Big Cliff

I was hoping to catch up with you but it was a zoo there this morning, I don't think I have ever seen it that busy. We had to wait for the second wave of transporters to get out and didn't get picket up until after 5. (No complaints, it was nice to see so many youngsters getting out there). We had another amazing day and the more I get use to fishing the artificial baits the better the results. There's definitely some techniques involved for maximum success but boy do they ever produce. Anyway glad to hear you had a good day out there with the kids! I will be going out again several more times this winter. Perhaps we can hook up and I would gladly share some of what seems to work for me.

That's the presentation I used today with a bloodworm fly and I'm not sure of the name of the other one but both were catching fish like crazy. I actually had to pull my line out of the water just to have time to eat a sandwich. I was out with Darrin Bond today, he started off using all the traditional fair but by 10 asked if I could spare any of those dam bugs, by 4, he put his rod away and said " I'm fished out!" I have caught a lot of fish out on Simco but since I have started using the bloodworm flies and similar every day has been exceptional.

I only ever go out with Tim Hales, nice clean huts, great people, good safe parking. And yup those same ones shown above and a CPH creation which I have been struggling to copy as well. Picture below trust me it's a lot harder than it looks lol. The big advantage of the artificial baits is that if you get a hit and miss it you don't have to pull up your line to see if you still have bait.

My son got down for a visit and naturally we had to hit Simco for some perch. I started off with my Simco bugs, (thanks to CPH) and it didn't disappoint. My son started off with a traditional drop shot rig and minnows. He set up a second rod with a Swedish pimple but he tipped it with a small piece of sponge and shad scent (ya I know a little different but it worked) Well, the artificial baits out fished the minnows by a huge margin. We only kept 20 perch, one herring, and two smelt but we caught a heck of a lot more perch. The artificial caught 90% of the fish caught today, with the Simco bug clearly the winner. Another amazing day on the ice! Besides any day fishing with my son is a fantastic day🙂

Had an unexpected opportunity to hit Simco yesterday, turned out CPH was planning on getting out for the day and we were able to hook up. What a great day, we did really well, no idea how many fish we caught but it was plenty. I only kept 10 nice sized perch and 2 herring. I'm not sure how many Steve took home but his pail was a lot heavier than mine. I started off with some of my favorite go to presentations while Steve used some of his own creations, both were catching fish but I can tell you that artificial out caught live bait. So now I plan on spending today making some more grubs for future trips. it's always so satisfying when you catch fish on the artificial baits. We talked to other fishermen in the area, and from all accounts, we did significantly better than most that relied mostly on minnows! So in summary: a great day fishing with great company, some new lessons learned and a nice feed of fish, how can you ask for better than that😊

Love the report and the pictures. Thanks for sharing!

Well, we went out with Tim Hales, I am guessing about 3 miles, there's lots of commercial huts out there and several private ones. We were in 26-28' of water. The ice was in the 8-10" range. Travel was good, light snow cover with patches of bare ice. No problem for ATV or sled. DISCLAIMER: I am not saying the ice is safe! We traveled a well marked route out and back. We didn't see any schools of herring but we didn't have a fish finder or camera, the one I did get was down near bottom while jigging for perch.

Got out with with DpBond on Simco yesterday, we had a really nice time, fishing was a little slow but we managed 25 decent perch, 1 herring and a smelt that hit a Swedish pimple 😂. Going to wait out this cold front before planning on more trips I usually find the best catching is as things start to warm up but it sure was nice to get out.

I'll be 79 in a few weeks, my days of walking out, drilling holes, sitting on a 5 gal. Pail all day in -20 temps are long over.

Last year we were paying $70.00 per person. I managed to get out about 6 times so $420.00. I got free parking, transportation to and from the hut, all bait supplied a warm comfortable hut. Didn't have to worry about moving the hut, storing the hut, maintaining a sled, finding bait, cleaning the hut, ice conditions, hauling propane.....As far as I am concerned it's good value for the money spent.

Which operator was that with?

Very nicely done, kudos!

My tires are top of the line, my brakes are really good, how's your insurance?

Nice to see you posting on the board Darrin, I am sure you'll meet up with some really great people on here!

4WD is great, they slide just as well on ice as 2WD 😂

I am a firm believer in using winter tires and as far as I am concerned if you can't afford them you shoulden't go out on anything but clean dry roads! I just had a guy loose control and almost slide into me. If I hadn't had winter tires we would both have been calling our insurance companies. Fortunately I was able to pull out of the way enough to avoid the collision. When I lived out at Snug Harbour our driveway had quite a slope, people without snow tires often had problems negotiating that slope in the winter, we could drive up it with no issues under some pretty extreme conditions. I'd vote for mandatory or at least much higher insurance costs if someone doesn't have them. My insurance company does give a discount for having them it doesn't come close to what they cost but I think about what they save me!

WOW! I see so many possibilities and potential uses for those beautiful pieces of acrylic. You and I need to talk! Stunning as always!

So much Tallent !

I just got word that a very dear friend and a true legend our friend Norm aka "Beans" has moved on to the great fishing grounds. For those that had the opportunity to meet him or fish with him I know the memories will live on forever in our hearts. At the moment, no service is planned, but if that changes I will post details here. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family, I know he will be very much missed 🙏 😢 If anyone cares to post a story or memory it would be really nice!

Those aren't fishing lures, they are works of art! Absolutely beautiful!

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FBIW590ZLv_Q%3Fsi%3DafVL_RX7eAymCG5B%26fbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3wmSozy5Ov_d0SvwPqv_mz8p9ZsM7Qts_WdSHv890pL-FrZULN-5ffsek_aem_bSDhF6JAbLLevcbkQOHFRQ&h=AT0DbuuSHnoHK2AXo83FUUSPSUG9wwOW9ivkhPH4BWzLCi_nT0Nacz4TpXvYfdfyDrkZ4LSczge8M-MhcEAo20S4fZruTYCOjbrRfADd98GFjI25H8u9pZbUpc2dv9NuIArB2A Here's the link if anyone is interested, Cliff very kindly sent it to me on Facebook.

Need a link (or something) CCMT OFC theme song. I had it, but for the life of me can't find it.

I prefer them about 8-10" in diameter, sliced about 1/2" thick and fried in butter. I also dehydrat any excess I have and use it in spaghetti sauce and things like that.

Congratulations and it's good to hear that your wife is doing well to!

I used them, did an excellent job at a fair price, I even picked up a spare prop when I was there.