oates

Wow I was about to ask the same question, more specifically, for wading and fishing holes 2-6ft, when to pack it in for bass/walleye? Here's what happened last year, summer was wet and cool, fishing was ok (Grand) for bass, in fact better than this year for me, first two weeks of sept were hot (after a poor summer) and bite was on or off, nothing special, last two weeks of Sept it got cool and the bite went nutz, I picked up a PB 19.5" smallie and found (as someone mentioned) they seemed to school up, if you got one you would get 4-5 like walleye. The other good thing is, it seems walleye will venture in to shallower waters when it gets cooler (when you wouldn't seem them in shallow hot water in July). Now, after Sept. I went out in Oct same spots and bam, the bass were gone, seemingly for deeper warmer waters for the winter, it was dead, and people were fishing specific spots trying to get salmon running up the grand. So I'm trying to time it, fall fishing is supposed to be the best, but for me it is hit and miss, when it is a hit is big fish and long fights.

Lower Grand has been slow for me this year. Funny, last year was cold and wet but Bass where jumping, this year is hot and supposedly bass weather and its slow. I can't find walleye in the grand (where I wade) so maybe in Sept. when things cool down. Fished 5hrs yesterday, hooked in to two decent size bass but not another bite, strange.

Moved to London in May, shame there are not many small lakes around (gotta go up north for that) but it is nice to be able to fish 5 mins from home. I wanted to know what the prob is with the river, is it pollution form waste, chemicals or metals? is it mashed from top to bottom, is it basically the humber rv. south? Can it be resolved, cleaned over time?

Haven't gotten out much this month, working a lot - perhaps next month. Nonetheless, it has been weird. Story 1 - Cats I never caught a catfish before, however, I was in the Grand and my wife found a catfish, the sign of my palm swimming in circles, it was a bit bloddy and something wrong with its tail. I was able to grab it, (does that count as my first catfish?) I put it on my dropshot setup, threw it out, and well, lets say, it was one of those hookups when there was no need to set the hook, one second nothing, next second my line is ripping out, landed a 3lb bass I believe. Cats continued... so next time out, I'm with my son, he's 9, he landed a large mouth bass, first cast, actually first splash, fish took his lure when it splashed on the surface, he then proceeded to catch a catfish (when I never have!), it was fun watching him drag in that cat on his 5ft rod, almost broke his arm. So we moved on, then I hooked up something on a crawpapi, in 2ft of water about 2ft away, my line was going nuts, it was clearly the biggest fish (river) I've landed, got it in, it was a channel cat, first one - funny, as it flopped on the beach, it spat the hook!, but get this, it had a nice lure in the side of its mouth and lots of 8lb test line stuck around it! So I caught a channel cat, a nice lure and one of those adjustable thingeys so you can switch lures on the fly! What a good catch! Story 2 - Turtle Next time out, I caught a nice bass, decided to hold that one for the BBQ ,walking and I felt my stringer got caught in the weeds, pulled it towards me, the stringer pulled back, then suddenly it almost pulled me over. I dragged the stringer towards me and a huge turtle had mauled my now dead bass. I tried to wrestle the stringer away and he wouldn't let go, I ended up dragging him to the beach and he was snapping and giving me dirty looks. Funny thing is, I never seen a turtle in the river before and it was huge. You never know what can happen when you go fishing. I eventually took the bass off the stringer and let him eat the rest, he finished it in three bites.

I hope that Pike didn't bite - I believe you have been savagely attacked by them in the past!

Hooked in to a pike the other day, as I reeled it in, I noticed it had the dropshot (weight) in its mouth, not the worm (btw - never caught anything except bas on dropshot). When it got close to me it spat it out. Anyone had that happen before?

Hey all, Bass opener, didn't get out but did scope out new spots on the river. I have a question, perhaps an experienced wader would know! I found a large pool above a dam, it is hard to access but there is a bridge on a main road, undeneath is a small stream that leads to this large untouched pool (almost calm with lots of lillypads - looks like a bass paradise). My question is, if I walk down this stream and into the river, is this trespassing, there is a sign on a small forested area to the right which says 'no trespassing' just curious, if I'm in this stream, am I on private propery. Don't want to break the law but not sure what the law is. I know with lakes, people own 50ft or so out in to the lake in some cases but with rivers and streams I'm not sure. This is the only real access point that isn't on anyone's property I think - looks like a golden spot! Any ideas?

Chompers Finesse Worm (4 inch slim worm) Garlic and Salt flavour due to it being so thin, it is very twitchy and I caught more than 75 bass on them last year. Only $4 at Bass Pro

either or grand and thames and anywhere else I can find em

I have been fishing now for about 2.5 years, I have yet to bump in to a CO. I generally fish rivers so maybe that's why. I don't know how the COs could patrol all Ontatio waters, there is more water in Ontario than landmass in most countries. That being said, it isn't working. Not only do some people have no respect for the rules (which are obviously designed to help fish and fisherman alike) I see people throwing fish in the water (10ft way) or throwing them at their buddies whilst they also toss ciggarettes and crap in the river. I feel to get robocop on them but what am I gonna do, punch them out and get charged for assualt? Usually you get a dumb response to boot, no remorse. From reading other posts in this thread, it would seem the only solution would be to fund the CO program more or incorporate the CO with the local police even on a minor level. To be honest, it doesn't seem to be the avid fisherman who is the problem, seems more like Joe Blow who fishes strictly when it is 25c or higher from May 24 to Aug 30. Without funding, I don't see what can be done. Stiff fines doesn't scare people if they think the odds of getting caught are 10000 to 1.

Ardglass, near Downpatrick in N. Ireland. off a dock in to the Irish Sea. Pouring rain from 9AM - 5PM (trust me, you don't get rain here in Canada, we get rain back home!) it was 'lashing rain' as we call it. The dock was about 30ft above the sea (nice if you fall in!), myself and my granfather (now deceased - worked as a joiner in the shipyard, Harland and Wolf which built the Titanic). He was using old reels and line which was full of kinks, using worms. It was an exercise in futility but I never forgot it because as we were leaving, we realised why we weren't catching anything, a bunch of seals appears and starting barking and laughing at us! I never fished again (1988) till 2007 in Canada, just accompanied a friend who needed some company, we ventured towards Rice Lake, started searching for the river and access to it (Otanabee River), couldn't find any land except that it was private so eventually we stumbled on to a place with cabins, couldn't find anyone so we used the dock, it was only a few hundred feet from the mouth of the river it seemed and was quite wavy, first time fishing really, using a minnow and no clue on how to work/retrive it, I landed a walleye in about my 3rd cast - since that point on - game on! Still learning, enjoying Ontario, one of the best places to fish fresh water on earth.

Was thinking of going for some perch etc. on simcoe (shore fishing), but I see it is expected to rain with chance of thunder tonight. Would I be wasting my time trying for them in the rain?

Thanks for all the great feedback. I like to wade the river so the thames looks like fun. Are there any smaller lakes around London worth trying (like the size of rice etc.)

Hey all (especially London people), I'm planning to move to London just after walleye opener, had a few questions 1) I will be staying in North West London (Masonville), I would prefer to fish out of the city, is it worth my time exploring the thames on that end? 2) Are there walleye in the thames? 3) Is the Thames good around London, I have fished St. Mary's - that direction, am I better focusing on that side. PS - would anyone recommend shore-fishing (docks) for perch now, or should I wait a few more weeks (targetting lake simcoe)? Thanks again

Hi all, Just wondering, once the ice clears on the lakes, if I wanted to do some shore fishing for pan fish, when is the best time (soon as the ice clears or later in to the spring). wanted to bring a friend and do some perch fishing. Is it as simple as just go out when the ice is gone? Will likely hit Simcoe on the innisfil/barrie side. Thanks

Weather looks good this weekend, never tried fishing in Nov. for bass/walleye. Packed it in last month after 2 or 3 skunk sessions in a row, have to admit, weather nice - anyone having success these days?

My first fishing experience was in 1989 I believe, I was 9 at the time, It was pouring rain (that isn't a factor where I'm from, it rains 265 days a year, that is, days where precip. is recorded), or as we call it 'lashing', It was with my grandfather, he was around 72 at the time, strong as an ox (worked in the shipyard that built the titanic), we fished of a dock, must have been 30ft to the water, fishing for I don't know what in the North Sea (between N. Ireland and Scotland) on N. Ireland's North East coast. He was having great trouble with the reel I remember, cursing at it here and there, lots of tangles must have been old line. We fished for about 4hrs in pouring rain, as we were leaving, around 20 or so sea lions popped up and started squaking at us, no wonder he didn't catch anything! Fast forward about 19 yrs to Canada, a friend of mine asked me to go with him, for me, it was more about getting out and about, not so much fishing. We were looking for a spot to fish near Rice Lake, eventually we found a near empty campground, at the bottom was the Otanabee (hope I got that right) River, which drains in to Rice Lake. We looked for someone in charge, no one around, so we began fishing, I didn't know how to cast but he showed me, I was throwing out live minnows on a hook, the water was choppy, about 10 mins in, I hooked in to a walleye, didn't really know how, i just felt a tug and got him in, maybe 1.5 lb - he didn't catch an walleye, just a bass (out of season, went back in). As we were leaving, he was cleaning the fish, then his car alarm went off, I said 'that's it, you've done it now' and next thing buddy comes down on his ATV ordering us out and something about cops. I remember the excitement of that catch, intrigued me, in the last two years, I have been fishing a lot, learnt a lot, its quite the science and great stress relief - so in summary a- the thrill of the catch (first time out!) b- wanting to explore my roots (grew up on an island with fresh and salt water fishing, both my grandfather and uncle were in to fishing, mainly trout/salmon)

yes, two of them, scratched the carpet beneath a door, wrecked, ate bottom of door wrecked it, pooed all over the place. I was trying to hit them with a bat by the end of it, had no mercy.

Been in a hurricane once, scary stuff, car feels like it will flip anytime! Interestingly, I'm sure this event devestated river fish at the time.

Just curious, any hardcore anglers still wading for bass/walleye etc. I'm not having much success although Oct. is supposed to be the best! Maybe we just need a little warm up?

Spiderwire 6lb test has been good for me in the river, thin, strong, doesn't get knots (does line twist badly when dropshotting for more than 1/2 hr).

keep trying, I'm sure you will work it out

That's an expensive catch, could have bought tons of salmon at Metro for that! You should have asked them to do the high 5 dance again after they were handed the fine slip! 'yea buddy, wait to go'

no wonder we have some bad fishing days we don't expect with buddy pulling out dozens of fish from the river!

my bass pro 7ft medium im6 graphite was $40 as does the job, anyone own a $100+ rod, does it really make a difference?