Joeytier

People aren't going to hand out good Brook trout lakes. Maybe someone nice will offer to take you out to show you the ropes. Ice will be around for at least 4-5 weeks in central ont. Also, the stocking lists for Brook trout lakes are generally very accurate. If you're fishing within 3 hrs of the GTA, you will be fishing stocked water for Brook trout so look for stocking lists, not just a mention of there being brookies in the lake.

Joey, I was going to ask about the guy who's face you blanked out. Canada's Most Wanted?

Im sure they wouldn't have cared, but I didn't ask, so I didn't show.

Thank you very much. Those trout sure are beautiful fish. The colours, amazing.

No matter how many times it happens, the moment you first see that big trout push out of the hole, it's pretty magical.

Going through my photos of my winter adventures so far...first trip out was Dec. 9 I believe and conditions were mostly great for the first half of the winter, but given the huge amounts of snow we just got and the week of warm weather coming in, that's gonna change fast lol

splake
Lots of little guys, lots of great meals, not so many memorable fish but the numbers were there. Kinda what splake fishing is about on the easy access lakes in this area...





brook trout
didn't spend a whole lot of days targetting brookies so far this winter, but definitely made some awesome memories and went on some wicked adventures chasing these beauties around

















walleye

spent more time targetting walleye this winter than I usually do, and I loved every minute of it. Even got to spend a few trips on the ice with my girlfriend, which is no easy feat now that we both work shift work with a young daughter at home.







Some Nipissing action...the big lake has been fantastic for numbers and at least one keeper every trip, usually more than that. Still no big girls, but we're not really in hog season yet anyways.










The fabled blue walleye of the Kipawa region





Incidental catch




and everyone's favourite...

Who's coming brook trout fishing with me?

Too bad the fishing didn't pan out. The mid-winter slump is definitely in full-swing, and most of the structure close to shore that gets hot early season really seems to die down.

It's gonna be mild and sloppy, don't forget the rubber boots, and breadbags if necessary

I sledded down a good chunk of the last Sunday (the 5th). They were just plowing the ice road that day so it should be set up nice now. There was a fair amount of snow on the lakes then and we've been getting hammered with snow up here last few days so there will be lots of snow and likely some slush even on the big lake. Backlakes will be horrifically slushy by this weekend I'd imagine.

I'm pretty sure whitefish have to be small at some point before they get big

 

Also, if your only experience with whitefish is on Simcoe, then you will have a very skewed idea for what is average size on 99% of water bodies that they inhabit. 12" is right about average for them on many many lakes.

Whenever you find some, buy a few trips worth and salt them and slap em in the freezer. I would always prefer dead bait for pike in the winter.

Ling is fantastic table fare. Enjoy your feast.

I've been skimming thru your videos on your YouTube channel over the last few days. Great stuff, I subscribed to your channel.

Wow. Glad everyone is ok.

They are lucky though, and it's a sign for people to stay off the ice. I'll never understand people and their need to be the first on thin ice or venture out the farthest. Some of these YouTube videos are of guys ice fishing Simcoe on no more than two inches. Nuts.

Yeah, don't walk on ice, if it can't support a big yellow bus you definitely shouldn't be walking on it lol! Obviously some guys push their luck but to say there's absolutely no safe ice on Simcoe is pretty ridiculous no?

The big Nip has been absolutely incredible for us this year and anyone else familiar with the lake and is willing to put at least a little bit of work in. Nothing to reach triple digits of walleye in a weekend between two guys, and we get keepers every trip out. Just because you sat (or in your case, laid) in a shack in CBay and didn't catch much of anything is not at all representative of where the fishery is going. Any operator who is half way serious about putting his clients on good walleye fishing is not setting up in Callander bay.

Nice looking truck for sure! Congratulations. Just out of curiosity, do you know if they offer it in a short bed regular cab? I don't know if anybody build trucks in that configuration any more when I come to think about it.

Ford, Ram, and GM all offer short bed regular cab models, though they can be hard to find on a lot.

Gorgeous truck, you're going to love it. Love that colour. I just went with a silver 2017 Ram myself.

One for Dave524

 

The yellow jester does not play, but gently pulls the strings, he smiles as the puppets dance in the court of the Crimson King   RIP   JW

 

Wetton had did not play or write anything on that album. He did however play and co-write KC's best album, and one of my favourite records ever.

 

I use the open-water ducer on that unit and it works well.

2-3" dace on a set line. Some lakes they like main lake points, quick drop-offs etc and others they like flat mud bottom. Typically dirty water = go shallow on mud flats, clear water = look for sharper breaks and main lake spots. What Sinker said, you could be doing everything right and have fish right below and still not get bit, they're like that in the winter.

NWO is way more vast, remote, undeveloped and fish-filled than 99% of NE Ontario, and once you cross over the big river into QC, you're back into NWO levels of remoteness. The hwy 11 corridor starting in North Bay goes from beautiful but busy and generally tough fishing (compared to elsewhere in the north) to flat, boggy, boring terrain in the far north. There are some really amazing places in the NE, but there really aren't any outfitters in NE that can compare to the premiere destinations in the Northwest and QC.

Obscenely huge! Hopefully the certification process goes smooth and your buddy officially becomes the record holder.

 

All my fish pics from Nipissing are walleye, so here's a sunset from a week or two ago.

Amazing walleye for your first time to the big Nip. I've been able to watch a few that size get iced, but still waiting for my own. I'm glad you guys got into the kind of action that Nipissing is known for.

It really depends on what you're targetting and how you're rigging. If you're pike fishing with big dead bait, then no weight is neccesary but some people still will use some. If you're fishing for walleye, most people will use a single baitholder style hook and a couple split shot 10-15" ahead, since you're normally fishing live bait and in deeper water where you need to make sure you're in that strike zone.

 

Substituting split shot for a flashy spoon like a williams wobbler is a popular choice for trout fishing. I do it quite often.