Mike Pike

What a report! That had a little bit of everything in it including some beeeeautiful Brownies. WTG and happy birthday to Luke!

Thanks for that Urban, but I gotta PC. Tried with Windows picture manager and various other things, each of which shrink my picture size when reducing the file size. Dohhh!

Dan, I'm still struggling a bit trying to figure out how to make my pics bigger. Various programs I use to reduce the file size also reduce the actual size. I know it can be done 'cuz I see so many nice big pics on the board. And thanks for all the comments Guys!

Nice job on some truly beautiful fish. And you had the place all to yourselves. What a wonderful way to spend the opener.

The morning started with a hours drive from my home town to a small Erie trib to hook up with a buddy for resident Browns. The first thing we noticed when arriving on the stream was that nothing was the way it was last year. High water had rearranged everything, including the fish. Pitching a worm and split shot into my usual drifts didn't produce so I starting hiking. Switching up to a silver Mepp #2 Aglia tipped with a bit of worm was the ticket and I finally connected with this nice little foot long. My buddy, meanwhile, had connected with a few Browns by presenting his worm and split shot into some calm water at the tail end of a run. WTG Dave. I continued with my spinner/worn combo and caught one of my best resident Browns ever. This nice 16-incher slammed my spinner while I was perched on a steep bank high above. Having to make my way( slipping and sliding )down ther bank, I fought its attempts to wrap me around the creek's numerous snags and got him into the net for a photo for you guys and then the release. . I hope everyone enjoyed their opener as much as I did.

It's good to be me. - Mike from Hamilton - ( The Banana Belt )

WTG Chad. Good thinking to have broght a backup rod and reel with ay or you woulda been Pfluegered! Thanks for the report. Doesn't get better than a few buddies and a few fish.

Great report and pics, NAW. Very interesting what you're training for. Do you guys draw straws to decide who gets to be the 'victim?' Cuz I hate to lose that one! lol Good luck tomorrow and thanks for the report..

While the forecasters were calling for a nice break in the weather earlier in the week, I packed up the carp gear and hit up a Hamilton area swim. Using just a couple of kernels of corn on a hair rig and a small ball of method packed around my sinker, I cast out and waited. It wasn't long before the bite alarm told me I had a taker. After some confusion on my part, I was informed by a fellow carper that I what I had caught was a feral goldfish. A first for me. A few line bumps and drops kept me hopeful over the next hour, but things got pretty quiet so I packed up and mover to another location and then another. I had just cast out my bait at this final location and sat down to enjoy the sun and scenery when the bite alarm screamed 'fish on' and I knew I had a good 'n. After a nice run and enjoyable tussle, which included the top half of my rod disconnecting and sliding down the line( don't ask me how ), I fumbled my way through the rest of the fight and brought a 15lb common to the net., Hopefully I can get out and giver 'er a go again this weekend. Good fishing to all who do.

Search out Hammercarp's recent post( search: "Carpin Southern Style" )and you'll get a great tutorial with a lot of your questions answered. It's a great read, particularly for beginning carpers.

I drove by Cootes Drive on Sunday and saw a bunch of you guys there. I though y'all were fishing the sucker run. Looked like a busy place.

If you enjoy casting, you can try the pier under the Skyway bridge. That's the mouth of the harbour and guys cast for Bows and Browns there this time of year. Cleos and Kastmasters are my my favourite spoons. Have a nice visit.

Fat is where it's at! Good capture Rich. A great start to your season. Just imagine what you be catchin' once they start putting on the feed bag!

Everytime I see a turtle or two sunning themselves on a log, I stop to admire. But I'm never seen that many! Very cool. Thanks for the pic Bruce.

Nice job Christopher! That's quite a nice mix of fish you have at your swim. The koi/carp( ? )are as purdy a fsih as I've ever seen!

Beauty backyard you got there Rich. And a good job by both of ya to catch those beasties at this time of year. Nice pics and thanks for sharing you day with us.

A real spring beauty there Rich. Love the gold and bronze colour on her. I went out yesterday to a local swim and didn't even have a line bump so I'm a little envious right now.

Ya, I gotta admit, those Korda vids got me through the winter as I wait for my favourite carp haunts to heat up. I got DVD vid #4 and #5 free from Fishing World in Hamilton. They have 'em in the back with all their carp stuff, for anyone interested.

Well, it's that time of year when the boaters have little avantage over us non-boaters when it comes to landing a fatty trout or two. Got this Brown this past weekend pitching a blue and silver Kastmaster spoon. They cast like a dream and my 10 1/2 foot medium-heavy St. Croix rod gave me good leverage on the hookset even at long a distance. Go git 'em!

Impossible! Carp don't feed in the winter. lol

Thanks for sharing you day and those great pics with us, Joey! Darn nice laker there, too. Congratz.

I booked with Floyd Hale the weekend before and noticed the same thing, Turtle. Average perch sized seemed smaller than in years past, with only a few jumbos in the mix. Still a far better average size than I usually find on Cook's Bay. And yup, a few nice herring were caught and released. Their numbers sure seem to be increasing nicely.

Better luck on your next outing Rich. Still musta been a blast having those two on for a bit anyway, eh? I too enjoy carping throughout the winter. I remember putting away the carp gear in the fall but we now know if you locate a swim with open water, you can have 'em take you bait 12 months of the year. Heck, carp have even been caught through the ice. Typically, I will go with a lighter leader, smaller hook and a smaller presentation of bait in winter than I would during the warmer months.

That's because chicks dig the long dorsal.

There was a carp in that video? Sorry, didn't notice.