kemper

Well I'm laid up in bed, strep throat got me good this time. I should be studying for finals but I find it difficult (read : impossible) to focus on anything in this condition so I thought I would join the cool kids and post a recap of the 2008 season, and it was a good one!. Things started off with this cute little brown, my first ever centerpin catch! I cheated a little as this was actually December 30th, but close enough to 2008! Didnt get out much after that due to the fact that the tribs were froze shut, and drifting was impossible so I decided to hibernate until february 24th when I had a banner day steelheading putting up good numbers and landing some truly beautiful fish. The last bow came home for egg restocking and dinner, yes it came from lake O and yes it tasted wonderful! It was another short wait for open water again until early march when my home river really comes into its own. These pics are a sampling of the steel that I got into in march, with a monster buck and some beautiful freshies mixed in. For a size reference here, the big buck above was dwarfed by the fish posted below. I learned to tie rabbit jigs, and many of these steelies came on my jigs. Opening weekend 2008 was a blast, faced tough conditions with low clear water but managed to put up some good numbers and beat the crowds by using a different technique. Many of the roe slingers in the big pools were not catching, but I hit the shallow fast water with pink worms unweighted and floatless and managed to grab quite a few bonus fish in the early morning low light time. Now I swear, I do catch fish other than trout....speaking of trout this doesnt look like your average steelie? I went prom camping, brought the rods of course and drank some...cola while fishing for walleyes. This fish came out of the water 5 minutes after I told my buddy I was gonna catch an eye... in a 4 foot deep river. Go figure. Then I caught his buddy A pike fishing trip down to a lake ontario harbour brought me these fine catches... Off the dock at simcoe for pike...again I caught something else. This carp slammed a white grub on a jighead... Summertime Bassin' and a week on my favourite water, Buckhorn! My favourite picture of 2008 Other species at Buckhorn A big smallie taken on a live minnow under a float while I was float fishing for browns in the harbour Flyfishing on the Birkenhead, Whistler BC and a big summer run salmon, which was a blast to battle I fear this post has gotten far too large, so I will leave out all the fall fishing as most of it has been reported lately and I am sure you have seen the pictures. After looking at this, 2008 has sure been a great season and its not over yet! See you all on the water!

I have also wondered this, as well as is there any decent musky fishing out on the big lake... I once came across a recently dead MONSTER 'ski in the whitby harbour, so I would assume if they can be found there, there is probably a fishable population at Quinte? Also im thinking if there was a fishable population they would probably be giants?

If I was about to be attacked by a wild dog the legality of shooting it wouldnt cross my mind. I know some dog lovers may get upset about that but if its between my neck or the dog, sorry the dog has got to go.

Cool, thanks Rich Never have I been a carp fisher...but I bet they would be hella fun on the twelve six float rod and pin!

Rich, what type of creek are you finding these carp in? I know that I have seen VERY FEW carp on the steelhead rivers and the likes. Are these creeks leading into the big lake? or are they smaller cottage lake type streams?

rabbit strip all the way! I used to tie marabou as well, but its just too messy! (especially in a tiny dorm room) Those are some fine looking jigs

funny thing about carp fishing is that I NEVER target them, and yet often find them on my line! I will admit, its a great fight....but DANG those things are ugly and slimey.

I bet he has been hoping for them to drop the contract for a while now... Ferrari?...Buick?...Ferrari?...Buick?....FERRARI! feel free to switch ferrari out with any other auto company that will not only pay him billions but make him look damn sweet rollin to the course

yuck, carp. is it any coincidence that when you switch two letters of the word carp you get...oh nevermind. Im just teasing, its the elitist steelhead pinner in me good fishin

must have recognised the swirls, i swear I have seen them somewhere! of course they look alot like the swirls at another river...cough cough

good fishin bud, glad you got some through the ice. I could keep the bait below the slush on friday myself. Terrible conditions, and ice all the way down the line right to the bait which was also covered in ice. maybe Ill see ya tomorrow

I do alot of steelheading in the dead of winter and this is what works for me. (im a skinny kid) First rule...NO COTTON on the bottom layer. I wear a spyder first layer long sleve. Its kinda like an underarmour material, made by a ski company. You can get pants and the top. Its tight, and wicks the sweat. Second is a T shirt over the first layer, and then a long sleve over the T shirt. Next up is your sweater/polar fleece layer. Pick a warm one because this is the layer that keeps the heat in. I personally am not a big fan of big huge winter jackets, and have a favourite wind break so I double up on sweaters and wear the windbreaker over them. Its alot of clothes, but will keep you warm if you arent moving much and if you have to walk through the bush you WILL sweat quite alot but the wicking layer keeps you from freezing up once you stop moving

WOOHOOO that looked fun!

on my custom the last guides are larger than on a factory build. Fished at about minus 9 today, ice all over everything EXCEPT my guides. beautiful

Im no hunter, its just not for me but I have nothing against it. That said it would be nice to see an animal like that walk, but the nature of hunting just doesnt allow for catch and release eh... to the hunters...what kind of power does it take to knock a beast like that down?

My phone took some pretty decent pictures last winter... its a motorolla Krazer. Terrible phone though, dont buy it. The only useful thing is the camera. side note...I miss fishing with that rod. I think im going to dust it off this weekend!

Wow every ten drifts? Ive been known to throw the same bag out there for 50-60 drifts...hahaha

Dont you hate it when after 5 drifts you can't feel your fingers anymore? This cold forecast for the weekend has got me thinking about something that i did last season while it was really cold to keep my hand warm. I HATE fishing my pin with a glove on my rod hand, drives me nuts so I took one of those hand warmer packets that you put in your gloves and elastic banded it around the metal reel seat of my float rod. Heats the metal right up and takes the edge off the cold that numbs your fingers when your are out drifting on those questionable days. I will be putting it to use tomorrow morning for sure...minus 8 yuck

I know I said raven but not sure if I said what test.. Seems like most are running 10 or 12, I run 8 and have NEVER snapped off above my lead. I run a strong lead too, maxima ultragreen in anywhere from 4 to 6

haha crowds.. I am going to be out all weekend and in this cold I bet Ill see 2 or three other guys. And they will probably be Silvio and JDMLS haha

RAVEN high vis green and pink its cheap, strong as nails and floats well. Relatively low memory although if you side cast all day it will twist up (what wont)

For $230 I BUILT one. and I love it...mostly because I built it. St croix rods are a good choice if you are not looking to break the bank on a float rod. Its no IMX but hey, it does the job

Every company has its ups and downs, for example I had a shimano rod blow up on the first hookset but I still trust shimano over any other brand of mass produced fishing gear. My favourite brand? Raven. I have NEVER had any raven product fail and/or not perform as it was supposed to.

Never fished with a sheffield but I do have a lower model as a beater rod for floating salmon when there is nothing else to do. It fishes like a 13 foot piece of wet spaghetti...that said I HAVE landed a ton of fish (salmon and steelhead) on it without and problems. Its probably heavy, and probably suffers from tip sag, but you get what you pay for.

do a search of the forums for similar questions, it will turn up a whole bunch of great threads with tons of information