AKRISONER

Remember its not just me but also others on other lakes! Not to mention we were covering ground the entire time. Perhaps the smallmouth size scenario was just a fluke, but this still doesnt explain the largie size issues in the kawarthas or complete disappearance of them in GB I think most astonishing was the MNR telling me that he had a report of 4 largies caught in the entire PAB area over the course of an entire year. These guys werent slouching either, they were tracking down every boat fishing in the area and questioning every single one.

im starting to think its the largies that are taking a beating

no difference what so ever...in fact casting my big C3 is way easier than casting my low pro curado.

just told my buddy about this...hes done a bunch of volunteer work up there and is not a happy camper... The fines this guy is paying isnt even coming close to touching the efforts put in by volunteers to assist with stocking this fishery.

I honestly cannot say i totally disagree with the smallies comment. We did ok on size last year for them...but this year we patterned them in pretty hard and still came up short on size. Last Thursday we had a day where we boated 40 fish...only 1 was over 3lbs. Seems to be some consensus here though that the largies are hurtin. Maybe the ministry's idea that putting a million regulations on pickerel and basically leaving bass to the dogs is biting us back now? Its a bit crazy isnt it?

its a georgetown acton thing...its in my blood

right in the old home town...brutal...im sure my buddies are not gonna be impressed with this one. Not surprised though.. the purp is from Acton ahhaa

good luck finding one...in an entire year these days. The 2 i caught were both by fluke. Every time i tried to catch them i came up totally empty handed. Dont get me wrong, the smallmouth population is healthy...its just not big. JIMMER...that one guy was weighing the same 20lb bag every tournament with his laundry basket contraption lol

Ok, perhaps I am totally out to lunch here, but I have a serious question for all of the bass anglers out there. Is it just me and my friends, or has there been a massive sharp decline in large sized bass and even species over the past 2 years. Here is my hypothesis and supporting piece of evidence. Hypothesis: The record cold and winters that we had 2 years ago severly impacted the population of aging bass and in some northern locals nearly eliminated populations of largemouth bass. Or a natural culling cycle is occuring. -In the years 2008-2013...it went without question that in the Pointe Au Baril area, i could consistently catch largemouth bass in certain honey holes that I could frequent. No harvesting of bass was ever done in these spots, nor did I ever witness other anglers specifically targeting these fish in these locations over a 6 year period of time. That was until last summer where I became totally perplexed by the decline in the largemouth population in the Pointe Au Baril area. Last year I caught a grand total of 2 largemouth bass in an entire year. -The MNR was conducting a study in the Pointe Au Baril area of fishing rates and catches for the entire year. I routinely ran into the MNR every weekend I angled for the entire year. The one student (I cant recall his name now) was in the boat every weekend and by the end of the summer his weekly visit to my boat always included some additional fishing talk. I sure enough inquired to him about bass catch rates and he indicated that out of the entire year, he had a grand total tally of 4 largemouths being caught in the entire PAB area by all anglers over the course of the entire year. (incredible) -My main fishing homie has a spot on upper buckhorn. He consistently fishes every single weekend from bass opener until thanksgiving. Last year his largest fish was a 3.5 largemouth bass. The trailer record for the entire year was 4.5lbs and I would put their family catch numbers for the year well over 800. The pattern has held this year and he has yet to break the 4lb mark. In previous years it was without question that him along with with father and dads best friend would consistently boat 4lb bass with at least a few 5lbers all the way up to 7 lbers on an annual basis. - I spent approximately 45 hours this past week targeting smallmouth bass. I would estimate that myself along with my fishing buddy boated over 60 fish over the course of the week. Out of these 60 fish, the largest was 3lbs 1oz I was just reading a report and noticed that fisherpete said he fished rice this past weekend and caught 25 fish and the biggest largie he could muster was 3lbs...Ive also had some PM conversations with other members here that consistently boat big bass and they had indicated that the size of fish was way way down. so I put this out to all you bass fishers out there...is something going on? Is this just a natural cycle? Did those 2 unusually cold winters do something or am i just cookoo? Where the Nicklebass at Tho?! holla at me!

not trying to hate, but knowledge is power thanks for the report

same here...the odd time when im an idiot it will run up into the top rung, but thats rare. I also fish with 100 dollar rods, not 500 so maybe thats a point of consideration?

how long are you running your leads?

seems like a bit of an extreme heist for such an old boat...something is off about this.

I would try bombing a rattling rap out as far as possible, letting it sink right to the bottom and then rip it along the bottom.

empty pockets and minds full of hope lol

choose your size according to the weight that you are pulling. I think the xxs is rated to 20lbs (correct me if im wrong) so far in 2 years of using them on almost every single rod and line I am tossing, i have broken 1.

so are you addicted now?

i find it hard to believe that you could have trouble catching bass on any of the kawartha lakes. but maybe ive just fished with people that know the water. I know on buckhorn/pigeon...50+ fish days is the norm.

check the charts for areas with edges and possible current...deep weeds are your friend. the deeper the weeds the better.

Bill put me on these, and ive never looked back. So important to run swivels when casting anything twisty...i.e. almost anything. Definitely love the double Uni though!

ice fish with my dad for a day and you will see the techniques they used in the 60's lol happy to say ive learned them though, just for the laughs I am sure to show my kids some day... Im sure some of the old timers on here know about using thin twigs with a bell as a tip up.

this is the dream

hahaha oh just a 16 wt, no big deal ahahhaa

basically want a 1000 wt rod ahaha this is sweet

ive literally had to stop fishing until the gull gave up and went away. the zara super spook jr is by far my fave lure of all time, i fish it literally 40+% of my time fishing. dont let the secret out about these lures though, i wouldnt want anyone to catch so many fish.