bigugli

I'd say you've been mighty busy there. WTG on a very successful outing.

Seeing as I had some tackle to deliver to a lodge north of Orillia, I thought I'd throw in some fishing time ( Duh, who wouldn't ). So, the wife and I leave sunny Beamsville at 5:30 and we're in Orillia before 8. Good travel time. From that point things went downhill. Lit up the Coleman to get the coffee brewing and the wind starts to howl. Once I finally have the thing brewing go to get brekkie ready. Open the cooler and there is the margerine, milk, sugar and syrup, but no griddle cake mix. I forgot it in the fridge So next we try fishing the town dock. Talk about miserable, but the bride stuck it out long enough to say she was fishing. After that Judy scurried back to the van to stay warm and we made a muffin run to substitute for breakfast Next we drive to the ultra secret perch hole. Tried the worms , all I got were sunnies, but there were lots of minnows so I scooped a couple dozen. All of a sudden the sky goes black, the minnows disappear before I can get another scoop. All of a sudden its Freakin snowing! A few flakes at first then followed by corn snow and hail. Haven't seen that happen so late in decades. Despite the wind and snow the perch were feeding. Lots of dinks with a few good sized ones mixed in for variety. OF course it wouldn't be a typical "Ugli" day if I didn't fall down and get wet. Judy thinks I stepped in a soft spot. We won't tell, will we? Despite the adversities, it was still a fun day. After all this is Canader, eh?

I'm with moosebunk. Fishing is as much about the harvest as the sport. Take away the harvest and the 'granolas' will be screaming animal cruelty. I've heard that stupid line a dozen times last year in Niagara while doing the C & R thing in St Catharines for bass. I come from a family that has always loved outdoor living. I am proud of the fact that we are fisherfolk rather than anglers. Gram always told us to 'never play with your food' We were also taught to only keep what you need. For those crying about depleted fish stocks, I don't hear too many telling us to stop eating bluewater fish. We've lost the cod. How long before it's tuna and halibut that are gone, if they are not better managed? As for keeping bass, why not? Keep younger, smaller ones, up to a pound or so. Goes great with bacon and eggs in the morning

Right purdy collection you got there Cliff. The fish aren't half bad either.

Us 'Grumpy Old Men' are having the time of our lives. By the way, fish dinner, breakfast, etc... at Ugli Acres is always great. Just ask any of the victims of my cooking.

I've had sheephead chowder a few times when younger. No different than most white flesh chowders.

If you want to compare fishing, now, with fishing back in the 1920's-40's, it is nowhere near what it used to be. If you make the same comparison with the 1970's and 80's, in Southern Ontario, things are much better. We have far better fisheries management, albeit underfunded. Whitfish and lakers were wiped out on Simcoe and other lakes and now make a comeback. Yes a lot of anglers keep fish. Many obey the rules, many don't. Some still kill pike as a nuisance fish, believing it will help muskie and walleye populations by doing so. Those who regularly max out their catch are a minority. However, taking perch as a typical example, they have always been considered a food fish. People travel 2-8 hours to Simcoe for the purpose of getting a supply for that reason. Posession was also cut by half a few years back. You were allowed 2 days posession of limit for Simcoe perch, now it is one. It's all a matter of perspective.

Brave young lad there. Yes it is a horrible sensation to hear your kid screaming while you are helpless to do anything about it (no thanks for the reminder. Shudder). Most young lads are quite resilient. 2-3 weeks he'll be back fishing. Good time for him to practice being ambidextrous and fish the other hand. Hope your lad recovers soon.

Buddy Bill and I decide, last night, we should get out before 6 and lay a beating on some Lake O perch. We had to change plans. The north winds were pushing waves onto the pier so we opted to move furth in shore. Turned out to be a good plan B. Out of the wind, the sun is shining and the fish biting. We seemed to hit a wide variety of species again without any OOS fish. We both managed to find a decent take home meal. By 1pm. everything had shut down and we called it a day

It was a nice day to be out. Glad you enjoyed your day.

The bays off the channel to honey harbour often hold good #s of pike.

In Canada this is not just about rights. There are also responsibilities. In Canadian law, the Crown's law, we have an obligation and responsibility to report breaches of the law when they occur. Otherwise the law, and your rights, are worthless. You witness an offense, report it. If the authorities don't want to act, then report 'that' to the media.

There are a lot of arrogant people on the lakes. They believe they own the fish and water. I've seen signs posted as "NO Fishing, Spawning Area", yet they have a line from their dock into that location. Another who hops on his jetski and does circles around the boat until you leave. One individual likes to launch golf balls from his dock at anglers in "his" bay. One cottager used to cut rock markers set up by a local lodge for years until someone got him on tape. Not one of these people believe they are doing anything wrong.

WTG on a day well spent. Gotta love them smiling faces.

One and the same

Was still slow early this morning.

Congratulations.

That's my kind of fishing report.

Great job Look at the smile on your child's face. That says it all.

In other words I would encourage you all to stop browsing and go fishing while they sort out the mess. Then we can flood the board with fishing pics

Won't tease bore you all with yet another perch report Despite the wind, drizzle, new moon , the bite was pretty steady. The morning was a light perch bite, but by about noon, the bigger fellas came out to play. The bowfin slammed the bait as it hit water. The catfish, on the other hand, were nibbling like dink perch. Just had to patiently wait up to 10 minutes before they would commit. Every one ended up lip hooked. Lots of fun on light tackle. These are a few of the many that were caught.

Plain frustrating the past few days. Just have to wait 1-2 hour and try later.

When the wife was pregnant, the first time around, we had decided then that we were not raising our kids in the festering sewer known as Toronto. I moved to Toronto as a kid and watched as the welfare hell known as the Jane Finch corridor developed (Moved out of that area just in time too). Working as a tunnel rat with the TTC for a few years was a real eye opener. Working in a major hospital, watched all the knifing and beating victims, the OD's, the pregnant teens, brought in on the weekends from Regents Park and Parkdale was all I needed to know that no major city is a good environment for raising a family. Gun laws, or lack therof, will not stop gun violence. The people shooting at each other don't care about the laws. The come from nations where laws are one sided and police are the local dictator's goon squad. So they have no respect for laws, More so if they get in their way.

Soak a few chunks of fragrant wood for a few hours and put them on the bed of coals.

Welcome. There are some real good folks in the Hamilton area. I'm sure some will sound out. If you don't mind going a little further. The Grand R. is only 20-30 minutes away. Niagara has some great spots. Come down to Beamsville some time and I can show you and the lad a few spots.