rockfish

Good to see the ol grumps getting out. I was talking to Bill last night about getting out to Welland maybe later this week to try for some toothy critters. There's always a pile of smelt to catch if we don't get the toothies and maybe Jack can show us how he does land his Pike with no leaders as we've seen him do before.

The Bronte pier is at the end of Bronte rd off the QEW and I only go there in the Fall for the Chinook run. Dead bait (smelt) does work well after ice out but live large creek chubs or suckers work the best under a slip bobber.

Exactly Chris, I had the smelts from the freezer in a container out fishin' and within a while the container was full of water. Had to keep draining the same container about 3 different nights out. Caught a couple snot rockets with them and Darrell caught a big Bullhead. I still got a couple spoons for ya to pay u back for the homemade glowies u gave one night at the Bronte pier. Didn't land anything on them but was a slow year at the Hammy pier last Fall anyway. D

Sure Darrell, it's only 10 mins away I'll just talk to ya on MSN like I'm doin right now.

Sobey's on Nash rd has huuuuuge sardines !!!!! Was checking them out for pike bait myself and they go for about $6.99 a bag I think. I still got a bag of tailless smelt $5.99 from there in the Spring so going to use them up.

Think I know where u went Bruce, prob in the PC area. Be careful out there if u are going by yourself and keep that compass and the ice spikes handy out on the bigger water.

I'm surprised that jwl hasn't posted in this yet, he must still be doing his week long holiday partying. Rule of thumb is usually the bigger the bait, the bigger the fish but that isn't always the case. I caught this Muskie one day close to dark on a 3.5 " perch coloured Berkley Frenzy crank that cost $2.95 on sale while trying for Pike when other tactics weren't working. Jack (jwl) can tell u that he's landed some good sized skis on his favourite 6" white twister on an unpainted jighead. I've also seen an 18" Pike take a bait almost the same length as it when I was watching a guy Muskie fishin' so u sometimes don't know what fish will take on the menu. When fishing for Pike I like to keep it simple and stick with large spoons, Cleos and Williams Wobblers, suspending cranks, X-raps and Husky Jerks and also large Vibrax inline spinners.

I'll take that combo off your hands Bruce if u sell it to me for a decent price. Just like someone said, tell your Mum that u already have a couple of good combos and u can use the moola for it to buy more lures. I know you've had probs with Mitchell's before and some stuff doesn't last for the amount of fishing u do. If I remember right, u got a brand new Flueger baitcaster last X-mas and returned it for repairs. They just don't make stuff to last like they used to.

Well we knew u know who everyone is cuz most of us have fished together and didn't think everyone else did. Bruce really hasn't posted some of his best fish and it's almost time to get out his propane deep fryer again to cook us up some more tasty critters. Sorry Bruce putting u to work again but we'll supply the ketchup.

Hey I recognize a few ppl in the pics, in fact I know almost all of them. I haven't been reading the forums too much lately due to work but been getting some time now to do some catching up. I'll just add a few names to the pics of Bruce's fishin family (only 4 of them are actually related ). Bruce is a great guy to fish with and we had lots of fun times this year. Been out in his boat a few times and he's always generous in sharing his custom made ugliboy bucktail harnesses and whatever bait he has. Almost time to plan another ice fishing trip to Keswick.

Thanks for the boat ride Bruce, always a good time drifting a few of your custom made Uglyboy worm harnesses and the Wally took the white pattern this time in the clear water. The girlfriend also got a chance to work on an October tan since she lost her paper temp. fish license in her laundry a few weeks ago. Still looking for those Fall time Pike for the NFN Pike off contest but still tons of time before it ends March 31 when the inland season closes.

You could also try a Johnson silver minnow (weedless spoon) for Pike, add a 3" or 4" white or yellow twister to the weedless hook to add some weight and get it down deeper.

Bruce, I kinda wondered about u carrying around candy canes in your backpack since I've seen just about everything else in there.

It was a fun day out Bruce and a pretty good day for a day off until we dodged a few downpours in the late afternoon. The fish were definately on a minnow bite and were ignoring all our lures except for one of your tubes. That one Rockie u caught the day before was lucky to have survived that toothy critter attack.

I see a bunch of NFNers have migrated over here, when we going on that Muskie Mission Jack ? Me and the bigugli haven't found much on the river except snags around the 406 towards the shipping canal.

I've found that after ice out and in early Spring, Pike are better biters mid day when the water warms up a bit and then right till dark. Won't be able to find out this year though when Division 16 closes at the end of the month and reopens May 10'th. When the water is warmer in late Spring they are opportunistic feeders and will feed anytime during the day. They can be a lazy fish sometimes and not venture very far and lots of times will just keep following a lure right to your feet. With warmer water especially in late Summer, they won't feed as much, being more comfortable in cooler water. The bite turns back on again in the Fall when the water cools down.