Rich Clemens

Very Nice Justin. Not bad for just three hours. I was on the Rideau last week, but this was the first time in about 8 or 9 years that my dad was not along for the trip. Just wasn't the same. Glad you had a great time together.

Hey Nemo, let us know how you make out.

You caught more bass in one day than my wife and I did in an entire week ... last week. Way to go with finding the right combination to trigger strikes. Nicely done.

Hmmmm.. Digital Solutions. Maybe that is how you can turn a 5-6 pound bass into something 2 to 3 times that size. Now we know how he did it. Just wait until I get my 70# musky. Oops ... Memquisit is there now. Sorry.

Great Read Misfish. Good luck on the tourney trail this year.

Best of Luck LA. Beautiful Country up there. Only 2 months and I hit the French River for two weeks. I do have a very long drive to get there, but it is worth the drive. Like you, I hope I have something very nice to post for everyone.

Holyu Creap ... They're HUGE. Very ... Very Nice.

I have been purchasing the Sportsman license for my wife and I since I started fishing for musky a few years ago. I don't buy this license for the increased posession limits on any fish - as I have never kept my limit of any species. My wife and I also have no intention on keeping any musky that we would happen to catch - strictly C-P-R. There seems to be a grey line on conservation license and the interpretation of 'in possession'. I just but the Sportsman and let it be that. But - that's just me trying to hold off any potential problems - I'll spend the extra $$$.

Actually Tinman, I didn't run down to the narrows this trip. BUT - I still have the E-mail and hope to give it a try. My father and step mom have quite a bit of success fishing the rocky shoals. I may just have to pass that along.

I really enjoy all the pics and remembering what a great week that was. Great to spend a day on the water with you Wayne and also to meet Leah. I'll be bringing my better half along next year. With the number of ladies coming ... we guys may be out-fished at next year's tourney.

Yeah .. I saw that pic in the Ottawa Sun while I was on the Rideau Last week. There's something wrong with the photo ... it just doesn't look to be anywhere near 12+ pounds. But ... I wasn't there.

I'm probably a little late, but if I do my math correctly ... many muskies = many pics.

Congrats Shelly. I know you and Chuck we really talking things through about which boat to get. Which one did you folks finally decide on ?

Welcome aboard Marc. Although from the states, I appreciate what the men and women of the armed forces do for all of us. My hat's off to you and all you do.

Well. my wife and I just returned last night from our annual trek to Rideau Ferry to fish the Upper Rideau and the Big Rideau Lakes. I believe this makes our 8'th or 9th year. We stay at Maple Crest Motel and Cabins in Rideau Ferry. Thursday July 12. Prepare the boat for the trip. Connect the hose and fire the engine. Starts right up and runs like a charm. Check the electronics, lights, bilge pump, straps, etc. Finish packing up and batten her down for the trip. Wake up Saturday am at Lew O'clock and hit the road. Arrived at camp early afternoon and my wife and I unpack the truck. She works on putting stuff away in the cabin, while I prepare the boat. Driver over to the launch, remove the straps, secure the trolling motor, PUT THE PLUG IN, disconnect the lights, etc. Finally, I move to trim the engine to remove the brace ... NO FREAKIN' POWER. DEAD Try the ignition - DEAD. Thought we must have left a switch on while I was prepping the boat, but I didn't find any left on. Tell my better half we ain't going anywhere but back to camp. Back we go and put the batter on charge for several hours, hook it up .... NOTHING. Back on charge and I unhook the trolling motor and hook it up ... BINGO ... LIFE IS GOOD. Getting into the evening and again try the main battery ... nothin'. Figure the battery is shot and no local stores open. Wait until Canadian Tire opens Sunday am and pick a Nautilus battery. Back to camp, hook everything back up ..... GOOD TO GO. Finally, Sunday afternoon we get out on the wanter. Not sure what happened, the battery was only three years old. I'm wondering if, during our trailering, the bouncing up an down, damaged the battery over the past few years. Oh yeah, we did do some fishing. I have to say the fishing was way down from our previous trips on hose bodies of water. The total number of fish we caught the entire week, is what we normally catch in a single day. There were a couple other groups in camp as well, and they were having the same luck we had. It seems the weed beds that we normally fish, either were not developed or damaged by the heat. Some of the beds looked like they were dying off and trying to come back. I understand from the camp owner that June was a very hot month and may have had an impact. The usual spots were just not producing like they have in the past, although we were marking a lot of fish, just not biting. We normally fish exclusively for bass, but we switched over and did a little pike fishing. Caught quite a few of those, with the largest around 24". Not bass, but we were having some fun anyway. After a few days searching around, we went into deeper water, with some minimal weed growth ... around 12-20 feet. Early in the week, it was pretty warm, sunlight was intense, and just must action. Just gotta keep moving around trying to find those active fish. Thursday was rain off and on all day. No action in the morning, but I went out by myself in the afternoon, just in advance of a heavy rain moving in. Then I hit two very nice fish. Fishing in about 16 feet of water I started to catch a few smaller bass. Then a very nice smallie at 16 1/2. Within 15 minutes, I was able to land the biggest fish of the week .. 18 3/4 large mouth. Shortly after, those heavy rains came in and the weather forced me off the lake. The rest of the day was a wash-out with heavy rains and Thunderstorms overnight. Friday am the weather continued .... rain and some pretty high winds. After figuring we'd be sitting in the cabin all day, before pulling the boat to prepare for the trip home, we decided to go ahead and head for home Overall, the fishing was dramatically down, but we had a great time none the less. We're really good friends with the owners and always enjoy being there with them. Thursday afternoon, during the bite, happened to be 'girls day out', so my wife and the camp owner's wife went around to the small towns for a bit of shopping. To my amazement, I still had some money left after they returned. Next trip: French River for the last two weeks in September. I'd really like to bring back a couple pics to share with you all of some FR muskies. Better yet, maybe my better half will land her first. OK ...OK .... here's some of the pics. Sorry there's only a few, but with the bite being so slow, we really didn't take all that many. The two largest. 18 3/4 large mough and 16 1/2 small mouth. One of the few bass we caught this week. Patsy likes a fish fry ... guess who gets to clean the fish. She does a great job. My wife and one of her pike. (she'll be coming to Lakair next year My fishing buddy:

Lew got it right. Chuck and Shelly's dog put her paws up on the grill was was giving something a well deserved and long sniff. Curiosity got the best of me so I went over to take a look. Sure enough, pop the hood and our falls a bat. Must have hit it coming through the PA mountains a day or so before. Glad Kea alerted me to that ... probably would have gotten a little smelly after a while.

Muskey's Landing. That name has pics written all over it for when you get back.

Not bad. Wouldn't mind getting into some of that action myself.

Cool Beans ... Looking forward to parts 2, 3, 4 ..... ?

500 fish in a week ... no time to rest between casts. Sure do sound like a ton of fun and congrats on a great week. Coool seeing your pics. Thanks much.

Friday ... Getting up a Lew o'clock tomorrow am and heading back north to the Big Rideau Lake for a week of bass fishin'. Hope the bite is on.

Sounds like a blast there Jordan. Sorry to hear about your grand-father passing away. You are not alone .. the very same thing happened to me back in 1994. I was with my father in Gowganda (16 hour trip for me). We were mid-week through our trip when we got the call. My grandfather, at the time, lived in Florida. So, we're scrambling to get arrangements made while in Gowganda, so that as soon as we arrived back home, we could catch a flight to Florida. Quite a few hectic days. I can certainly feel for you. Oh yeah ... Welcome to the board.

Give her a year or two Keepinitreel and she'll get you into the 50" club. Congrats to you and thanks for sharing your success with the rest of us. (yes - I feel envy coming on pretty strong now)

Up to this point, it has primarily been bass. After Muskystudd introduced me to Walleye ... I'll have to add that to the menu on occasion. The one way like like the bass fillets and grilled. Take the fillets, add some lemon and a couple other spices, wrap in foil, then on the grill. Mmmmmmmm

Those fish are truly "UNBELIEVABLE and AMAZING". I simply can't imagine catching anything like that and hauling it in. Thanks for sharing ... I'm sure we'll all enjoy your pics and adventures.