lhousesoccer

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I see alot of posts here and in other forums where people say they hit Lake X on Saturday and Lake Y on Sunday, or sometimes even Lake X Saturday morning and Lake Y Saturday afternoon. With all the concern for spreading exotic species like zebra mussels, spiny waterflea, milfoil, and even worse, fish diseases like VHS, I'm just wondering how many people out there take the necessary precautions with their boats, if they visit multiple lakes in a short period of time. Personally, I never have the luxury (lack of time) to fish more than once a week, if that, so my boat is garaged 7 days or more between trips with all the locker/livewell lids open to air out and dry. I do notice when I pull out of a ramp that I'll often have vegetation around axles, etc. which I always make sure I clean fully before leaving the ramp. I just think it's good Angler Conservation to take such steps. So - for those of you lucky to fish way more than I do, what do you do between lakes?

I think it's a great show. So refreshing, compared to all the cookie-cutter, sponsor-laden good 'ole boy "bassin" shows in their big rigs and bright shirts. He's done a couple shows on Lake Champlain, near where I live and mostly fish, and it's great seeing just regular guys out trying to figure it out like the rest of us. Sometimes you catch them, sometimes you don't. The show won a pretty prestigious TV Award, I saw on another fishing forum (NYBASS.com). Check it out ... NYBASS.com Lunkerville Thread TV Award website Press Release

What's WFN going to run now?

50 minutes. That's as long as I could make it. Awards shows in general are not my thing. A bunch of rich folks congratulating themselves and each other with awards and accolades (ie. Oscars, Emmys etc etc), but hey, I'm a hockey fan, so I usually watch the NHL Awards. I expected better things, being in Vegas and all. But come ON, Shaka Khan???? Really??? Her "solo" song 50 minutes in was the straw for me. Maybe she could sing at one time, like 2 decades ago, but she sure as hell can't now. Excuse me, Mr. Bettman .... how is this relevant to the NHL and honouring the greats of today's game????? B-O-R-I-N-G

Tie directly. Use a Palomar knot.

Wow -- hard to believe lakes so close to Kingston can still be so undeveloped. Thank God for Crown Land! This place looks exactly like what my friend would like. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hi Everyone: I have an American friend who wants to take his 12-year-old son on his first "away" fishing trip. They live in Vermont, and are looking for something no further than 10-12 hours away from where they live. The setting and type of fishing he's looking for is as follows (from an email he sent me) "I'm looking for a backwoods resort/lodge on an relatively undeveloped lake or chain of lakes that has good fishing for a mix of fish, be they pike, bass, walleye or trout. Ideally within a 10-12 hour drive of northern Vermont." He didn't say, but I assume they'd probably want to rent a boat while there. For bearings and to give you all a frame of reference to suggest places, where he lives in Vermont is about: 5-hours from Ottawa 5-hours from Kingston 6-hours from Pembroke 7-hours from Peterborough 7-hours from Bancroft So - as you can see, a large swatch of eastern Ontario is within striking distance for him and his son. I'd love to see them experience a great one-on-one father-son fishing trip in the "wilds" of Ontario .... Can anyone recommend something that might be a good fit? Thanks all. I know the wealth of knowledge on this board will result in some great ideas.

That's exactly what I was looking for. I knew someone here on OFC would know. Awesome, guys! Thanks.

I seem to remember hearing stories or reading about fishing trips people would take where they literally get on a freight train heading north, or maybe it was a special VIA train that added boxcars. Your canoes, packs and gear went into the boxcar, you told the conductor or showed him on a topo map what lake you wanted let off at, and at the designated spot, the train would stop, you unload, and you're alone in the bush miles and miles from any road for days. You tell the conductor that 4 or 5 days later, you'll be on the side of the tracks waiting, and sure enough, here comes the train back south, you load up and head for home. Does anyone have any more specific information about this? Is this still available? I'm looking for a rather unique summer fishing trip that I want to plan, but one that might not cost an arm and a leg. When I remembered hearing about this, I thought it might fit the bill.

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That is sweet! I've always loved A.T.'s work. If you don't mind my asking ... how much did that set you back ?

Hi there ... We've been pretty much benched for the last 2.5 years, having an infant son to raise (), and so we haven't been able to travel with the boat to fish at all. This coming summer however, with our son at the age of 3, my wife and I want to finally plan a week's vacation and fishing trip with the boat and our son. I have a few criteria in choosing a place, in order of most important to least : Decent, clean lodging. A nice waterfront, preferrably with a sandy beach/shoreline for my wife to lay out in the sun and my son to play in the sand and swim, while I !!! Fish to catch ! Preferred species, in no order, SMB, LMB, walleye & muskie. A boat launch and/or docking facilities for my 18' Ranger. Not a terribly far drive from Vermont. I'm thinking anywhere in eastern Ontario and as far west as maybe the Haliburtons or the Kawarthas. The St. Lawrence River, Thousand Islands, Ottawa River, Rideau system and anywhere inbetween would be preferred. Price - reasonable, but we don't want to be in a dive. We want a nice, well-kept, clean place, but one that won't kill our wallet. Alternatively, we'd also be up for renting a private cottage if anyone knows of one that fits the bill ! Any recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time, and tight lines ...

Thanks - I'll give Fishing World a call. They don't have any baits listed on their website, so I couldn't check the prices. What did you pay for them there? Also, what is Blue Fox's version called. I checked out their website just now Blue Fox Lures and didn't see anything that looks like a Badd Boyz jig. They only have 2 types of jigs - Foxee Jig and Big Crappie Jig, neither of which really resembles the Badd Boyz. Thanks

I live in the U.S. and can't get Badd Boyz jigs down here. I've seen them and read about them in many online fishing articles (and seen quite a few nice pics of fish with a Badd Boyz hanging out of their mouth). I want to pick some up, but can't find anywhere online that sells them. The company website Badd Boyz Jigs lists alot of stores in Ontario and Quebec, but doesn't offer any online purchasing. I also don't know how much these cost per jig, as prices aren't listed on their website either. E-mails to the company have gone unanswered, so I thought I would try here. I always like trying new baits, especially from small companies like this, and more importantly, I like having baits that no one else here has and the fish have never seen! Maybe it will be me an edge! Any suggestions are appreciated. By the way, what do most of you guys tip them with? Live bait or plastics?

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Me too. Nothing but PowerPro when it comes to braid for me.

Mike - I tried to reply to your original post, but I don't think it went through. Since I typed so much and was afraid of losing it, I copied and pasted my text to a Word document. Good thing ! Anyways, I'm reposting it here for you to see .... ________________________________________________ Mike: Don't let any of the naysayers detract you from pursuing your dreams and goals in life. I am a graduate of the 3-year Fish & Wildlife Program at SSFC. The three years themselves were some of the best years of my life, and I made lifelong friends, and the learning, friendship, camaraderie, and experiences alone you will take away from there is worth it on it's own. However, if this is truly what you want to do in life - work in the field of fisheries or wildlife management - then the 3 years at SSFC will be extremely valuable, and will set you on a course that will take you wherever you want to go in life. That's not to say that you will step out of there the day after graduation with a full time job. The road can be long, and may take you many places. You may elect to further your education beyond SSFC as well, as I did. The first and best piece of advice I can give is to be completely open and willing to follow every chance and opportunity you might find to pursue employment in this field, particularly in the summers. So many people I knew in the years ahead or behind me, and probably some of the people that posted here trying to persuade you against SSFC, went home in the summers and worked in a factory, or construction. Sure - all the comforts of home, free living etc. Where are these people now? Working in factories or construction, living close to where they grew up. My particular F&W Class (1991) seemed to be different. Of the 12 or so close friends I had at SSFC, just about all of us are working in the field. Here's just a sampling of the people I've kept in touch with and what they're doing: 1. Assistant Park SuperIntendant, Wasaga Beach Provincial Park 2. Fisheries Research & Management Biologist, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department (Lake Champlain) 3. Professor/Coordinator - Ecosystem Management Program, Sir Sandford Fleming College 4. Fisheries Officer, Dept. Fisheries & Oceans, BC 5. Supervisor, Environmental Monitoring, Toronto & Region Conservation Authority 6. Research Associate, Waterloo Aquatic Toxicology and Ecosystem Remediation Laboratory, U. Waterloo 7. Owner/Operator of very successful Environmental Consulting Firm in BC. 8. Natural Resources Issues Liason between Metis & BC Prov. Gov't's None of these were overnight successes. I can't speak for everyone I listed, but here's a quick chronological listing of what I did. As I said before, you have to be willing to chase after the work, go where the work is, move, volunteer, whatever you need to do if you really want a career in the field. 1988 - 1st Year SSFC Summer 1989 - summer fisheries technician, Lindsay District OMNR, stream surveys Summer 1990 - Worked for a consultant on contract with OMNR to do access area creel surveys on Opeongo Lake, Algonquin Park. I was put up at the OMNR Harkness Research Station on Opeongo. While there I started volunteering on my time off with actual OMNR research projects at the lab and got to know the biologists. They hired me halfway through the season to work for them as well. Fall 1990 - Volunteered for 2 weeks at the Parry Sound OMNR deer check station. Spring 1991 - Volunteered with Napanee District OMNR for 2 weeks to conduct wild turkey gobbling surveys. Spring 1991 - Graduated 3-year F&W SSFC. Summer 1991 - Returned to Harkness to work as summer fisheries technician for OMNR. Fall 1991 Aug-Oct - fisheries technician, Port Dover, Lake Erie Fisheries Assessment Unit, Commercial fisheries catch observer Fall 1991 Oct-Dec - Volunteered with Agriculture Canada, Animal Disease Research Institute, to work in their rabies research lab, feeding test animals (skunks, fox, rabbits etc). Progressed to paid position to administer experimental vaccines and live rabies virus to test animals. Dec 1991 - April 1992 - Signed up with Student Conservation Association (volunteer organization that sends natural resources students all over the world to work in the field). Got posted to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee to work on a wild boar control program. Spent 4 months hiking in the Smoky Mountains setting and baiting traps, and carrying rifles, shotguns, handguns to shoot and kill as many boars as possible. Also hunted at night with night-vision goggles and laser-sighted shotguns. Those boys were serious about killing boars ! Apr 1992 - Sept. 1992 - Returned to Ontario to work for OMNR's Salmonid Ecology Unit on Wilmot Creek conducting salmon surveys. Fall 1992 - Returned to School (Trent University) to get Bachelor's of Science degree. Trent offered one year of credits for SSFC diploma. I did a joint honours B.Sc. in Biology and Environmental Science. Summer 1993 - Worked for Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters in Peterborough, running their "Zebra Busters" invasive species boatwash and public education program. Fall 1993 - Volunteered with OMNR's Rabies Bait drop program for Central Ontario flights. Summer 1994 - Returned to work for OFAH, this time running a new children's program teaching kids to fish and about aquatic ecology. Travelled all over Ontario with pontoon boat, educational materials, and gear, giving program at Provincial Parks, resorts, lodges etc. Fall 1993 - April 1995 - Because of my diverse experience in fisheries, F&W Program Coordinator from SSFC contacted me to ask if I was interested in teaching 2 intro to fisheries courses at SSFC. I taught 5 semesters of these courses at SSFC Lindsay while taking a full biology course load at Trent University. Summer 1995 - Worked for Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute field station on Jack Lake in Aspley as a general field technician, designing, building and running equipment for 5 different graduate students from various universities who were there working on field work for their thesis. 1995-1997 - decided to go to graduate school myself, after meeting many graduate students and university professors at the Environment Canada field station. So in Sept. 1995 I packed up and moved for the 18th time or so to Quebec City to work on my Masters degree in Marine Biology, focusing on anadromous Atlantic salmon reproductive behaviour on the Riviere Ste-Marguerite, a tributary to the Saguenay Fjiord in eastern Quebec. 1997-Present - Just as I was finishing up my thesis, I saw a job posted in the American Fisheries Society's "Fisheries" magazine for a Fisheries Research and Management Biologist with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. On a whim, I applied for the job, and much to my amazement, got offered the position. I've now been here in Vermont for 11 years and I absolutely love my job and the work I'm doing in fisheries. I'm now classified as a Fisheries Scientist III here. I'm married to a local girl and we have a son. Life is great, though I do miss living in Canada. But, I'm only 1.5 hours from the border ! Maybe I'll stay here for the rest of my career. Maybe I won't. I don't know where life will take me. But with the experience I have and the connections I now have, I'm confident I still could apply for and get just about any job I wanted to. The take home message here Mike is to never give up on your dreams. If you want to work in fish or wildlife, you're the only one that can make it happen, with diligence, perseverance, and plain old gumption. Alot of people say "well, you must have known the right people". Nope. When I moved from little old St. Thomas in 1988 to Lindsay, I was an 18-year old student. Everyone told me, just like they're telling you, "you'll never get work in that field". None of my family or friends worked in the OMNR. I didn't know a soul in the field. So how did I get these jobs ? Contacts I made myself. Never be afraid to knock on doors. Never be afraid to call people up. Never be afraid to introduce yourself and tell people who you are and what your goals in life are. Ask your professors at SSFC for advice. They often know of active field projects in the gov't. In the winter, drive around to OMNR or Conservation Authority offices and ask to talk to the regional biologists, and ask what field work they might have for the upcoming summer. Go to the OFAH in Peterborough and tell the woman at the front desk you "want to speak with the person in charge". Hiring authorities like people with confidence, initiative, and goals. Once you get that first job, meet as many people as you can in the field or from other offices. Also - don't stick around any one place too long, if it's doing the same thing, even if it's in fisheries or wildlife. Experience is good. Diverse experience is better. Move on to new things. Connect, connect, connect. You'll make it if you want to. I hope this helps. Good luck with everything.

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Awesome fish .... but, how about a smile next time you haul in one of those monsters though ?! Alot of stone-faced pics there ! Smile! You're out there, catching fish. Be happy about !!!!!! Never mind. I'm just jealous because I didn't get out as much as I wanted to last year

Alright ... start deep. Got that part. But should I be smack in the middle of the lake in 80 f.o.w. on a flat, or at the 80-foot mark on a drop-off going down to 100+ f.o.w., or next to an island, or on a shoal, or a gravel bar? What sort of structure do whities hang out around? Again, I'm new to this, so it's all learning for me ...

Great tips on the lures, but how about finding the fish in the first place? I'd love to go for some in some local lakes I know have whitefish, but where do I start fishing? Any tips on structure, depth etc would be helpful. I should also mention, I'm kind of a lo-tech ice fisherman. ie. No Vexilar, no graph etc. Just me, my auger and my rods. Maybe I'm out of luck?

I've been using Cavitron buzzbaits for years - and pretty much they're the only buzzbait in my buzzbait wallet now. You can burn them or just creep them along, and they'll stay on top, make lots of bubbles and noise. They are awesome !

I use an empty Kraft peanut butter jar. The seal is MUCH better (no leaks) and the jar fits better in my tackle bag and boat.