bassnass

On the topic of Nate and hockey, he had watched the semi-finals on his Blackberry. Don had told him that if Canada made it to the finals, he’d go into town with Nate for the gold game. We would all go. We were going to hire Mitch (Rob’s ranch-hand-on-ice) to take us across the bay into town, or we were going to walk. We talked to Rob about the matter and he just invited us back to his hacienda because he’d known John so long. That’s what I call hospitality from an operator! That, and it pays to know people! Rob even provided hut-to-house-to-hut service! I was more than happy to slide him an extra twenty for that! It was all a really good time – couldn’t have asked for more, really -- good fishing, food fit for kings, good company, mild weather, and a few bevy’s. Boom. Special mention goes to John who did all the fish cleanin’ and did a big fish fry as well (along with calamari, shrimp, and wings). We stopped again at The Blue Roof on the way home for a little celebratory supper. Note: If you happened to be looking for something a bit more than a diner, you should check out Danny’s Justa Pasta in Sundridge – comes highly recommended. Another shout-out goes to Donnie for doin’ all the drivin up and home (and for the good advice on how to play crib!) Speaking of highly recommended, Rob Hyatt Outdoors is that. His bungalows are clean and his setups make sense. Call me primal, but when I’m enjoying the outdoors, I like to free willy when I tinkle. And I have an aversion to urinating in porta-johns. While Rob has every shanty set up with its own outhouse, he also has an outdoor urinal perfect for blokes like me who love to mark their territory and breathe in the fresh air. Rob’s rule: Nothing on the ice. Also, when you stay with Rob Hyatt outdoors someone checks on you morning, noon and night (at least) to see if you’re in need of water or minnows or whatev. I tend to be picky, and it takes a lot to impress me (despite the fact I’m pretty easy-goin’) and you won’t go wrong with Rob (http://www.robhyattoutdoors.com). If you’ve never hit up an ice bungalow for a few days, do it. As far as the final numbers for our little trip, John was recording all the qualifying catches. I haven’t yet got official tallies, but it was over fifty (50) fish in three days for the four of us, and I’m pretty sure that I was in the lead for most fish caught by an individual. I further believe that Team Ass Crack caught more in total than the Peckerheads. Sorry, Peckerheads. TBC...

We entertained ourselves the second night with lots of cards, laughs and drinks, punctuated with the occasional fish. One such fish was a beautiful ‘eye that came out of my hole. We were enveloped in a tight game of euchre when John looked across me to my Vexilar and exclaimed ‘There’s a fish!’. I reached behind me for my rod, gave it a lift, and a 6lb7oz marble-eyed beauty slammed my big emerald shiner. John jumped down to the hole for the assist and when he flopped that hog out, we were all smiles and cheers. This fish would ultimately assure me big fish honours on the trip.  We didn’t yet have any fish over slot, but I just had to release that pretty girl so she could go back and make more just like her! Something I didn’t mention – we had split into teams. Nate and I were ‘Team Ass Crack’ (you can imagine how we earned the moniker), and John and Don were ‘The Peckerheads’ (I’m not sure why they picked that name…). Now, Nate’s not an avid angler – more of a hockey fan. So much so, he nearly bailed on the trip because of the World Juniors. Regardless, he held his own as my partner and represented Ass Crack well (and often). TBC...

Another little word to the wise here, a small fan would have been extremely useful. The propane lights and furnace throw a lot of heat, but it all rises. Being the rookie and relegated to the top bunk I found it somewhat stifling. Also, for the first few hours in the bungaloo, we had no snow and our holes would slowly start to ice-over. A small fan would have pushed that warm air enough to keep the holes open until the snow fell and they could be mounded. There’s also the human production of methane gas and smoke from the breakfast fry-up to consider. A chorus of snoring, the heat of the top bunk, and my ever-increasingly harsh headache kept me up the first night, so I fished. I didn’t catch anything until first light, and by then the other boys were rousing. John’s famous for his breakfast and he cooked us up a feast that helped us all feel better. The second day was basically a replay of the first with enough action to keep us well into the fishin’. Our party-hardy neighbours had left for home in Hamilton (after they lost the bet to us for most ‘eyes iced). Good dudes. TBC...

We met our neighbours in the next hut over – some pretty interesting and social cats. We shared some burgers, they shared some guitar pickin’ and fireworks. Fun night! - although I don’t remember all of it... half, maybe. TBC...

Nate popped the first fish not long after the starting bell, but it was a perch that didn’t quite make eight inches. A few minutes later, Johnny popped an ‘eye that went for first fish. Within two or three hours we had all iced fish. We also experienced some double-header action this day. It was shaping up to be a great trip and we were drinking to celebrate! TBC...

January 2nd, 2011 found me almost fully recovered from my previous day’s hangover and busy at work trying not to over-pack for an icefishing trip to Nipissing with Rob Hyatt Outdoors (http://www.robhyattoutdoors.com) I’m a self-confessed gear-hog and that really doesn’t fit when you’re headed to an ice bungalow. I packed as light as I wanted to and still wound up with a large dry bag, small boat bag, three totes and two coolers. I was prepared to down-size further, however. I wanted to get to Barrie and speak with my long-time friend, John S. Jr. It was to be my first outing with John and his usual crew, also my first outing with Rob Hyatt and only my second time in a Nipissing shanty. Based on my understanding and limited experience I was headed there mainly for the social aspects. As a generality, I feel that fishing in an operator’s bungalow tends to mean fishing in one location for fish that have been pounded 24hrs a day. I was not expecting fast and furious action. I was, however, not going to let that stop me from fishin’ the H-E-double-hockey-sticks outta my hole! Go big or go home – that’s how I roll. Aside from the fishing, I was going for the camaraderie and the drinking. Let’s be honest, drinking to excess is a huge part of the experience. I arrived in Barrie to meet John at his home and have dinner with his family (a delicious pasta dish that consisted mainly of moose meat!). He confirmed my fears that I would need to down-size my gear pile. It wasn’t too painful to rein it all in to more reasonable proportions. Word to the wise – any underwater camera won’t function very well on Nipissing. The bottom tends toward silty, and there is a heavy tannin load. High turbidity = poor visibility on an underwater camera. Leave it and take your [insert sponsored sonar unit here ]. We finished up the hearty meal John had prepared for us and the whole family (John, Shannon and their two boys Aiden and Liam) headed for John’s in-laws. Shannon’s (step) father Don and his son Nate were to make up the balance of our fishing foursome. A bunch of family and friends had gathered at Don’s house, and were enjoying the parrot-like antics of Aiden (the older of the two boys). We all (except the children, of course) had a few drinks and a final chat about how the next day would go down. Afterward I was back to John & Shannon’s for a flick, a couple of drinks and bed. I was reminded of being a kid at christmes (I know what typed) when it comes to sleeping before a fishing trip. Too much anticipation to sleep! I managed about an hour of sleep before the alarm went off and we were on the roll. Nate and Don arrived just shortly after 6:30 am and we loaded Don’s big, red dodge to the brim with gear and four hefty dudes. We were on the road and headed for their traditional breakfast stop at ‘The Blue Roof’ in Sundridge (http://ontario.hihenry.com/sundridge/blue-roof-restaurant-68337). It’s just a road-side diner, but the food is good, the desserts are home made, and the girls that work there, are lovely. After dippin toast into some runny-sunny’s (made to order), we were on the trail once again under pretty nice conditions for a Canadian January day. We arrived at Rob’s outfit a little before we were supposed to, but John’s been going up to Rob’s operation for almost a decade now, so it was cool of Rob to take us out to our Shanty right away. We loaded a trailer with all our gear, hopped on and headed for the hard water. We got out to our new home-for-the-next-three-days, got as settled as we could and dropped our lines. A note here on ice bungaloo living – with everyone and their gear, it tends to work a little bit like a Rubik’s cube in there. Keep it light. Bad attitudes are contagious, so learn to laugh it off (no problem for this group of cats). This crew is also always a betting crew and I had plenty of loons and toons for the festivities. ‘First fish’, was obviously the first bet. The rules were: Perch needed to be 8 inches plus to count, Walleye 10”, 12” on pike, and any Herring that will hold on the hook counted. Mudpuppies did not. With the regulations set, and all lines down, it was GAME ON! TBC...

I was out today - water's high and dirty...but I still went 4/5

I want to go fishing with Mike, now. Bill, you're out.

Nice! x4!!!!

Done n Done

Way to fish free, or die hard!

Nice job, great pix - makes me wish I had gotten out in the PM - figured there'd be a thaw...

Thanks, Folks. I just tried scarf tonight...I'm sticking with net, I think. I find it quicker bc there's less cutting than with the scarf - and I also found that spider thread didn't hold as well on the scarf. Unless I just have kife scarf (it's 100% nylon, from Gagnon's) I use scissors to clip crushed bags - so rip, no rip - don't matter. msp - great tip on the knitting elastic - I'm sure everyone appreciates that as much as I do. What's an Egg loop?? Beet juice boiled eggs?! Nice! Personally (and I'm not very experienced...) I don't tie too many colours - I like something that matches the eggs, and then a pink that's a little brighter. I think the size is far more important than sac colour. I DEF. tie before I go out. F wasting time on the river, or fiddling with that crap in the cold. - Tie a bunch of sizes from 2 eggs to almost the size of a loonie, in the couple of diff. colours, and throw them in a snap-top M&M's candy container. I just pick and choose based on what I think on the water.

What do you tie your spawn sacs with - spawn net or scarf...and why?

Thanks, man. I'll try that next time! And yes - I was cuttin' and pastin' the whole report the whole time. It took way too long to go and lose it!

I think the smoke was worse on Saturday night, Wayne. Managed to avoid the bingo hall! Thanks Will - I believe it came with the boat. He bought it used earlier this season. Whether or not that owner had it made, I do not know. But I know I'll be lookin' for that next year when I'm shoppin' for a boat!

I do have a pic of that bait. Yes.

Cheers

Anyways... (continued from pt. 1) The weather's saving grace was that it wasn't miserable cold, and it wasn't pissin' rain. Desperation was stinkin' up our boat a little bit and we had heard tell of the jiggers killin' it off Thompson's. So, we went over there. It didn't take much of sitting at anchor for me to get antsy and make the call to get back to covering water for sows - just as the sun was setting and a big moon was rising. As we trolled back in, I finally started to see what I'd wanted to see all day! A screen scattered with marks n arcs! Although, we weren't hot into fish... And then, Donny hit again! Curse smashed now! Donny was happy, and I was happy because that fish came on a bait I modified heavily. It's pretty gratifying to see a self-custom bait pop fish. - Nice fish 6.6lbs! By this time it's flat-out dark, the screen is still arc'ed up and the wind has finally died down right down. Full (or close to full) moon, and a clear night, too. I was getting excited. Things felt right! I was ready to fish straight through til first light! (I'm a poet, did you know it?!) Not too much longer, and my rod goes off...a 9.2lb-er that should have been heavier. She was skinnyish. Whilst I was getting hyper, Don had had enough. He'd been knocked-down sick the past few days, on top of knee problems. And we're talkin' about a guy who's taken two sick days in the last hundred years. So we dropped him off, and turned around to go back out! We got set back up on our trolling run, and my rod was the hot stick again. Six and a half pound pike boated! Came on the same bait that Donnie had just caught his second wally on! *Cheshire grin* (SIDENOTE: Some of these pix make me wish I had braved bringin' out my big cams...my little Olympus sucks for flash photography...) It was such a nice calm night... great to be out there! Perfect weather, markin' fish, catchin' fish... but it was late and Donny had waited long enough to come pick up his boat. Good of him let John & I have our romantic little outting. Not gonna lie, I was tired and HUNGRY anyway. And didn't Big D have some burgers cooked up for us?! Nice. So we were havin' a drink and enjoying a soft, still chair, when there was an incident with some fresh squab... And that's all I have to say about that. Two drinks, a burg, a game of crib, fear of the blue-air-cabin shenanigans, and Marshmallow Four was OUT. Thankfully, Young One was once again, so gentle he didn't wake me. Ah, that delicate Asian touch. ...Sad he never let me fly the Asian Helicopter...but I would have had to pay up front. ... Sunday mornin', 5am came early. Too early. So six was a bit better to initiate the breakfast moan process. Donny wanted to pack it in at eleven, and be home for 5 so we wanted to hit the water early. And John still had a skunk to get off his back, and the cherry of his new rod n reel combo to pop. Note about the weather: not QUITE as windy as the day before and comin' from the complete opposite direction. Luckily, MUCH colder. Ice forming on things. Balls. Back out on the blue, and right to where the fish were yesterday. And. They. Were. Gone. Damn fish. Well, not ALL gone... We made the call to follow the wind out, hopin to find them again - we trolled out and back, and the day was done. BUT I STILL WANTED MORE TIME ON THE WATER!!! I had been acting as shipmate the whole weekend, with John Pro-Pilot at the helm, and Donnie restin' up ridin' shotgun. As such, and given that John was still stinkin' of skunk, his was the last line I brought in. And wouldn't ya know it?! Just as the buzzer went, a nice size eater-pike for Johnboy. Capper! All-in-all it had been a GREAT weekend. A good party with a fun bunch of guys. Donny broke his curse and found out just how well his boat can handle some bigger, heavier water. We all caught fish (well, in cabin 3, anyway :0 ;P). John popped the cherry on his new combo and got some meat to take home. I was really happy that all the research and prep I did paid off a little bit. I had tweaked all my set-ups from rod, reel, line, terminal, planer board, and baits down to boat control and electronics usage. I wanna thank Lloyd for a couple of last minute ideas that he doesn't even know he gave me. Another thank you to Big Will for a proper introduction to trollin' up Quinte Gold (and what an intro it was!) Cheers to Donnie & John for haulin' ass & boat down from Barrie, and to the boys for just a generally great time. GT's f'sheez! Special thanks to Dann for the Chili, Joe for the fish whistles and VodyShoddys and Geoff for providing entertainment and rescuing my Bombay Sapphire from certain doom. Cheers, gents.

vdia- viewer discretion is advised. So, I didn't want to rain on Will's parade. And didn't wanna throw in with Joe's porno. So here it is. (Truthfully, I just feel like I need to get more of my own reports up! ) It was a beautiful calm day in November. Uncharacteristic, but welcomed. John and Don met me at my place mid afternoon and we set out to convoy on down to tha Vue. The sun was low on the horizon lighting up the countryside ahead of us as we approached our destination. We arrived, checked in, and were losin' light fast. We did a quick check of the nearby launch, and then the docking facilities at Perfect Vue. These were LACKING. Low water didn't help matters, either. We got settled in, grabbed a burger and headed over to the six-man cabin where the rest of the crew were kickin' it. Walked in to find that they were in danger of starving. Luckily, there were lots of alcoholic-type beverages available to sustain us all. That pretty much sums up Friday night... So after a few laughs, I was due for another drink. I headed back to my cabin and found that the beautiful calm November we'd been so fortuitous with, had ceased to be. No matter. There was still drinkin' to be done, and rods to be rigged. Interestingly enough, we did manage to answer the age-old question, 'How many impaired OFNer's does it take to spool up one rod?'... (a: Most of them.) Well, that's taken care of... who needs a shot?! All that drinkin' was makin' me thirsty, so I wandered back to my cabin to grab a round for my crew. Shortly after that, my crew and I decided we'd head back to the non-smokin' cabin for a couple games of crib (I won $5) and to hit the hay. We were there to fish, and we didn't want to be too Geoff-esque, come mornin'. Oooh - close match! Five A M, came early...right around 5am. Early. As I dismissed it, the sound of my alarm was replaced by the howl of wind. Howl. As in, HOWLING. It's dark, I'm hung, I'm hungover, and it sounds silly-windy outside. Let's try again at 6. Six A M, came early...right around 630am. Team Marshmallow 4 slowly started draggin' their asses out of their respective cots. The lil space heater I packed, made gettin outta sac into a toasty warm room, easier. Donny started the breakfast... Johnny made up the lunch... I laid quietly on the couch with my eyes rolled back in my head, drooling. It was still wicked-windy out by the time we had our ducks in a row. No matter, we came to fish, so to hell it. We're goin' big, not goin' home! Never scared and fish fear me. Yada Blah. At least it LOOKED pretty. I've not fished the Bay a lot... However, FnS took me out last year for my personal best (11.5lbs), I'd been out with Lloyd, Fns, Cliff and Gerry two weeks prior and, for about 6 weeks before hand, I'd been doing all kinds of research and bait-tweakin' and general angler-masturbation in anticipation of the trip, so it was safe to say I had a few ideas about what I wanted to do. Too many. I need WAY more time on the water... Well it wasn't long before Donnie asked where his board was. Boom. Nine lb Walter - in the boat! We were all happy about this - Donny had bought his Crestliner earlier this year and had yet to catch a real fish. Curse = broken. And I couldn't help myself, that quick fish made me think we might be in for a banner day. And that's what jinxed us.... We trolled all over the damn place. Hard. Into the breach, dear friends. I have to say here, that Donny's boat, with the top, and soft windshield that attached at the bow, performed amazingly well. We should have been a lot wetter than we were (not good-kind). And we were A LOT drier than a lot of the other guys. Fishing is always teaching me. Sometimes the lessons are easy. I like those lessons. I couldn't find any concentrations of bait anywhere, nor any hooks (obviously). I wish I had had WAY more time on the water. I would have stopped trollin' and just piloted around a while. That's hard to do when you're time is limited and you really don't think your shipmates would be down for that idea. That bay always leaves me wanting more. I had TRAYS of baits I wanted to test - if not just to see how they ran. I also had baits (stock and customs) that weren't in the bible that I wanted to drag over some flats to figure out their trolling stats. I NEED MORE TIME!! Anyways... (see pt.2)

Ha! Solution! I'm splitting it up!~ ... I would still like to know what the pic limit is.

Well that's annoying. I just did up a HUGE report and got an error message saying "Sorry, you've posted to many pix" Well, thanks for the sweet info. How 'bout tell me how many is okay.... Why even limit it?! It's not even posted here - it's linked out. And memory is cheap nowadays, N E WAY! ... So, anyone know how many pix I CAN post??????????????????????????????????????????????

My heart grew heavy as I read this - and then i read "localized and curable". And it got lighter. Y'all got a crappy, deal, but I believe it's gonna get better and stay good! By the sounds of it, your daughter is a very special person, and incredibly strong. It's her admirable qualities that will lead to her beat this thing. And live a long, healthy life afterward. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sending nothin' but good vibes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DO THE DAMN THING! You rock girl!