007

Looks like you had a nice dinner!. Though you don't get much meat off those guys. I've never seen Bluegills that colour - they seem a reddish colour (unless its just the lighting) Nice catch all the same. Thanks for sharing. 007

Congrats on the nice haul of slabs. 007

Congratulations on your first Brown Trout - what a beautiful fish. 007

Nice fish there dsn. Not your usual big beasts but fun to catch I'm sure. 007

Some nice suckers there. Good job.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement - its quite a tall order but i'll give it a go. I will keep posting the results with pics of course. ccmtcanada - I wish I had thought of that one. My wife was with me, watching from the bank, she was furious for me and I think might have done worse to the guy if we had stayed around any longer! 007

Nice mix of fish indeed. How deep were you fishing? Thanks for sharing

Nice report - they're a funny looking fish those Bowfin. What were you using for bait out of interest? Worms or cut fish bait?

Well done Urbanangler. Nice carp catch. Those GTA carp are building up for a good feed - maybe I'll target carp next, though I'm also hoping the Crappie and Bluegill start to bite in Grenadier Pond soon! What did it weigh? 007

Well ch312, last year I managed to catch the following - northern pike, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, rock bass, brook trout, brown bullhead, common carp, black crappie, pumpkinseedfish, and bluegill (11 species). This year I plan to catch all of the above and more if possible. So far on three fishing trips I've managed Yellow Perch and the White Sucker (and the shiner )! Based on the Ontario guide to Eating Sport Fish I would need to catch all of the following this year to achieve the goal..... Walleye Northern Pike Sauger Muskellunge Yellow Perch Smallmouth Bass Largemouth Bass Rock Bass Chinook Salmon Coho Salmon Atlantic Salmon Pink Salmon Rainbow Trout/Steelhead Lake Trout Brown Trout Brook Trout Whitefish Lake Herring White Sucker Redhorse Sucker Channel Catfish Brown Bullhead Common Carp White Bass White Perch Freshwater Drum White Crappie Black Crappie Pumpkinseed Bluegill Goldeye Mooneye Burbot Eel Bowfin Sturgeon Smelt Gar (not in the guide) That makes 38 different species! Two down 36 to go! I'll be proud if I can manage half that number bearing in mind I will probably fish mainly in Toronto and on a few camping trips to some Provincial Parks. The key ones I would like to catch are in bold (25), but i'll give them all a go. Cheers 007

Hi all. Having successfully caught perch on my first season ice fishing on Lake Simcoe it was time to head out for my first open water action of the year. I decided that I would try to catch a species of fish that I haven't caught before - not your world's greatest sport fish - but a fish all the same - the white sucker. Having seen all the posts about sucker fishing it seems that this is one of the few species that can be caught at this time of year and it is always fun catching something new. Also as some of you may have read from an earlier post I have set myself the target of catching as many of Ontario's fish species as possible this year. So this was a chance to get one off the list. So last night I headed out to the Humber River in Toronto for a couple of hours fishing before sunset. It wasn't long before I found a likely spot. The deeper pools were stacked with fish but they weren't very obliging. After a few bites, lost fish and snagging the bottom a few times I was starting think I wouldn't succeed, but then this guy hit. Not the biggest sucker but it put up a scrap on light line. Mission accomplished! I continued fishing in an attempt to try and catch a bigger one - but things went the other way - as I hooked into this little guy! I know its not one of the creek chub I could see in the shallows but can anyone tell me what it is? Is it some kind of shiner/minnow? I continued fishing but got increasingly annoyed by other anglers wading through the pool I was fishing and casting their floats right where I was fishing. Some guys are so rude - one guy came and stood right next to me and almost took my eye out with a failed strike! Now I know what you guys feel like on trout opener. Time to call it a day. It has been an enjoyable hour or so fishing and I had succeeded in catching a new species. Hope to report again soon as the quest continues... All the best 007

This looks like the right place to post (according to the rules!) Thanks for a great 'photoessay'. I know how long that must have taken you to do, so thanks for sharing. I love Algonquin, so this report was very interesting to me. What a great place to spend some quality time with family. Looks like you caught lots of nice fish and a good time was had by all. Thanks again. Good luck this year. Look forward to the report (though a slightly shorter one would I'm sure be just as interesting and less time consuming for you). 007

Good job DSN. Can't wait for more of your carping stories. Might head down to the islands this weekend for a look. 007

I always dream about catching that prize fish the night before I go fishing....... Funny how the night after actually going fishing I always seem to be dreaming about the prize fish that got away!

Hey Mepps - you really are a hardcore pikeman if you've got Mick Brown Pike DVDs - he seems such a great down to earth guy. Maybe see you out at the islands again putting it into practice in May. 007

Gold stars to MJL and Mepps for having seen the show I watched - you're right it was Matt Hayes and Mick Brown in the Great Rod Race shown on a cable channel in the UK. How did you guys get to see it? Was it shown over here? It was such a great series - when I get back to the UK I'm going to try and get it on DVD. Let's see which OFNCer can get close to catching them all this year!

I can see it now - The great Ontario Fish Hunt with Trapshooter and Bond..... James Bond! I wish - can you imagine it being paid to travel around Ontario for a month doing what we all love - fish! We can all dream. Even if it wasn't me, I 'd love to see someone give it a go though! Alternatively, how about a competition to see which OFNCer can do a post at the end of the year with (genuine) pictures of the highest number of different species that they have caught this year in Ontario??

Hi everyone. I was just reading some of the posts about fishing for species of fish that most people don't usually fish for - like suckers and was thinking what great variety of fish there is in Ontario waters and how most people focus on just a few species. Then it got me thinking... When I was back in the UK there was a fishing show on TV about these two pro anglers who decided to try and catch a specimen fish (bigger than average) of every species in the UK but they only had a 1 month period in which to do it. They travelled all over the country fishing all the best waters in their pursuit of catching every species of fish. What's amazing is... they actually managed it. It was a great show as you learnt all the different techniques, learnt all about the different species, saw lots of different places around the country and saw them catch some pretty big fish too. I think it would be a great show - one day fighting salmon in Lake O, next day heading up to Scugog for some monster Bass, next day trolling for record muskies in Georgian Bay, next day fishing for jumbo perch in Simcoe.... etc.... you get the picture. Plus throw in all the species people don't normally target like suckers, bowfin, drum, white bass, eels, gar, sturgeon etc. What a show! Has this idea ever been done in Ontario? Do you think it would be possible to catch above average size fish of all the main species in Ontario in a month? Is there a month when they are all open for fishing? Do you think the TV fishermen like Dave Mercer, Aaron Shirley (sorry don't know all the guys names) etc are good enough to do it? What about you OFNCers - have you ever tried to set yourself the target of catching all the species in the province (in a life time let alone a month)? Since arriving in Canada 2 years ago I have been trying to catch as many species as possible before I go back to the UK at the end of the year - I don't get to go fishing too often so am not doing too badly - have managed to catch the following so far...Largemouth, Smallmouth, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseedfish, Bullhead, Carp, Brook Trout, pike, perch and rock bass (WGSF) . I aim to catch the following this year if I can - walleye, muskie, bowfin, drum, white bass, salmon, lake trout, brown trout, steelhead, white sucker and of course some bigger fish of the species I have already caught (I haven't caught too many specimen fish yet - 8lb carp largest fish to date ). What do you all think about the idea for this show - would it be possible to catch so many 'large' fish of all the different species? Anyone else with the same goal as me to try and catch all the species? Tight lines and happy fishing this year 007

Thanks for the report Pikeie. Sounds like good fun on light tackle. I'm looking forward to maybe catching my first sucker at the weekend. I hope there are some in the Humber River in T.O. Sounds like float fishing a worm on the river bottom is the way to go. 007

Wow. That's a beauty. Its amazing how so many big fish in the UK are still caught with good old maggots. I wish I could catch a perch half that size! 007

Well done.... again Snag. Maybe i'll head out there at weekend and cast a lure or two. Thanks for sharing 007

Good job snag man! The Master Pike fisherman is back. Great looking fish. They do tend to like getting revenge on your fingers though So tell me, is your camera set up on a tripod for these great self portraits? If so is it set up ready before you even catch the fish or do you have to scramble around once the fish is landed? Always wondered... they seem such well composed shots, and would like to give the self portrait with fish shot a go one day, even if the pike I catch are 1/5th the size Thanks for sharing. Itching to get out there. 007

When I was back in the UK we used to fish all the time with baits that are probably seen as quite unusual over here ....sweetcorn, luncheon meat/ham, bread, cheese, hemp seed (it 'drugs' the fish) LOL All of the above (except Hemp) are good for Carp. Hemp was used as a bait for a fish called a Roach that you don't have here (similar to the invasive Rudd). In terms of Canada..... someone at Bass Pro said that they have used french fries from McDonalds I think for carp - is this true? Has anyone used them and for what? 007

Bass pro is definitely my favourite destination for fishing bait and tackle and whenever I rent a car to go anywhere even if its not in the Bass Pro direction I will drive by and pay it a visit. I have even been so desperate to go there that on two occasions I have gone there on public transit - not an easy task I can tell you! From downtown its a subway ride to Downsview then a TTC bus to Rutherford Rd and then a York Region Transit bus to Vaughan Mills OR a GO Train to Rutherford from Union Stn then the York transit bus, but of course coming back you have to do the whole TTC bus/subway thing as there are no GO Trains back!!! Plus by the time you've paid the excess fare above Steeles and the York region fare (and if my wife comes with me) I might as well have done the whole Zipcar thing. Of course all that effort is worth it to see the big aquarium (though I've not been lucky enough to see feeding time) and to spend hours looking at fishing gear. But having said that I would be pleased to be able to go to a local shop closer by for some bait or find some different lures than sold at CT, hence my original post. I will certainly be checking out some of the suggestions - Al Flaherty's or Fishing on Line sound like they might be a little easier to get to. Thanks for all the help. 007

Thanks Maureen. Excellent TTC advice as usual. No.35 along Jane it is. 007