Mike Pike

Spoiler alert... We win.

Lotsa pics of lotsa nice fish there Rich. Looks like it's been a real nice summer for ya.

Thanks for the post.

Congratulations on a beautiful Grand River Smallie Brad! Sounds like she left you with a darn nice fight to remember her by too!

Go git more!

WTG Largemouth! Glad things came together for ya. Persitance, eh? That's the Grand. Sometmes you have to go through a bunch of little guys before you get a few bigger ones. Thanks for the report.

That's a darn nice day in my book, with a walleye surprise to book. Thanks for the post Jimmy.

I agree .. early morning ( start when its still dark out ) is the best time .

 

Unfortunately for me .. I,m stuck in a rut , fishing in some , lets say undesireable areas threse days , as i can,t afford to keep my car on the road at the moment . I ride my bicycle or take a bus . ( sure would be nice if the busses started running at 3 or 4 in the morning ) And .. The busses don,t go to some of the places i like to go on the weekends iether .

 

Anywho .. its 4:46 am , gonna makesome coffee and think about headin out for an early mornin fish .

Goodluck largemouth. At least you don't have to travel far to get to the Grand since it runs right through your town.

What are the odds of that? That is one persistant fellow, hunting down his red devil like that. I'd probably just count it as a sacrifice to the fishing gods and get another. Good on ya, Shasta.

I went out ( on the grand ) around 2ish , caught a wackload of chubs again ... stupid things .

And once again about 10 smallmouths no bigger than 3 inches long .

Try heading out first thing in the morning, largemouth, and see if you have more luck hooking into a few.

Wow, that is amazing. Just up on the Grand? What time did you get there? What were you using?

 

Great pics, and that must have been a beautiful morning.

Real early Brad, about 5:45am. What I find is you have a good bite just before light and for about 3 hours. Then it slows and pretty near stops. Bait of choice was a 1/8 ounce jig and Berkely Gulp twister tail grub. They're soft, full of scent and one grub lasts fish after fish. Just retrieve it with some speed over the matted weeds you'll find a lot of this time of year.

I left the Hammer nice and early this morning to get to the river just before sun up. In less than an hour I was wading in the Grand with a vest full of baits( knowing I’d only be using my jigs lol ).

As the sky began to lighten, I found the fish were jumping, literally. It wasn’t long before I hooked into one and brought it to the net.

And now a word on trout nets. Has anyone else used these in river situations for Bass? Because I’ve find them absolutely great for Smallie fishing in the Grand. They’re big enough for most river Smallies and the soft mess keeps the fish from harming themselves. Also, having them rest in the net( and in the water )while unhooking them and getting your camera ready, etc. is ideal. And they take off like a bullet when released.

As the morning wore on, the mist begins to burn off.

Looking up stream, I was pleasantly surprised by this deer in the river. Sorry, no telephoto lens on my little Canon. You really gotta look for it. lol

Then, this fella came by to occupy a rock near me. Amazing how little fear heron have when they’re in their element. He kept me company for about a half hour.

The fish kept coming, including this one about 15 or 16 inches. Every fish hit a ton this morning, clearing the water repeatedly. It was as much fun as I could imagine.

I ended up with around nine or ten fish by the time I left at 10am, with about an equal amount that I missed when they jumped or just plain spit the hook.

Critter count was up this morning, too. Besides the deer and heron, I also saw two weasel-bodied animals playing on the opposite bank. I dunno if they were mink, fisher or marten, but they were fun to watch between bites.

Great to have these wild areas so close to our urban doorstep!

That looks like a great event! Lots of paticipation and some happy kids. Doesn't even look like the weather could dampen the spirits! Nice work by all the 'big kids' who volunteered.

Wow, that looks like a pretty nice turn out with some fish coming in to boot! Real nice. And props to Tristan and all the volunteers who made it happen.

Thanks for the report Lorne.

What a great time that must have been. And congratulations for you prize winning son Joseph and to Adam for his first-ever carp! They're both winners on this day!

I had an Uncle who used to like fishing the ponds. He would set up a slip float and cast a small hook with a bit of worm or a couple kernels of corn( and sometimes a combination of both )towards the middle. The key he said was to have the bait suspend about a foot or so the bottom. It was pretty deep near the middle, hence the need for the slip float.

Really, well drop in any time Mike I can help you add insulation/bulk.

Thanks Spiel. That is darn nice of ya!

And I agree with everyone who posted about the fighting qualities of river Smallmouth. The fish themsleves are lean and tough. Then you add their jumping ability, current, etc., and you've got a fight on your hands, from even the smaller fish. Pound for pound...

Agreed!

 

 

 

I wondered the same thing......

Not much 'insulation' on this frame, Spiel. lol

Looks like a pretty good summer to me. Some nice fish there, and good luck with your fly tying Shasta!

Great stuff, but how were you wearing a sweatshirt yesterday?

LOL The pics were from early in the morning when it was still nice and cool. Yup, it got good 'n hot after though.

PS.. Thanks for the comments, guys.

Packed my fishin’ vest with an assortment of grubs and jigs yesterday morning, and headed out to Brant County with my niece’s husband, Steven.

We arrived just before sun up and carefully made our way into the river. The idea was to pitch our jigs and burn ‘em back near the surface avoiding the rocks and thick weeds in the river.

My first cast, I had a fish on that humbled me by spitting the hook. Unfortunately, this was to be my pattern for most of the morning.

Steven, meanwhile, made his hook-set count and got on the board early with a fish.

Followed by another, very quickly afterwards.

In fact, Steven probably had six fish before I was able to catch my first.

It was a great morning with good numbers. Steven’s tally was 15, while yours truly nabbed about half that.

And I thought I was gonna be the one teachng him a thing or two about catching fish. lol

There was a GREAT basic carp tutorial posted about six months or a year ago( ? )on this board by Hammercarp. Do a search Gray Wolf and I'm sure you'll find it, or Lorne( Hammercarp )will see this post( He sees all and knows all when it comes to carp lol ), and will probably re-post. I'm sure you'll find it helpful.

Wow, that's some amazing work being done. The number of returning steelhead and wild stock is remarkable. Terrific story.

I fish the Grand all the time south of Caldonia (but not as far up as the dam). It is an excellent spot for Walleye, Smallies, Sheepies, Pike, Gars and even Moonies. To do well you need a shallow running boat of some sort (I use a Hobie pontoon boat). Up around Bantford or Paris it's also really beautiful but the fish are really scattered so hooking up is sporadic. Below Caldonia and above Dunnville the fish are much more concentrated so the actual fishing is better..

Wow, that is one sweet ride for the river Snidley. Really gets you over a lot of fish. And gets you away from other fisherman.

I fish what you'd call all the 'popular' spots on the river but I prefer doing it on weekdays when the crowds are gone.

Unlike you, I haven't had a lot of luck with walleye or pike, but sure enjoy all the other species in the river. How about those Mooneye! Fun on light gear. Their silvery colour and fork tails remind me of saltwater Jacks.

Inspired by this report, after getting skunked and losing my phone in the drink last night, I went out for 2 hours... 6 fish, 2 over 16"... THANKS for the inspiration! LOL

Awesome stuff, Jay. Sounds like you had yourself a pretty rewarding outing, after a clunker the night before!

And thanks for all the comments guys.

After watching Henry film a Fins And Skin episode on The Grand River in Brantford, I thought I'd hit the area and try my luck this morning.

Got there right at sun up to find lots of activity on the river. The bass were chasing their prey near the surface and the carp were causing a commotion, as well.

I cast out my trusty Mepps #3 spinner and retrieved it quickly just under the surface, thinking this will do the trick. Nada.

I went to a smaller Vibax and still nothing, while the bass continued jumping and feeding around me.

Switched up to a white Yamamoto grub on a 1/8 ounce jig and began swimming that over the fish, and that was the ticket. Soon I had a lots of these little fellas to keep me busy.

I decided to moved up river a bit and see if I could coax something a little larger into the net. While retrieving the grub over and around rocks and weeds, I thought it had struck bottom. Then the bottom started to move. With the drag peeling, I believed I had a carp on because up until then, the bass I was catching were all pretty small. Well, after it cleared the water, there was no mistaking the hefty Smallie I had on.

After a really good account of itself, I brought it in for a quick photo. Best of the season, so far, with a length of 18-inches.

I was shaking in my waders, as I let the big girl go. I guess I never lose the thrill of catching a biggie in the river.

A darn nice morning and a great way to burn a vacation day!

Bet that tastes as good as it looks! Mmmmmmmmmmmm...

I do salmon with maple syrup and soya sauce marinate and if anyone hasn't tried their salmon grilled that way, you don't know what you're missing!