4thgen

I received that picture/story as an internet forward, to which I replied: That's a white sturgeon, not a lake sturgeon so this picture was taken on the west coast, probably the Fraser River. It is a big white sturgeon, but by no means is it a record. I really don't see the point in finding a cool picture, making up a ridiculous story and then sending it to everyone you know.

I always used to go the Islands for opener but given my current location, it's not really feasible. Instead, I fished Superior and caught 5, including a nice 36". It was really windy so I went to a different spot and managed a few rainbows and a bunch of little specks.

Firstly, I imagine that you will take some heat as it will look like you are targeting OOS fish. One thing that I can't get past is that you're saying that you've had alot of hits on lures? I find that when carp are hooked in the mouth they have a really hard time getting off. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I lost a carp and still had a hook when I reeled in. On the other hand, when carp are foul hooked they often get off rather easily. You don't always end up with scales on your hook either. So my question is: what reason do you really have to believe that they are biting? When you see a group of spawning carp and then you drag a lure through them, chances are you are going to get bumps that might look like hits. As others have said, if you want to catch carp, bait is the way to go. I have had success with corn many times and it isn't sticky/smelly etc. Flies work well too, but I usually cast them as opposed to trolling with them. Or... you can troll around lures, but I imagine that you'll find you will be foul hooking many carp before you get one to bite.

Sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks are almost identical except for their size, with Cooper's being slightly larger (although a big female Sharpie can be about the same size as a small male Cooper's). It is always hard to get a real perspective in pictures, but if you think it is only about 13" chances are good that it is a Sharp-shinned. Do you or your neighbours have a bird feeder? Most people don't realize that bird feeders can often supply more than just seed-eaters! The Accipiter family that includes both Cooper's and Sharpies is made up of specialized bird hunters. You'll notice long tails and short stubby wings that make them very maneuverable, especially when chasing smaller birds through the forest.

Awesome video. Good commentary too!

I have had good success mixing standard white glue with a bit of water (to thin it out) and painting that on. It was suggested by a museum employee. I've had a tuna jaw for about 12 years that still looks like the day I found it.

I had a pair of Action Optics once but after they went for a swim I have opted to go with cheaper glasses that I can easily replace. Rapala makes pretty decent cheap polaroids -- the ones that I have now are comfortable and actually look pretty good. They are called "Sportsman's Polarized Fishing Sport Glasses". For years I swore by grey lenses but when friends were able to spot fish that I wasn't, I manned up and went with brown lenses. They don't look as good in my opinion but I find they work alot better for contrast/fish spotting.

Really hard to say for sure but there isn't really anything that would make me think it's a pike moreso than a musky. On the other hand, both the body of water and the forked, pointed tail side with musky. I'm going with musky. Edit: Also, I've seen numerous musky sitting like that in flowing water, especially during the spring.

Too bad about the fishing, but it looks like you had a good time nonetheless. Those woodpeckers are actually two different species -- the first is a Hairy, while the second is a Red-Bellied. Looks like the hairy wanted to know what was in the hole! Well I'm at it, the first gull is a Bonaparte's, and the second appears to be a young Herring.

It doesn't matter to me if people want to post reports and spots etc. etc. With that said, I can see where he's coming from. Scugog is not only the closest crappie lake to Toronto, but it only has so many shore access spots as well (having a boat like yourself severely limits competition but we all can't be so lucky). Combine these factors with a post saying the crappie are on fire and I'm sure there will be a few extra fishermen making the trip from Toronto and thereabouts. Anyway, looks like a good trip -- a 15" crappie is huge! I'm still looking at ice up here. Hopefully it breaks earlier than last year (last week in April).

"where you goin' with that gun in your hand?"

I wish! I'm not sure if I've been able to top 5lbs up here! The rivers up here are very different from the Lake O ditches that I grew up fishing.

Nice pike! The girth on that thing is unreal. Looks like that tail treble is down in the gills -- I know that sight well, that fish must have just inhaled it. I can't wait to get out and get some great lakes pike of my own. Last year the ice was gone about a month from now, this year we've had a warmer spring so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Awesome fish! I always underestimate the weight of my fish now because I find people are less likely to jump all over you. Just remember it's mostly jealousy! As others have said I think you may need to keep trying for that 20 pounder though. The one day I forgot my tape measure I get the biggest steelhead that I've caught. We estimated it at around 16lbs but who's to say? It looked like a chinook while I was fighting it in the pool. Another that I caught a few year back on a charter (I know, it doesn't really count) went 16.2lbs and was 35" I believe.

Actually, I would imagine they meant "there was no way that we could get it out of the tuna pen without losing some tuna. Also, the diver is essentially using an underwater shotgun to kill a shark that has already been shot however many times from the boat. Doesn't really seem that heroic.

I'm pretty partial to Honda myself. My old civic hatchback gets about 600km per 40L tank and makes 160hp (needs the premium though). My mom has an automatic 1998 civic that has just rolled past 420000 with no major repairs thus far. With that said, my winter car is a 1990 tercel and it is still running strong at 330000. Basically, I would go with the Toyota or the Honda for both reliability and resale value. Oh, and at least try to sell your old car and not junk it. 2004 is 14 years newer than the newest car I've ever owned! I'm sure you'll get something better than the $200 the wreckers will pay.

I really don't see why you are so keen to use sunfish for bait, when perfectly legal suckers are readily available... You cannot use gamefish for bait. End of discussion. One CO may not fine you for perch eyes etc. but another very well could. You keep saying "sunfish", which only refers to the family Centrarchidae. Guess what species are considered sunfish and fall within this family? Bass! If you are going to keep a bunch of pumpkinseeds for bait, why can't I head down to the local lake and bring home a limit of largemouth or smallmouth for bait? I think this thread has served its purpose and you can give up the "but it says you can't use them alive! " argument, because it isn't gonna fly.

My first thought when I saw the title of this post:

I haven't been since the year after I stopped working at the trout pond. Leo and Steve (Fish On) got the contract with a cheaper offer and put in a free dark bottom pond. I used to love wandering around before and after hours, riding on the security golf carts etc. Free pizza at close was also a big highlight back in the day.

I hope you weren't keeping the "pike" that you were catching out of Sturgeon and Scugog...

It is definately a Cooper's or a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Hard to really tell in that picture though. You describing it as a large bird definately points towards Coopers despite some chance of size overlap. They will eat mice but if you or your neighbour has a bird feeder, you are perhaps unwittingly supplying food to two levels of that food chain! The long rudder-like tail and the short stubby wings make them very manueverable and excellent bird catchers.

You can see the dark wrist patches in pic with the wings up and the last pic certainly rules out a Red Tailed. Looks like a rough legged to me. When birds hit things they get stunned, usually due to some swelling that puts pressure on the brain which leads to behaviour very much like you described. Wildlife rehap centers and FLAP (of which I was a member) will inject the birds with an anti inflammatory -- dexamethasone was used then, not sure if it still is. At this point they pretty much do what you did and hold on to the birds until they die or are ready to go. Anyway, sounds like an awesome experience with a good ending, congrats.

This one was 38" with a pretty big girth, although I forget what it was now. The biggest that I've caught was 41" but the picture hasn't been scanned. I'm pretty sure that I've seen them over 50lbs in Lake O. Back around 2000 a friend has his picture in the Toronto Star with a 55lb carp from the islands.

100% agree. It takes a while to get up to 190km/h even if it is a Lexus.

^^That's a barred owl. You were lucky to see it -- they are widespread but you don't see them too often. Awesome set of pictures!