BillsTheBassMan

Delmonte eh? It must be that cheap no name stuff that has stopped me from hooking up yet! Jokes aside, I'm still looking for productive carp water and I think I've found a few!

That must have been an amazing day on the water Congrats on the Grand Slam and thanks a lot for sharing

I'm going to be in Guelph on August 4th - I have to take a guy to court. I think I'll reward myself after a morning full of boredom @ the courthouse with an afternoon full of awesomeness @ the river. Mark, if you can PM me a decent spot in town, that'd be sweet. I'm @ the courthouse which is @ 74 Woolwich St. Ryan

Yeah, I am sure we weren't the only ones pushing it a little that day. The fishing was good, but the weather was bad. I'll let my better judgment win out the next time. I must say it was one of the most intense storms I have seen in quite some time and it came on fast (but anyone looking could have seen it coming).

Hey, She doesn't need a license as long as you aren't putting a rod down for her and as long as she isn't fishing. . . if she was to have a license you could put down a rod or two for her, depending on the regs of the area you are fishing. Ryan

Awesome report . . . thanks a lot for sharing. I need to get me a Musky rod.

Nice fish man . . . congrats on your musky!

Nice fish and thanks for sharing!

Great Report Mark, Thanks for sharing! I always love catching fish in an urban centre (unless of course I'm surrounded by other anglers). Ryan

Hey Splashopper . . .great post. We fish pretty similar setups for bass. I fish the 7" Medium St. Croix rod with a Stradic Reel and 15lb Power Pro with a 12lb fluoro leader. I keep my other reel spooled with 8lb mono (generally speaking). I definitely get bored tossing crankbaits & spinners (it's kind of a shame, as I have a lot of great Rapalas, but I generally decide to shelve them in favour of more finesse stuff in this heat). Also, when it comes to fishing in single-barbless areas, I often decide not to Doctor my Rapalas and just fish something else. Re: bringing jigs. You definitely should give this a shot. Years ago, when I first came back to fishing again, I wouldn't use jigs as I didn't think the rivers I was fishing were deep enough, or I was scared of a snag killing 20 minutes etc. Now jigging has become one of the main ways I like to fish. There are COUNTLESS ways to jig nowadays. In our father's time there were just jigheads and grub tails. Nowadays you have all the finesse soft plastics - yum, gulp, gulp alive, mister twister, unscented, double grub tails, single grubs, classic patterns, crayfish varients, frog trailers, powerbait, and things that look like nothing at all. If you want to send me a PM, I'll tell you a few of my favourite jigging setup baits that are sure-fire. I refrain from posting them here for the obvious reasons. Your Questions: Well, for those of us that don't just cast out and reel straight in or put a worm on under a bobber, we've all tried new things. Some things I've tried working on recently (this season): - Fly-Fishing - started this year with my first rod. Casting is improving daily and I've managed to land a bass and some sunfish. There's still a long way to go, but I'm hoping that by next Trout opener that I'll be leaving my ultra-lite at home and confident in my fly abilities. - Carping - I had kind of a big-fish hangover after returning from my Georgian Bay trip and decided to learn how to Carp (after reading a few helpful posts on here). I have yet to catch one (I've only been out twice) but I found a sure-fire carp water last night and I'm hoping to break the cherry this week. I might quit after catching one, but I might decide I like it too. - Drop-Shotting - I just started drop-shotting this year and have had some success. With all the heat we've had this year, getting to the bottom of water bodies is even more important than it has been in years past. My rigs aren't 100% but they are improving. - Knots - I always try to learn a new fishing knot every few weeks or so, then I practice it while watching TV or sitting around. Eventually the techniques just become second nature (jigging, senkos etc) and you don't consider them as something that needs to be learned, you consider them a part of your arsenal. It's all about growing and the more you grow the better you feel about your ability to catch fish. Ryan

What a Slab!!! I remember when the record Brown was 34.88 or something like that . . . caught here right in good old Ontario (from shore by a relatively famous angler). This fish dwarfs that one . . . a monster.

Are any of these fish going back to the lake or is everybody just keeping them?

Unfortunately we didn't get a measurement on the pike. Though, he was much fatter than he was long. He was hooked pretty deep and it took two of us a good few minutes to get the treble out of him while also guarding all our appendages (had huge teeth). We had time to snap a quick photo and he went back in for revival & release.

If you read my report, you'll see that I know it happened on Saturday, and yes, it's awfully sad that they were so close to making it to cover.

Yeah, he's done a lot of good work on it and it looks like new now. Unfortunately we had to buy one of those "island marina" priced bilge pumps while we were there

I'm not sure how many of you have heard about this on the news as of yet, but yesterday near Brantford an intertuber was killed during the lightning storm. It's tragic and my condolences go out to his friends and family. The whole ordeal has me mildy freaked out as Timmeh and I were fishing in the area and we exchanged pleasantries with the three intertubers. They casually floated by and were enjoying themselves. The area was still sunny but a pending storm was very clear. The sky behind us was BLACK and it was thundering. They jokingly asked us "So, what's the forecast?" By this time, Tim and I had already recrossed the river to have quick access to his vehicle should it start coming down, but like two guys catching bass after bass we decided to keep fishing until the first sign of lightning (which should actually be the thunder). It started to open up and we left. It really opened up then, there were even mild floods in the area and it lightning'd and rained like I have not seen in quite some time. Tim commented to me saying "I hope those tubers got out of the water." Sadly, with today's reports, it sounds like they didn't. This should be a reminder to all of us (ourselves included) that these storms are strong, unpredictable, and dangerous for those of us that frequent the water. We both had the impression that we cut it pretty close yesterday and I'm not sure that "fishing being great before a thunderstorm" would have been a good enough excuse for our families if something like that happened to us. Again, my condolences. Keep it smart out there on the water folks.

Yesterday before the storm I was fishing the grand and I hauled in a 4' metal pipe - thing is, I was using a leader too - I guess my knots are alright eh?

Part of the issue with straight braid is that snags can be next to impossible to get out of, particularly if you're fishing rock structure.

Whenever I've used Stren line I've been disappointed. Put it in the garbage and leave it there - get something better. Rio or Seagur leader material are both good choices.

Amazing report Johnny . . . rough break about the thumb. Hopefully it doesn't need plastic surgery and heals true on its own. At the very least you have a lifelong fishing story from the Musky that should have been torpedoed. Great fish.

To be honest you're not on the best salmon spot going . . . but you can still get them. Sadly, G-Bay was overstocked some years ago. Due to the overstocking, the fish ate all the baitfish and now the life cycle has left the big fish with less fish to eat. If you go up to Meldrum Bay you should find some Salmon. We marked LOTS of salmon on the opposite side of G-Bay last week, so they are still there. @ Meldrum you'll get into some nice rainbows as well . . . always a nice bonus. Try to keep these things in mind as you fish, and if the fish you catch aren't necessarily needed, put them back for another day. Salmon up there have enough problems. Cheers and good luck, Ryan

He loves it and it looks brand spanking new. That boat has been in his family for 3 decades and he has extended its life for at least three more . . . it is good to see.

We were bombing out 5-10 miles each day when the fish were right under our noses the entire time.

Yeah, I forgot to elaborate on the "big water." The fish turned out not to be out deep . . . they were right in the inner channels the entire time, holding to bottom at about 55 feet. We assumed they'd be out deeper anywhere from 100-250ft, but they were right under our noses. The salmon was caught within visual of our cottage in the interior channel. "Why was the boat spinning in circles?" say the people at the cottage. "because we were landing (explitive) fish for the last 45 minutes"

Hey Folks, A big group of us went up to Frying Pan Island/Sans Souci on Georgian Bay last week for a week of drinks, fishing, and good times (though not necessarily in that order). Here's the boat we were using for the week. It has been in my buddies family for 30 years and he's recently put a lot of Blood, Sweat, tears, and MONEY into it. It's a 19ft Bayliner with a 115 E-Tech. We also had a welcoming party swimming around our dock upon arrival: We started by heading out to the big water (big mistake - explain later) to put the riggers down for some Salmon or Lakers. I put on the good old Purple & Black Nasty Boy and this was my reward: He weighed in at almost 13lbs. He was saved for the pan as he was too blown to put back. Our revival efforts were in vain. Also saved for the pan: That laker was just a tad over 11lbs. The Rubber Boot Lunch (delicious): The bassing throughout the week was average. Each fish caught was 2lbs minimum though. We also had two people we were fishing with catch 2 5lb SMB on a double header off a shoal. I dialed up most bass on double-grub tail jig setups. Sadly this is the lone bass photo of the week: Then it was a somber moment during the week. We were reduced to putting our flag at half-mast. See you in 4 years: Our last night there was our best night there - as is generally the case on big-water fishing trips. On a night like this, you just know the fishing is going to be good: We marked fish like crazy after the intense heat wave - they were all holding to bottom and we marked them thick and heavy for miles and miles: Two of our rewards: A good pike: The photo doesn't do him justice - he was a hog caught right off the bottom. He provided the fight of the week and it was a great battle. The battle didn't end in the water - he decided to crap all over Nate's boat, just missing his arm: @ 9:15 on our last night the lake decided to reward me with the ever-rare Georgian Bay Chinook. It was the 4th different species we caught right off the bottom in an hour to end our trip. A beautiful close to a beautiful week: All and All we caught Pike, Bass, Pickerel, Crappie, Salmon & Lake Trout. All fish were revived and safely returned for another angler save for two tasty lakers. It was a great week and we can't wait to go back next year!