Joeytier

I'm getting the shakes reading your reports. ...Only four made days of hell.

I fell through a pond today that looked to be safe. All the snow we've been getting here has really messed up the ice-making process. It wasn't a good time.

If you catch a perch to keep, I don't see what's wrong with using the eyes.

Was just up on the Canadore lookout this morning. Things are looking good.

Not sure about Sudbury, but Nipissing is iced over just about as far as the eye can see from North Bay right now.

I'd wager that BOQ ice is FAR more dangerous than any of the Kawarthas.

This is, of course, the best answer possible.

I'll be back on my favourite Lake O tribs next weekend. Here's to opening they're not too icy.

Another excellent choice. I was planning on busting out his Close to Paradise album tonight, actually.

Good call on Bon Iver. Excellent stuff. If you're into that kind of stuff, I suggest Fleet Foxes, particularly these two tracks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRfBqoGVFXc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m8CkxXhPtw

Alright. Thanks for clearing that up.

Yep. If you're feeling ambitious, you could go down to bottom of Liverpool, tie on the heaviest cleo you have, and see if you can make it.

Are these changes to zone 17 effective immediately, or do people still have to wait until 2010 to be able to fish these lakes? If possible, I'd like to hit a few of these lakes as soon as I possibly can.

Another excellent report. I never thought I'd ever be this excited to be back in southern Ontario. I've got the itch...bad.

I prefer 8 lb test. I would suggest Maxima ultragreen, but really the most important thing is to make sure whatever you get is LIMP. I've tried XT as well as P-Line's XT-equivalent and it just does not work on a pin.

The South Shore of Nip has a ridiculous number of lodges. I stayed at Idle Tyme, on the main lake, but close to Callander Bay, over thanksgiving and had some excellent fishing given the pretty lame weather conditions. The camps are cheap but very well kept, and Shawn and his wife are excellent hosts (especially if you have dogs). http://www.lake-nipissing-fishing.com/lake...ns-for-rent.htm

Hit a lake for walleye and did quite well. Landed 9, with many between 18-20" The biggest.

What kind of baits were you running? This time of year the kings can be pretty much anywhere in water column. Make sure you have a variety of stuff down, and once something starts working switch some other rods over to that. Also pay close attention to what speed you caught the fish at.

Southern Ontario.

The hot calm weather had the water up to around 75 by the time we left.

I couldn't help but notice you didn't post any pictures of the supposed bigger walleye you caught....

This spring has been awful for walleye for me this year. Multiple skunkings and one fish days have been the norm. It took until one of the very last days of spring to finally get a good day. And what a day it was. The wind was very cooperative for a change, which made fishing very easy. We fished for around 4 1/2 hours, fishing one giant weed flat in the middle of the lake. There was a line of super thick weeds in about 10 ft, and as soon you as we found slightly deeper water (12-14 ft) with more scattered weeds the walleye would soon follow. We managed 13 fish, and every single one was at least 16" with many reaching (and a few exceeding) the 3 lb mark. Easily the best walleye fishing I've ever experienced, and it was in the middle of the afternoon, on a bright calm, sunny day. This time of year, I think they prefer sunny hot weather as opposed to what people usually associate with prime walleye conditions. 11 of the 13 were caught on bucktails, with the other two being taken on a black tube. ...And the double header shot.

Wow, nice going. I'd love to get down there and try that someday.