timmeh

The second pic is a pike. I got a little to close and the image is a little blurry. I'm still learning to use the camera, hence the experimenting with colors on the first 2 pics. Houski, I thought that the last one was a gray tree frog, but wasn't sure about the first one, thanks for the info.

Been out a few times in the last few weeks and found the fishing pretty hit and miss. Some days I've only found the dinks but I've had a couple real good days. Took the fly rod out for bass and got into some pretty good numbers, including a 17", but the camera batteries were dead so no photos. But even 10" smallie can put up a nice battle on the fly rod, and the big guys are just a riot. Still get out with the spinning gear for a little wading as well. He's a shot of the biggest of the year, a solid 20" from the Canada Day weekend. Every once in a while I pick up a few of these guys too.. Have notice quite a few deer around too. It required a bit of patience but I was able to get quite close to this fella. He was quite curious, and even though I was swinging around the fly rod he didn't run. Hopefully he wises up by fall. Hellgrammite Crayfish And a couple frogs that I haven't IDed yet but am going to look up soon. Any ideas?

Gobies are not very selective when it comes to eating. They'll take most anything. I don't carp so I don't know if this will work, but have you tried getting your bait up off bottom a bit. Gobies stay very close to the cover of bottom so it may help.

That's kinda of scary stuff. Good to hear no serious injuries but sounds like they were lucky. And good on you for helping out. A few years ago I was waiting at a red light and saw a guy blow through it and t-boned a minivan. The impact must have screwed the minivan's tranmission as it spun around in a complete circle, then went into reverse very quickly and backup up onto one of the those stability lines that hold up telephone poles. The minivans front tires were on the ground and the van itself was on a 45 degree angle up on the line. No one hurt badly but the minivan driver was histerical when she was helped out.

Well I guess he decided that he couldn't lead a team to a championship so he decided to go join a stacked team. It's the same way baseball players join the yankees or red sox. If you can't beat them join'em. Seems like kinda of a cowardly thing to do, but that's just my opinion.

You're right C&R works. I've caught the same bass 3 seasons in a row now. He's missing his right eye. First year he was 14", last year he was 16.5", and last week when I got him he was 18". He's been sitting roughly in the same pool for a while now. The interesting thing is I usually find right after the opener but every year I've looked again in the fall and can't figure out where he's holding up. I wouldn't mind finding the overwintering pool he's moving to in the fall.

Sad news, seems he may have gotten things on the right track after some tough times. Unlike most of the clowns in the nhl these days he was actually a tough guy who had some hockey talent.

As already mentioned the blanks in the triumph and premier rods are the same, they are put together by different people. What you really need to consider is how often you plan on using the rod and if you're the kind of person who likes to upgrade your fishing equipment regularly. If you're only fishing occasionally no need to spend big $$ on a rod. If you're going to use it all the time maybe you want to invest a little more. I've personally seen 1 triumph explode in the river and apparently others here have seen the same thing. If you think later on you'll upgrade your rod it's probably worth spending the extra $ now. Or you'll end up buying a rod today and then next year it'll sit in your rod rack while you use the new one.

The problem is that they do infact stand a chance! Not to form a large population and take over the river or anything like that, but it's possible they could survive overwinter here. The reason for this is sewage treatment plant discharge. The discharged water is significantly warmer than rest of the river in water. A couple winters ago I worked on a project looking at the effects of STP discharge in the local rivers and often in the middle of winter the water temp will be between 6-9 degrees immediately downstream of the discharge pipe. That would be high enough to allow a small population to overwinter in the area.

By the looks of the reports it seems that most of you had some pretty good bass openers. Being mostly a river guy this weekend, and week, is tough since most of my spots are blown for a while. But later this week and/or weekend I am hoping to get the kayak out for a fish. But since I suspect there will be a lot of boat traffic I was hoping to avoid the more popular spots and stick to some electric motor only lakes. I know of a few in the KW area, Guelph and Island lake, but was hoping to get a few other options, and to maybe fish some new water. Anything within 2 hours or so of Kitchener-Waterloo would be awesome. Thank, Tim

Depending on what part of Georgian Bay you are in. The open waters would most likely be oligotrophic, while some of the bays and coastal area would be meso mostly due to human influence.

Good stuff, I think i'll print this out and add keep it in the book. Have you ever fished senkos in moving water? Spending a fair amount of my time in rivers, I must admit that I rarely fish except in the slowest of currents. In current the natural wobble is reduced. Any tips on different ways to fish a senko in moderate current?

Well this may be the first confirmed catch, but I suspect they've been in the lake for much longer. Just like the case of cougars in Ontario, the MNR has just confirmed what many have known for years. This certainly is bad news but I will hold out hope that this will not be the end of the great lakes. Keep in mind that both zebra mussels and gobies were supposed to destroy the lakes as well. Large ecosystems such as the great lakes are resilient. Not good, but I'm not going to sell the fishing gear yet.

Nice fish, some real brutes there. Nice underwater shot too. I've kinda had that river in my mind for a bit in case I had the opportunity to go for a bit of a trip, but reports like this have really got me thinking......Is the fishing consistent throughout the summer or does it slow down a bit before picking up in the fall? If I get a few days off, which I may in July I might just have to go for a drive.

A couple years ago we had a wild turkey that essentially lived in the neighborhood for about 2 years. It would roost on peoples porches, roofs, and patios at night and wander around during the day. A few people got upset as he would see his reflection in cars and peck at them. He disappeared not long after that started.....

Heard about this at work this week. It's amazing how ignorant some people can be. These guys either have no clue, or just don't care what they were shooting at. They should lose their guns for a while IMO...... Two Ontario Hunters Convicted of Hunting Trumpeter Swans ORANGEVILLE, Ont – June 10, 2010 – Two Toronto-area hunters pleaded guilty on June 2, 2010, to one offence each under the Migratory Birds Convention Act 1999 in an Orangeville court. Duarte Carvalho and Joaquim Inacio pleaded guilty to hunting one trumpeter swan each during a closed season. They were each sentenced to pay a $1,500 fine. In September 2009, hunters reported that two large white birds had been shot at Luther Marsh near Grand Valley, Ontario. An Environment Canada Enforcement Branch officer and conservation officers from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources arrived at the marsh and, after questioning, laid charges against the two hunters. In addition to the fine, Mr. Carvalho and Mr. Inacio are prohibited for one year from applying for, using, or holding a migratory bird hunting permit. Trumpeter swans were once hunted and harassed to the point where, in 1933, only 77 were breeding in Canada. The swan carcasses in this case had large yellow wing tags indicating they were part of a restoration project to boost the trumpeter swan population in Ontario. Environment Canada investigates offences with the objective of ensuring that companies, governments, and the general public comply with legislation and regulations that protect migratory birds. Environment Canada supports the conservation and protection of Canada’s natural capital through the enforcement of the Migratory Birds Convention Act 1994, Canada Wildlife Act, Species at Risk Act, and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.

IMO it's the action that the angler puts on the bait that is much more important than what brand it is. I've caught fish on gulp and will include it in my arsenal for bass this year, but it's not my preferred choice and I've done just as well on other brands of soft plastics. I know they say it outfishes live bait but I'll never believe that. No matter how much scent or attractant you put on a bait you can never reproduce the behavior of live bait. I still very rarely use live bait, but that is for different reasons.

Some words of wisdom I was given when starting out recently: -You don't need to spend too much money on the reel, it's not as important as a spinning reel is, to your overall setup. -Spend money on your line, it's the only thing thing that connects you to your fly plus a good line will make casting much easier. -Check out reelflies.ca for most of your flies. But spend some time in the local stores and buy a few flies from them. They will be great sources of info in the future. -Make sure you get a casting lesson from a GOOD source, so you can avoid picking up bad form early. -Practice casting, it will pay off. I probably looked kinda crazy casting at snow drifts this winter but I know it has made a difference. One thing I would strongly recommend is a guide when you first go out, if you can afford it. And go one on one so you get the full attention. This was the first thing I did, and although I didn't actually catch any fish on that trip, it was well worth it. The casting advice alone was great. It's made a huge difference in me being able to catch the fish I have rather than piercing my ears. Many guides offer learn to fish programs that are entirely on the water and a little less expensive than regular trips. Also fly fishing will probably make you a better fisherman overall, as you will need to slow things down a little, and be much more observant, in order to be successful. You'll learn to read the water better and that will also help with your steelie trips in the fall. Good luck...

Right now I'm actually using a 6 weight rod. This was the one decision that I spent a lot of time thinking about. In the end I wanted something that would work for trout but would allow me to cast larger flies for bass as well. While the 6 is a little big for trout it still allowed me to get started. I had always planned that if I enjoyed fly fishing I would buy a lighter rod for trout in the future, and will hopefully do so next season. MJL, it is a measure net. I wasn't aware they were supposed to float with a fish in so I haven't tried it yet. Maybe I will next time. I really like the net though as it allows you to get a pretty accurate measurement while keeping the fish in the water. No need to pin them down on shore and try to measure a flopping fish. I've found that by keeping them just below the water they actually remain fairly calm, making a measurement much easier. Thanks for the replies guys.

Yes you would need to prove where you caught them. If you're caught in Canadian waters with fish it will be assumed you caught them in said waters unless you can reasonably prove otherwise, and off the top of my head I'm not sure how you'd do that. But none of that matters seeing as how you've already mentioned it's C & R right now in the US. So it wouldn't really matter where you caught the fish, you'd be in trouble either way. It would only matter who caught you (I suspect it'd be easier if it where the OMNR). And once bass season opens then you can legally have the fish here so no problems.

I'm really starting to enjoy fly fishing, to the point that I've haven't brought out the spinning gear, with the exception of a few creeks too small and overgrown to work with my fly rod. I've already been eying up a shorter, lighter rod so I can challenge myself in some of the smaller systems I like to work from time to time. But that will have to wait to next year.... Got out a couple time the past week week and was getting a few smaller fish here and there when hooked into something a little larger. I saw the golden flash and I thought I had my biggest brown yet, but not quite...... After about 30 seconds I knew what was up... But at least I'm getting my nymphs to the bottom... Anyway I only had to wait a couple more days to hook into my biggest fish on the fly rod to date. Measured at just a hair under 19". I've also picked up an underwater camera and had a chance to play around with it on some of the smaller fish. Future shop has the newer Fuji model on sale if anyone is interested. I'm looking forward to getting a few nicer shots with this camera. Unfortunately these are not so clear as the water was stained from the recent rains. The troutings been fun but I can't wait to get after some bass on the fly. Soon enough...

looks like a pumpkinseed

Very nice

Welcome to the board and beauty fish man . Also great to hear a fish like that went back. Once the water starts to really warm up the trout will head out to the deeper and colder water and it will be a tougher go off the pier. But they will be back in the fall.

Fantastic man. Spend a fair bit of time on the backroads myself, and once you've put in the time and effort it can be really rewarding as you clearly know.