setomonkey

I've only been to Nipissing twice, both times in late June, and found the fishing good two years ago and so-so last year. But I don't know what I'm doing. Lots of pike, bass, & walleye. Muskie too, though I never hooked into one. For the pike, you can't go wrong with the usual crankbaits, spinnerbaits, or spoons. We caught all our walleye jigging humps or island points. Good luck, it's a big and fun lake to explore. Mike

I know you feel, I used to fish a lot with crankbaits, now much more with plastics or spinnerbaits, but I don't have the same level of confidence in spoons, though I have caught fish on them and know they work well for pike. I'm sure everybody has their preferences, but If I could only have one pattern, that would be a classic minnow (like a Rapala, black, grey & white). If I could have two, I'd add a firetiger lure. Mike

Not the same reel, but I have the Quantum Kinetic and have really enjoyed fishing with it over the past few years. No complaints at all. Mike

Roy... Have you tried experimenting with different colours & sizes? There have been times when two or three of us have all been fishing the same minnow pattern, yet the guy with the smaller (or bigger) crankbait is catching most of the fish. I'm sure you'll catch a fish on a jerkbait if you are persistent. Mike

Waterproof hiking shoes or boots are great if you already have a pair for camping or hiking, but I don't see the point of spending the bucks for cold-weather or rainy fishing. I just have a cheap pair of rubber boots, probably cost me less than $30. Perfectly waterproof and comfortable. Mike

Thanks guys. sturgman: I'm a lucky guy, my wife likes to fish too but she also knows how much I enjoy it and didn't have any problem with me taking off to do some bass fishing while we were in Florida. I would have liked to hire a guide to fish those bass lakes, because I didn't know where to start. I'm used to fishing lakes where lilypads, small bays, etc. are few and far between so you concentrate on them when you can find them. Kissimmee was covered in pads as far as I could see. I've downloaded some more pics, here's one of a couple of guys fishing from a skiff that cruised by one morning, I didn't see them catch anything while they were in sight. I wish I had access to a boat on that creek, I could see mullet jumping in the distance, too far to cast, and figured something big was chasing them. And a couple more species for Joey... sailfin catfish (didn't cut my wife in half in this pic!) sheepshead Mike

Congrats, I've always enjoyed your outdoors photos! Mike

Hi Grog, I was just down there, posted a little report a few days ago. For the bass, I brought a selection of plastics, spinnerbaits, and a few topwaters. Mostly fished with the plastics close to grass or pads. The #1 choice of the locals is to fish wild shiners, under a float or freely-hooked. I stayed at a place on Melbourne, about 20 min south of Cocoa Beach. My wife or I caught jack crevalle, sheepshead, sailfin catfish, snapper, and a small snook on jigs or on shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float. I don't know if they sell them here, but I picked some up (remembering them from a previous Florida fishing trip) at the Orlando Bass Pro Shops on International Drive. It's fairly close to the Disney World complex. You can get shrimp at any local bait & tackle shop in Cocoa Beach, and a lot of marinas and fish camps sell shiners. Good luck, hope you get to do some fishing and post a report when you get back. Mike

I think this the link for the spring circular at the BPS on Hwy 400: BPS Spring Circular Mike

This is fantastic, what a community we've got here. Hope Chris enjoys every one of those fishing adventures! Mike

Can't help you with the camera, but if you are going to Disney World in Orlando, I really recommend going to visit the Animal Kingdom park. Lots of fun attractions and the safari ride is fantastic. And if you have time, try the local bass fishing, there are some lakes with boat rentals that are less than an hour from Orlando, plus you can hire a guide to fish on the Disney World lakes (I thought it was way too much money for two hours, but you might feel differently). Mike

Nice tease, that would be a dream trip for me one of these years. Beautiful scenery and sounds like great fishing... Mike

No ideas, Jamie, but I'll bet you have a good time! Post a report when you get back... Mike

I agree, I don't know Amelia Island but I found out some basic fishing info via the Florida Sportsman site, same thing as bassman's link. Good luck, I was just in Florida last week and had a great time fishing, went on a couple of bass lakes and then fished from a dock in Melbourne. Mike

Sorry to hear you had a frustrating experience. I guess I've been lucky in the past b/c I've never had problems booking provincial park sites in Bruce Peninsula, Bon Echo, or Frontenac. I try to book the maximum time in advance, and usually call first thing in the morning. Mike

Dave, Yeah, definitely still interested in a day on the ice, let me know when you're headed out next. Only weekends will work for me. As for my wife, I wanted to post a report now that we're back but didn't ask her if it was okay to put her photo up, so I did some editing! I'll check it out tonight and maybe re-post. Mike

Happy birthday! Mike

I was in Florida last week on vacation with my wife, and had a chance to do some fishing while I was there. Fished for bass a couple of afternoons, first on East Lake Toho and then on Lake Kissimmee. Both are well-known bass lakes, Kissimmee in particular is on the tournament circuit and in fact there were a lot of bass boats out doing some pre-tournament fishing when I was there. It was hard to figure out what to do because both lakes are big and shallow. East Lake Toho in particular had almost no structure that I could see, just pencil reeds along the perimeter of the lake, in 1-3 feet of water, and a few canals with bulrushes and lilypads. Kissimmee had lots of lilypads, but it was hard to know what to focus on. I didn't have electronics or a trolling motor in the jonboats that I rented, so I fished "blind", mostly with plastics, though I did do some casting with topwaters & spinnerbaits as well. I did catch some bass, but nothing big. Talked to a couple of locals back at the docks and they hadn't done well either, so it wasn't just me at least! Here is a typical bass pic & some scenery pics. Took only a few photos b/c I was by myself, but I thought you'd enjoy seeing some open water right around now... We also spent a couple of days in Melbourne, on the central-east coast of Florida. We stayed at a place that had a dock and did some fishing one afternoon before going out to dinner. My wife caught her first saltwater fish on one of her first casts, a feisty jack crevalle, and we both caught a bunch of other species as well, including sail catfish, snapper, and sheepshead. The jack was part of a school that was busting bait about 10 yards from the dock, I cast into the boil after my wife hooked up but didn't get a bite. I did manage to catch my very first snook the next morning before breakfast, though it was a small one. Fishing by myself because my wife wanted to sleep more! Found a couple of places that rent boats on the Indian River Lagoon, and hope to do some more exploring & fishing the next time we are down there. We saw lots of birds, a couple of manatees, and a big 'gator that just cruised by on the creek. Mike

I was told it ended on the 18th, the Mississauga location was going to be open on Sunday afternoon, though it is usually closed on Sundays. I'd call to make sure though... Mike

Joe, I remember reading somewhere that the term "angler" comes from the fact that the fish-hook used to be called the "angle", so someone who uses an angle is an angler. Now you'll have to ask where the origin of the word "angle" is! Mike

Quite the coincidence, I was making a decision about buying a Maxxum vs. Endura, and decided on the Maxxum for the variable speed control and longer battery life. It cost more but I wanted the option. Mike

Thanks again for your input. Got the motor yesterday, Maxxum 50 lb thrust, 36" shaft. Can't wait to try it out on the water... Mike

I only get one longer trip per year, usually in June. This year, from a suggestion of Lew's, I'm going to Lost Lake Lodge near Gowganda in late June. Can't wait! Otherwise, it's weekends at the family cottage lake and day trips. Mike

Thanks again guys, I'll look at a higher-thrust motor. Any opinions about buying a refurbished motor? Has a one-year warranty and is a really attractive price compared to new. Mike

Uh, that's a loon on our $1 coin . . . Otherwise we'd be calling it a "duckie". Mike