MJL

Great report. WTG on those 20lbers Can't wait to get out to your neck of the woods again for another g2g. Those hat-lights are so cool...I gotta get me a set

If you can't find any, you can make your own boillies, rigs and baiting needles. Some stores you might want to check out (In no particular order) - Fishing World - Angling Specialties - FishOnlineCanada - Tightlines A little birdy told me that KTL, the supplier to many stores in the GTA is having problems getting Nash and DAM tackle from overseas. Inventory is currently on backorder with very little tackle coming in the foreseeable future. You can always order tackle online www.wackerbaits.com www.carpins.ca

Congrats on a good day out Love the pics In this pic on the left side of the screen; Is that black horizontal line which goes through the orange blob close to bottom the thermocline?

Great report Steve. Those ducks are just asking to be roasted.

On average I use 12-15lb mono when ledgering. 8-10lb mono when stalking and float fishing. 50+lb PowerPro when fishing areas with heavy zebra mussels and snags. On the Islands I find I don't need to use more than 10-12lb test. In general I find using mono heavier than 15lb unpleasant to use on most spinning reels - Even with big-pits and large baitrunners. With 12lb mono I've caught fish to 36+lbs without trouble. The rod acts like a giant shock absorber and the drag helps to cushion the line. If you play the angles you can land a large fish on light line in no time.

Awesome report and pics..Glad you finally got into a carp at the islands - Especially a PB at that! Are mirror carp on your list?

WHAT!? You didn't do it before?! Don't be like me! The golden rule...When in doubt, pack up - Especially the net...It never fails! Wolf, I'm not sure if it's against the law to start a fire in a mini BBQ...When the cops come by just throw some burgers on the grill.

I keep 2 bass per year when I go camping with friends. Other than that, I hate cleaning fish - Especially panfish...But if someone offers to fillet, coat, fry and clean up the mess, I'm all for catching a little more for the table. I generally practice catch and release 99.9% of the time. There was one time I kept a Lake O salmon for eggs + dinner. Walking 2+km with a 25lb carcass is something I don't want to do again - Especially with my bad back and all. On the bright side, it tasted alright with the recipe I got from Shelly and Courtney involving fresh wasabi and low sodium soy sauce. The skein was also mint.

Here's one from Friday night. I was worried that my groundbait mix was a little too effective...The fermented corn + hemp could've impaired the fish's ability to swim straight. They were probably a little too relaxed to worry about food for the night. Hence, the reason why Wolf and Vic did so well the next night. Had a blast fishing with you and Bly. Gotta get out to do it again.

Love the pics and report! Your wife really captured the moment there.LOL I'm sure Motrin or advil would gladly use it in their magazine ads for a few $. Technically if you touch the leader, isn't it considered a caught fish? All the guys down in the Florida keys use that rule

I remember catching a nice one last year with DSN. The carp weren't biting and I didn't have a light spinning rod, so I took a spool of 8lb line I had with me and tied on a fly that DSN had in his pocket (muddler minnow). Jigged the fly a little off the side of the dock and a monster rock bass took it. He measured 10.5 inches in length and it was my biggest rock bass ever. The live release record is 11.75 inches in length and 11 inches in girth. The provincial record is 3lbs according to the Canadian Sport-fishing web-site under Fish Registry

You're actually not the first person I've heard of doing that. I know of someone else who religiously sits at his (or her) computer and presses the refresh button every 2 min awaiting for Cliff's carp reports to come through...Cough cough Victor...Cough cough.

Sweet report...Nice fish too I'll probably be spot-hopping around your neck of the woods tomorrow trying a few places. Gotta test out a few new toys...If you see someone studying for an Economics final exam while fishing, say hi.

You can pick up baiting needles from shops like Angling Specialties, Fishing World, FishOnlineCanada and tightlines for a few bucks. Alternatively, you can pick up crochet needles for knitting and use those to thread bait onto the hair...Straightened out bass hooks also work

Nothing gets the heart pumping faster than a PB seagull. Did he go air born after he ran into the line?

Those are some real bigguns there! That one at the bottom is a monster. Great pics and report.

Haven't seen you on MSN in ages...I thought you pulled a Forest Gump and took up Shrimping or marathon running or hopped on a plane to some distant tropical island to promote Christianity. I came across it, and it's now mine! All mine! I'm actually sitting on it as I type this reply. Are you fattening them up so you can pull a Colonel Sanders extra-Crispy on them? You do realize it is cheaper to buy take-out than to grow your own food right? Now that you've moved, all those fish at the local swims can now live in peace...Except for when I fish for them

I'm sure there's a few people out there thinking that they must be high on some form of illicit mind-altering drug. Those pics are amazing

Great report and pics Each report is a dagger to my motivation to do well at university...I can fish now and study later...Opportunity cost?...Marginal benefit of fishing is still greater than marginal cost (or torture) or studying. Therefore I CAN go fishing...I hope I don't write this on my managerial economics exam...If I do, it's because of you and Bly. As far as B-ville goes, it's a wide open estuary at the ramps. Not the greatest place to catch panfish but I do remember getting the odd rock-bass and bullhead there at night while drowning worms. Bring the bug spray during summer...Lots of mozzies.

I use various bait stops...They look like mini dumbells. Alternatively you can use a small piece of twig to put in the loop below your bait on the hair.

Vic, spray yourself with cologne. If the carp aren't biting, you can try your hand at the ladies If you don't want to skunk, say to yourself that you're just testing out your baits...At the end of the day, at least you've accomplished something (fish or no fish). Alternatively, you can tell others you're just there to relax...Something you can't do with a carp at the end of your line I never skunk...I'm just out getting my daily intake of Vitamin D

I certainly do use them to chum with.

You can get DAM and Nash boillies from Angling Specialties. Fishing World I think also has DAM and Nash as well as a couple other brands (Royal Carp + others). You can also order them online. Currently living off of the remaining 14lbs of boilies that I still have from last year...Freebies which a few of my UK buds brought over with them

Can't remember where I got this from. Dug it out of the archives from when I used to make them myself. 3 eggs 4.5oz of cornmeal 4oz of soya flour 4oz of semolina 3oz of buttermilk powder 1oz of liquid sweetener (your choice - can opt for sugar) 2-3 tsp of flavouring (your choice - scopex, tutti fruitti, peach, strawberry, whatever) 2tsp of olive oil 2tsp of salmon oil (optional) 2tsp of salt - Mix dry ingredients together - Mix wet ingredients together - Add dry stuff to wet stuff - Mix until it's a dough TIP - if it sticks to you or the counter top, add oil to your hands or add flour to the paste. Too much flour will make rolling difficult though...You have to find the right balance - Roll into balls (you pick the size) - Boil for 30 seconds or more. More if you want them rock hard. Generally big fish only eat the rock hard ones. - Air dry (I use screen door mesh stapled to a rectangular frame made of wood) - Put in freezer when dry (I normally air dry for 12+ hrs) Tip - You can add natural preservatives so that you don't have to freeze them. Follow manufacturer's directions for amount of preservative needed per pound of bait. These make sinking boilies To make them float you can cover cork balls with the dough and then boil them...Or you can nuke them in the microwave for a few seconds depending on the diameter...Best to nuke them for a few seconds each time or they'll explode...Trust me I usually buy all my boillies now. It's fun to roll dough into balls for the first 5min...After that, I would rather just be fishing. If you have a sausage gun + rolling table, you can make a few hundred boillies in a matter of minutes - Can be quite expensive though. It is satisfying catching fish on your own baits. It's also impossible to find 2" boillies in most shops so making them is your only option...If you have the time, go for it. Hope this helps

WOW! Those things are just gorgeous. Looks like you had a great day out. I don't fish for resident trout but it definitely looks like something I want to get into. WTG