smbhunter

WOW! That's a big fish.

Visit Fishmaster and have a talk with him about rigging techniques. When I was there the other day he was very helpful. Basically, the idea is to use a heavy slip sinker, (2-3 ounce egg, pyramid or disc) to keep the bait stationary on the bottom. If the weight is too light, the bait will start to drift down river and reduce your chances of getting a hit. Circle hooks worked very well for us. We used eagle claw probaiter hooks in a size 2, which is quite a large hook. It's bigger than an owner circle hook in size 1/0 and has a wider gap. It's amazing how these circle hooks catch the corner of the mouth every time. Good luck to you on your next trip out.

Good job you two. Way to go. Excellent report.

A buddy and I decided to head down to Dunnville for some cats. Both of us have caught a few in the past, but never spent a day targeting them. We had to improvise for gear, with my buddy taking a couple of his muskie rods and myself borrowing a shimano baitrunner reel for another buddy. We arrived in Dunnville at about 1 pm and headed down to see Fishmaster. He gave us some great advice and tips on how to catch these cats, and we bought some of his catfish bait that we heard so much about. We got to our spot, and began to set up, and by about 2 pm we started fishing. My buddy was already rigged up, so while I was rigging up he put on a piece fishmasters cut bait and cast out. About a minute later, a strike was detected but with no taker. By the time I was ready to cast out, my buddy had 3 hits. Finally, after putting on a big ball of worms, I cast out. I tried the worms because I was also interested in catching other species like, drum, carp, and suckers, but none would hit on this day, just the catfish. After 10 minutes of my worms soaking in the water I had a fish on, which would be my personal best at 14 lbs. The worms were working great at the start of the day, but then slowed down. We both then tried the cut bait and were going fish for fish for the rest of the day, with both of us getting personal bests. Mine ended up being 14.5 lbs, and my buddy had his tip the scale at just over 19 lbs. In total, we landed about 25 catfish, four of which were over 15 lbs and about 8 that were under 10 lbs. We both had a great time trying something new and thanks again to Fishmaster for helping us out.

I used to catch these tastey morsels in the french river. The ones we caught were never very big, but they were plentiful. We still catch them in Nipissing on very calm days. Watch for a major surface disturbance out in the main lake, approach slowly and start casting small spoons, spinners, small plastics, while keeping just within casting distance of the school. In about 10 minutes you can have 50-100, between 2-3 anglers. Just like with most fish species, timing is everything. If you time the runs right, you can catch them all day long with very little effort. After the runs are over, they tend to go out into the main body of water, but some will stay close to heavy current areas.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

I'm planning to go fishing on friday and would like to try for channel cats. I would like to know where I could go and what I should use. I have a muskie rod I could use, or a rod that I pier cast and carp fish with, but I am unsure of rigging techniques. I will be shore fishing. If anyone could help me out, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

There is no season on gar as they are considered a coarse fish. Hooks do work, but they must be very sharp. Expect to land maybe 1 out of every 10 hooked. They fight hard and unless you get them in the fleshy part of the snout close to the head, the hooks won't stick. I had one day last year where I hooked about 30 gar and landed only 5. That's why I like the small treble attached about an inch or two behind a single hook, it tends to bite into the bony snout better. To increase hooking percentage with any bait, be patient, let the gar take the bait and feel for about 4-5 twitches and/or the fish to stop. The twitches are the gar stunning and working the prey closer to their mouth. Sometimes you can wait for a good 10 minutes for this process and other times just a few seconds. If patient enough, you can hook them in the fleshy portion of the snout and land many more. This pic is an example of just that. This gar was hooked right in the fleshy corner of the mouth using the 'patient' technique.

Hey little_angler, I fish Nipissing about 2-3 times a year and always stay at promised land, (I'm on the cover of the brochure). I've been going there for the last 6 years and I love it. You don't have to go far to get into some nice fish. The reeds just beside the camp are full of largemouth, (it's the only place I've caught them in Nipissing), and the whole bay in front of the camp has great numbers of smallmouth and smaller pike. Stick around the islands of south bay and hunter's bay for every species. The walleye fishing is excellent on the main lake, just find a hump and you'll find fish. You won't have a problem locating fish, as Frank, (the owner), will do everything he can to provide you with information on where to go and what to use. If you need more info send me a PM.

I fly fish for them, lots of fun. You can find them in GB, lower stretches of the grand and trent rivers, Nipissing, BOQ, Lake O, Lake Erie, etc. Any quite back bay will be stacked with them and you can get good numbers in a day. To locate gar easily, look for surfacing fish in bays, as they have a set of modified lungs and frequently surface to gulp air. Once located, approach slowly and quitely, as they tend to spook easily at times. The best times to catch them are in July and August, and even the end of June can be productive. When spawning, these fish will not hit anything as they are focused on the task at hand. The spawning usually takes place at the end of May and/or beginning of June, depending on the weather and location. Luckily, spawning only lasts for a couple of days. Make sure you have very sharp hooks, and attach a small treble, with heavy braided or flourocarbon line, to the end of a single hook, with a fluke or senko type bait. A piece of frayed nylon rope, about 3-5 inches in length, attached to a hook works well, as the teeth will get stuck in the frayed rope if the hook doesn't stick. I hope this helps.

I'm in. 'Dmitri' will be in last with the leafs.

Great report and awesome pictures.

LOL!!! 'She's just jealous.' Nice job Ryan. Beauty brown.

That's a beauty of a boat. Almost time to test her out.

I nearly cried yesterday when I saw the video, today I did shed a tear seeing the pics. One of the nicest weather weekends this year and I had to work both days. Excellent job this weekend Matt. I'm so jealous. lol! Way to go buddy.

Awesome video and some great walleye. My brother lives just outside of Edmonton and Pigeon Lake is one body of water that we picked to fish when I visit him in September. We chose Pigeon as one destination mainly for the fact that it's close to where my brother lives, (Leduc). Good to know we accidently picked a good lake! LOL!!!

Welcome to the board.

If you look at the tank notice that certain species maintain their colour more than others. The bass tend to be more pale with the lighting and clear water, but the perch are colourful in there. If you look at the gar, they tend to change from dark to light day by day, even during the course of a given day they change. In terms of health, 90% of the fish are healthy in the tank.

Bowshep, The best thing for the fish would be if the MNR made it mandatory to use barbless hooks. It would make releasing fish quick and easy and cause minimal damage. It would also allow a large percentage of 'to be released' fish to remain in the water while the hook is being removed. Of course this applies more to the use of single hooks, as an angler can easily leave the fish in the water, grab the hook with pliers and with a quick flick of the wrist release the fish without even handling it. This cannot happen 100% of the time, I understand, but it would lower the chances of having a fish injured from mishandling. Cradles are excellent tools for keeping fish relaxed and healthy prior to release, but can be dangerous for the operator of the cradle. Hooks can quickly come loose while the fish is being directed towards the cradle and catch your partner in the face as he/she is leaning out with the it. But as long as the fish is ok, LOL!!! It is possible with a deep basket, large hooped net, to accomplish the same task as with the cradle, making it safer for both angler and fish. When river fishing it is usually quite easy to bring the fish into a shallow landing area, remove the hooks, quickly lift the fish for a photo if necessary, with minimal damage done and a quick release.

I always have a net in the boat with me, but rarely does it get used. I usually grab the fish I catch and hold them in the water. The net gets used on rare occasions like, tournament fishing, large fish, or if I take someone out fishing that doesn't go very often. The net that I do have was carefully selected among the many styles of nets on the market today. I wanted a tangle free, no knot, mesh for two reasons, 1) To easily and quickly remove hooks from the net and fish, for a fast, efficient release, and 2) The coating on the tangle free mesh also helps to keep the slime on the fish. The Knotless aspect of the net is for the same reason, as well as limiting the amount of damage caused to the external portion of the fish, ie. scale loss, skin damage, etc. Another important aspect in a good net is a small diameter mesh, which helps to keep the fins of the fish completely intact. A deep pocket is also important to keep the fish in the water. When landing fish by hand, always remember to get your hands wet prior to touching the fish, to again reduce slime loss. A landing glove is a good idea for river fishing or anytime a fish is being landed by hand. So in conclusion, if I do happen to use a net on a fish that is to be released, I make sure it is a net that will cause the least amount of harm possible to that fish.

Welcome.

Awesome pics! Good job and nice multi species outing. That is one nice white bass.

I have never hooked onto a sturgeon before, but would like to someday. It is one fish that I have on my personal 'fish to catch,' hit list. I know there's lots in the Nottawasaga river at certain times of the year, and I have had an incredible experience with one in particular in Lake Nipissing. I was fishing at chapman's chutes, in the south river which is the furthest navigable point by boat from the lake. We were anchored off the left side of the chute, catching several carp, suckers and white bass. One guy hooked into a small sturgeon earlier but couldn't bring it in. The boat was maybe 20 ft from shore sitting in about 12 ft of water, when I saw this beast swim up the ledge between the boat and shore. This fish was about half the length of the boat, (16 ft boat), and over a foot across the back of it. IT WAS HUGE!!! When I went back up to Nipissing that fall, the owner had an article cut out from the North Bay Nugget, posted up in the fish cleaning hut, about this giant sturgeon netted by the ministry at chapman's chute. The ministry estimated this sturgeon to be 8 ft long and about 250 lbs. The article was dated about a week after we had seen it. I could've reached into the water and touched the fish how close it was to the boat. That's the closest I have ever been to sturgeon.

Sounds like fun. I'm in.

Yes, that gar was caught on the fly. Went out twice last year for them and landed 5 each time. The first time out was and still is, the best day of fishing I have ever had.