3. Scroll down to "Online*" and click

    4. Continue to purchase a license online

  9. Power Pro virgin

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Like douG stated I tie on a snap swivel for chucking cleos for salmon and a wire leader for pike.

     

    For the carp, I often tie hair rigs out of PowerPro - It's supple and very strong. The downside of using PowerPro for hair rigs (or as a leader material to tie a hook on) is it's prone to severe tangling when casting heavier weights. You can use an anti-tangle system like rig-tubing above your weight or leadcore. Mono hair rigs generally don't tangle. I use both PowerPro and mono for my leaders and either way works.

  17. Whirlpool Carping - Sept 2

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Awesome report! So, if you were there alone, who took the pics of you fighting your fish?? haha.

     

    There were a few people down in the whirlpool who passed by and took a few pics for me. The others I did survivorman style by setting it on a large rock or my bait bucket and using the timer.

  19. Whirlpool Carping - Sept 2

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I decided last week that I would try my hand at carping the Niagara whirlpool. I’ve never been down there before and I was dying to try it out. I found very little information on the quality of carp fishing or the conditions to expect other than the fact that there was a lot current and lots of snags. All the reports stated “Some of the strongest fighting fish you’ll ever catch”…That was the bit that convinced me to go.

     

    The reports also said that it required a 20min hike down a steep hill to get to the bottom...To any normal (or sane) person, that means pack light and split the load with someone else. Unfortunately in my case, I couldn’t find another person willing to carry a few small buckets of bait down a hill. My family interested in crossing the border on a shopping excursion, would drop me off at the path and pick me up at a designated time…Whatever I would need for the day; I would have to carry down with me…No car to stash my stuff in.

     

    Not knowing what the conditions were like down at the whirlpool, I decided to pack like I do on every scouting mission…Pack for all conditions :D

     

    Beyond some of the main terminal tackle that I use (hooks, swivels, hook-link material, leads, etc), and my rod and reel, I decided that I would bring

    - My rod pod (front legs swapped for long banksticks)

    - Spare carp rod (In the event my main rod broke)

    - Net

    - A few ice cream buckets worth of bait

    - Spare camera

    - A headlamp (In the event that I’m still fishing when it gets dark)

    - Food + snacks

    - Water (And lots of it)

    On the bathroom scale my hiking pack fully loaded weighed 42lbs…My consolation was the fact that it would be lighter on the way back up.

     

    Sunday

     

    We toured around the Niagara parkway looking for the access point to go down. To be honest, I still don’t know where I descended down the gorge with respect to the Google Satellite map. Not knowing where exactly I had to go, my dad found an opening in a fence with a path and we proceeded.

     

    Being of the cautious type I suggested that I leave my gear in the car and scout it first, coming back to the car when we found the stairs. My dad being the practical type told me to take the gear with me…And so I took it with me….Thank you dad for leading me around a bunch of campsites for 10 minutes with a heavy pack strapped to my back…The set of stairs turned out to be 100 metres to the right of that opening.

     

    Once on the stairs, my family left for the border and I was on my own. It certainly was an exciting climb down with all the gear. The legs were slightly burning at the halfway point

     

    20070902021.jpg

     

    The path

    20070902022.jpg

     

    But at the end, the view was spectacular

     

    20070902023.jpg

     

    20070902024.jpg

     

    I found a spot which looked promising – It was more of a gut feeling – and I set up my gear.

     

    Pod with rod tips pointing skyward. The heavy current and the weeds + other junk floating downriver made it hard to fish any other way. I never even used the back rests on the pod because the angle wasn’t high enough. I rested the butt of the rod on the floor and put my rod on the alarm – I also never used the swinger. A good baitrunner or an extremely good drag (set medium light) is a must with this type of fishing.

     

    20070902033.jpg

     

    Initially I rigged up with a 3oz inline carp lead and on my first cast, I snagged up in some rocks…The sinker must have drifted 20-30 or so feet from where it entered the water from...I lost it. I re-rigged with a 4oz torpedo shaped swivel weight/lead clip combo and cast it out (If there’s enough interest, I might post up a pic of the rig I was using) …It clung onto the bottom but barely…It’s probably not the type of lead you would want to use in current but that’s all I had to work with. Ideally, a 6oz flat lead would’ve been perfect IMO.

     

    Within 20 minutes after re-rigging, I’m into a fish. After another 15 minutes of tug-o-war, I bank my first fish around 16lbs or so.

    20070902025.jpg

     

    The count when noon hit was 6 fish from 7 to 16lbs. After that everything just shut down for the next hour and a half.

     

    A couple random pics I took when I got a little bored

     

    The cable car that runs across the whirlpool

    20070902052.jpg

     

    Mr. Boillie is happy to see you

    20070902037.jpg

     

    At around 1:30 pm, the action started up again.

     

    Leaning into one

    20070902039.jpg

     

    This one finally comes to net after peeling around 140ft of line on 3 of his runs

    20070902045.jpg

     

    Landed

    20070902048-1.jpg

     

    One fish decided that the pineapple flavoured jumbo corn that I brought was irresistible. This fish made a dozen mind blowing runs before being winched back

     

    It turns out to be the biggest fish of the day weighing in at 24lbs 4oz

     

    20070902034-1.jpg

     

    I ended the day at 5pm and made my way up the hill with about 30-35lbs of gear – I used up all the maize, method mix and drank most the water that I brought up with me. I think the heaviest items were the pod and all of its components + the bunch of leads I thought I was going to lose during the trip – I only lost 1 all day so I guess I’m happy I don’t have to buy more…I can't say the same about my back, legs and @$$.

     

    All together I managed to go 12/12 on the whirlpool carp. They took a variety of baits including, maize, rubber corn, jumbo corn and boillies rigged on a hair rig. These carp seem like a different breed of fish which have evolved particularly to the Niagara whirlpool. They have quite hard lips and unlike most river fish, these fish had quite small tails for their size. The other fins however (Pectoral, dorsal, anal and pelvic), seemed quite oversized – Perhaps they’re better at probing the bottom in high current VS roaming nomadically. As far as the notion of being the hardest fighting fish in Ontario goes, they’re up there in terms of their bull-dogging and never quit attitude (Maybe their oversized fins have something to do with it). Only a couple of fish displayed the high octane runs that I was hoping for but I was still quite satisfied with each fish that took my bait – The average fight was about 10-15min of shoulder straining fun.

     

    Would I go back…Yes in a heartbeat…After I’m able to feel my legs again.

  22. Salmon??? Any reports

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On the topic of glow in the dark cleos. Is it legal to illuminate them with artificial light and then fish with them?

     

    Stuntman

     

    Provided that the light is part of the actual lure, it's legal. You can't use lights (like lanterns or powerful flashlights) to attract fish to your area. From what I've been told, the light (from lanterns) attracts small bait fish which in turn attract bigger fish to your area.

  25. Monday Carping - Aug 27

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by MJL

    Thanks for the dedication Mike...Glad to see you boys did well...

     

    I was out early this morning chumming Carp Point on Sturgeon Lake...Will do the same tomorrow and then probably wet a line on Friday...

     

    I read it is best to just chum for a couple of days so the carp feel safe eating in the area but needless to say that is not necessary where you boys were on Monday...rarely a day goes by that someone doesn't chum the area...

     

    Pre-baiting works well if you have the luxury of living close to the water or if someone else can regularly do it for you. Most of the time, I don't have that luxury and fish waters that may see only 1-2 other carp anglers over the course of a season - The fish don't get fed much by me or the other anglers. I prefer to find the fish first by scouting or guessing where they will be rather than blindly chumming an area in the hopes of bringing them in. I look for natural paths which the carp cruise along and fish it (you can try to spot fish cruising around or jumping/rolling on the surface). If they're jumping at distance, try casting there...In my experience, it has paid off quite well. If you can't find fish, understanding carp behaviour is key and knowing/guessing where they usually hang out during the different parts of the year really helps.

     

    These paths change as the season progresses and swims which produced 30-50 fish in a day in May/June may be devoid of fish in August even if you chum lots out daily (you also waste a lot of bait). If one swim isn't producing after giving it a good try, move on to another or try a different tactic (try casting to a different part of the swim, try a different bait, etc).

     

    Hope this helps

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