bare foot wader

YES, they can.... however limited they are in Ontario just because you don't see a CO doesn't mean he's not doing his job....one of my fav lakes is great for bass and pike and because it's a bit hard to get to a lot of guys are bass fishing before opener every time I've encountered a CO on this lake (after pike opener but before bass) they have all said the same thing at some point during the interrogation...."I watched you for a while and saw that you've mainly been catching pike/you've caught a mixed bag - what are you using for tackle" I caught two big prespawn largies back to back casts earlier on that day....CO stopped our boat, after I hand him my licence, "have you caught any bass today?" "Yes" he pulls out is book, "I saw that you did as well, at 10:15 and 10:17, looked like big spawners...blah, blah, blah....I can see your tackle here so I do believe you are going for pike but if you get into numbers of bass please move on" if a CO believes you are targeting an OOS fish you're getting the fine and possibly charges and tackle confiscated

i've been making spinners for quite a few years now for steelies, bass, pike and a few musky bucktails and don't necessarily agree that it will weaken the wire...aka not at all in any of my experience...I've never had an issues and look at a mepps xp or a panther martin...shaft through blade design and no issues for years with either of those models IMO a clevis will allow the blade to spin with less force and it will put out a bit more vibration than a shaft through blade design...but you'll only notice that on smaller spinners...far less impact on a musky sized spinner

I'd consider that rod to be a great multi purpose rod....it kinda sits on the fence/several fences really...heavy bass, pike, light musky....I just wish they weren't purple...

well said....and congrats on the first musky... friendly FYI...posting pics on the internet is inviting everybody to congrats or criticize as they want, esp with musky and steelies, posting those pics draws a ton of attention....take it with a grain of salt...even the ones "criticizing" you did have good points about proper C&R that shouldn't be ignored...

water is stained/murky....jigs and grubs or tipped with a minnow...slip float with bait...worm harnesses...williams spoons are effective....very shallow lake, 6-8 fow on average, deepest if you can find it is maybe 15.... lake is rough and can change very quickly, be smart and don't stay out, you WILL bottom out between big swells when it's rough IMO it's more of a fish factory than a trophy lake for the eyes...monster pike for sure!...but eyes have been more numbers than size, lots up to 5 lbs, anything after that is a good fish....nothing bigger than 10lbs that we've seen personally....sauger, perch and ling as well

OTTAWA over GTA...no question about it bass, pike, musky, amazing channel cat fishery, walleye, trout, monster carp...my experience is on the ottawa and rideau rivers....close to Quebec and wicked fishing plus cheap beer....traffic is better than GTA and IMO many more opportunities within an hour drive or so compared to GTA...

great post...looks like a solid time....which big gull are you on? NE of Peterborough...that one building looks like it's at the Kirk's Cover marina? did you just target walleyes? pretty big musky roaming around in the depths there....

nature tends to always find a way.....I would guess there is a minimal amount of natural reproduction but there is potential for it...

toss him a few tallboys and let him walk it off...if anything this is a blessing for him, being gimped generally leads to less chores at camp

way to hype a new reel...can't wait to see it now I've become a big fan of Rapala rods in the past 5 yrs, I think the shift series is best value for a rod right now and it would take a run at best rod going, IMO at least...haha, now time to stir some crap just cause the net is great for that...I know a few shimano guys and plenty of other pro staffers were loose lipped at the TO show last year.....apparently industry opinion/gossip is that Rapala is "copying" (use that term very loosely...) other big brand technology/designs and then undercutting the price point to jump up their attack at the market share.... gotta love competition, works out for the consumer not sold on the rapala reels yet, but they do look mighty good from what I've seen....

what's asinine is suggesting we let stupid people die from their alleged stupidity....the mod's should clean that crap up....

come on here.....too hot, creates a bad tan line....suggesting we let "stupid" people die from their own stupid actions....horrible arguments right there, seriously, that just gives more fuel for the person/group supporting this idea... suggesting we let stupid people die only makes anglers as a whole look irresponsible... tournament anglers wear a pfd while running the lake...a number of big name industry people are already supporting it...same concept as a seatbelt or helmet on a motorcycle...there wasn't this huge discussion on cell phones while driving? you can play with a gps, eat a meal, drink a coffee but you can't talk on a cell phone while driving??.....I'm more pissed about the cell phone law than I would ever be about a mandatory pfd law bottom line is every year there are preventable deaths from people not wearing a PFD, there could be any number of other factors that led up to entering the water...incident beyond your control, booze, drugs, sheer stupidity...but you simply cannot argue that once you are in the water a PFD will greatly improve your odds of survival....I don't know how anybody can argue that fact... the incidents and fatalities are not slowing down, so I think a PFD law is inevitable...instead of arguing it creates a bad tan line anglers should get involved and voice their opinion properly before we get stuck with whatever they pass down on us. If/when a mandatory PFD law comes in effect I think a few classifications would be appropriate: - all small vessels under 16' mandatory pfd all times - 16-24' mandatory pfd while vessel is engaged in motion and leaving a wake...ie not fishing but actually boating spot to spot, as with tournament anglers - anything over that pfd's on board, not mandatory to wear

I've heard old timers talk about floating their bait down the creek on a piece of bark and then gently pulling it off the bark and letting it sink naturally...me personally, I don't think an animal with a brain the size of a pea is that smart, selective but not smart....so I don't partake in the extreme antics.... you're getting follows so you're doing something a little bit right...when you're getting follows do NOT slow the bait down, speed it up and work her natural instincts to get a reaction strike out of her....you didn't mention what colour patterns you're using? I'm guessing natural?...switch it up and toss a bright pink or orange xrap...twitch a jointed rap on the surface failing the reaction strike I would either dead drift, with no weight, any of the baits mentioned above....red wiggler and then a dace or chub would be my top 2 picks....or try still fishing on bottom using a slip sinker rig.... failing all of that, I'd fish for her early am (4-8am) or night fishing be careful of your profile and where your shadow falls too, when you're fishing during daylight....don't be blowing a puff of smoke over the water, stand a few extra feet back from the water....crouch or rest on your knees, use the natural foliage to blend in your profile as much as possible I had a very similar story with a musky in college, went on for 4 yrs...had her on a few times, never landed, stole at least half a dozen smallies/eyes on me when I was fighting them in....I always saw her in a specific area, deepest water in that section of river...so that's where I fished for her and had many sightings but only occasional action from her....I eventually began to realize that this area was probably her resting area....resting in the shallow, warm edges of the pool to increase her metabolism, but able to sneak away into deep water at any sign of danger...I devised a new game plan and started looking for feeding areas that were close by....I never landed her as I graduated school and moved away...but following summer(5th season since I first saw her) my buddy landed her....plowing a 13" smallmouth patterned believer through the rocks in 2-3' of water 100 yards away from my spot....56.5" but no girth measurement I know exactly how you feel....good luck and post some pics when you land her...

ummm, YES!!! bottled water should have way more regulation around it...it's really surprising where bottled water actually comes from...

it's big water and can be a tough bite until you learn it....as mentioned it is a rocky lake, mostly very deep lake but there are shallow areas where you need to be careful....also a lot of islands with excellent fishing around them....find a back bay (a few have feeder creeks)and you're set for largies and pike....smallies and eyes are pretty much everywhere and eyes are tight to bottom in my experience tolling/back trolling bottom bouncers with a rapala or worm harness work well....find structure and drag bottom with a jig... for musky and pike my "go to" best producer is a gold bladed bucktail....I think smallies and walleyes make up the bulk of the forage for the toothy guys so that's my preferred colours there are ling in there as well, only ever seen caught through the ice....heard rumours of lakers and whities but never seen any myself, would be a great lake to downrig I would think but I"m not much of an expert on that there are a few nearby little lakes that have solid laker fishing, if you can convince a local to let ya know where they are...

I once left my licence in another jacket pocket, in my car, parked at the access point to the river....bumped into a CO, realized when I switched jackets I left my licence behind....He asked my name, got on his radio, we waited about 20 mins until he got a call back, said I checked out and I was on my way.... legally you need to carry it, so don't expect to meet too many friendly CO's like that. Where did you buy your licence? as long as you bought it from a store and not online you should be able to get your licence number from the store, they keep a log book and record that info at time of sale

couldn't resist.... we are all aware of many problems with our fisheries, abuse and subsequent enforcement being among the biggest issues IMO...the more calls you make, the more documentation is on file and hopefully/eventually you'll see a CO out there....

while I have also heard there is no central registry system it's quick and easy to get a replacement card, you can do it online at their website...but it will cost 20 bucks...def a cash grab

buy a zipper and stitch it on yourself...I've done it myself on my vest, wading jacket, canoe bag, few others.....pain in the ass but nothing a few beers and a ball game can't fix while you're hand stitching away....I used 20 lb power pro to sew with, didn't look pretty but my stitching has held up a few yrs at least

Great book, Paul Quarrington was a talented author...Lines on the Water by David Adams Richards is another good one and comparable writing style

beauty fish...and beauty spinner, store bought or is that one you've made yourself? barbless or just single hook? how do you find your hookup ratio with the single hook? I've started making my own spinners, all single barbless hook (in BC) and I'd say my hookup ratio is very close to a barbed treble, maybe a tiny bit less...BUT less lost fish...I think you get a better hook placement running the single

so what's the diff between fighting a 30 lb salmon or carp on a centrepin?.....carp are tough fish, have higher tolerances....just fine fishing them on a pin

never fight a fish with the clicker engaged but I'm sure you won't have any issues if a carp goes on a small run before you get to the rod holder...."Don't listen to that advice..... I have seen a few unattended rods go in the drink from a "carp on a small run" well, I didn't suggest unattended...and a carp running on a free spool will just run line, not steal your rod... when I first started pinning I practiced with carp in the locks of the Otonabee in Peterborough, you can float or bottom fish them, perfect practice on a pin

never fight a fish with the clicker engaged but I'm sure you won't have any issues if a carp goes on a small run before you get to the rod holder....I've used an elastic band to hold the spool in place, loop it around the rod and then over your spool handle, the carp can still take line out on a fast strike

i shot my leader all the time and I inspect all my break offs, never had one break at the shot...pinch it jsut enough to stay on the line, you'll lose a few here and there but you can easily slide without damaging your line.... I shot as close as 6" to my bait...in fast current or shoots where I want to get to bottom quickly(not quite 6" then, maybe 12") and in murky water when visibility is greatly reduced I shot 6" away....if visibility is reduced I'm targeting specific areas of the water where i think steelies are holding, with a long leader your bait will wander around....i want to know that my bait is exactly where I want it so i place shot closer to hold my bait to less wandering range i wouldn't worry too much about what anybody else does...just do what it takes to catch fish and figure it out as you go