007

Wow! Another great report, great pics and some huge fish! I love the markings on some of the smallies. How big was your friend's largest smallmouth bass in the last pic? At least a 5lber surely? Just curious did you/he fish the tubes vertically on/near the bottom or higher up? How deep was the water there? Thanks for sharing. 007

There's one thing to be positive about - you saw the fish jumping - so at least they are there. With some persistance you'll get them. Try putting away the lures and try a good old fashioned float fished worm or minnow - you'll get them! Good luck and look forward to a report with pics of your catch! 007

Nice one GTA Carp boys! Looks like you are checking whether its a male or a female..... or is an Australian carp? I find catching those smaller carp just as much fun as the big guys - as you can catch lots of them, they fight hard and they're generally not as ugly as the big boys! Thanks for the report. See you out there one day hopefully. 007

Hi Sean. Welcome to the board. Plenty of us fishermen/women in Toronto trying our luck from shore for everything that swims from little sunfish to fat carp to monster pike. Lots of different species to catch, if you know where to find them. Thanks Maureen for posting my last report - it gives a good idea of just how many species there are at somewhere like the Toronto Islands. Grenadier Pond also has many of the same species too. Sometimes as a shore angler you have to work for the fish though - walking around a lot until you find fish that are willing to bite. It is especially difficult during summer because lots of good spots have boats moored or other anglers already there! I would definitely suggest starting by fishing with a float and a worm or even half a worm. You should catch sunfish, perch and maybe a largemouth bass with a worm close to weeds, with the bait off the bottom. If I'm not catching any other species I will use this technique - almost never fails to make sure I avoid being skunked (not catching). Once you get more confident try some different baits and lures to catch some big predators or try carp fishing with sweetcorn fished on the bottom. Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on. 007

Nice pics and fish as usual Mepps. Goes to prove your spinners catch more than just pike! 007

Nice pics and nice size perch. 007

Nemo - Do a search where? 007

Cool pics. Does anyone else have any underwater shots or can advise me on an underwater digital camera? Thanks 007

Bump.....Someone must have fished this place? Any help appreciated. 007

Hi folks. My quest continues this Friday when I go camping/fishing at Silent Lake Provincial Park for the weekend. I was wondering if anyone out there had fished the lake and had any advice that they could share with me? What species are there? Any tips on good spots to fish or baits to try? Can I fish from shore or do I need to rent a canoe? PM me if you want it kept quiet. I hope to target Smallmouth Bass but would welcome trying for other species too so I can knock some more species off this year's quest list. All info is gratefully received. Thanks in advance. 007

Great report TBayboy. Looks like you and Patrick had a great time and caught some nice fish. Certainly looks like nicer, less crowded surroundings than the T.O Islands! 007

Nice largies. Still waiting for my first bass on a topwater - sounds like its pretty exciting action! Thanks for posting. 007

Thanks for the tips guys. I will try to catch my first walleye soon and some decent smallies too. 007

Thanks Scuro. Would be great to see some of your underwater shots to see how good a picture the Pentax takes! Anyone else have any recommendations or suggestions? Thanks 007

Hi one and all, As you all know I enjoy to fish, however I'm also a keen photographer - and I would really like to start taking underwater shots of fish here in Ontario and also if I go snorkelling on holiday in the sea! I have a number of cameras that I can get underwater housings for but they are so expensive and hard to get. So I am looking for a robust waterproof compact digital camera that can be used underwater. I have done some research and found that the two main models are the Pentax Optio W30 and the Olympus Stylus 770SW. Problem is the camera company blurb and the user reviews I have read on-line leave me scratching my head - with no clear winner. The Pentax is cheaper but the Olympus goes deeper, the Pentax is easier to use but the Olympus is designed to be almost indestructible. Add to that, 50% of reviews for people using the Olympus say that their camera leaked/broke when used underwater - I don't really want to waste $500 on a camera that can't be used for its intended purpose. So .... I need some help form you good people.... Has anyone got one of these cameras and can share their experiences? Good or bad. Can anyone recommend one of these cameras or another underwater digital camera? Thanks for your help. 007

Hi folks. I'm just curious - if I were to try fishing for walleye or smallies with crank baits like shad raps or dive-to rapalas, do I need to use a wire leader in case the lures attract pike or musky? Also can walleye bite through the line too? Or should I just take the risk and fish with no wire leader for better presentation of the lure? Thanks in advance for help. 007

Uncle Buck - I wouldn't include boilies as a lure - it's a real bait (just like minnows, corn, worms, bread etc.) not an imitation of something else - which effectively is what a lure is... English - You're right the basic Mepps spinners are still the same as they used to be - and still catch lots of fish! Very popular over here.

So far it seems to be spinner baits and soft plastics that people prefer but its all a bit close. With hindsight, perhaps I should have limited the poll to just your favourite and not your top three to get a clearer picture! I just thought it would be too difficult to pick one favourite. my mistake. I'm not sure if I can change the poll so that people can just vote for one only? Mods - can anyone help on that front? All I seem to be able to change is the title of the post. Cheers 007

Hi everyone. I was just wondering what everybody's favourite type of lure is? I know it will depend on the fish you target most but I was just curious as to what people's favourite is - the one you enjoy casting, the one you catch the most fish with, the one you catch the biggest fish with or is your go-to lure type. I know that since I have started fishing with lures here in Canada I have built up a fine collection of lures but probably haven't used all of them because undoubtedly I have my preferred or favourite type. Mine would have to be Spinners (by Mepps) because you can catch such a wide variety of fish with them, and also jerkbaits (like Rapala's Xrap) and crankbaits because of their life-like looks and action. What's yours? Pick your top one not top three! (Sorry for the change from the earlier poll question - just want to see if there is a clearer favourite!) 007

Mikeymikey... now if I told you I would have to kill you in true 007 style. No seriously, my 'secret' bait is....... worms! It's probably the only bait that you can catch almost every species and size of fish with. I guess its a bit of a cultural thing for me. Coming from the UK - float fishing with live bait like worms or maggots is very popular and not too many people fish with lures. I used lures for the first time when I started fishing in Canada and am still experimenting/learning, so often it is the humble worm that I turn to for reliable action. I usually take two rods with me to the islands - my medium heavy for carp or pike fishing and a medium rod for float fishing worms or casting smaller lures ot bass and panfish. I'll alternate between the two depending on what I'm targetting. I have found that the only truly reliable bait for bites on a hard day is float fished worms. It doesn't often result in big fish (though I have caught LM bass to about 4/5lbs at the islands this way) but it gets you bites and the potential for a surprise! To help my quest of catching lots of different species it is proving to be the best bait to use. That said I will need to master lure fishing to catch the likes of pike and musky. The other tip I can give when it comes to fishing live worms is to use an appropriate size of worm for the fish you want to catch. If you want to catch big bass - use a whole worm on a bigger hook. If you want to catch panfish - cut the worm into smaller pieces and thread it onto a small hook, if you don't you will get lots bites but very few fish as the sunfish will just swim off with one end of the worm and not with the hook in their mouth. When I am getting lots of bites from panfish I do experiment with other baits - like microtube jigs or berkley grubs - but I have to say a piece of worm tends to catch more. dsn - would be kind of cool having a bowfin in a tank but I'm guessing all the other fish may just disappear - have you seen the mouths on those things?! 007

Great pictures.... nice fish. 007

Thanks for the comments guys. I guess the little Bowfin counts towards the quest but I certainly will try to catch a bigger one - though they are pretty scary prehistoric looking things. I don't know too much about the Bowfin - I was wondering does anyone know whether the fish has that large 'eye' or spot on its tail as a defence against attack, so a predator goes for the tail rather than the head? I know there are other creatures in the world that have evolved that way - like lizards. 007

Hi all. I must say I am a bit annoyed - I just spent 2 hours preparing a long report about my fishing trip to the islands but when I tried to preview the post I lost the lot and no way of recovering it!!! So unfortunately as I am really tired and in pain from having all my wisdom teeth out last week you're going to have to have the condensed version instead... sorry. Fished the Islands - good to be out. Caught 6 different species (bowfin, perch, rockbass, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed and bluegill and saw 4 more (carp, pike, alewife and bullhead). Lucky to have so many species too fish for in the city! Lots of wildlife - Had a mink swim through the area I was fishing and scared the **** out of me! Saw a Great Egret (looks like a big white heron) - quite rare in these parts I believe. Highlight of the day was casting to a large bowfin in the shallows in an attempt to notch up another species for the year and a new species for me. No interest from the big guy/girl but caught one of its babies - turns out that the large dark area around the fish wasn't weeds but a shoal of baby Bowfin - hope you can make out them out in the picture. Really cool to see but can I really claim to have battled the mighty Bowfin!? The quest will continue as I want to catch that baby's father!! Also bumped into Tbayboy and PatrickGG - nice to meet you guys - did you have much luck after I left you?? Once again sorry for the short report rather than the beautifully crafted one I had actually prepared! Here's the pics - enjoy. I need to go and lie down - my computer and I are having a major meltdown! 007

You should come over to Canada and catch some wild trout - probably much better fighters than those stocked ones. That day was a very sad day - especially for Liverpool fans like myself. 007

Great report. Love the pics of the Moose calves. Some nice fish too. 007