Cudz

What a great game. Couldn't have asked for a better result. I was really pulling for Mac but Laval has a great program and they always know how to win. Great respect for Stefan Ptaszek as well. He is a great coach and was a really good CIS player. I used to play against him when he was at Laurier and I was at Waterloo. Her is a cool pic from a newspaper showing me (#8) about ready to hit Stefan Ptaszek (#14).

I did quit but I am always around to offer advice especially fall fishing on Kbay.

hmm. yes

Holy Crap Brandon! The only thing better than those Musky is your Moustache. Movember came early for you. lol Serious fish there. I am in awe and jealous at the same time of your moustache but especially your fish

I live in Barrie and am totally willing to share a bunch of info with you one evening. I go to sleep late and am available after 8 ish pm Mondays and Tuesdays. I can show you all the baits and rods reels etc. let me know. If you want to catch big smalies, november is the time to go out on KBay. If you are serious about learning I will teach you some techniques that work. let me know.

smallies 6.6 - 7' meium action 15 pound pp with 8 pound fluoro leader 6' long tube jigs slammers senko x raps (or other jerkbaits) spinnerbaits top water lures small square billed crankbaits don't wait until spring. The best bass fishing of the year is here now at our front door. Learn to drop shot and use 3/8 oz wieght. find 30ft of water in the bay and catch 5 pound plus smallies. Of all the times of the year I am going to miss being a non fisherman it is now!!! Practice makes perfect. Go try some stuff and find some good water. It is there but you have to find it. Go out with someone. Nobody is going to give away exact secrets on a forum. You need to try some stuff. If it works, stick with it. If it doesn't, try something new. If you have a couple of each of the lures I mentioned above and you use them properly, you will catch smallies. good luck

Nope. Still have not fished since quitting. Just creeping around here from time to time.

I wish I could say I was fishing but I am not. I still check the site but I have not fished since I quit. I really do miss it especially with last weekend's weather but I have not been fishing since quitting. I am still lurking around the board and am willing to help out a fellow angler with spots or baits.

It is great out there. Stay near beach. It is perfect no waves with a strong west wind. All the fish are close in anyway.

Great fish! Great photographer. Pretty sure it was already too late for the minnow bucket. He carries spare pants now.

My 10 year old daughter is pretty heavy into MMA. They focus on Muai Thai and Brazilian JJ. Her jiu jitsu instructor is a true BJJ black belt which is really cool. The training is very physical and conditioning is very hard but she loves it. She is one tough cookie too. She fights boys because there are no girls to challenge her. I guess it comes pretty natural to her seeing as I used to wrestle a fair bit and my father is a collegiate wrestler and had a record of 33 and 1. The MMA is quite a bit different from regular karate and tae kwon do as it takes from all martial arts and puts it into one package. I hope you have deep pockets though. lol

In the mouth nice fish Bill

Jigger and I were out fishing on November 21 last year. 30 mph east wind and some pretty good snow. Don't put your boat away yet the big boys will be in very very soon. If you want to catch 5+ pound bass on Simcoe without straying too far from shore, Oct-Nov is the best. Going to miss it for sure but I still lurk so I want to see some good fall smallie fish porn!

Since making the decision I feel a weight has actually been lifted off my shoulder and I think I have been a kinder person since. I still love fishing and I do think about it but so far so good. I feel bad for some of my friends that I have introduced to fishing and who often depend on me to get excursions organized and do not have boats of their own. I am encouraging them to keep fishing and that I will be back in a while to do it with them. I still think fishing is a great passtime and hobby! I have got lots of hobbies to keep me busy. I work out at the gym quite a bit and have been for the past 24 years or so. I am also going to run a marathon this upcoming year for my 40th bday. I will run more. My runs in the morning are only 40 mins long and before the kids get up and I don't like running at all but do it to get ready for may next year. I also have an interest in cars and really enjoyed the time I spent with BillM out on the water talking cars. I might get a car eventually and spend a bit of time in the garage. We'll see (maybe I can convince my 68 year old dad to give me his vette). I don't have ocd and for 8 years I did not fish too much only like once a month maybe and during that time I never had any other hobby that took up as much 'mindspace' as fishing did to me as of last week. I did however play many sports before getting married and was out with them for 5 night a week. That was soon down to once a week after first child. Anyway, I still feel good about my decision and I will miss it for sure but for now, removing the fishing option has made me a better dad, husband and probably person. Thanks for all the PMs and I hope to see you guys on the water in a few years.

My friend, I spend more time than you can imagine with my children. Because of my job I am able to have that opportunity. THis is not the issue. WHen I do go fishing I do so mainly when they are asleep. I actually don't fish that much (at the most twice a week, but usually only once a week for about 4 hours). Probably less than lots of people here. The problem is that my demeanor. I don't fish that much but really want to. It might not make sense to you but if it is not an option anymore I won't be angry that I can't be doing it. Basically if it doesn't exist I won't crave it. It is difficult to explain but if the temptation is constantly there it will be all I think about, therefore I remove it. I know for most it does not make sense but unfortunately this is how I work. When I am interested in something I don't do it at 50%. At this point in my life I need to be with my kids and wife. To each their own but for me this is how it is going to be. Hopefully the fish will still be there when I get back. I guess I had better erase a bunch of waypoint on the gps before I sell it. lol

Hey Thanks for all the positive responses. We'll see you guys in a while. Thanks for the PMs too!! take care Chris

It has come to my attention that I have an unhealthy addiction to fishing. It is what I think about most of the time. When I am not fishing I wish that I was. When I am out fishing I dread the last cast and always want to stay longer. When I can't go fishing I get angry. When I can only go fishing for an hour or two I feel rushed and get angry. Whenever I pass a new lake river or body of water I want to fish it. Now for some members here this would seem normal, but to non-fisherpeople it is not. So here is my dilema. I have a family, a wife and 3 young daughters, of which non really enjoy fishing that much. Everytime I am out fishing, I have to leave them with mom. When I am out there I feel guilty for leaving them and think about them quite a bit. I also get angry at my wife who puts limits on the amount I fish and when I have to be home (she is actually correct in most cases). hen I get home I am often short-fused because I want to be fishing more. When I don't fish I have no patience for them because I often blame them for taking up some of my time that I could be fishing. Fishing and family is a delicate balance that I can not seem to master (or even come close to balancing). Although I fish only twice a week I really need to spend more time with my wife and my 5, 8 and 10 year old kids. For this reason I am selling my boat and giving up fishing totally for 5 years or so. I know it sounds extreme but this is what I have to do. I have to remove those temptations. At this point some of you might be laughing and I wish I were too but it truly is an addiction. Last night I made a conscious decision to focus more on my family and to do this I have to stop fishing (not slow down). I am aware that I have an addictive personality and it is for this reason that I don't drink alcohol. I quit drinking at the age of 21 (actually before I could actually become a serious drinker)in order that I did not get addicted. I don't know if that makes sense but I did not want to test my addictive personality. Anyway, I will miss fishing. I will miss all the members here. I am thankful for the members I have met and fished with and wish that I could have have fished with all of you. I learned loads here and hopefully helped a few members out as well. Take care guys and gals. You are a special community. Tight Lines Chris

I drove from Barrie to Portage last summer. I was in awe of some of the scenery of Northern Ontario especially around Lake Superior National Park. IF you have never been that route it is quite nice to see that part of the country. I too used to go to School in Waterloo but date a girl from the Soo so I used to go through Michigan all the time. IT was shorter

lol! When I honked I was wondering what you were doing. I thought you might be unpacking from your fishing trip. Looks like you had a good amount of "stuff" in your garage.

I bought a boat 2 years ago in July 2009 and got a letter 2 weeks ago saying I need to pay the tax on the boat. I found my receipt photocopied it and send the 8% tax via personal cheque to the government. Weird that it was so late. When you register the boat, that is when they should make you pay the tax just like with the trailer. It is a messed up system!

I invited a non-fishing friend to go out for a morning on Simcoe. He was pumped and went out and bought his conservation fishing license last night. He also told the ctc staff member that he was fishing for bass and was convinced to drop $40 on topwater weedless frogs, including one koppers. Now I love frog and frog fishing but for anyone who has ever fished smallies on Simcoe you know that there may be one or two better lures than that. lol. He was so excited every time he had a fish on. He was all smiles with every bite and fish landed. He absolutely loved it and is hooked. It turned out to be a gorgeous morning. Anyway, fishing was fun and between us we managed 15 smallies(nothing big just a bunch of 2s), about 30 perch and one rock bass (early topwater victim). I also witnessed my friend catch not one but two of the smallest smallies I have ever seen caught on a lure(he caught two identical 3" smallies.) PS -- Personal smallest. I kept 8 jumbo perch between 10.5" and 12" and once home cleaned thema and immediately fried them up. Yum! I generally don't eat lots of fish but I love perch. Early morning topwater smallie for me Eric with his first decent fish Eric with another Eric's PS - incredibly small

Nice Job. THat is a huge laker. I forgot all about your trip. You will have to fill me in on it when we get out on Lady Simcoe soon. Congrats to your pops on the laker and those be some very nice looking Brookies too!

Absolute beaut! I have an unhealthy infatuation with those fish.

lol!!! On a more serious note, I heard a Tornado may have touched down in Shelburne

I have fished several lakes this summer that I had fished in the recent past and have really noticed that the pads are a whole lot less dense and much more sparse in general. Being a gunk fisherman whenever I get the opportunity, this is a bit off-putting. I hae noticed this mostly on muskoka area lakes. Anyone else notice this?