smbhunter

Congrats!

Thanks for the update. I'm heading up to Promised Land Camp on the 7th, so I hope the fishing is still good. We had a great time last year and everyone caught some walleye, with an average size of about 3 lbs. We were struggling to get a few keepers. Even managed 3 nice pike, 2 were about 6lbs and 1 was about 10-12. Saw the biggest pike I've ever seen up close, being caught which was about 45". Lots of herring too. Still haven't caught a whitie on Nipissing, but maybe this year. I'll post a report when I get back on the 9th.

I was at little lake on Tuesday and found quite a bit of snow on the ice. Hopefully this warm spell and rain only melt off the snow, which is likely since the night temps are still going to be below zero. BTW there was 6-8 inches of ice on little lake and we managed to land 5 pike and missed a bunch. A slow day for this lake but still a great first ice fishing trip of the season.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

I got into musky fishing last year and have bought several different baits. I just wanted a couple more for next year and some Salmo baits were on my list, (skinner's in particular), but after reading this I will hold off on getting them. There's nothing worse than having a bait fail on you, especially one that costs a fair bit. I bought a Lucky Craft live pointer a couple years ago and the bait never worked properly. I just took off the hooks and split rings and put them on another lure. $25 for two split rings and two treble hooks seems rather expensive to me. Haven't looked at another Lucky Craft since.

Fish Ontario, on the 400 is the only place I can think of right away. Don't know for sure if they have them this year, but I did get some there last year, so I don't see why they wouldn't.

Great looking brown! Nice catch.

I've been doing this for a few years and it really works well. I don't go ice fishing without a few flies in my arsenal. For perch and crappie I'll do a drop shot type rig, with either a scud or sow bug imitation (especially on simcoe). If you start pulling up green weeds, give them a shake and look on the ice to see what bugs are there and the average size, then simply 'match the hatch'. Some of my best perch fishing days have come from using this method during the first ice period in about 10-15 feet of water, but I've also done well in the 25 foot range if good green weeds are present. If the action is a little slow on a given day, pick out a small dead minnow from the bucket and tip the fly with just the head. Checking the bellies of the perch while cleaning them will give an even better idea of what insects they might be eating. For whitefish, I'll drop shot a woolly bugger tipped with a small minnow. I've had some great success with this method as well, but for some reason a white woolly bugger works the best, with a cinnamon, or light brown color coming in a distant second. It's a great method and certainly worth trying on any given day.

Happy birthday Dave!

Nice pike. Congrats.

The reel trade in, as always, is still going on every year during the spring fishing classic. Last year they shortened it from being the entire length of the classic, to only about 4 days in total. It was never stopped. The coupon values haven't changed either. Not quite sure what is going to happen this classic with the reel trade in, whether it will be the length of the classic or if it will be shortened, but it will be going on.

At the beginning of the year my goal was to catch my PB muskie and pike. I didn't get my PB pike, but I did manage to get my muskie and had a great time throughout the year trying to get it.

Cool story.

Congrats to your fiance on an excellent first deer. That album sounds like it would be a great listen. A complete album dedicated to fishing is one I would listen too. I may just have to get one.

Something that always makes me shake my head, is that the oak ridges morraine is supposed to be a protected area, but yet there are subdivisions going up all over it. A friend of mine recently put in an application to get a pool in his own backyard, of course the application was denied, but the housing developments around his place sure put a chill to the summer heat. It just goes to show how money means more to some people than anything else. Just my opinion.

Congrats on your first musky. Nice colour pattern on that fish.

That pike has some very unusual markings on it. Great day on the ice. Can't wait for the safe ice down here.

That is very cool.

Pike Walleye Lake trout Whitefish Not necessarily in that order. I can never pass up an outing where specks are the main target. I really enjoy the whole speck fishing experience whether I catch any or not.

I have a Curado 300 and worked it hard this year, I figure about 80% of the time I was muskie fishing, I had this reel in hand. I casted just about everything with it, crankbaits, topwater, jerkbaits, bucktails and I even trolled with it a couple times. Still works like it did on day one. Excellent reel. I may have to get another one for next year. I need two more reels for next year, and on my short list are the Curado 300, Avid 300, Calcutta 400 TE, and an Ambassadeur 7000. I've heard great things about these reels, except for the Avid, I haven't heard much of anything about it. If Jim Saric uses the Avid, it can't be that bad.

I actually saw a good size one surface last august while fishing for gar. Must have been about a 40 incher. Also saw 4 or 5 big pike as well.

Congrats on the PB. Those are some nice looking muskie you got there. Good job.

That is amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Didn't weigh either fish. I usually don't weigh a fish unless I have a cradle or a weigh bag. I think it does too much damage to a fish to put the hook from the scale in it's gills, even if done carefully. I'm guessing the bigger ski was between 20-25 lbs, and the smaller one between 15-20 lbs. Roger, we must get out before the season ends so you can see first hand how diseased I really am and where that "major dent" came from.