Canuck2fan

I don't know about 20lb northerns but the 10 to 15lb ones we catch around here are pretty much considered a pest fish. We only fish for pike for that long 6 weeks between when the steelhead stop and smallmouth bass begins.

I won't be specific but dead smack center in south western Ontario within an 40 minute drive there are a half dozen places where you could catch 10LB + slimy smelly pike all day long all season long if you really want to... and that is from shore. I can't imagine what a person could do with a boat and actively looking for them.

Back in the 2007 fishing goal thread I said the following...

"For 2007 I just hope to continue to have the physical and financial health to fish as much as I like with the all of the same people I fished with this year. On top of that I would also like to meet twice as many new fishing buds this year as I did in 06. I have one other goal that is the same as last year I hope to watch my father get his first rainbow in long long time because we didn't get it done last year. Now if I could just convince him that at 71 he doesn't need to work 7 days a week it could actually happen too LOL."

Well today my parents came into the restaurant where I work part time and I told my dad I was going Rainbow fishing this afternoon. He said he should go along too. I was shocked he wasn't working but I quickly changed my plan of plodding through the bush upstream on a couple of tribs as the walk would be a bit much for him. To just going out on the pier at one of my favorite tribs and having a go with some old fashioned bottom fishing off the dock as it were. Dad agreed that sounded like a good way to spent the afternoon. After a bit of a late start we were on our way. We got out on the pier about 3:30 and things looked good when we got there as the fish were literally flying in the air as we walked out to our favourite spot.

We got set up and were just settling down enjoying watching a ton of fish surface thinking we might be wanting to switch to tossing spoons when I hooked a OOS bass. The day was nice and warm, with a heavy cloud cover and the water was that perfect shade of dirty green that you look for when hunting chrome. After the first bass though I was thinking OH OH we might have to cut the trip short if the bass keep biting.... No worries though as we only got a hit from that one bass. We had to keep reeling in because boats kept going in and out doing their preseason shakedown runs I guess. Anyhow after the third boat in less than 5 minutes went out and my dad recast and a minute later gets on the board with a 2" shiner minnow how he hooked it I don't know but as he was reeling in the rod was almost ripped out of his hands as a fish grabbed the minnow. I got a look at the fish and was 90% sure it was a bow. Dad was miffed he missed it.

So on with a new row bag and a twenty minute wait when we hear a loud diesel pounding into shore. I tell everyone to watch their rods since that noise usually gets the fish going. Sure enough about 5 minutes later my dads line moves in towards him about a foot. He tries a hook set and it seems that nothing is there but I see his line still zipping in toward him. I am just about to tell him to reel faster when he catches up with the line the rod bends double and SPLOSH, SPLASH there is a beautiful 3 to 4 lb Rainbow hen tail walking across the water in front of us. After a fun filled fight I net it for him.

I ask him if all those frozen mornings he spent from January til April were worth the wait to get his first rainbow in over 15 yrs.... His smile said it all.

I am not ashamed to say that the 2lb male bow I landed about a half later didn't even come close to being a ten of the fun I got from watching dad finally his rainbow today.

I agree on the Michelin LTX. It is the most incredible tire I have ever used.... Done over 200,000K on two different sets/ vechiles and could not complain about a thing. They are great in snow, ice, summer and last forever as long as you rotate em and keep the pressures checked.

My first rainbow I caught in a stocked pond years ago, the second I got opening weekend at a local spot where they are very rare.... back when I was 17. A long time ago.

However, I when I started to learn how to seriously fish for chrome, in the fall of 05 the second night I went out I caught 3 in a row in about 45 minutes around dawn, after freezing for 6 1/2 hours thinking that every twitch the long rod made from the wind was a bite LOL. I have been obsessed ever since. In fact I am taking my first holiday in 13 yrs to go up river fishing for steel for the next 3 days.... I can hardly wait!!!

Dude- ALWAYS trust those instincts.... Last Saturday I was talking to the guy who mentored me in the ways of the Chrome. He said there was NO WAY anything would be biting the next morning total waste of time yadda, yadda, yadda. I smiled and went home knowing that the next morning I was going to get fish no question about it. Sure enough I got to the spot I told him that I was going to fish, I deliberately fished on the wrong side of the river going against all the logic and numbers I have seen over the last year at the spot. I had 3 fish on and two landed before anyone else had a bite....

Long story short there are days when you KNOW you are going to get fish and when I get that feeling I go regardless of the weather, logic or common sense and I have always done well.... I just wish that feeling would hit more with steelhead than it does with bass LOL.

Even if the tribs are blown you could still probably do alright fishing the piers and lakeshores... Tons of fish are already heading back to the lake on Southern Lake Huron if there are bait fish around the piers you might do OK there.

Do they give you a total price including all of the shipping costs, brokerage fees, and taxes before you commit to buy? Or do you have to pay the shipping company all of the extra costs when the package arrives at your doorstep?

The price I was quoted in American dollars was the price that was billed to my credit card.... There were no extra charges until I sent it back. I lost out on shipping both ways the brokerage fees/handling fees and the perentage on the tax that was charged on those fees.

BPS online ships from the U.S. you have to pay both taxes, an import duty, exchange and shipping if you live in Ontario. Once you know the cost on their website that is the cost in American dollars to your door. The only other thing to know is that before you order MAKE sure you know you want it. I orders some waders and they weren't what I expected them to be so I sent them back when it was all said and done between import fees, taxes and two way shipping it cost me over 45 bucks to send them back. I could have driven to the store which is a 2 hr drive from here for that 45 bucks which I wound up doing in the end anyway.....

BTW the 45 dollars was over 25% of the price of the cost of the product to my door, so it was a significant mistake on my part LOL

Glad to hear you are OK. As a former chef I always advised any patron in any restaurant I worked in NOT TO EAT anything in the establishment if we had any of the items they were allergic to on the premises as there was therefore a chance anything they would ingest might have come in contact with one of the things they were allergic to. Lost a bit of business that way but better safe than sorry.....

I don't know if it would help or not. The reason it probably won't is because I think that many of the poachers for either sport don't bother with licences of any kind. On the other hand it might stop some inadvertant mistakes, as in some one thinks they know the regs but they actually don't.

One reason it will never happen though is that with fishing, there would be a huge language barrier for too many anglers to be able to take the test. To be fair to everyone who had to take the test it would have be done in their native language and if the banks of the rivers I fish on and the number of different languages I hear spoken on them are any indication. The only thing having a test would mean is that they would have to hire about 80,000 interpreters to make it fair for everyone.

Now before anyone gets all upset and sees any racism in this, let me tell you why I say this. Two years ago, I got a minor traffic ticket and I fought it. So on the day I had my first appearance with the Crown, I was waiting to go in and see her. I had been talking with a guy who had gotten the same ticket, minor speeding in the exact same spot and he was going to use the same defence I was that the sign indicating the lower of speed was covered by a tree branch..... Anyhow he has a picture just like I did which according to the date stamp on his he took about 2 hrs after I took mine showing the sign being covered..... So I go first and the Crown goes to me no you will have to prove this to the JP I can't reverse your ticket because I don't know the context of the picture, is it accurate did you use photoshop yadda yadda yadda. So I go out and tell the guy I had been talking to to try and change his story a bit. The same Crown calls him in and at the doorway before they go into her office she asks if he still wants to have his case looked after in Ukranian he winks at me and goes Ya. The Crown goes ummmm your interpreter isn't here today your ticket is dismissed. So me being me I get a bit riled and ask to speak to the crown again and had it politely explained to me how in Ontario we are always fair to everyone with different backgrounds under the law..... So with that in mind how long would it be before someone fought to have the fishing test in their own language and then won the right for every angler to expect the same?

You HAVE to let it go..... it is NOT in season. There is no debate, no question whatsoever. Let it go.

Are you talking about on shore or from a boat? Nothing much going on from shore in those areas this morning if the people I talked with are any indication....

CC- That is awesome you caught your first smallie.... Now just imagine that smallie going 5lbs+ in some current on light tackle and you get an idea of what all the excitement is about with them.

Sorry to hear the tribs are/were dead on Lake O. I went to one on Lake Huron and had my best morning there ever. I went 2/3 on rainbow, and didn't even feed one sucker any of my roe LOL.

Cannuck2fan your assuming a fair bit there about me and all fisherpersons who practice catch and release.

 

Sorry if my opinions and observations don't fit with your view.

No need to be sorry, you have your thoughts and I have mine. I think in our own way we each care about the fishery, and want it sustainable. We will probably never agree on how to get there....

If I read what you have been saying in your posts about fishing during "extended season" which is before spawning occurs you seem to be saying that any angler who practices C and R is great and good for the fishery. On the other hand meat takers hurt the fishery because they take fish out. I see it this way plain and simple a C and R guy catching upwards of 10 to 15 fish an outing and putting them through the stress of being caught and released has to have a negative effect on the reproductive rate of those fish. Whereas, the dreaded meat taker who follows the law has to leave after taking 2 fish, and can't come back until they are out of their possesion. Now the C and R angler can come back that very afternoon and do it all over again..... and some do I have seen them at it.

I realize that having "C and R" limits would never be enforcable by the MNR only "peer" pressure could do that. One thing having such a limit might do though is cut down on the overall pressure on the fishery because I am willing to bet a lot of C and Rer's would be staying home a lot more if they knew they couldn't tire out, release and possibly kill more than 2 fish during an outing in the "extended" season....

grt1- You hit the nail on the head with canning the suckers and yeah a lot of people do add red food colouring to fool people...

I got tricked into trying a sandwich once from some a guy had done in his "american canner" and it wasn't bad at all, but it sure wasn't salmon to my taste buds. LOL I found it to be a bit mushy texture wise, but it was edible enough and I am pretty fussy about my eats.

Canuck2fan,what would you say,or anyone else for that matter,that the MNR CLOSED ALL RIVERS AND TRIBS FROM THE MOUTH UP until opening weekend in April ?

I would be all for it actually if that is what it takes to make the populations return. I would feel pretty bad though for the tackle, fuel sellers and restaurants around where they are open on Lake Huron though. I try to go out 2 or 3 times a week whenever the water is open to fish. I have never hit my limit of two fish either, when I am keeping fish btw during the "extended" season on the tribs. I do however spent about 100 to 150 bucks a week on fuel, tackle, and eats in the areas I go to.... It doesn't sound like much but you multiply that by the hundreds of guys who I see around fishing over the course of that extended season and losing it would probably mean some hardship for some of those places.

Lightline fishing and catch and release is not as bad as meat fishing. Get over it. The Ganaraska is probably the hardest hit steelhead river in the Province. Regularly hosting runs in the 15000 range. Catch and release by lightliners is the most common technique on the Gany. Who would want to keep fish from an urban tributary of Lake Ontario that runs past the largest urban storage of radio active waste in the Province? Still this river has a huge run every year.

 

Comparitively the tributaries of Georgian Bay where water is clean and fish are thought to be more edible have very low run numbers and seem to be frequented by meat fishermen. Catch and release is still practiced but not nearly as often. The Bighead is the equal of the Gany for purposes of spawning, maybe superior as it has no dam, yet has never had the same kind of runs. Only one explaination for that, more fish are removed.

 

The biggest improvement to fishing lisences would be the written test suggested by another poster. One level of lisence would simplify things as well.

 

Fewer better enforced rules would be more effective than lots of hard to keep track of, poorly enforced rules!!!!

You seem so sure of your argument about the actual taking of fish being harder on the fish population, but you are comparing apples to golf balls by using two different lakes and their tribs. You also offer absolutely no "proof" other than this opinion of yours that you are correct.

If it is all about protecting the fishery what is wrong with having a 5 fish "landed" total then the angler must go home? I don't think anyone can argue sensibly that stressing the fewest number of fish per person just before they spawn will do anything but IMPROVE a fishery. I have seen tons of eggs "wasted" that are dripping out of hens that were caught by people fishing well after they had caught 5.... Also I have seen the so called C and R crowd when they know they have a audience put on a new spawn sack every 5 or 6 casts to better maximize the number of fish they can show off fighting. Now not too many of them answer when you ask where they got the eggs in those sacks either.... If they "bought" them why would they not say so? If they didn't buy the eggs they either harvested a fish or milked the eggs from one and to me that is just as harmful to the fishery, by any way you look at it. So when those type of things stop happening everytime I go out by the C and R crowd I see, my friend I will maybe be able to get over it. Until then I will keep posting my opinion about C and R.

I tend to agree with your philosophy, (even though west coast salmon and trout are in my opinion just another invasive species) but how how do you police ethics?

Dano the sad thing you really can't, just like they can't seem to find the political will to enforce the current regulations. I think everyone on the board would agree that we have all seen the law being broken but no enforcement. How many have called the hotline only to notice no one showed up to charge the offenders?

I think possession limits are a little low in some cases. I think that having a combination of 5 rainbow, salmon for a lot of areas is way too high. However one thing that seems to be ignored in my opinion are the so called pure sport anglers who only catch and release. I have seen some of this type catch up to 20 fish in a morning. Of course to increase the "sport" they only use 4lb line on their 800.00 float setups. Fighting huge spawning fish to exhaustion in some cases for over 20 minutes, as these fish make their way upstream to spawn. Now I might be a dinosaur and not understand but to me that is just as bad to the health of the fishery and people who take their legal limit 3 or 4 times a year..... I would really like to know how this type of things affects the fish's ability to spawn to its full potential. If it could be proven that doesn't harm the percentage of surviving fish fine if it does then the same rules should apply to catch and release. You land 5 fish you go home, just the same as if you kept your limit. Let the bashing begin.

I used to fish a very fast river for smallies, using the current to cheat. Simply cast out a very small spinner and just hold it in the current or move it forward like a jig.... If you match the current to the size of the spinner, the water makes it rotate and it will attract bass. Works best if you can leave the spinner beside a break in the current where the fish might be resting.....

I have been using Raven flourescent green 6lb mono for my main line on my steelheading reels. I like how tough it is, the 40% savings over trilene XT and how easy it is to see versus the low vis green 4lb trilene XT I use for leaders.

As stated before.

Anytime I see "Real Fishing" there has been a warning before that the following program has been paid for by the particpants or sponsors.....

I haven't seen Cronzy enough to know if that same warning is given before his show. Meaning he probably passes it off as a show not an infomercial? Then again from what I have seen about Cronz he doesn't "play well with others" which I actually like because while I might not agree with everything he says I enjoy the fact that he doesn't mind spoutting off on some pretty touchy subjects.

Have you ever thought about raising goats? They mow and fertilize and you can sell the milk from the females. I am sure someone on here can tell you how many you will need for a lot that size....

After getting brutalized by mother nature yesterday in the rain, and by the fishing gods with a decided lack of fish. I decided last night that I would give it another try today. I figured out that to have any chance of getting the spot I wanted I would have to leave the house by 5AM. The first instance of my being stupid was that when I set the alarm last night at 11:30 PM I chose 4PM instead of 4AM, but "luckily" as a party next door was breaking up someone's door slamming and yelling woke me up at 3:55 AM and so I was lying there waiting for the alarm, and was able to figure out my mistake when it didn't go off.

I got the car loaded and after having to come back in 3 times due forgetting stupid things like my light, cell, and rod holder, luckily though I still got on the road at 4:52 AM. Hot coffee in hand thanks to Timmies, I took off in some of the worst fog I have driven through, in a long while. Luckily I was making very good time as one else was stupid enough to be out blasting down the highway at that hour.

Having seen only 3 cars during the 40 plus mile trip on the highway, I was sweating bullets when I saw the amount of traffic as I pulled in to the town where the trib is. Luck was on my side again when I pulled past 4 guys who were having a tug of war with the bait machine a couple of miles from the spot. They must have been new to the area because everybody knows that machine NEVER works. I pulled into the parking lot and was very relieved to see I was the first car there. I was just putting the final touches on gearing up when the four guys from the machine come roaring in.... After they saw me walking to the "spot" they stopped to confirm I intended to fish where they wanted to, luckily instead of forcing me out, which they could have because I am not stupid enough to go four on one anymore, they decided to leave to try another trib.

Anyhow I got set up about 6:10 and in my hurry to beat the four guys I had decided that I wouldn't need to change the batteries in my headlamp, and I left the spare batteries on the back seat of the car instead of slipping them into my pocket, stupid me as I got out to spot and planted my rod holder just as it died. Lucky me I was there though as walking across that ice on the shore without a light in the dark could have been broken leg or a cold dunking I'm sure. I figure what the heck I can just wait till I can see enough to bait up and cast, when I remember I have another light in my vest that I lend to friends when they come along. WOOOOO the batteries aren't dead, so I can see to get out some spawn and put it on the hook instead of my finger. I cast out and go put the rod in the holder when I discover that enough ice melted yesterday afternoon that I could have brought my chair which is in the car but I decide standing won't so bad as I look back into the lot and it is like a swap meet is happening must be 15 cars and 35 people all slinging out gear. I know if I walk back to the car I will come back to find the "spot" taken. I did get a bit of a laugh when 3 different groups started to brave the trek over to where I was only to stop half way and mutter obscenities when they finally notice I am there mainly because I flash my light in there eyes and say good morning..... They couldn't see without the light because I guess my cammo that I where fishing does work in the dark.

Since my plan was to bottom fish till dawn because I don't have lighted floats yet and the glow in the dark ones I have I can't see. I glance at the rod in the holder from time to time as I am looking for a small twig to toss in to check the current flow for when I can see well enough to try drifting. Sure enough just as soon as I get about 10 feet away from the rod it starts waving back and forth like crazy. I rush back and grab it feel a couple of tugs and stupidly do a massive hook set, luckily I duck just as the sinker and bare hook go whizzing past my left ear. Darn rookie mistake, that was close because I don't know about how good those expensive polarized glasses like Maui Jims work in the pitch black darkness, but my 50.00 dollar Costco cheapies don't work at night so I didn't have them on yet. After reading that post on here with the picture of the guy with a red devil in his eye I really feel I was very lucky on that one.

I bait up again and cast, set the rod in the holder and watch intently for about 10 minutes, nothing happening so I decide to go back after that twig to check the current..... This time I get about 2 steps and the rod is dancing and swaying like a gogo dancer on crack. I pull it out of the holder and feel this massive tug. I gently set the hook this time and I can't believe the weight of whatever it is. It will take line and I can hold it but I can't gain on it. I am thinking it must be a channel cat. Four or five times I am sure I am snagged but when I open the bail it takes line. Finally I decide to break the line so I set the rod down and start hand lining to get it tight enough to break it. Good plan I thought, except whatever it is, it slowly starts to come in when I pull hand over hand. I am pretty excited till I see that my "channel cat" is actually a 20 or 30lb hedge fish as in some butthead cut down their hedge and through it in the water... I am pretty impressed that my massive 4lb leader didn't break. I think about changing it but stupidly I don't want to take the time, now since intend to switch to my float rod in a few minutes. So I rebait and throw out again put the rod in the holder. I bet by now you all know where this going. YEP 4 steps away and the rod is twitching and throbbing (I leave to the reader to decide like what). As I pick up the rod I feel the line stop. Oops it's probably on the one rock out there and then I can feel something pulling but of course it snaps right above the swivel so I lose everything. I am not too upset as I was going to float fish now anyhow. So I set my bottom fishing rod down bait up the float rod (which has a spinning reel on it ) and let it rip. It was a nice cast too but the float is stationary. Which is funny because yesterday it was the right depth..... Anyhow after I reel in and shorten the line. I recast and see that the reason the float is almost stationary is there is no current for some reason. NO problem I think, this is exactly why I bring both rods all the time. All I have to do is rerig the bottom rod and get back at it.

Then I think what the heck why not leave the float out there and see what happens so I pop the rod in the holder and start rooting through my vest to get a sinker, swivel and pretied leader out. Once I have the stuff out I pick up the bottom rod and start tying. It is just light out now and this local about 50 to 60 yards away, who was totally ticked that I beat to the "spot" starts shaking his fist and yelling at me. I ask him what his problem is, he says he is calling the ministry because it is "ILLEGAL" to fish with two rods yadda, yadda yadda. I tell him to go ahead and call since I am only fishing with one rod. He yells some more and starts walking over finally gets close enough to see that yes in fact one rod has no hook on it and the other is a float rod with a spinning reel on it and it is in the holder but baited and in the water. He mumbles an apology and in the next breath says my putting a float rod in a holder is the stupidest thing he has ever seen , yadda yadda yadda. I say well it might just be stupid enough to work. He walks off in a huff.

Well about 3 minutes later I am done retying the bottom rod and look up to see the float rod just a bucking and thrashing. I pull it out of the holder and splash a nice pan sized 2lb male bow surfaces setting the hook himself. So my stupid idea turned out to be lucky when the fish set the hook itself.....

I just finished verifying how tasty fresh rainbow can be when they are that size which is why I would rather be stupid and lucky than good!!!!

P.S. I really must get a digi cam so I don't have to write these long stories for reports..... just snap a couple of pics....

The two spots I checked today had a couple inches of visibility but the current was going about 60MPH LOL. So I bottom fished for 6 hours and tested out my rain gear, since I never saw a fish except for a tragic looking salmon swimming around that apparently forgot to die after spawning last fall.