saspirilli

Thanks to all - was good to hear some first and secondhand accounts of the presence of fish in the lake. I wasn't sure whether to trust the (almost non-existant) info on the general web. Always appreciate the feedback from the participants on this board.

I tried the stocking lists and there was no current information available. We'd be more than happy targeting smallmouth, just want to make sure that it isn't a barren body of water. Appreciate the response liverelease!

Hello to all! We are considering renting a property on a small lake off of Highway 62 in the Hasting Highlands near Bancroft called Graphite Lake. Writing on the off chance that someone has had the experience of fishing on the lake - the ministry survey is only showing brown bullhead and white sucker. Any basic experiences and information about the lake would be much appreciated (basically, is there anything in there?). Thanks so much. Josh

Little Anglin' Anny - I thought you were purely a trout-bagger? You also dabble in the pike game?

Jerk baits were the most productive lure of the day.

Had an awesome day today in the Toronto Harbour/Islands area with guide Taro Murata targeting spring pike. Taro was an excellent host - he warned us the day before the trip that the recent cold snap could completely turn off the bite and even offered to reschedule. As it was very difficult for the three guys in my party to coordinate a date, we took to the water hoping for a bit of luck. It was pretty cold on the water, but Taro soon had us in an area that was producing bites, follows and fish. We ended up boating 10 fish and just missing several others. As Toronto residents, it was cool to have such easy access to a productive day on the water. Loved being able to see the city in the background as we cast our lines. None of the fish were monsters, but we were very happy with the action and the numbers considering Taro's less than optimistic prediction for the day. I'd highly recommend his services. Especially if you're looking to discuss golden era hip-hop and the culinary merits of fiddleheads and miso soup between fish. http://fishcity.tv/

chris.brock - you're awesome. I already have a board membership to the other board but didn't notice the links to the forums for the smaller lakes. Found a map there, which now gives me everything I was looking for. Thanks.

Thanks Fish-Whisper. I found that piece - it's one of the only 2 - 3 posts anywhere on the web. There's surprisingly little out there, so I was hoping to drum up some new firsthand knowledge. Appreciate you trying to assist my quest for knowledge!

Hello to all, Heading to Shadow Lake for the first time the weekend of June 15/16. Having a difficult time researching anything about the lake - maps, tips, etc. There doesn't seem to be much chatter online about Shadow. If anyone has access to a map or to some general advice it would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

We rented a cottage on Dummer/White last year. Fishing was good for walleye and bass - both happily took tubes in the weedbeds and the bass were also receptive to shallow cranks and surface poppers. A word of warning if you were looking to do pleasure boating. It's a very boring lake to do so on. It's small, round/oval with no bays and every square inch of shore is occupied by cottages. No nature to explore, but good for practicing circles. The land-locked nature of the lake does have real advantages - there was very little traffic for a lake so close to Toronto - but Stony is a much prettier lake.

Hello to all, I leave on Sunday for a week on the lake at Wollaston in Coe Hill. I searched the board for info on the lake and there were some great late-season/fall tips to be found. Wondering what people with experience on the water suggest we target in early July? Any tried and true technique tips would also be welcome! Thanks in advance.

GOLDEN BOBBER 2012 - OFFICIAL RESULTS JUNE 27, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (HALIBURTON, ONTARIO): To all members of the OFC community – a sincere apology about the delayed posting of the results of the 2012 Golden Bobber Tourney. We experienced a server malfunction at head office and several files containing boat registration numbers, date of birth authentication and sponsorship affiliations were either destroyed or corrupted. We had to rely on our back-up server in Belgrade to authenticate the weigh-in statistic charts. As there was an extreme time-zone difference to contend with we were forced to postpone the release of the official results. We would first like express thanks for the incredibly generous support of our new Platinum Level Sponsor, Cutty Sark Whisky. Cutty Sark "Taste the Adventure, Not the Flavour" We also acknowledge the continued support of our Gold Level Sponsors Weber Smokey Mountain Cookers and Heddon Lures - "Rattlin' Spooks Since 1894". The winner of the “Cutty Sark Lunker Big Bass” was Piers Johnson of Toronto, Ontario who was aboard boat #82, “The Princess Bride.” Mr. Johnson boated a 4.4 pound smallmouth at 7:30am on Saturday, June 23 while dragging a Heddon Pop’N Image in “Bullfrog” Colouration through weed-beds in approximately four feet of water. The water temperature reading at the catch location was 74 degrees. Said Mr. Johnson from the Golden Bobber Podium, “Many anglers have forgotten about the classic lures and presentations. Heddon products have been on the shelves and in my tackle box for years for a reason – they catch fish! Today conditions forced me to slow up my presentation, but ultimately the key was to get the lure where the fish were sitting.” That evening, all tournament participants were treated to a massive BBQ and grill buffet banquet courtesy of the Pit Masters from Weber Smokey Mountain. These “Mayors of the Charcoal” offered up smoked pork side ribs, “Roy’s Belly Busting Brisket,” and lightly seared Gar Pike tenderloins soaked overnight in buttermilk to get most of the sour out. ---------------------------- 30 ----------------------------

Thanks again for all of the feedback. Sounds like the consensus is that the 550 on sale is a much better unit than the other options in the price range. I doubt that my friend will be ice-fishing or using the unit on another boat, so I think the hard mounting will be the preferred/best option.

Thanks Woodsman - hope the installation isn't too hard for a rookie boat-owner. Appreciate the feedback.

Hello to all, Was hoping for some advice as we are looking to purchase a fishfinder as a gift for a friend who has just purchased his first cottage and a new 14foot tinny with a 9.9hp motor for tooling around his lake. We'd like to stay under the $150.00 price point and simplicity of use is a priority - as mentioned, this will be installed on a very low-tech boat. We picked up a Humminbird 550 that is currently on sale at Canadian Tire as a back-up - http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443281565&bmUID=1336843833211 - but are willing to return for another unit if another style is recommended. Also noticed the PirahnaMax series: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/SportsRec/Fishing/FishFinders/PRDOVR~0793911P/PiranhaMax+160+Fish+Finder.jsp?locale=en And the clamp-on style like: http://www.basspro.com/Humminbird-110-Fishin-Buddy-Ultimate-Portable-Fishfinder/product/97460/102949 None of us have ever installed or used these units, so would very much appreciate the advice of the experienced. Thanks so much.

Back in the city after a great weekend fishing Jack's Lake and staying with the amazing folks at Jack's Lake Lodge (http://www.jackslakelodge.com/). While the blazing hot afternoon weather made for slow daytime fishing, we did have success in the mornings and early evenings fishing smallmouth with texas-rigged worms and weedless plastic jigs. Fish were all caught in the log-filled bays or over the extended, submerged weed beds. We didn't get into any huge fish and topped out at a two pounder. We also managed to get into some very nice 3/4 pound crappie on crankbaits off of the resort dock. A big thank you to resort owner Joe for giving us a great bait and presentation tutorial. It was a valuable and much appreciated lesson from a master for this group of fisherman still learning the craft. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this lake and this resort. Thanks to board member Hank. Jr. for the suggestion and advance lake tips.

Thanks again for all of the great tips. We ended up confirming a long weekend on Jack Lake at Jack's Lake Lodge. Very much looking forward to the trip.

I was also looking at Miller's, but they only do full week rentals. Jacks Lake Lodge is willing to rent for a weekend, but the website is pretty barren and out of date and it was hard to tell if the place is in good shape. Wanted to make sure the place was in good order before placing a booking!

Hello to all, Does anyone have any experience staying at Jack's Lake Lodge in the Kawarthas? http://www.jackslakelodge.com/ We're considering a booking and would love to hear some feedback. Thanks in advance!

Awesome - very much appreciate the leads! I have to admit that we may lean toward some of the smaller lakes as Rice (while great) tends to get packed. Again, thanks for the sharing.

Hello to all on this very informative board! I've been digging through the incredible number of websites for Kawartha Lakes resorts seeking a 3 - 4 bedroom cottage weekend rental for the 2011 August long weekend (actually falls on July 30th this year). We'll also look to rent three boats. We've a group of 6 guys and can only spare a weekend (sadly) and the majority of resorts seem to only accept weekly bookings mid-summer (understandably). We've done Rice many times in the past and had an even better time on Buckhorn last year. There's so much knowledge on this forum I thought I'd ask to see if anyone had any suggestions. We're very much open to any lake in the area. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Thanks Jimmer - really appreciate the feedback!

Thanks Jer - we will be in the most basic of boats (tinnies and small outboards) as we're using the resort rentals. I don't think we'll be going large distances in those, so we are mostly interested in the areas reasonably close to the resort itself. Much appreciated.

Hello all! After hitting up Rice Lake for the past four years on our annual, casual guys fishing weekend, we are changing things up and will stay at Buckhorn Narrows on Buckhorn Lake this June 25 - 27th. The main reason we moved locations is that this was the only weekend that worked for all, and by the time we had settled on a date it was way too late to try to book a place on Rice (we didn't realize at first that this was bass opener. We don't have any sophisticated equipment, but have had some success on Rice in previous years. When we've ended up on the water later in the summer on overcast, choppy days we've tossed worms on bright coloured jig heads in the deeper waters and come up with some nice walleye. Last year we were earlier in the season and stuck to the weed beds on the north side of the lake and tossed plastics and real worms over top, and caught some very nice small and largemouth bass. We know nothing about Buckhorn and there seems to be little info out there on the web or the boards. Should we expect pretty much the same structure and techniques as Rice, or is there a different/better strategy to employ? I'd very much appreciate any feedback about the lake, successful techniques and presentations. Josh

We used Greg Klatt for walleye in the Kawarthas and he was great - a very successful morning on the lake: http://www.profishntanglingservices.com/