Big Cliff

I've always said that an approaching cold front turned off the bite! Well, the first three weeks here the weather was pretty consistent and so was the fishing, playing around with tide charts and solunar tables proved to be more accurate at predicting the most productive times for fishing than I expected. Then a cold front approached, even though the solunar tables and tide times indicated the best fishing, the bite became almost non existent! Yesterday was +19 but the forecast called for temps to drop to 0 last night (we've been seeing low to mid teens at night up until now) with highs hitting high teens to low 20s every day. As of yesterday two of us totaled 5 fish and a check later in the day with about 50 other fisher persons resulted in hardly a bite in hours of fishing. Today was cold with a North wind (good thing I brought my winter clothing just in case). I fished for about an hour at what should have been a fairly productive time without a single bite. Might just be coincidence but...... Oh well two cold days then things warm back up again 🙂

I love pickerel/walleye but these guys are better eating than even Simco perch (which are my favorite fresh water fish). For their size they put up a really good fight!

Big cold front moved in, only 4° here this morning but the winds are light so it shouldn't be too bad out on the pier, water temperature is around 14 C so unless the wind is off shore it can actually be quite a bit warmer on the pier. For the next week we actually might get down to close to freezing at night but that only lasts a few days and then we get back up above normal again. It's going up to 16 later on and I brought my winter coat so a fishing I'll go😊 I have been playing around with the solunar tables and tide charts and it's surprising how accurately you can predict the active feeding times, I've started a spread sheet to record the results and I'll need a lot more data to confirm that it isn't a fluke but so far so good. Several of the other guys are helping with it so it is pretty interesting and giving me a wide range of information to evaluate. Here is a better picture of the whitings we are catching, when they first come out of the water they are silver, the blotches appear after they have been put in our pails, I'm not sure but I think it might be stress related or perhaps an attempt to camouflage themselves. I made a fish chowder with some last night, OMG was it ever good. Tight lines and stay safe

I've had many sharks and skate hit on this setup, the harder they pull the tighter the rod holds. Perhaps because the pier is so high above the water they can bend the rod in half and the drag will go but in two years I haven't seen a single rod get pulled in that was in this setup.

Definitely return it to LCBO ( I wonder if someone could have emptied the bottle and refilled it with something else?) and I would send the distillery an email telling them how disappointed you are with this latest bottle

The pier is fairly new, at least the end section is, the last few hundred feet was wiped out by a hurricane a couple of years ago and had to be rebuilt. I haven't gone for sea trout yet, this time of the year mackerel, trout, things like that aren't very plentiful this far North, the water is too cold but I am told that by March it's a whole different ball game. I'm looking forward to the seasonal changes but enjoying the what's happening now stuff too.

This is a typical setup for the regular pier fishing group that I fish with, the ring and screws are hard to find around here, there aren't a lot of hardware stores around the beach and Wall-mart doesn't carry them so when you do get them you hang on to them for dear life. My first one was given to me by Al last year, I brought a couple with me from home this time. A close up of the ring, the big advantage of this is that you can easily see the slightest bite because you are using the full length of the rod. Sitting in the sun drinking sweet ice tea, and no, I don't miss the ice and cold up North LOL This is one of my fishing buddies Al, even though the days have been beautiful and warm, first thing in the morning out on the pier can be cool, the water temperature is only 54°F. Al was a NY State trouper until he retired, really nice guy and boy does he have some stories to tell. Not a lot of new fish pictures to add, we are catching a lot of whitings but one whiting looks the same as the next, I'll try to get a few pictures of some of the other fish we catch and add them. Fishing the pier is very different than anything else I've ever done, yesterday I did my usual 7:00 am at the pier, we caught some whitings and a few really nice ones but it was slow by normal standards. We usually fish for a few hours then come in and do our whatever things. Yesterday I had a bit of time to kill in the afternoon so about 2:00 I decided to take a walk out on the pier with my rods. Middle of the afternoon, sun high in the sky I cast my first line in and didn't get a chance to pick up my second rod, the biggest whiting I have ever caught and it was non stop. I had to come back in at 3:30 but I hated to leave, it was some of the best catching I've had since I've been here, oh well lots more days to go! We've got a bit of cold weather coming in for a few days, I'm not sure how that will affect the catching but fishing on the pier is always an adventure and I've hooked up with some really nice guys. I finally found someone that wants to go clam and oyster digging with me so we are going to give it a shot next week. I'm really looking forward to it, I love fresh shell fish and free is even better, a non resident license is only $35.00 for the year and you are allowed 1/2 a bushel of clams per day and about the same in oysters. I'll try to do a more detailed report on that when it happens. Tight lines and stay safe!

Thank you my friend! If I had known I was going to live this long I'd have taken better care of my self😁

Yes it is, we are in what they call "leisure living" owners can rent their units out through the office for a fee. If you go to Google maps satellite view we are 1 row back from the beach and in a direct line with the pier

Flea markets are a big thing down here but you have to really watch your prices, we visited one yesterday afternoon at Surfside Beach, I've been told it's the largest one in these parts, it's pretty big for sure. I did notice a lot of things that were priced well above what you might buy them for at the Dollar store, kitchen utensils and things like that so you really have to know your prices. It was still fun to do, we were there for a couple of hours and still didn't manage to see the whole thing. Boiled peanuts OMG if you've never tried them you have to! A couple of things though, DON'T buy them from just anywhere, I did buy some from a small grocery/market store and they weren't fresh and they were awful. Yesterday I bought some from a vendor at the flea market (people were lined up to get them) Hot, fresh, delicious, if nothing else it was worth the trip just to get them. $2.00 for a large Styrofoam cup of them and it was almost enough for a meal. I'd go back again (and I will) just for the boiled peanuts and it's about 30 miles from here. 😋 Gas is cheep down here, Krogers which is a grocery store but has gas pumps too is $2.33/gal but if you have a Krogers card (kind of a points card but instant discounts) you get a discount on your gas and if you rack up $100.00 in groceries you save an extra $0.30 a gallon. Some foods like beef are more expensive down here but chicken, pork, things like that are about the same or less than what we are used to. The fishing has been pretty good, yesterday I fished from 7 to about 10:30 and came home with 14 whitings, caught two crabs, and a bunch of crokers, if you go more than 10 minutes without a bite you check your line, crabs like to steal your bait. It seems there are several fish that are called "whitings" the ones we catch here are also known as Southern King Fish. I did a lot of reading when we first got here to try to learn how/what/and where to catch them, don't beleave everything you read on the internet! They will tell you to fish in the surf, use sand fleas, shrimp, clams, for bait, don't fish the deeper waters around the pier.... we use FishBites, and fish just shy of the end of the pier and haven't been skunked yet (except the one day we tried sandfleas) (small crabs) and tried fishing the surf. Anyway, time to get dressed and go fishing. Tight lines and stay safe!

Same way as you would cook perch, sometimes I use a tampura batter and deep fry the smaller fillets. I don't know what store bought ones would be like, the ones we eat are caught, cleaned, and cooked or frozen within hours.

Well, we are starting to establish a routine which seems to be working quite well; up by 5 am, coffee and catch up on emails and such, a light breakfast and dressed and out the door by 6:45 (the pier opens at 7:00) meet up with a couple of the guys and head out to our spots on the pier. Fish until about noon (or whenever the bite lets up) then spend the rest of the day relaxing, shopping, or doing tourist things. I've been here 11 days now and so far only had one day where it rained enough in the morning to delay things. Temps in the most part have been well above normal, high teens almost every day with a few low 20s thrown in, anything above 0 is fine with me and it doesn't look like I'd be doing any ice fishing if I had stayed back home for the winter 😉 This is a different kind of fishing, you are always fishing in the same area (the pier is 1206' long) so you can move around quite a bit but it's not like ice fishing where you can just pick up and move a couple of miles. Because you are fishing the same area you start to notice other variables quite a bit. Water depth (except for the tides) is a constant but other things like wind direction, tide levels and direction (in coming, out going, or slack), water colour, water temperature' light conditions...... It's pretty interesting how subtle differences can have a huge effect and learning all the variations and combinations of those factors can change things significantly. Just like any kind of fishing some days are fantastic, others it's a struggle to get a dozen fish for the morning. We mostly use artificial bait, a product called FishBites seems to be the most popular among the regulars although some guys will use shrimp, squid, or cut bait if they are trying for sharks and things. We don't bother with that, we want whitings. Sometimes something as simple as the size of hook you are using can make a huge difference a #6 or #8 seem to work the best, whitings have a fairly small mouth, if the bite is aggressive a #6 works best because they don't swallow the hook as often and it's easier to re rig and get your line back out there. It's funny to watch guys coming out for their first time; most of them come out with a great big heavy rod and reel rigged with 40# + line and a hook big enough to anchor a small boat, they feed a lot of fish but don't catch much. If they are polite and friendly we quickly show them the ropes, share tackle and bait and they are catching fish in no time. The others usually go away frustrated and we don't see them again LOL.The guys I fish with use much lighter tackle, light to medium action rods and for the most part 10-12# test line, you do have to be able to handle larger fish, flounder and mackerel are rare this time of the year but they do happen and because of the tides we usually use a 2oz sinker. Well, that's enough rambling for this morning, time to get my day started. Tight line and stay safe!

It's cold here today, only +16 🤣

A Myrtle Beach Sun Rise This is a croker, they are plentiful and I am told they are bony but good eating, we usually just throw them back. This is our home away from home, there isn't much of a yard which suits me just fine A small puffer fish, I'll try to get a picture of one that hasn't puffed up yet, doesn't look anything like it does at this point. A spider crab, this is a small one, they will grab your bait and not let go until you get them right up on the pier, not very big but lots of attitude. Last but not least for today is our target fish, a whiting, My buddy and I landed about 50 of these guys between us this morning, this isn't the biggest one but considered a keeper It was cold this morning, only +4 but by noon it was up to +19.

Well, we've been here a week now, my cold or whatever it was is pretty much cleared right up and the weather has been quite good. Day time highs have been in the mid to high teens and into the low 20s, so far we've only had one day where rain has interfered with the fishing and that was only for a few hours. (not a single snow flake or a trace of ice) 😊 Our place isn't huge or fancy, it's really more like a cottage than anything, small but functional, the big advantage is I can walk out my door and be on the pier in less than 5 minutes, it's clean, quiet, and safe. This is a slow time of the year for this area both for fishing and tourism, the slow tourism is a good thing because nothing is crowded, I don't mind the slow fishing, there's plenty to catch if you aren't looking for trophies. Our main target is whitings, man they are so delicious. They don't get very big, at least the ones we are catching aren't, a 12" whiting would be considered WOW, most of the ones we keep would be in the 8-10" range but they are super easy to clean and worth the effort. If we quit eating them all the time I might even be able to bring some fillets home with me. Sitting on the pier watching the sun rise over the ocean or relaxing in the sun, telling jokes (and a few lies) with people from all over and from every walk of life.... well catching fish is just a bonus. It's a very social thing and there is always something new and interesting going on. So far we've caught crokers, puffer fish, whitings, spider crabs, blue crabs, sharks, oh and a slick and a skate (looks like a sting ray and fights like it's 10 times as big as it is). Well a new day begins, time to get my ass into gear and see what sort of fish are biting today. I'll try to get a few pictures to post in the next few days. Tight lines and stay safe!

All I can say is "Thank God both you and your dog are alive because I'd have hated to read about this in the paper"!!!!!

I had been sick since about a week before Christmas, nothing serious just a cold that didn't want to let up so I wasn't feeling quite up to snuff. Being the stubborn old fool that I am and the fact that the weather report was calling for freezing rain starting on Dec. 29/30, we left Lindsay a couple of days ahead of schedule. The afternoon of Dec. 28 we loaded up the car and headed out, the plan was to get far enough South before the storm hit that we'd miss the freezing part of the storm, turned out to be a good idea! I had decided that I wanted to cross at Gananoque, I realize it isn't the shortest route but I find it to be the easiest, the border crossing is always quick and a I like traveling I 81, it's a nice highway and you don't seem to get as much snow as you would coming down through Buffalo. We spent our first night in Gananoque, it's only 2 1/2 hours from home but it meant we could be up early and cross the border and get a good day traveling in. Dec. 29th, up early and across the border by 6:30 am, beautiful morning, sun shining, no traffic, set the cruse control for 5mph over the limit....By 10:00 am the rain started, I don't think I have ever seen it rain so hard, it was like driving through a car wash but it wasn't freezing. I just slowed down and made sure I watched out for the other guy. We pulled into Winchester VA (I go that route rather than going through Washington) about 4:30 that afternoon and I was exhausted, fighting this bug and driving through hours of heavy rain; all I wanted to do at that point was crawl into bed and sleep. We found a room right at the exit, filled up with fuel, grabbed a light supper and I'm sure I was asleep by 6. Dec. 30, up had breakfast and on the road by 6:30 am. Cut over and picked up I 95 for the last leg of our journey. The weather had cleared considerably, a little fog, the odd shower here and there but pretty good driving for the most part, by 1:30 we were in Myrtle Beach. Our reservation wasn't until Jan 1 and our unit wasn't ready yet so they found us a unit two doors down for the night (that's just the way they are down here). Dec. 31, by noon they had everything done and we moved in, did our shopping and got settled. (to be continued it's time to get dressed and head to the pier 🙂

X2

I grew up driving nothing but Ford or GM Products. Several years ago I bought a new Chev. It was a piece of junk, at 70,000 km it had been in the shop 9 times for significant repairs. I called GM and asked them to at least extend the warranty. They told me that the car had almost 80,000 km on it so I should expect a few little things to go wrong. Basically they treated me like crap. I explained that in the almost 80,000 km they hadn't been able to get it to work right. I finally had to threaten to sue them before they agreed to have the dealership go over it. Cost the dealership $1800.00 just in parts to bring it up to snuff.I had it repaired and sold it the next day. Next I went to Nissan, JUNK, JUNK, JUNK, problem after problem, I was very disappointed. Over the years I had 4 of them and it was always the same, lack of quality and no customer service. Then I went to Toyota, WOW, Quality, customer service, I am so impressed! I am currently driving a 2019 RAV 4, excellent gas millage, (6.7L/100km) Comfortable to drive, runs like a dream, and when I do go in for service they treat me like family. Took me almost 60 years but I now have a car I can rely on and love!

Thanks David, We are here, it's beautiful!

OMG Those are such wonderful memories of the times you shared.

Good things happen to good people😊🤗

So sorry for your loss, my heart goes out to you, I know how hard it is.

Please do, and you don't need to bring anything other than a smile and your sense of humor 😊

Keep some frozen for me and I'll bring you back some whitings, trust me,you'll love them!