jwl

thanks folks, it's always a good time at camp and great to share time with family...gotta get the family thing in there, that's how I get away with having a couple boats and a trailer on the lake without getting shot by the warden

I didn't add to the vote becasue for me, not really applicable. But, I am one of the lucky ones I guess, I live so close to the Upper Niagara River that I can see it from the end of my driveway and depending on the time of year I can walk like 3-4 blocks and get into some great fishing..pending time of year...steelies,lakers,browns,walleye,pike,muskies,perch,smallies are right in the neighbourhood and readily available from shore

oh the beer manages to flow pretty good at camp for some reason I figure if people see some drunk guy fishing off the dock, they won't try fishing near it , then all the largies can be for me like this one

Got back from camp Wednesday night after spending a few days up loaded with family fun,this time our oldest daughter and littlest one came up along with my father-in-law,sis-in-law and my nephew and niece. We had a pretty big crowd at camp that kept our days full of fun,often feeling like there just weren't enough hours in the day. We could not have asked for better weather a few days in a row, weather wise, this was probably the best of all my trips for 2008 so far. It was perfect for all kinds of activities. These guys where all loaded up and ready to hit the water for some fun. After a good rip around the lake,we ventured around the island across from my camp, the kids had a great time when we pretended to be pirates looking for treasure, although my 14 year old thought we where a bit goofy . When we got around the back of the isalnd it was full of kids from the summer camp across the lake, so I got the kids going saying that they where all pirates and wanted to steel our treasure, so I told them to let out thier best "arggs" before we sped off to safety After that it was time to load up the kids, some toys and a cooler full of beer and head down to the beach for some refreshing fun in the sun. On the way back from the beach I found this little guy crossing the road, so after a couple pics and a good scolding about playing in the middle of the road, I let it go in a safer place Nothing tops off a busy day like a big family feast by the lake, I love sitting in my back yard there and relaxing By the end of the day, all these little buggers where "happy campers" Now for some fishin.... Didn't even have to leave my dock to start getting into these Then it was time for me and my father-in-law to escape from the hellions back at the trailer and get into some fishin. I told him that he could only catch these or I was leaving him on the dock next time luck would have it, I took him to a couple of my favorite spots and low and behold, he was catching some decent fish After some exploring, I was happy that my guiding services where a success, and we decided to bring back a little snack to go with lunch It was now time to start getting the kids into a couple fish for the adventure. First off my little one as usual having a blast catching loads of panfish off the dock, and showing off to her cousins. Then it was time for Uncle Jack's guide service and getting the wee ones into thier first fish ever. First up my neice then my nephew showing off his skills for the girls As always it was a great time to be at camp, and was nice to have some family up to share in the adventure, the weather was great, everyone had a blast and it was another great adventure at the JWL camp

if it's anything like musky fishin,I would just be getting the kids to dangle their toes and fingers right in the water right at the dock, the more kids the better

great report, love seeing the family reports and all the smiles on the kid's faces, that's something they will remember forever

it's just a pattern that works for me over the years,I have spent going on 27 years fishing lakers in the Niagara for example where the water is green, in that coloured water fish can see white the best..it works great with twisters and even streamers...the patterns with the most white always catch the most fish and it's hot when there is a baitfish bite on. And also in waters like this,when it's cooler out, and a bit stained up, you will find you catch fish that are sort of "washed-out" so to speak and take on a very pale appearance, and therefore the forage base is more on the white scale of the spectrum. Over the years I have fished quite a bit of more typical "northern" type waters as well, and I find that even alot of fish..baitfish, and forage all seem to be more on the yellow spectrum, walleye, perch xare bright yellow, the yellow stripe on yellow-sided dace for example is all bright yellow, I think that this may be due to the higher tanic acid level in the water that is caused by all the leaves that typically wind up in the water in those areas in the fall/winter months, and makes for a really dark bottom...or pardon the expression ("loon$$poop") bottom lake and you can simply see yellow patterened baits xalot better in the water. That's just a theory I have come up with after many hours spent fishing, taking notes, writing journals and trying to develope successful fishing patterns that work for me, all as I know is it works for me

big white twisters if the water has a green tint to it, yellow if it has a black tint...try running some big minnows/chubs on the bottom, or even try verticle jigging some Williams and stuff, the half silver/gold ones are great for lakers..I fish lakers in the Niagara since I was about 12, and just like fang said...if there is a sharp drop they will push the baitfish up against it, then keep it balled up and run through them gobbling them up

right on man

by a couple times, you mean more like a couple times a month you might not go fishin right??? , I can't wait until we hit the steel a couple times a week like last winter...still cracks me up that my neighbours think I am whacked when the boat sits in the driveway almost all summer then it starts to snow and i get out as much as I could gottas hit a couple of my fav shore trashin spots too once the "salmon angler season" is over

that's pretty cool man, me and some of my long time jammin buddy's are just about to start setting up a few local gigs....we try to get together at least once a week if possible although sometimes hard in the summer time because of work, and well ummm fishin..but we have about 100 songs down pretty good now so I think we can play some gigs no prob.. The only thing that sucks about being the entertainment at a party though is while you are rockin out, everyone else is having a good time and drinking all the beer

Uncle Buck has a great piece of advice there about..NOT pumping rod....just reel...reel...and ummm...reel We aren't running snubbers for eyes........braid on the rods...long floro leads on the harnesses, samer as the small dipsies off the inline boards. You want the dipsies set so just a good solid jerk/hookset should release them,tough on the arms reeling in a fish on a loaded dipsy

just went and picked up my "new to me" van..now I finally have something to tow my boat with again and don't have to rounds up fishin buds with a tow to get out heading out tommorrow evening for a few days at the trailer..bringing the bigger boat up with me this time and keeping it there for a few weeks for some adventures. As usual, lots of family fun in store..fishin in the little tinner, fishin and tubing and boat rides for the kids since I can bring up the Viper too. Fishin..drinkin.....fishin..drinkin...umm eatin, goofing around with the kids, goofin at the beach...did I mention ummm...fishin have a safe fun filled long weekend

nice fishin folks, great size steelies in the mix

do you have a cranking battery to start the boat that's separate from the other 2??? if so, hook it up to that one...all my accessories are hooked up to my starting battery and the deepcycle is just for my Minkotta, would recommend good plugs with resitors if running electronics ect of the main battery...it helps to regulate a power surge when you have your fish finder and stuff on when starting the boat...costly though...about 14 bucks a piece for my boat so over 40 bucks for 3, they last a long time. see what a marina recommends for your motor if you go this route...you will have the numbers for you plugs and there will be an R in the numbers as well meaning there are resistors...for example the plugs in my Merc say...NGK-R.....BPZ8H-11 10

cool lures, hope ya catch some real monsters on them for your efforts

very nice paul, no surpize to see boat loads of smiles and fish in your reports...can't wait to spend some of the same time on the water with you again later this season, we still gotta get out for a good musky mission when it gets cool and crappy out

I have a 40lb on my Legend and it does me just fine....I don't use it when it's too windy anyways,I do however use it alot on the lower Niagara for boat control when drifting for steelies and it will last all day no probs.

got these ones in 80 fow just 2 days ago.. big dipsies 150-175 feet back-these where hitting the fish in the 50-70 foot range over 80fow small dipsies on inline boards staggered 200-300 feet off the back-these where hitting the fish in the 30-40 foot range over 80 fow line counters help alot with trying to figure out which pattern is working better, when you get a fish just look at the reel first before you pop it out or try to remember how you have your spread set out there. We even got one of our fish the other day before we even had all the rods set out. Don't fish where all the huge clouds of bait are...I know it looks tempting but I bet ya you will catch them just before and just past all the bait it takes a while to learn how to use all the set-ups ect...another thing you might want to take note of...run longgggggggggg leads off the dipsies and jets..people make the mistake of just putting the worm harness right on the divers, we where probably running 8-12 foot leads on average....colour doesn't really seem to be a factor right now..but travelling does..it's quite the trek to 80 fow

all these replies and not one joke about sucking out the poison

good think you didn't run into that while you where caught with your pants down or it was beside the wrong tree, and you litterally pi$$ed it off

wicked nice!..you never forget the tales behind the ones that big

ya ya , but you can see in the pic the distinguishing little dark line under the middle of the eye down to the cheek....that's how you tell if it's a grass pike and not a northern like in the pic that l2p posted. The one in the post has an unusal colour pattern for sure compared to the classic markings of a grass pike

sorry to hear about your friend...32 is too young for sure...my cousin just passed at 36 on the 12th if you want some direction on where to fish in the falls and for what, shoot me a PM,I been fishing the Niagara region for the better part of my 38 years, was born and raised in The Falls, and live in Fort Erie now..

kind of hard to say from the pic, but looks to me to be a grass pike as well...they tend to not grow as big as northerns, but an identifying feature I think I can see in the pic is the small dark/black verticle line under the eye, although all the grasspike I have ever caught so to speak where dark green with alot of white spotted markings, and often thier heads look too big for the body like the fish still has to grow into it's head