BillsTheBassMan

Amen

Sadly, that's just the way it goes. You see a guy hoping into his canoe with a telephone pole and a winch fishing for browns with a twelve pack and no life jacket and you just think to yourself "this ass is either going to kill himself or make anglers look like idiots." You also want to ask to check his fishing license, but you just don't have the authority and don't want to battle with someone who has likely already been in prison. To play devil's advocate to your small lake argument: People fall out of canoes all the time. They tip. If you're fighting a big pike or get caught in a snag, you could lose your balance and fall out. You could fall out if you hit an obstruction in the water. ANYTIME someone falls out of a moving water vessel their life could be in danger. That is not disputable. There are countless things that could unexpectedly happen. You could fall victim to tree branches falling - things of that nature. You can say these aren't likely to happen, but it truly can happen in a split second. I don't even think you can make an argument against this, you can only argue that it encroaches on your freedom (and then you start to sound a little like Ben Roethlisberger - before he smashed his motorbike up without a helmet for the second time).

My two cents: "Common Sense" is an oxymoron. With that said, we need reasonable laws. Mandatory wearing of PDFs for MOVING vessels UNDER 6 meters in length is a reasonable law. (Moving would mean all paddle boats, inflatables, canoes, kayaks etc. These are fragile boats in tough conditions and can be high risk). Naturally, this will be extremely annoying for trolling, but the law needs to be clear and concise. The law needs to be enforceable, and from what I read, this law is easily enforceable. This is a rarity for water-based laws. Boaters can be caught from a mile away and it might aid in keeping them honest with other activities if they think people are looking for life jackets (alcohol, illegal fishing, poaching). As always, this is another case of a smaller group of people ruining it for the whole (those of us who have enough sense to take our own safety into account). The law is fine & with the growing list of tragedies, needed.

This reminds me, I forgot to mention in my original post that I have unsuccessfully fished for this guy with an XR7 (twice) - generic silver minnow. I'll almost always go back to it. I don't want to get TOO far away from conventional means.

Yeah, this needs to stop now. Hopefully this is a Giant Albatross that big oil can't get away from resulting in higher safety measures BEFORE holes are drilled. Have marine biologists even began to guestimate on how long this is going to take to clean up and cleanse itself?

Yep, every Bass I've caught there was an absolute hog.

I was using 16' and less as a general example. It goes without saying that smaller watercraft are in more danger during bad conditions and can fall prey more often to idiots driving bigger boats. You wouldn't want a cigarette boat blowing by you on that canoe. The law has to be general, it's too confusing to make it lake and situation specific. Regardless, this is the wrong thread for this conversation. If it is to continue, it should continue on the Life Jacket thread that has been floating around the message boards the last few days (though that thread is referenced in the original post here).

I hear you - my condolences to you as well. I want to be clear that I don't have an agenda on the life jacket law, but people are bound to draw connections whenever something like this happens. The way I personally see the life jacket situation is this: I personally assess the situation, decide whether a PFD is warranted, if it is warranted I wear one, if I don't feel it is currently needed I make sure I have one is nearby for any changing conditions.

Wow is right . . . the ramifications from this are unimaginable. God only knows what this will do to the global climate, keeping in mind that this thing isn't even close to plugged yet.

Ever seen the movie Away From Her? It's about this old woman who has Amnesia. It's quite sad. I see you suffer from it as well. Do you have a hospice I can send donations to?

I have very fond memories of my two trips to Charleston Lake - you are in for a treat if conditions cooperate. Last year, in two hours, I caught 5 different species of fish and all of them were good sizes. If you are near Gananoque, there is a town called Outlet, and they have a Tackle shop/Ice Cream Parlour/Boat Rentals/Lake Maps (probably a must, since it gets so deep in so many spots). Be sure to check it out (though locals don't love this shop, it will do you fine for a week), there was also a nearby town with a really great Bait Shop and Live Bait and Good prices. I'll see if I can come up with the town name. Also, they stock Lake Trout in Charleston Lake, so you might want to prep for those. At the opener last season, we caught about 18 Lakers from the dock! Unreal. It is the deepest inland lake in Ontario, so fishing opportunities are endless. Great Bassing and alright Piking. Good Luck

A very sad and too frequent story. My condolences to anyone affected by this recent tragedy. I think the Mandatory Wearing of Life Jackets law has a few ideas behind it: 1) The law will be MUCH easier to enforce, since you can just binocular boats and see if they are abiding. 2) It will probably save lives (while pissing off hundreds of thousands of people and limiting personal choice). This isn't as obvious as the motorcyclists needing helmets law, but could be viewed in the same realm if the law passes. 3) It will create revenue for the Government, particularly for bodies of water. I'm 50/50 on it personally, but stories like this one really make me think that watercraft under 16' should have these requirements. Granted, the previous points that those rules in this situation would have ignored are most certainly valid as well.

So let me get this straight . . . your argument of why the American, specifically NYS, bass fishery is better than our Ontario bass fishery is because Americans have a more advanced pallet and simply don't keep any Bass because of their less favourable taste, while us Canadians are eating every Bass we can find. I for one have never gone down to a Sobey's and seen Cajun Largemouth or Lemon Pepper Smallie. In fact, in all my years of fishing, I have never even kept a bass. I must be an anomaly among all these other Canadians who basically just pull the bass from our lakes and throw them down their throats

Hmmmm, was talking to a guy today who fished (and won big fish) @ the Shimano Invitational tournament in WNYS recently that also featured the likes of Dave Mercer and he was raving at the amazing stocking programs they have in NYS, particularly Western New York. I'll take his word for it.

When I land him I'll post pictures for sure - I was close to posting pictures of his home, food, and water but didn't want to give it away. I agree with you on the worms subject - I figure a brown of this age/size has seen his fair share of worms on hooks to know the difference.

Hey and thanks for the great post! I mentioned the lure colours - they were ALL silver. I didn't just get follows - I had the big guy hooked once, which really got me pumping. The second knock wasn't as adrenaline rushed. My sighting today literally had my heart pumping aggressively. I just am not sure how many spinners this fish is going to hit. Re: Bait floating on cedar. I recently read a book by Gord Deval where he talks of hunting massive browns with Mice floated on boards, but it did not have good results. He ruined his fishing spot for the evening twice with those crazy efforts (but you've got to love the originality).

On the three times I have seen this fish 1) When I had him on the spinner it was the only time I saw him. 2) When I had him knock the EGB it was the only time I saw him 3) Today, when he chased my rap, it was the only time I saw him. You only get one chance with this guy, and not even one sighting per trip. I don't suspect he leaves home for everything, all the time. I bought 4 mouse lures tonight of varying sizes and colours. I'll fish them when the conditions permit. I think it is something good to have in the tackle box. I almost stepped on two frogs when I was approaching him today - I'll need a gentle presentation without a whole lot of metal. I'm going to watch him. I've considered doing it before, but took the "Ill just fish for him approach." I'll probably fish for him a few more times first

He's in a deep pool near or in a beaver lodge at the end of fast water (but the pool maintains some current). It is almost unapproachable from the near side, so you have to be across stream. It's a tricky spot but not the trickiest spot. When I am feeling ninja-like, I will approach him from the near side and sit for 20-30 minutes and then I'll start working him.

Hey MJL! I figured you'd reply to this thread - you always have great trout reports of your own and I guessed the title would entice you hahaha. Glad you liked it. I might keep it alive as long as he keeps showing himself (or in the event of me actually landing him). This guy will most certainly be well worth the effort and the planning - that's half the fun. I'm going to try him rotationally as far as daylight goes. Today was bright morning and he showed himself. Next efforts will be at dusk and after dark. ASAP I am going to try him in the morning - ideally overcast. I also have a fly rod but am nowhere near adept enough to land this guy on a fly. I'm going to bring a wide menu for him next time. Chub, Shiner, Mouse (fake for starters), and the items that have interested him previously. I've read reports of browns that are caught with 8+ moles in their stomachs after a rainfall - gives some more credence to the rodent route. I agree with the previous bare bones approach as well - no split shots, nothing that can interfere for the time being. We'll see (but keep the ideas coming folks - not a bad reference for this fellow or other big old browns).

Thanks for the post Wallacio. I've tried for this fish at dusk and had ZERO success. He could have been off on those three occasions, but I've had him on twice during high daylight hours and I ALMOST had him on today. I realize it is rare, but perhaps he doesn't mind gorging during the day. My best days so far fishing browns this year have been at 8am or so with overcast skies. Unfortunately, I have to hit this particular spot at that hour. When Bass come into season, I slow-down or completely stop fishing for Browns. That's my general rule of thumb.

There are definitely lots of chubs present, but I fear the float would make the fish even more skittish. Would you run it on a small hook with a fluoro leader? With this presentation again I think that it would be best presented during a rainfall or shortly after.

Hey Dan! I've been thinking this may be a good strategy as well. I think I would target anytime of day either during a heavy rain or shortly after a rainfall. Would you cast onto the opposite shore and twitch it into the water and let it proceed right through the trout's house?

Hello All, I've been playing cat & mouse with a huge (river) brown trout for the past month or so now. Here's a bit of background on my pet brown: - He is 24-28 Inches. - He is very fat. - He lives in (or around) a beaver lodge. - He lives in the depths close to fast water. - His general area often has so many minnows that they are piled 5-6 baitfish deep in the water column. - He is not very popular with other fish, as his area seems devoid of smaller fish (Haha, I wonder why) My three semi-successful experiences with this fish to this point (on 3/6 trips he made appearances): Please Note - All three sightings happened in DAYLIGHT hours (between 10:00am and 6:00pm) - My first experience was towards the end of april when he attacked a vibrax 1 spinner - silver, dressed. Line - 6lb test, leader 2lb fluorocarbon. I had him on for roughly 30 seconds when he shook the hook. He was taking line. Here I saw him bent in half fighting the lure. - My second experience was a few weeks ago. He attacked a silver EGB spoon with french swivel but just knocked it and returned home. Here I saw him head first. Same line setup. - My third experience was today when I enticed him to follow a F5 Silver Rapala. I was using 6 Lb green mono. I have no doubt he tracked the lure for some time because he was sighted relatively far from home. He decided to not take the Floating Rap in the 30 degree weather. Today is when I really truly understood how big this fish actually is. I saw his entire length and girth. A true trophy. Unsuccessful presentations to this point: 1) Float-Fishing Nymphs 2) Fishing with worms 3) Fishing with a jigged Gulp Alive minnow 4) Fishing a small Mepps Syclops 5) Fishing a "Little Wolf" Spoon I fully intend on catching this fellow in the near future. He will be returned to fight another day after I successfully manage to land him.. So I ask you folks: how would you go about landing this great brown? I look forward to your input!

That's what she said.

This would be a disaster in Ontario. I agree that NYS has some of the best Bass fishing, but what you fail to mention is the amount of funding that NYS puts towards its fisheries. We do not have that here in Ontario. I think you would also be rather alarmed if you saw the differences in COs from NYS to Ontario. The way the MNR has done it here is that they've made the rules to pre-emptively enforce the issue as opposed to funding enough COs to catch poachers and people who abuse the rules. I also think it is kind of a joke to allow people to "live release" bass year round. The fish get pulled off their spawning beds and their nests are easily disrupted. Fish die to improper hooksets and mishandling. Their eggs get eaten. Keep in mind, this is only for the people that are actually following the "live release" part of the rule (which would probably hover around 60-75%). The main reason that the fisheries in the US are open year round is the amount of revenue it produces. It is a simple case of putting the dollar first and the health of the fishery second. What we have seen though is more money going back into the fishery in the US though (probably from more use of the fishery and the need to sustain it). I'd be very interested to see a report on the health of these American fisheries vs the health of the same fisheries 5, 10, 20 years ago. Regardless, if you give all the idiots free reign to fish for Bass whenever they want in Ontario, you'd be finding that the waters don't have bass for too long . . . even with the live release rule. The fact is there just isn't enough funding to maintain the fishery after allowing all that pressure. The money, followed by an improved fishery, needs to come FIRST. It can't possibly come second.