jediangler

I use the 10lb crystal on my ultra-lite. Landed a 31" carp that I tail hooked while kayak fishing on it so I'm pretty confident. It's just so much easier than mono to deal with and casts great. I'm usually throwing a 1/16oz jig on that rod so casting distance is what it's all about.

Nice first post Dude. Sweet musky too.

Well F&N, we were throwing jig & grub combos, white was the most productive. Nomad there is a nice park with launch and parking just past the 401. Go over the 401 on HomerWatson and then go over the river. The park entrance is on your right shortly after the bridge over the river. It's called Moyer's Blair landing. Where were you going to put in? I'm on 3-11 shift tonight or I would join you.

Nice bass. Don't forget, the Valen's bass and pike derby is July 12/08. It also has panfish categories for the kiddies.

I used to hear voices in the gorge along the Grand river near Elora. Turned out it was just a bunch of drunken campers in the conservation area.

Nice fish Tundra'n. Thought maybe you gave up fishing, hadn't seen any reports for a while .

Walleyeguy, my cousin from Alberta, was in Toronto on business and wanted to do some Ontario fishing. I decided we should fish the Grand river right here at home in Kitchener. We made the call to the local canoe and kayak outfitter and rented 3 kayaks for the trip from Breslau to Freeport. http://www.canoeingthegrand.ca One for my cousin, one for my brother Joonmoon and one for me. The cost per kayak was $35 for that stretch of the river. The Shipper met us at the Victoria st. bridge with his little Sportspal equipped with electric trolling motor. He doesn't like to paddle . I had a good laugh when I saw the rentals, they were the same yak that I already own. Notice how my paddle matches so well. We just barely passed under the RR bridge when Walleyeman gets a fish and then Joonmoon gets one. Then Joonmoon gets one worth a pic. This trip is 10km long and takes 2 hours if you paddle. We took nearly 4.5 hours because we fished and were in no hurry. Walleyeguy caught the next fish that was worthy of a pic. I caught a couple of little ones but nothing to write home about. The Shipper was getting a little nervous as he had yet to get a fish. He started to blame Joonmoon, who had thrown a BANANA into his Sportspal earlier in the journey. Finally the Shipper gets one and it's the fish of the day. A lovely 18" Grand river smallie. When we arrived at Freeport we just pulled the yaks up on shore and helped the Shipper get his Sportspal on the roof of my car. When I got home there was a message from the outfitter saying someone had left their tackle box behind. Sure enough it was mine. He kept it at the front desk with my name on it and I picked it up later. As far as growing the sport I think the boys liked the freedom of kayak fishing but comfort was a problem. Joonmoon is 6'4" and Walleyeguy is at least 6'2" so they didn't fit as well in a 9'6" kayak as I do being 5'11". If they got into a 12-14' kayak they would have room to stretch out and change position a little. This is a great way to see if kayakfishing is for you and compared to buying one it's pretty cheap.

Nice fish pics and videos too. That looks like a dream day on the water to me.

Definately Tigers. Maybe the Tigers are eating the pike . I heard of Tigers being caught on Elephant and Baptiste lakes in recent years as well.

Great pics and report. The world of fishing is full of colourful characters, with a few mixed in.

Nice fish Rich. They are really light coloured, the water must be very cloudy. Am I right?

Great report and pics. Looks like you have a future bass pro on your hands there. I love fishing with my daughter. Hopefully we can still be fishing together when she gets to be your daughter's age.

Looks like he's unwrapping his line from the trolling motor. And then he's gonna sit on his sandwich. What did I win?

Sportspals are so well enjoyed by fishermen that they rarely make it up for sale to the general public when used. Usually they stay in the family or get passed on to good fishing buddies first. My brother and I got our first one from an Uncle who had it for 22yrs. That is why I had no hesitation when buying a brand new one. Those plastic canoes at CTC are fine for paddling but are nowhere near as stable as a Sportspal. I wouldn't want to try fishing for musky out of a Pelican, a Coleman or any other canoe. When I bought mine the guy selling it used his for duck hunting and had no problems unloading both barrells of his shotgun over the side without it getting tippy.

The Grand river bass derby has a category for under 16, it is this coming weekend but the prizes get lamer every year.

There is one coming up at Valens conservation area. I believe it is on the 12th of July.

What no pics? Come on, you know we love pics. Well then you'll just have to tell us where your ponds are

Great report and pics. I hate fishing out of the back, unless I get one that the guy in front missed

Well done gentlemen. I'll have to remember to bring my topwater box next trip to the Bog.

We decided to go for our bass opener on Sunday at Guelph lake conservation area. We arrived at 5:45am just in time to see the OPP escort some campers out of the campground. We were in the water fishing by 6am. The Shipper brought along his dog, Manna, to fish with and it stood guard protecting our boats. She turned out to be a pretty good boat dog and spent most of her time watching the Shipper's jig & grub as he reeled it in to the boat. I had Rufus in my boat and he was the man today landing 5 bass (3 largemouth & 2 smallmouth) as well as 2 pike. Here he returns a 16" largemouth to the lake with the Shipper and Manna in the background. The Shipper caught 1 pike and 1 smallmouth,both small. I caught 1 pike and several small perch before I hooked this 11" perch and then this 14" smallmouth shortly after. The bass went back but the perch came home for supper. Rufus managed big fish of the day as well as the first and the most. This largie was 18.5" and hit a wooly beavertail thrown to wood cover. Water temps were 74F and the wind was SW15km/h. We had about 30 minutes of rain but that was it as most of the time it was sun & clouds. Saw lots of boats fishing and many kids swimming and having a great Canada day weekend. We called it a day at 12noon. Back on top of the cars for the short and sweet 45km drive home. Good fun on the water with buddies and a bulldog.

I have a 14' transom Sportpal and have been fishing out of it for 14yrs. My buddy bought the 12' transom 3yrs ago. The difference in weight is minimal (14'-58lbs & 12'-53lbs). There is plenty of room for two to fish out of both but more room for gear or a little one in the 14'. You won't be disappointed if you buy a Sportspal.

Looks like a good opener Rich. I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your fritters. Lake Erie can be a brutal witch sometimes.

Nice fish John, you gotta love the Grand river, anywhere you fish it.

Nice bass Mike, great start to your holidays.

I guess maybe salmon on Lake Ontario is the only thing I wouldn't try. Everything else is fair game. WALLEYE PIKE MUSKY LARGEMOUTH SMALLMOUTH BLUEGILL CRAPPIE PERCH TURTLE Heck you can even sail in a Sportspal.