4x4bassin

I have a trailer on Lorimer and a couple friends as well , they were up there last week snowmobiling and said there was lots of snow and ice . Actually they went all the way up to Loring on the trails and lakes with no problems. I know a couple contractors that work on that lake but I can't get a hold of them till spring , thats when we start to see them around the park . If you need any info on the area let me know and I will help you out when I can !

Thanks. Tried few like this last night and they're draining as we speak. Put them in a ziplock full of salt and hung outside with holes in the bottom to drain. I'm guessing when freezing, the salt prevents them from freezing completely and becoming mush when defrosting..

 

I was considering this method: http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/tips/general/how_to_make_salted_minnows.htm

But seems a little overkill.

I use this method and it works great , the only difference is that I put live minnows into the brine solution first . The minnows seem to cure a bit better when they are salted from "fresh" and they will last at least

a year in the freezer !

I have no problem telling a " select " few friends , you have to enjoy your hard work and great fishing with someone but other then that not a chance

Thanks for the report , I have been wanting to try that area (Loring) for years but just havn't been able to squeeze a trip in . If I go I will message you for some tips !

O ya welcome aboard very good group here and yes we like dogs .

I would say snow on the rims as well , it doesn't take much to throw the wheel out of balance . If you live near a car wash or pressure washer take it in there and that will solve your problem !

Great day guys , I can't believe the size of some of these lake trout people are pulling out of Simcoe this year . Like you said some real "cows" Simcoe is turning the corner and becoming a world class

lake trout lake

Couldn't agree more with a couple of the guys here about staying dry , I always have seperate sleeping clothes that don't leave the tent and that includes a wool hat . Another thing

I do and was mentioned is we have a small piece of 1/2 " plywood (14"x14") and we will roll a hot rock from the fire onto it and carry it into the tent , you do this about an hour before

bed and again when you crawl into the tent for sleep time . Believe it or not a hot rock will stay warm in a small tent for 2-3 hours at around -5 degrees C with the right size and type of rock !

Another tip is when you are sitting around the camp fire and it is cold out I will put a hot rock from the fire under my fold up chair seat , it sure does keep the rear end toasty .

Now i'm not sure about -40 but I have used this method all the time in -5 to +5 and it works like a charm

Great report , looks like you guys had a great day . Love those back country trout lakes , nice and quiet and loaded with fish

That is the power of mother nature for ya , can you just imagine being there to see and hear that !

Great report and video , love the lakers What do think of those rapala R type rods ? I guess it handled those lakers pretty good , I was thinking on getting one .

I have two older suzuki's and no problems . If your plowing nothing less then a 400 , I plow with my little 350 and it gets the job done but it does struggle at times . I do alot of back trail

riding and in my experience the smaller bikes are alot better ( no bigger then a 500 ) They are able to get you into almost anywhere . The big bikes are nice for hauling stuff around but a

little clumsy in the "tight" stuff and a bit harder on the pocket book ( fuel & insurance ) Stick with suzuki , honda or yamaha You should get alot of help here , good luck and enjoy !

Thanks guys , I knew you guys would find them .

Looks like you were pretty lonely out there , it won't be like that for very much longer . Nice lakers , keep them coming

Now that's a good day , love the lakers Simon !

On my way into Alliston today I spotted 2 bald eagles in a tree , went back home to grab the camera and to my surprise they were still there . Couldn't get close at all but managed a couple pictures .

I'm not to sure if you can spot them but there are two bald eagles in this picture below , surprisingly they

are quite easy to spot in the wild due to there size and colour

They were pretty big with a wing span of at least 6 feet , a real beautiful creature to say the least .

Location was 20km NW of Alliston in Dufferin county , I will keep my eyes open for the next couple months

and try to get more pictures.

Welcome back Doc , great pictures

Thats funny , nice one

If it was me I would stay away from those pre-made stinger hooks (Northland) for lake trout. Big lake trout are strong with a hard mouth and I have seen those hooks bend/break , you wouldn't want to lose a trophy laker on a weak hook (they are fine for walleye) I tie my own with a little bit of fluorocarbon and a medium size treble , never a problem .

Now i'm not really discounting Drifter's recommendation cause i'm sure he has caught more big lakers then I ever will but I have seen those hooks fail on a lake trout !

Wow , he is lucky . I guess there is alot of good people out there after all !

If I were you I would first try to get a topo. of the lake and find the deepest hole in the lake , could be 150' or 70' doesn't really matter as long as it's the deepest spot in the lake . Then work out from that deep spot looking for a steep drop off from a 25'-45' flat . Fish right on that drop off or just up on the flat with a drop shot minnow , 1 oz bucktail/gulp minnow trailer (real thing if you have it) or like others have said the swammers work good or any other plastic minnow immitation . As for colours go with white or white/silver .

I have fished Lake Joe a couple times and seen this pattern work very well , we were fishing in 130' and catching 1-2 lbers all day so we moved shallower and fished the drop off into the hole and got into some bigger fish with one guy getting an 18 lber with a 1 lb lake trout in it's gullet ! The big lakers were schooling up the baitfish and our small lakers on that steep drop and were just picking them off .

If you are going to fish your usual spot (65'-80') of water move a bit shallower and look for a good drop off , that's where the big girls swim looking for an easy meal

As well just like Irish has said keep your bait off bottom( at least 10') and get them chasing your baits on the finder , lake trout love to chase !

Good luck in your derby and let us know how you make out

Cheers

Dave

This is my go-to lake trout bait all season long !

Great report and pictures as always

Looks alot better , thanks

Gotta love jigging Simcoe from a boat in January , Nice laker !

Just think of all the wasted resources being out on Simcoe rescuing those guys tonight , don't get me wrong i'm glad no one got hurt but " guys come on, really "

I fought this battle a couple years ago with one piece rods and ultimately went with 2 piece rods . The reasons being that the rods would fit into the car/truck but you were always looking at making

them fit around things and watching that you didn't break them . I do alot of traveling by car/truck with my rods and I was finally done with this routine . As well as , my quad adventures were doing

a number on my one piece rods. If you are only traveling a couple times you will be okay but every weekend, it becomes a hassle !

I still have my one piece rods and do use them on trips that i'm not crammed for space but the 2 piecers go everywhere else.

As for quality on them both I have shimano compre's and the one piece does feel/handle a bit better then my 2 piece but not better enough to jam them into a loaded car/truck on a trip