camillj

wow ... there's five minutes of my life Ill never get back

July 1968 .... with my dad ... very dark and very early (and dewy) ... sturgeon lake jigging for pickeral from a tinny ... it was one of the first 'hits' I remember ... and that adrenaline rush had me hooked for life ... I dont remember whether I caught the fish .. but it doesnt matter ... its one of the few memories I have of my dad... he died the following May.

I have tried both under many conditions ... I prefer the way the mono behaves ... its actually that much more supple under cold conditions which makes it easier to present naturally .. also that extra stretch allows a more 'springy' hookset ... I feel I actually break off more often with flouro (all else being equal)...

I agree with Rick ... and frankly on 'other' sites much is missed because I dont have the patience to go searching around for new stuff ...

For those who use the site regularly (like every day) .. it is an effort to go searching in nooks and crannies to find everything... if one topic gets tooo unruly and creates too much 'noise' it will normally get stuffed off to the side (like the tourny or like auctions) .. but generally most of us like the smorgsbord approach to our posts .. it keeps the day interesting

oops .. better late than never

Happy belated !

I remember Walt .... sad ... too bad he didnt get the chance to tell his story.

heh .. I miss the splake .. they were great eating and the returns were there .. if not self sustaining...Id much rather see splake stocked than atlantics ... and that pink meat .... mmmmm mmmmmm goood !

I'll never forget the experiment we did in kiddy school ... froze a goldfish bowl .... solid .. with a goldfish it it ... one solid block of ice... then defrosted it slowly ... the gold fish swam around just as pleased as punch ...

They are a VERY hardy fish especially in cold water.

Nice work fellas !

Nice fish ... thanks for sharing ... enjoy the meal(s) ... it should be fantastic smoked !

Hey, its all about the adventure!

 

I've gone on 3 separate trips this season in search of the almighty speckled trout, only to be stopped by private property, blocked roadways, roads with the wrong names.....etc. its all in the adventure.

 

If your ever looking for another insane guy to join you on these back lake adventures during the week (off wed/thurs) pm me.

 

I'm more than willing to ward off bears or other animals with canines, and I don't mind a good hike thru the woods. My orienteeting skills are not too bad either

 

Ahh....the joy of speckle trout fishing.....ya gotta love it!! Even with no fish, its always a satisfying trip!! One fish makes the whole day that much more worthwhile!

 

Sinker

Thanks Bud I may just do that .. I tend to go fishin mid wek more often too ... it feels more adventurous when I am also playing hooky ... and what the heck you gatta have some perks from being the guy who pays the bills

Here Nash-Nash-Nash ...

Sorry Cliff ...

DANG... she already bent the plate !

And the hood !

Heh ... thanks .. now I am bound and determined to get in there

Truth is I have seen too many ... and unfortunately the way things have been going they are just a little too comfortable these days ... especially in Haliburton/Muskoka

A few summers ago my brother in law who was admiring a sunrise from the dock turned around with his young daughter in his arms only to see a big blacky right behind him between him and the cottage ... he stood there in shock cause he never even heard it coming ...

I have seen more than a few and while I have never had an 'incident' - I believe its at least partially due to a paying them the respect they deserve ....

Anyhow ... you have no idea how painful it was to abandon ship so close to glory ... but you gotta go with your gut.

almost never ... ok .. never ... unless the mrs. gets a hold of it

Personally, I am not a big 'warranty' user ... I tend to try to buy good stuff .. that tends to last .. and it tends to break mostly because I did something stupid ... so while I appreciate a good warranty .. I have found most reputable dealers will help you out with or without a card or a receipt ....

There's so many other things to sweat over ... and I just hate the paperwork

To me the actual warrantee card is alot like a well written contract ... if you actually ever have to refer back to it ... you're in trouble .. but glad you have it .... I file em and hope never to see them again ...

Id be willing to bet that Barrie would happily host the event ... and its not that far for the city slickers to travel ... and get just a little closer to the country for the day anyhows .... maybe combine a little simcoe ice fishin event with it ... just a thought ....

220 down to 211... all them holes in the ice did me good ! That and working steady each day in the shop and skipping the fruit loops for a few weeks ! lol Now if I could just dump that 6 liters of Pepsi a day.....

Could be worse ... could be 6 liters of ABSOLUT

Although I think the calorie count would still be about the same .... at least the sugar count would be down

Well ... this may qualify as the worst post of the year ... just a warning - no pics ... no fish (there, that's the short edition)

Now for the longer edition ....

I got up around 3:00 this morning all excited at the prospect of getting out for my first day of chroming of the season ... an eastern trib was my original plan ... but after a few minutes checking in at OFC and such I ended up with a drool-on for some monster brookies in a back lake I stumbled across while doing my 'homework' ... two 3lb plus fish caught there in the past couple weeks (supposedly)

Anyhow ... after much GPS plotting and map printing and re-packing for hardwater (and bushwacking) ... I headed out the door ... at just before 6:00 ... where does the time go !

So ... I drove out east ... and headed north on 35 .... and north ... and north .... and stopped in Minden to try and extract info from a local .. buy minnows and get a fresh copy of the regs and to be sure that there were no exceptions for the particular lake I was seeking (especially live bait restrictions for example) ... all seemed good ... and while I sipped a double double from Timmies ( waiting for the all important nature-room which was wrapped in yellow police tape with a sign that read 'CLOSED FOR CLEANING' to be 'cleaned') ... I plotted my latest waypoints into my handheld GPS and repacked my kit for a bush wack of about 3.5 km .... I figured I could be on the water by about 10 AM ... a little later than I would like .. but still plenty of time for a great day ahead ...

And finally ... I was back on my way .... well after about another hour of driving ..... apparantly I had miscalculated my point of entry and I ended up near Dorset before I realized that I was NOT going to be able to get where I needed to be before starting my bushwacking ... I had essentially travelled 30km x 30km X 30 km AROUND the perimeter of a square I was not going to be able to close.... to make matters worse there seemed to be ALOT of open water on many of the small lakes I was passing ... not encouraging to say the least.

I reassessed the situation because I was now in a vicinity of about ten Brookie lakes that I have often wondered about ... but ... NO .... I would NOT be distracted today from this mission .. so I backtracked (about 90 Km) ... and headed up the road I SHOULD have gone only to find about 5 solid KM of NO TRESPASSING signs ... bummer !!!

Well ... as I hit the dead end of the last possible entry point I passed a friendly fellow walking his dog who helped me find a skidoo trail that (while it does cross private property - has apparantly become accepted as a entry point to the back woods)

From there I found a walking trail and a nice lady walking her dog who knew of the lake I sought and was quite certian that the trail I was on (although it ended about a KM ahead - was in the right general direction and I would most likely be able to get through beyond that to the lake I sought) ... what a rush !!!

My new target was 12:00 to be on the water .... really later than I had hoped .. but I didnt care now .. the weather was fabulous !

Well the trail was alot rougher than I had expected and I actually had to backtrack a couple of times because of a couple wrong turns at forks in the trail .... mental note PAY ATTENTION to the topography ... not just the direction ... some REALLY steep cliffs got in my way ... anyhow ... about 45 minutes in I was almost at the first lake I would have to go around .... and .....

Thats when it hit me ....I was making ALOT of noise crashing through the bush .... what with my bells from my hardwater setup jingling and the sound of the sled I was pulling crunching through the snow and crusty ice ... enough to wake up.. or at least get the attention of all the bears in the area ...

And ohhhh yesssssss I completely forgot - There's no spring Bear hunt anymore - cripes !

I Stopped for a minute ... I hadnt realized how hot I had become ... composed myself .. after all I am an outdoorsman .. quite comfortable being alone in the woods ... and what a plesure not to have to fight the bugs ...

.... BUT ....

Just as I passed by the base of a 40' cliff I realized there was a cave off to my left ... it appeared to be about 15 feet deep and had LOTS of tracks (mostly dog .. but a few VERY BIG ones) ... I stopped to assess the situation and realized how alone I was out in the bush completely unprepared if Mama Bear decided to come out to protect her cubs from me ... or worse if Daddy decided I might be fun to chase for a while ....

I looked at my GPS ... I was exactly where I needed to be ... right on course ... but this darned escarpment with untold other ideal denning locations seemed to go on for about another half mile or so ...

I checked my cell ... heh .. go figure ... no coverage .... I thought you could get coverage anywhere these days ... not in Haliburton !

Anyways I was still about a mile and a half away .... sooooo close .... too far too hear ANY sounds from the roads ... and way too close to the best den sites in Haliburton ....

***shameful look****

So I decided to call it ... better to wait until I have someone with me ... I trudged back to my car ... feeling like a wimp ... put my gear away and decided it might not be too late to head to one of my tribs for that chromer I had originally set out for ... but knowing I would never be able to live down the humiliation (even if only to myself in the mirror) of giving up sooooooo close to my destination ....

So I drove around for about another half hour seeing if there was another way in to the lake (where I wouldnt have to walk the gauntlet) ... no luck .... but

Just when I thought all was lost, I noticed a sign for another brookie lake ( I must have driven right past it) ... this lake was a little TOOOO easy to get to so I wasnt holding out much hope for monsters .. but what the heck at least I wouldnt have to resort to rubbing shoulders on the trib ... which there will be plenty of time for anyways (maybe tomorrow)... and more importantly, Mama Bear would be on the OTHER side of the road

So ... I plodded out .. in front of a bunch of cottagers who thought I was nuts ... drilled a few holes and found OVER 20" of SOLID ice ... heck we can fish up there for at least another few weeks ... as Arnold says ... Aw'll be back

Anyhow ... no hits ... no runs ... no misses .... but all in all an exceptional example of what TRUELY INSANE fishermen will endure in the name of our sport .... and to be completely honest .... it was fabulous day ...

For any who really think I was nuts ... you need to stop for a second and remember the most important lesson in life .... (and in fishing) .... its the JOURNEY that makes life worth living .... not the destination.

gnite all... I am bushed.

I am heading up there today ... if anyone has a more recent update would be greatly appreciated ... heading into the bush for some pretty spotted things ...

Could be as simple as bit of bad gas ... or too much oil in the mix ... try on a fresh tank of 100:1 mix ... also try with a different tank/line ... its amazing how often the gas line is the problem (I have a particular tank that works on every one elses moter except my own ... probably just enough of pressure issue to starve the system ... also try fiddling with the choke ... sometime the adjustment knobs are way out of whack

Could also be a compression issue ... which could mean a blown seal or a cracked head ... $$$

Hey Big Cliff where are you ???

Fabulous report .. I was planning to head there (to trib #2) tomorrow and now I can see that is definitely gonna be worth the trip .... I knew it would be but you just confirmed it for me ... great ... now I'll be up all night

Yep whisker all the way !!!!

Fabulous post Wayne ... and Lloyd ... you are definitely da man bud !

(That Walleye in my sig is from a U&ME day out on Quinte)

Hey I recognize that sand bar !

What Doug said ...

And perhaps it helps to bear in mind that one meets the same people on the way up as you do on the way down (and not necessarily in that order) .. but at the end of the day the only one who HAS to sleep with you ... is you.