Skud

Sure, if you like having cold feet while you watch the squirrels play all day.

Recieved my antlerless for WMU 77 yesturday also. Going to try to get an extra tag now.

You have a PM.

Nothing in Barrie. A few dark clouds and a bit of wind. Sorry to hear you got banged up.

Everyone has very good points on the matter. I am not loving the decision. I will see what happens. And yes, one day when I buy another boat it is going to be a beauty.

My 100th post is a sad one. I am puting my boat up for sale. I need some extra coin to fix up the house so we can move up a notch. My family of six is getting tight in a 1200sqf semi. Looks like I will be fishing from my Dads 14' tinny for a while. It's posted in the Classifieds.

Good one Terry! I found that pic on break.com so I don't know the story. I knew it would get a few laughs.

I thought forgeting to put the plug in was bad enough.

I hunt very little due to lack of time. Archery for deer and some small game now and then.

Thursday morning was warmer and had some cloud cover with low winds. I travelled south but not far. Again I targeted 10 fow and weeds all around close to dropoffs. Deep diving cranks again had me into one walleye and one Largemouth. A very big Smallie threw my lure on a great jump boatside. When the winds got too strong for good boat control I went to trolling for Muskie with no results. I headed in by 10am to start tearing down the camp and packing the truck. The four days went by very quickly. Now it will be just weekends again. Here are a few more picks of the last fish caught.

Day 3. Wed was a delightful 7 degrees in the morning but the winds were calm. I headed straight down to South Bay and start throwing crankbaits into the weeds. I constantly caught perch but I also got into some walleye and bass. I only caught one decent Smallie but lots of 8-10 inchers. After the winds did kick up I went to trolling for muskie for an hour or so and was skunked. The afternoon was very windy and I stayed close to the park with my sons. The oldest caught a few panfish while the three year old fell asleep. We headed in and I cleaned up the fish I kept(1 wally,1 smallie,2 perch) for dinner. For the first time I started to take pictures on my own with the timer on my camera so some of the shots are a little off since I didn't always duck down enough or get far enough away.

I will do this report in a few short posts because I don't have a photo host. Day one(Monday) was a bust because it took me all day to pack the truck, drive to the park and set up camp for the family. Lots of work when you have a family of 6. My parents a nd friends also came for a visit at dinner time so no fishing the first day. Tuesday morning I was up and casting into the weeds by 6 am. A chilly 9 degrees woke me up fast. All I could land was an eight inch perch. When the winds kicked up I started trolling for Muskie. Five minutes in I had a big one on. It has been years since I have felt that kind of weight on the end of my line, a mid 40's fish for sure. But I payed to much attention to my boat and avoiding getting blown into the think weeds and the fish spit the lure. Trolled for two more hours and came up empty. Headed back out around 5pm and targeted weed lines with crankbaits. This is my partner in crime, a fiesty Min-Pin always watching for trouble. Finally hit paydirt with a 21.5" walleye. For the next hour or so I caught about a half dozen small bass and called it a day as the sun dropped behind the treeline. Here is a pic of the 'in the slot' walleye.

I target 8-12 fow with weeds spread throughout and cast/retrieve 3-4 inch deep diving crankbaits and thread them through the gaps in the weeds. You will catch just about everything the lake has to offer.

I fished there two weekends ago with my boys. The weekends are crazy with people on the rental boats. You will see ten people in one pontoon boat keeping everything they catch. If you see only 3 or 4 guys they will have 3 to 4 lines out each. The boats will be surrounded by bobbers and they will also be casting. If they know they can get away with it, it shows there is no MNR presence. Pike can only be caught up to 16" because they are harvested before they get a chance to grow bigger. The lake is being raped but the powers that be must not care.

I have been fishing Balsam for about 15 years but only on the weekend. As a weekend warrior I only have a good day of fishing every 2nd year. But this time I will be camping at the park from Monday till Thurs this coming week and will be spending 8-12 hours out on the water every day chasing those pesky musky and walleye. I might even catch my first pike there. I will give a report on my return.

Here it is Boat crash

If you search on the same site(break.com) for a speedboat wipeout it shows a dude throw himself from his boat and not have his kill switch tied to him. His $250k boat has a nice landing on the rocky shoreline and roles completly over.

I put 9 feet of 3/8 chain on my anchor just before I went out and caught those fish. It did help because I would of had no chance of holding without it. Great workout bring it up with 120 feet of rope. I still am going to upgrade my anchor too though.

I really thought Lady Simcoe had my number when came to icefishing for Whitefish. But on open water, she really puts the screws to me. Would be nice to have some calm water for once. I spend more time trying to get the anchor to hold then actually fish. But at least the last time around I was allowed to bring up a couple of Herring and one Whitey. The waves beat me into submission eventually but I had my prize. Thanks for the tips Chris.

Here is one I bought about 10 years ago in the General Store in Matchewan. Hasn't been used yet. I always buy lures I have never seen before where ever I go and most I never get around to using.

Great pics and report.

I don't know if these pictures have been posted here already or not so enjoy.

I was on the water at 6am so I could get some quality time in before the storms hit. I caught 2 Pike by 7:30 and then the bite died just as the rain moved in. I left the lake at 11am thoroughly soaked. They were small fish(23-24 inches) but very chunky for their length. Must be all those perch they have been eating. The 24" was a female and still full of eggs. Anybody have any thoughts on this. Also, the launch in Gilford at the end of Hwy #89 is in poor condition. The high water and soft mud makes it difficult to get in and out. Having a 4x4 is helpful. I will be out tomorrow again.

Tell him to start collecting cameras that can focus.

Balsam is pretty crappy early season because the fish are really scattered as they move from their spawning areas to the summer haunts. When the weeds start to thicken you can start getting them on the edges.