camillj

Silver spoons (mooselock or williams) on top (5 - 20 feet) .... trolled a little more quickly than many would think ... has excellent results when nobody else is getting a nibble ... on a calm quiet morning ... put-put-put along with a magog-minnow , wooly bugger or mickey-finn (tandem) right on the surface or with a small single splitshot to get you a few feet down .....

Those are a couple of my 'producer' secrets ....

Ill bet Lake Joe still has some ice ... ya had me ready to say OK !!!!

Right on TJSA ... its pretty hard to get cabin fever when you walk (or sled) for miles ... spend the day pokin holes in the ice ... scouting the lake, surveying the shoreline studying the charts ... playing with the electronics ... and ultimately finding where they are hiding and coaxing them into biting .... geesh .. almost sounds like fishin .... the hut is only really useful when you know exactly where they are gonna be and you dont want to be seen out on the ice

Way to go Scott ... you beat me ... I went to the mouth of one trib around 6 am.... was chocolate soup ... so after a few drifts packed up and headed further east to the 'flow' you and I fished last year ... found about eight guys there ... and only one fish ... spent a couple hours there and decided to take my chances walking the tribs ... packed it in by noon without so much as a sniff ... but then visibility was almost ZERO

Saturday or Sunday should be a blitz .... but then there will probably be 8 zillion guys ... so maybe next Tuesday or Wednesday is better

Scott have ya been further east (to the 'flow') ... wondering if thats fishable today .... I just got a fresh batch of brown roe tied which sooooo wants to get dnked ....

hovel-pokr by Fin bore .... there thats it for me

Wow .. that was awesome Moosebunk .... seemed like I was right there with ya ... thanks for sharing

If it were my call I would say there oughta be a 'coaster' category ... just for you bud

Wow .. just went for a walk down by the creek (Etobicoke) it was amazing .. since yesterday when it was actually only slightly higher than normal ... it is now a TORRENT .. up at least 3 feet ... be real careful out there.....

I am heading east tomorrow ... for a kinder gentler trib

CC you up for it ?

Let me know

Jon.

Thanks .. I know its still early goings ... that's why I am still looking at the minutes .... besides, 13 thousand minutes now seems like a huge investment not to be tossed away lightly ... 9 days on the other hand seems like a mere blink compared to the 25 years I smoked ... baby steps

But seriously it does actually seem to be getting a little easier ... and much as I am loathe to admit it ... I do feel just a teeeeensy bit more healthy .... not that I dont still think about it EVERY 10 seconds ... but now I sorta feel good about being able to say no ... (which accordig to my wife is something I have never been too good at anway )

Well for all those of you .. and you know who you are ... that jumped straight on my feeble attempt at testing the waters of nicotine free existence ...

thanks ... I am now almost certainly going to die of obesity and stress long before my lungs give in ... but I feel god about it and will stay the course until the next mile stone (one month) before re-evaluating

Sweet !!! Go team 7 !!!!

And now that we got some decent inches .... I can fish for some smaller ones (for the pan )

When we were young, my friend and I used to cook the bacon, then fry the toast in it. God it was good, but of course now that would be a no no!

 

Joey

Oh yeah Joey .... NOW thats what I am talkin about !!!! ....good old fashioned FRIED Bread ...only thing better than bacon fat was goose fat .... the most dilectible of al sinful foods .. and now that I'm all smoke free and all ... I think I'll just go make up a batch :) :)

call 911 ... I'm a comin momma !!!!!!

Where ya headed tomorrow Wayne ?

I like my lakers baked in the oven (whole) wrapped tightly in tinfoil at 325 for about 20 minutes ... with butter, and rubbed with lemon slices (same way I do all my trout)

Yep .. know the feeling ... not even a BITE all season .... thats serious .... but then the REAL problem is I didnt get out ENOUGH ... and it was all over too FAST

(I say its over .. cause .. welll ... now that the steel are thick and furious ... it seems silly spend a day sitting idly by on the ice (if there even is any) ... on the other hand ... if I go up to Muskoka this weekend ... well .. ya know its gonna be ice fer sure

Wow !!! Amazing pics solo .. sound like an awesome day.... I was gonna get out but was called to do emergency laptop surgery .... thinking oh well the tribs are gonna be all 'blown' as CC said .... but ...that trib doesnt look too 'blown out' at all ... almost clear to me ....

Geeze .. now I gotta re-arrange my plans for this week

Silverado ... you just caused coffee damage to my keyboard ! Thats hilarious !!!

C.A.P.R.

Almost as good as C & R

Catch and premature release

Dont ya just love the way when Windows dies .. it goes down in flames .... right after the warranty period

My daughter came to me with her (almost exactly 1 year old) laptop .. its pooched ... Cant boot windows past MUP.SYS .. tried Everything .. anyhow after re-installing everything (that I could find) she still doesnt have any of her 'personal' stuff... I cant fgure out where all her files went to ... and I'll never get my Saturday night/Sunday back ... but what the heck ... it got me through anther smoke free day ... heh if I can manage that stress I I am on the road to recovery

Heh 'Life's Good' is the brand .... and I gues in a silly just shoot me kinda way ... I suppose it is

The big test will come when you land that 5 lb. male Brook Trout in full spawning colors. If you don't have a smoke after that, you'll have succeeded.

Dan, if I get him anyhwere near my line I will have succeeded ... smoke or no smoke ... land him and I'll be happy to start the whole darn roller coaster ride again

I have a friend who after trying EVERYTHING .. got one of these .. and says he gets many hours of amusement watching them try to figure out ways to beat it ....

I, on the other hand, simply stopped buying seed ... now my feeder is (almost) completely squirrel free

Neoprene HANDS DOWN for cold weather fishing .. and stocking foot ... all the way ... the key to staying warm (especially your feet) is to get the boots at least 2 sizes too big ... and wear some nice warm socks INSIDE your waders ... nothing makes your feet get cold faster than having too tight socks/boots ...oh .. and spend the extra $10 and get gravel guards ... worth it not just because they make your waders last .. but so you dont be walking with pebbles in your boots ... paininthebutt

You can get cheap(ish) boots at Zellers ... you'll go through them pretty quickly anyways ... I prefer felt soles so I pay a little more ...but the neopren waders will last you for years with a little care... I am on my second pair in just over 20 years .... and I fish ALOT.

On the other hand I used to go through a pair of 'regular' waders every couple years ... they always leaked sooner or later (usually sooner) right at the boot ... and nothing (except - maybe - too tight boots) makes your feet colder than being wet

You da man .... isnt that what you are supposed to be spending all your savings (from not smoking on) ... by the way Gary ... you are now saving approximately $120 / week ...EVERY WEEK .... based on todays prices ... so I think you should get to go at least once a month ... and still be up a couple hundred

S all you guys who quit years ago ... got some SERIOUS SPENDING to do !!!!!

Thanks Guys .... it really is special to have so much support !!!

As an update for y'all

Today, when the first mega craving hit (about 7:00 am ) ... at the second cup of coffee stage ... I decided I should go for a run ... heh its been a lonnnng time since I did that ... anyhow .. after about a half hour I felt like it was 'safe' to stop ... and was heading towards Mc'd for a little has hash brown treat ... turned left instead and walked home .... not sure if thats a sign of things to come .. but what the heck .. made it through another morning .... and even got some fresh air/exercise .... tomorrow Im hitting a trib .. I think the trout are calling my name .. and from what I saw of Etobicoke creek in my back yard the 'blow out' hasnt happened yet ...CC correct me if you know for sure I am wrong (out your way) ...otherwise let me know what time to pick ya up

Lew ... I would NEVER EVER .. I DONT CARE WHAT THEY SAY IT DOES TO YA ... EVER ... give up my coffee .... period.... so thats one vice thats safe with me ... of course I used to say that about smoking ... even though I knew deep inside I would have to sooner or later...

As for alcohol ... I have myself convinced that its not a problem (even though I probably do consume more than I should at times) ... but because I work from home I am pretty watchful on it ... knowing that I am already at risk of addiction (smokes, caffiene etc) ... unlike the first two .. its nothin for me to go a week without a drink ... and I NEVER have a drink at home unless there's a guest or unless its 'closing time' ... anyhow my greatest respect for you folks that gave up everything ...

Which reminds me of my favourite line from a South Carolina Marshal (golf Course type Marshal) .... "Son" he said, "Just wanna make sure you understand the rules down here" .... "There will be NO DRINKING on the golf course" .... with a smile ... "Unless you're alone" ... long pause .... "Or with somebody"

:)

Thanks GCD ... you are soo right ... I doooooo knowwwwwwww I wannnnnnnnnnnnna .... thats why I know I still have a problem

Jon

Thanks Guys .. I appreciate the support ...

To be fair ... I knew it was gonna be tough ... it's prbably why i didnt try sooner (that and I really loved to smoke ...) ... heh maybe one day they will come up with something that you can be addicted to that WONT kill ya

Any how ... I couldnt give up my coffee and alcohol too ... so at least I can enjoy my morning coffee ... I just do it outside .. and if (when) I get the 'craving' I do a deep-dive hyperventilate three good deeeeep ones ... gives ya a little tiny head-rush .. say Ahhhhhhhhh right out loud ... and have a sip of the java ... actually fools that dumb-assed braininto thinkin it got what it needed .. at least for now

I think its actually a little easier for me since pretty much everyone I spend any time with quit a long time ago ... so the real tester (I know) will be getting out on a boat for a day with a not-yet-quit smoker ... thats gonna be tough ... but we'll cross that brdge when we get to it

By the way ... I finally took the 'panic - pack' outta my pocket .... just in case the ol' mind trips-out and trys to fool me into thinkin its ok to have just one