Mike Pike

Man, I hate these posts! ( I'm a Cogeco customer from Hamilton and they don't offer WFN in our area... STILL! ) AAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that person's comments didn't ruin your day, Antz, or your Mom's enjoyment of her meal of fresh caught fish. I believe I'm gonna start targeting sunnies for the frypan this year too. Cheers Bud!

What a terrific report al lee! Sounds like you guys had a nice journey and a few fish to boot! Ya, I've canoed that Cambridge to Paris stretch a few times. It has the greatest change in elevation on the Grand so guess what.. fast water! A fun paddle for sure but you do tend to blow through some nice fishable water! lol Thanks for that report and congratulations on managing to stay dry!

Little bit of everything in the Speed, Kemper. Now, I haven't fished it much up your way, but downstream towards Cambridge I hunt Smallies, Largemouth and Pike( oh, and Carp ). Panfish are everywhere, too, remember. Wading is what I do mostly so just google map around for some access points and enjoy. I usually just float with worms, myself, but in-line spinners seem to call out the bass pretty nicely too.

Lost power here( central Hamilton)for a bit. And the tv is still out! Dohhh! Was all set to watch Italy/Spain! Stupid TV.

I got mine too! Looking forward to reading it and getting primed for the opener. Dont' know what I did to get a free copy and I don't care. lol

Got them all drifting a worm( and tiny split-shot )under branches and undercut banks, Johhny. There was only one area that allowed enough casting space to use the spinners but the fish weren't there, so I had to go into the more 'jungle-like' stretches and just flip my bait into little pockets and holes.

Congratulations on you PB there EHG. That's a real beauty and 20 years in the making, eh? WTG. And Darius, you'll probably realize that folks on the board don't like to divulge their trout streams. These are usually small and delicate eco-systems with limited access so brook trout fisherman in particular are pretty secretive. But here's the thing, there are a ton of brookie streams. You know those little streams that scoot under dusty county roads that you usually drive over without a thought. They usually have a culvert on either side of the road. Check out the downstream side in particular early in the morning and you might be surprised at what you find. Good hunting!

Thanks for your follow-up report Billy. It was a great one! Sorry to hear abour the lack of fish and would have excpected at least a resident bow or two for ya, but nada. Still you say you enjoyed your trip so I would deem it a success. And getting a peek at that muskie? Wow!!! Keep at it Billy and keep asking questions. You will connect! Cheers Bud!

Ya, I can appreciate your concern. A creek well known to trout fisherman in Brant County had primarily native brook trout. Browns and Rainbows were introduced into the system and it's veeeery rare to catch a brookie in that stream any more. The introduced species aren't the only factory challenging the Brookies but it's certainly one of 'em.

All good advice, especially bug repellant. I forgot mine my last trip and really found it hard to hold my rod still or work a drift properly 'cuz I was swatting mosquitoes. And those ones that hover around your ears sound like helecopters! Geez! As others have said, smaller spinners are best. They're lighter too and don't sink as quickly and this is helpful in what are usually not very deep streams with lots of roots and snags along the bottom. Tipping the hook with a bit of worm will definately up your odds too. If the banks are really over grown, casting and retreaving spinners may not be an option. Drifting a worm with a tiny split-shot a foot or foot and a half up the line will be the ticket. Drifting in ripples and runs can be effective as well as drifting into undercut banks and under timber. Don't bring your bait back to quickly either. I leave mine sitting for a bit when it drifts underneath some cover and sometimes the brookies will hit it only after it's sat for a bit. Experiment. Lastly, DON'T get frustrated. Climbing throught dense woods only to find snag-infested overgrown stream sections that have you re-tieing cast after cast can be exhausting. Relax. Take it slow. And work what you believe to be holding areas as best as you can. Polorized sunglasses are a must, in my opnion, because you can see exactly what your bait is doing in amongst all the rock and wood and roots. They'll help you stop the occasional fish darting in and out of their hiding places too. Goodluck!

Taste great is right, douG. I keep some for the pan from time to time and outside off a little salt and pepper and a light dusting of flour, there's not much else to do to 'em before throwing into a pan of hot butter. And nice resident brown there, DonF. I thought the one big one I saw and mentioned in my report could have been a brown but I have never heard of any browns in the system. Streams rule!

I work in Waterloo and have several nice brook trout streams to explore on my way home to Hamilton. Got a chance to fish one yesterday for a few hours before that massive rain storm moved in. Nothing nicer than one of our little creeks that meanders through the bush. After several casts with a tiny Panther Martin spinner into the main pool, nothing was doing. Drifting a worm yeilded nothng as well so my worst fear was realized; I'd have to go in to the bush after 'em! lol Man, the mosquitoes were vicious and the bush was so thick I should have brought a machette! Anyhoo, did manage about six beauty little guys like this one for my trouble, so it was worth it. Also, saw a real biggun show himself 'neath an undercut bank. I tried and tried for him but no luck. Awesome to see some big boys in that stream and it'll certainly keep me coming back.

If you'r gonna spin fish in the restriction sections of the Grand, Vibrax spinners now have those exchangable hooks where you can switch your spinner into a single hook from the usual treble. Just remember to pinch down the barb.

A great day you had yourself there John and thanks for that terrific report! What a terrific way to learn to flyfish and great that you were able to hook up with a board member who so graciously shared his time. Good on ya, Young Bill!

Yup, I found some of the comments went waaaaaaay over the line too. Really dissapointing. Do we have to make fun of people who are different or we don't understand? Why do some feel the need to group everyone all together and automatically assume they overharvest fish and fish without a licence. Man...

Great report and pics! And a very nice little haul of pan fishies for the fry pan!

I'm a big fan of international soccer. When Serbia is in the Euro or in the Worlds, I actually plan my vacation days around their games 'cuz I don't wanna miss 'em. Won't have to worry 'bout that THIS year thought. Anyhoo, I'm gonna feel bad for any of the teams from the 'Group Of Death' to be out after the first round cuz I love watching Italy, Holand and France play. Kinda of a shame to have any of 'em out so early.

Great report, and pics. I dunno why but I really like when folks post pics right down to the fish fry! Mmmmm... Anyhoo, nice to hear that some folks are haversting sheephead. Can't bring myself to take one home for the table but that's my own predudice. I saw an old Babe Winkleman episode( when his wife used to do a cooking section in it ). She prepared a sheepshead and yup, it did look good enough to eat. It sure would take the pressure of some of our other game fish too.

Wow, central Hamilton is getting rocked right now! The high winds are just a shakin' the big ol' maple trees in the hood and my street is running like a river. Wow, all this in a matter of minutes. Sheesh! Nature.. go figure.

Shore fishing never ends if you enjoy fishing rivers!

Dohhh

I thought using salamanders or mudpuppies for bait is illeagal in Ontario. Can anyone clarify?

Wow, that report had a little of everything in it!!! Carp, trout, cats, etc! A bit of skin( Unfortunately TOO much skin from BBR ). Thanks for that report, Sugarpacket. Looked like a whole lotta fun! PS.. and congratz on all the fish, especially the Mirror. Wow!

Yup, a canoe or kayak is sure the way to go there, especially once the weeds get up later in the season. It's all but impossible to fish from shore then.