BillM

At least the fish were safe

Ice off of 2nd was really dicey, thinnest I've seen all year (This includes BP)... At least the ice at BP is nice and black, 2nd line is a real mix. Same thing with my yesterday (fished BBP).. Lots of herring, lots of smelt and lost a brute of a laker right at the hole. I can't believe the amount of herring this year, it's crazy.. And yes, that snow made for a very interesting walk yesterday pulling my Clam, lol. Good job Steve!

As long as it's in the water you are good. It doesn't have to be below the ice surface to work properly.

You're letting the spring pike bait back down the hole!! lol

I got about half a dozen herring, 4-5 smelts for spring pike and lost a 8-10lb laker right at the hole. Not a bad day, but far from great.

Very windy and very snowy today, hauling the hut in 1.5ft of powder really sucked. Not to many people out there for a weekend (at least where I was)

Follow the crowds. You already know the place to walk out from (IBP)

Innisfil Beach Park.

You've just ruined the Niagara for everyone!!!! lol Great report man! Looks like you guys had a great day.

I run a pair of Rainshadow XST ice rods this year that my rod guy up in OS did up for me. Nice cork work, great wraps for about $50 a pop. No complaints here and they beat anything I've seen.

I'm going to start killing all the herring I catch then send them back down the hole, perhaps that will give them the hint to stop hitting!!!!!!! Nothing but herring this morning as well on the north shore of Kemp.

Bought mine at Tromblys in Orillia, onsale for $399, no tax. A we bit far from the GTA though.

If the reel freezes up just stick it inside your floater suit for 5mins or so, it will thaw out. Try to also not lay it in the snow or on the ice.

It's Darwins way of thinning things out.

Looks great!

The Curado isn't even close to the Calais, completely different level of reel. The prices aren't very similar either.

The whirlpool freezes? lol I'd be looking at the winds the past week to see if Erie has stirred up. If it has, the river will be blown.

There is no perfect truck out there, regardless of what anyone thinks. They all have their problems..

Time to look for a used boat in the US!

Just bought a Clam Nanook Thermal.. Absolutely love it.

I caught a few jumbos in 80ft of water out of IBP fishing for whitefish.. Food for thought. You could also travel up the road to Cooch and do better.

I prefer to use a baitcast reel over a spinning reel if I can. It all depends on the type of fishing though and again it's personal preference. For tossing cranks, or slashbaits or topwater to me, nothing comes close. I can cast anything from 1/4oz to 3-4oz baits with ease with my Calais, but it does need to be tweaked in order to do that effectively (VBS braking system, etc). I

I keep notes everytime I go out steelheading. Got the book for Xmas actually. Extremely valuable, it's amazing what you'll forget.

6'6 Medium fast with 6lb braid and a 2500 Series reel would probably be an all around good setup.

Enjoy the year long suntan!