JustinHoffman

Good suggestion, Ian. If the action had been more steady they would have been much longer! haha! Will shoot longer versions over the next few weeks - or at least edit a bunch of clips together for a longer "episode." Glad you enjoyed them... Good Fishing, Justin

Back at it this week...will be interesting to see what this weather change will do to the fish. A new report will be up next week... Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, Decided to shoot a couple of short vids a few weeks back when out in the boat. Was fishing solo so had to rely on the tripod and hope that the action was always in the shot. Was a fun experience and will definitely be shooting more this fall. Enjoy... Pitchin' For Bass: Froggin' The Slop: Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, With summer winding down and fall upon us, fishing seems to be coming in to that “turnaround” phase when conditions change and action can be hot and cold from one day to the next. I was fortunate to embark on three outings this past week – here is the synopsis. August 30 Hit my stretch of the Rideau River today. Plenty of weather fronts moving in and out on this outing, but luckily I was spared any rain. These changing weather patterns certainly had the fish wired up. For the most part, largies were found very shallow on this day, and nearly all were relating to the edge of floating slop in one to two-feet of water. A Texas-rigged Paca Craw did the trick. To read the rest of the report and view more images, check out my blog/website at: http://www.justinhoffmanoutdoors.com Good Fishing, Justin

Thanks, Scotty.. Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, The last two weeks have provided great bass action on various Eastern Ontario Lakes. They have also given me the opportunity to fish with some of my favourite fishing partners – and truly enjoy what the great outdoors has to offer. August 24, 2011 This was one outing I was definitely looking forward to. With my good friend Christine Cope moving out west in just over a week, getting out on the water for our last time this season was something we both relished. And although Mother Nature threw everything she had at us, we (or should I say Christine) came out triumphant in the end. To read the rest of this report, and two others, and to view all of the photos, check out my Website/Blog at: http://www.justinhoffmanoutdoors.wordpress.com Good Fishing, Justin

More than welcome, fishindevil...will have a couple of new reports out this coming week. Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, With my good friend and fellow fishing writer, Tim Allard, recently back on Canadian soil, hitting the water for the first time together this season was high on the to-do list. This past Tuesday we made it happen. Making the decision to hit the river for a day of heavy cover fishing, we launched the boat and headed upstream at 8:30am. Having checked the weather forecast the night before, I was expecting a 5k/10k/5k blow throughout the day. This was not to be the case. A strong easterly breeze was was working its way down the river - gusting between 15 and 20 clicks. Knowing how the river funnels the wind from every direction on this body of water, we had a feeling we might be in for a tough fish. At the least, we had our work cut out for us in terms of boat control. Working a flat for some early roamers - using a variety of topwaters, swim baits, plastic sticks and hair jigs - had us come up empty handed. Although I generally don't hit shallow slop until the sun has peaked higher, we headed to some prime, sheltered real estate early on to escape Mother Natures breath. Tim put the first fish in the boat shortly after. It came from a shoreline slop mat and hit a Texas-rigged Culprit "Craw." It was nice to see the first Ontario bass go to the guy that has been living in Aussie land for more than a year. Nothing big but the first always gets the confidence up. While running the boat out to the main channel we came across an isolated cabbage bed. A few pitches with a YUM Money Craw and I had my first decent fish of the day. Things were beginning to look up. At this point we made a decision to turn this outing into a bit of an adventure. Laying flat in the boat we worked our way under a small bridge. Clearence was a bit dicey, and anything bigger than the boat we were in would be a no-go. For years I've been wondering what the other side held - we were about to find out. Prior to heading under we hit two of my favourite shoreline trees. A 3lb 4oz fish sucked in my craw and gave me a healthy tussle. To read the rest of this report, and view more images, check out my website/blog at: http://www.justinhoffmanoutdoors.wordpress.com Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, This past Sunday afforded me the opportunity to fish with my good friend Christine Cope. Our time on the water is fairly limited with her past MP training, and since she is about to embark to Cold Lake, Alberta for an extended stay, getting in a few trips to the lake is definitely our hope. Growing tired of the smallmouth game up in North Bay, Christine was itching for a day of heavy cover largies. It was off to my stretch of the Rideau River. The heat had been insane leading up to this excursion but a small front came through the night before that diminished the humidity greatly. One thing I noticed immediately upon launching this morning – an east wind. The wind had not blown from this direction once in all of my trips to the river this season, and as the old adage goes, “wind from the east….fish bite least.” I hoped this wouldn’t be the case. We started off the morning fishing some shallow flats with a mixture of vegetation. I was alternating between a Wake Bait and Swim Bait, while Christine stuck to her old faithful, a soft stick bait. Within 30 minutes we had two on the topwater and one on the “stick”, but all were fairly small in size. For the rest of the report, and to view more pics, check out my Website/Blog: http://www.justinhoffmanoutdoors.wordpress.com Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, The temperature is certainly warm, and with little surprise, the bass action has been equally hot. With light winds and a humidity of 40-degrees, I launched into the Rideau River this past Tuesday. One thing that became obvious early on was how the ferocious storm from two nights earlier had decimated many of my mid-lake slop areas. I am certainly used to them moving around or changing size as the season progresses, but have never witnessed huge expanses disappear completely. Finding new water would be the name of the game this outing. When the water warms and the sun blazes overhead, largemouth always seek out some sort of shelter. This can take the form of docks, laydowns, slop, pads, and thick weed clumps. Prodding this heavy cover is generally your best bet for getting bit. Shoreline slop coughed up the usual fish as did the odd deep laydown. The largest concentration of largemouth were found in two distinct spots – undercut banks and small, isolated slop mats found a considerable distance from shore. Isolated cover – be it pads or slop – should always be investigated, as roaming bass utilize these shaded canopies once the sun begins shining, and the more isolated they are, the better the chance is for it to cough up a fish. Frogs, flipping jigs and Texas-rigged creatures or craws accounted for the vast majority of fish. For the rest of the report and to view more pics, check out my website/blog at: http://www.justinhoffmanoutdoors.wordpress.com Good Fishing, Justin

Hey Brian, Not sure exactly what the "feeds" mean...I'm fairly new to this whole blogging world. On the right hand side of the page you can subscribe to the blog by inputting your email address. By doing so, you will get an email notifying you of new content as it goes live. As for the "comment" - I thought you meant you wanted to leave a comment on the site, not comment on it...lol!!! Been a long day... Justin

Hey Misfish, Had intended to post some reports earlier, but since I have been doing so much "solo" fishing, didn't think a report would be as worthwhile without some pics to go with it. My hope is to be updating it weekly from now on. As for your question - not sure what you're asking? ha ha! To post a comment on the site, I believe there is a comment section right underneath the post. Let me know if I can help you out. Hope your season has been a good one thus far.. Good Fishing, Justin

Hey Bdox, Thanks for the comment. Yes, the article was written from last years experience. Other than one outing, all of my time so far has been fishing a section of the Rideau River - very shallow and heavily weed-choked. Not spoon material. I will be hitting a deep rock lake next week - the spoon will be getting a good wash for sure... Thanks for reading.. Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, We are nineteen days into the bass season here in Ontario and I have been fortunate to have fished nine of those. If only work didn't have to get in the way of our outdoor pursuits! Action has been very steady with the warm weather as of late. Typical patterns are producing, namely shallow slop, docks, undercuts, as well as flats and other off-shore structure. The frog bite has been on big-time my last few outings, and largemouth are busting these nature-inspired replicas as if they are going out of style! Soft swimbaits are also picking up fish, especially during the morning periods when bass are more prone to roam shallow flats in search of food. As always, flipping jigs are accounting for a large number of fish, although I am relying on a Texas-rigged plastics a bit more this season. So far my number one choice has been the NetBait "Paca Craw." Fish seem to love this bait...and the action is definitely enticing. For the rest of my report and to view more pics, check out my blog/website at: http://www.justinhoffmanoutdoors.wordpress.com Good Fishing, Justin

Order a part or try to get a free one from the manufacturer. In the meantime, wrap some electrical tape around the hole. Quickest, easiest and most inexpensive fix.

Just mounted a brand new Humminbird this season and had the same rooster tail. Wrapped some electrical tape around the "hole" in the bracket and all is good. We measured and installed exactly as the plans stated - and have installed transducers in the past - so it wasn't an issue with placement. My boat has a rather shallow draft, so when on plane, the bracket is just level with the water's surface, creating said rooster tail. Anyways, an easy fix with electrical tape. As for mounting it on the motor, you can buy an adapter kit (hose clamp, bracket) that will allow you to mount the transom 'ducer on the bow mount. Think they sell for about 20 or 30 bucks. Good Fishing, Justin

I shoot with the T1i....never had an issue and the quality of shots is great. Huge reduction in price from what I spent two years ago!!

I know the exact spot, Terry...launch there myself quite a bit. The weedline directly out from that creek is a great spot come fall for largies, walleye and crappie. And a "free" launch always beats paying at the municipal ramp..

Terry - I really struggle on this lake, especially on the walleye. You get one or two and think you've hit paydirt, then not another fish. Was like this this week. From what I have heard, a lot of the fish suspend in the main basin come summer - trolling with small cranks and planer boards does the trick. Going to head back this coming week. Might fish the afternoon/evening period - see if they turn on more towards dark. Good Fishing, Justin

Thanks for the kind comments, Fishindevil... Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, June 9, 2011 With my good friend Christine in town, and our schedules both open on Thursday, a plan was hatched to get out for a day of chasing walleye. With a front moving through, and a powerful storm hitting the area the previous day, hopes were high that conditions were ripe for a feeding frenzy. We set off for Carleton Place and launched into Mississippi Lake at 9am. The air temperature was warm (but cooler than the day before) and winds were 10 to 15 clicks. A short boat ride and we were at a favourite spot of mine – a deep, rock strewn shoreline. A few casts in and Christine hoists the first fish of the day in – a jumbo ‘gill. Came on a crankbait. I was working an orange nuckle ball jig and a white, four-inch grub. Working the jig in 8 to 12-feet of water, I scored the first walleye of the day as we passed over a slight hump. It was a small, 14-inch fish. Felt good to get that first walleye in the boat of 2011! Here is Christine's first of 2011... For the rest of the report and more pics, check out my blog/website: http://www.justinhoffmanoutdoors.wordpress.com Thanks for reading... Good Fishing, Justin

Thanks for the kind comments, guys....much appreciated. Yes, they are definitely interesting creatures. That same dragonfly must have taken off and landed on that same perch a good two dozen times - and he was chomping on a new bug each time he came back. Surprising how much they probably eat.. Love your blog also, Brandon - some amazing stuff you shoot! Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Thought I'd share some images I shot this week at my folks place out in the countryside. With the boat hooked up and ready to hit the water, I couldn't resist taking thirty minutes of time first to shoot these fascinating creatures... The outdoors sure are pretty cool! Check out the rest of the images at my blog: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/portrait-of-a-dragonfly/ Four days of work then back on the water - will have some reports up then.. Good Fishing, Justin

Awesome report, Ryan!!! Nothing better than getting the kids out for a day of adventure... Love the pics... Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, Been a slow start to the season this year for me. Boat rigging, work, and lousy weather has taken up a lot of my time....and kept me off the water. Was fortunate to get out on opening day last week with Yannick of Ottawa River Guided Fishing for pike and headed out for two days of fishing on the Rideau this week. The pike co-operated and some fun was definitely had... Check out my blog for the full report and more pics: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/another-season-begins/ Good Fishing, Justin