fishingisliving

the 2 first ones are small... the third is average the 4th is big.. but no monsters... and no giants.. :-)

This time we traveled a little bit to try something different, fishing clear water structures. This kind of fishing requires some adjustments from the stained water fishing. Early on the wind was simply brutal and from the east generating ferocious waves which made things very tough. We knew the wind was supposed to die down then change directions around mid-day, or so it was forecasted. We moved out of the rough stuff to find some shelter, on some other areas we marked on the map that seem promising which also had some wind cover. We moved around for a few hours looking for just the right kind of vegetation and structure. Sometimes the maps show bumps that are not really there when you get over top of and this makes for some wasted time looking around. So we moved to a spot which seem to be in the middle of nowhere. Well middle of nowhere was home to a musky! Two of them actually. Two little guys, we did not even take a picture of one them because it was maybe 22 inches long and we just shook it off to save time in hopes to get a bigger while the bite was on. We kept moving along looking for another area that might hold some fish, we cross an old man in a small boat trolling, so he asked us how the bite was and we said so so, he sais it he had not seen a thing yet. So we waved and wished him luck. Five minutes go by and musky number three shows up! Another little one! These fish has nice colors that we wanted to take pictures of them anyway. We take a few shots then release the fish, and continue on our way through this area of thick vegetation. The the door bell rings, another fish? Yep! A better sized one this time. Maybe 40-43inches. So finally we hit one the last areas where we are sure will hold fish, and strong fish given the current flowing through there. Oh and I did I mention the wind had just changed directions? Yup the wind had drastically turned around. This woke up another musky! The one we were looking for!

yup, upper 40s. we have a regular shot of it, solid 25-28 pounds I'd say.

This has been one of the better fishing seasons in years, yet I have never been so frustrated of not catching fish. It’s ridiculous! The weather does not help; if it’s not raining cats and dogs then it we are treated to gale force winds. Traditional techniques, spots and lures have put little to no fish in the boat this year. Some new tricks early on made for some really good fishing, but now the new tricks have not worked in over a month and the old tricks do not work either. Start trolling, nothing, go casting, nothing, the wind picks up, oh gee what a surprise! Phone rings: - Hey you guys seeing any action? - Nothing you? - Same here! At least we aren’t the only ones wasting gas and energy. The horizon at this point is showing dark clouds, which means this terrible weather is about to get worse. Usually a change in weather like that can make fish come out of hiding and bite one of our baits. We were even in waters where I had little confidence because it was the opposite side of where the wind was blowing, since it was hard to control the boat we fished the opposite side of a nasty reef so we did not get beached up over the rocks should something go wrong. Rob calmly says: “fish on” He was so calm that I did not believe him at first. He kept setting the hook which seemed a bit odd and made me question if in fact he was just pulling my leg or if he was stuck on a small log. I was looking at the water when his rod loaded up good, no more convincing needed: “GET the net!” The wind was howling good, made for a tricky net job, but we stayed clear and as long as we both knew what we had to do, the pieces fell right into place and fishy was in the net. What a head on this one, with a very respectable girth. After a couple shots, the fish was released. So more wind and more rain that was the end of the trip. We then reviewed the picture, wow! It is amazing the impact a good picture can have. This is by no means the biggest fish, and by no means the most memorable trip, but the picture is one of the my favourite. A picture is worth a thousand words, a good picture is worth… well… you decide!

I have had the oposite experience this year. I lost a lot of fish on single hooks and boated every fish (almost) on trebbles. adjust your hooks, make some minor changes and see if that helps.

Person is just not that experienced in holding fish like that, not only is the hold harmful for the fish, but it's not the most flattering shot of the fish either. but 60 inches.. that's loooong, would of loved to see a side shot to get a look at the belly and the colors.

my craddle's handles float. no problem to do it by yourself, just have one end tied to the rod holder with a small bungie cord or something so it doesn't float away when you release the fish. great fish!! I would not of bothered with the measurement pictures on the bottom of the boat, you have nothing to prove to anyone, it's a big fish, nough said. but again, NICE FISH MAN!

agreed!! it's still funny!

MUUUUUUUUSKY!!! good day right there! musky and a peep show!

pre-storm=open buffet! good job!!

A quick report of my buddy Rob's memorable evening of fishing. After spending a couple hours fishing the milk run, Rob had originally planned to fish with his sister and brother in law in hopes to catch them a big one! Unfortunately sometimes plans do not always work out, that’s life! Rob was by himself with his trusty camera enjoying a nice evening of calm winds warm weather and sunny skies. He managed to hook a small musky which he just released by the boat without taking any pictures (I guess after a few years the little ones do not thrill us anymore? Yeah we are spoiled!). Sometimes the little fish remind us to pay attention to what we are doing and although we are used to doing something it does not mean we should take things for granted. These fish are strong, feisty and often times are uncooperative. It is always important to remain focused when it’s time to manipulate one, or you just might lose it before you can take any pictures of it! In fact the second musky of the evening was not a giant, but Rob was reminded to stay focused and always have a strong grip on the fish and to never let go. The fish kicked just as it was being pulled out of the net when Rob’s hand let go and the fish fell right in the water. What if that had been a giant?? No pictures, no witnesses, gone! You did not lose the fish during the fight, you netted it, unhooked it and are ready for a picture this is the easy part right? Yes, but don’t be fooled things can still go very wrong! Luckily, Rob was given another chance. Robs fishing rod bent violently and the drag screamed, and pulled out 60ft of line in seconds. This was not an average fish, this was not a lazy fish, this was an all star MVP. Usually big fish tend to stay down deep and give a bunch of head shakes, this fish was splashing at the surface like smaller ones tend to do, yet when it gave a head shake, Rob felt them all the way to his guts! When the fish showed itself, Rob was in awe: “ WOW!” Thankfully the beast was cooperative at boat side and was easily put in the net. ...

I'm happy, but it's relative he always does well! So it's not a big thing for him. :-) I have yet to get a king, I hear the peel the line out good!

I did not catch any of these... :-(

I was on vacation for the last couple of weeks which I had planned on doing lots and lots of fishing! Much to my surprise, my wife had other plans for me I manage to fish a little bit and catch a musky or two, which I have posted in previous posts. Anyway, vacations are expensive, (specially when everything around the house breaks on the first day and you have to replace stuff, like pool pump, air conditioning, anyway lots of fun). So by the end of my first week my budget was dry.. leaving credit as my only friend.. yippy! Then the phone rings, and a buddy of mine was offering me a spot on one of his Salmon charters in Lake Ontario for 2 days! AWESOME! -sorry bud cant afford it, broke! So sitting at home on vacation, NOT fishing.. I get the pictures from the trip... which made things worse... here are couple pictures of the fish... WOW! To make me extra happy about not fishing... he also includes this picture... never say no to fishing trips! :-) specially trips on big waters!

absolutely, bring on more posts like this one!! love big fish pictures!

agreed, no busted fins. Very nice!

sushi platter for 60 people! NICE!!

Motor runs like a bomb actually. never a hick up on startup even in freezing cold november. boat tops out at 56mph with less than half a tank of gas on flat pancake water, but it's loud. :-) It's my buddies boat, which he lets me drive for the trolling as I know how to run the spots properly, but it's tough with a big boat and steering wheel, his 9.9 is not enough for a heavy boat, it doesn't have the juice to accelerate in turns properly.

Love the shoulders! chunky!! great waters there, anyone see pictures of Linda Rice? GIANTS

WOW!!!!

Was out early this weekend in the rain and wind. Conditions were brutal, it was cold, windy and rain. Felt like early fall, so we did some trolling in a bit deeper waters because there was no way we could stand in waves on the casting deck and operate the electric (yeah I know, sounds like a lazy excuse to troll). I wasn't too confident with the deeper pass, but... it only took 5 minutes for me to change my mind. My reel started buzzing, left the motor in gear and picked it up. It felt decent and I could feel the weight of the fish and was ready to crank it in so I put the motor in neutral. It was not the greatest of acrobatics and the fish was in the net fast. But once in the net... HELLOOOO!!! The fish would not sit still for a second, it was impossible to get the hooks out, then like magic... Hooks came out by themselves in the net. During the "photo shoot" the fish was still full of energy, I have several bloody scratches left on my hands to show for it, but the release was great, kicked out of my hands immediately and swam deep in a flash. Not sure about the rest of you, but so far, most of our fish have had a very decent girth for this time of year.

Good job man! You said it, where, how deep... you know what your lure is doing in the water, combine that with knowing where they live, you cannot miss... well except on those days where you miss.... :-)

they look clean and crispy! good job!

Nice catch! 43? 45 inches?

LOL THAT was funny!!!