jediangler

Took my kayak to Gordon Pittock conservation area in Woodstock today. It is only 50km from home but I only ever fished there once. It was 10 yrs ago and we fished right above the dam in Woodstock. Today I put in at 11am at the other end of the lake. Took a few minutes to locate a suitable launch for the kayak, as well as a parking spot for the car. A very pea green algae bloom was in full effect so I started off rather sceptical. I knew the lake contained pike and bass as well as perch so I started off with a jig & grub combo. It was cool and drizzling on and off so I put on the raincoat. While casting near shore cover I got a hit and set the hook on this good sized carp. I was surprised that it was hooked inside the mouth as I have snagged carp in the past with jigs. I kept at it until 2pm with no other action to report. Saw 2 other boats and one shore fisherman in those 3 hrs. Looks like a spot that I should try in the spring around pike opener. Explored a bit and saw some wildlife. It's really cool how close you can get to animals in a kayak. I guess they don't perceive you as a threat. While exploring I used my camera mount to shoot a video self portrait in the kayak. When I got home and downloaded it, I find that it doesn't record with sound. It's a cheap kodak so I'm not surprised. I had to break out the iMovie and add my voice and some sound effects to it. It is my first video and my first sound editting done on my iMac so it's no "Action Angling" episode It is 3.5 minutes long and can be viewed here.

Don't listen to them Rich, that's a beauty sunfish.

I agree with Johnny, Emily has everything you could want, and you can fish it in any weather.

That's one healthy perch. You would think a tasty treat like that would have been gobbled up long ago in the Bog. Good to see the little ones out.

Great pics. You do look like you're freezing in the second one. GCD's right though, August or not, gotta dress for it. At least in the kayak you can warm up by paddling.

Great pics and story. I would have gone for a swim for my 6500 as well. Haven't tried trolling for muskies in my yak yet. Don't have a rod holder anymore, so I just cast for them. The Rockbass always get all chicks

Great fish. Good to know they are in the area. Thanks for the heads up.

A landing glove will be cheaper and easier to pack in the boat than a net will be. Just tail the fish boatside and remove the hooks with the fish still in the water. If you already fish for walleye, don't change a thing, other than a wire leader and maybe stronger line. Just troll around in 12' of water near weeds and the musky will find YOU.

If I only was allowed one lure on Pigeon, it would be a bucktail.Gold blade and black buck. Other than that, I've had good luck trolling Super Shads and large jointed rapalas.

You could always try the causeway across Chemong lake or the Gannon's Narrows bridge between Pigeon & Buckhorn. What the hey, you could do them both in the same day.

Great pics. I've taken a few shots through my polorized sunglasses and find that the amber coloured lenses work the best

I'v caught muskies in Pigeon on both the chrome and gold chrome Super Shad Raps. And if you want to catch a cancer musky, this one was caught on a bluegill Super Shad Rap.

The Nith is a beauty. My Dad took me for my first canoe adventure up near Ayr when I was 12. Great pics & report.

I'd pick Guelph over Belwood anytime. As far as hotspots go, it can be different every time you go. Your best bet is to buy a lake map at the gatehouse. I think they are $10 and show everything the way it was before the lake was formed. Try the road beds and foundations of the farm houses and barns that are marked on the map. You'll need a fishfinder to locate these areas. The creek arms are usually better early in the spring when pike first opens. You might still be able to scrounge up some crappie or perch in these areas right now. If you want pike you should try around the island where they hold the concerts and if you want bass try the island close to hwy #24. Here are a couple of pics from Guelph lake to show what can be caught. A 19.75" smallie caught on a jig & grub near the hwy. A 35" pike caught on a spider grub & football jig near the beach beside the island. A 13.75" crappie caught on a small jig & grub combo up in the creek arm. Good luck and take lots of pics.

Hey stuntman, my brother Joonmoon has a Crawdad by Coleman. He has had this boat for better than a decade now and loves it. He runs a 2hp gas at one end and a 40lb thrust electric trolling motor on the other end. He and his wife Goog take it everywhere from conservation areas to Kawartha lakes. They tow it in a utility trailer behind a Toyota Previa with a 2.4L 4cyl. I'm sure when he sees this he'll have more good things to say. Here's some pics of what I like to call the "Cooler with Seats".

Well done bro, looks like the kids had fun. Did you and Gadget get a chance to wet a line, or were you too busy with the little ones.

Just a thought, if the tourney is Sunday, what percentage of the tournament anglers will be pre-fishing on Saturday?

Great report Rich, and I love your Dad's shirt.

Try calling your local Big Brothers & Sisters group.

I wear neoprene water shoes in the kayak and running shoes in the canoe. If I'm musky fishing in a rental boat I wear green patch hiking shoes. Safety first.

Thanks all. I had intended to take the family swimming there on the holiday Monday but after the news of the bacteria levels we went to Bingeman's instead. Cost me $70 for the wife, daughter & I for a little over 2hrs of waterslides and wavepool action. Once a year is enough at those prices. As for turtles BGis, I have not seen any there but don't usually go into the stumps. I like the drop off near the islands and the down trees and stumps along the deeper forested shoreline. The biggest turtles I ever saw were at Wildwood conservation area. Manhole cover sized beasts with heads the size of your fist. Even caught one there on a deep diving lure while trolling.

Nice smallie danbo. Man you have a lot of crap in that kayak. How do you fit your legs in? We'll have to hook up in September for some chinooking in the yaks

Lew, you just have to show these jerks how far you can cast a suick. That would get you some respect and probably 50 more feet to yourself.

Went to Shades Mill conservation area on Sunday to try for some crappie on the ultra light. Put in at the launch at 2pm. I was using a 1/16oz jig & grub combo in yellow. Caught 6 largemouth, 1 smallmouth, 6 perch, 3 WGSF and 10 crappie. With the wife & daughter away for the day, I thought I might keep a few for table fare. Neither of them will eat fish and don't like the smell when I'm cooking them. I have a self imposed limit system for crappie where I only keep fish between 9-11" releasing the smaller and larger ones. After 4pm it began to cloud over and rain very lightly. This cleared the packed beach and all but one of the boats on the water. By 7pm I had only 2 keeper crappie so rather than clean two fish I took a photo and released them back into the lake to be caught another day. These two fish were 10.5 & 11". Also, at the gate when I came in I was told that the bacteria levels in the lake were above provincial guidelines and that swimming was at your own risk. I imagine that eventually the levels will be high enough to close the beach completely.

Looks like you had a fun and productive couple of weeks Lew. I too would like to know the length of that ugly one. I caught my biggest on a figure 8, but don't do it as much as I should. It wasn't the one that followed that hit my bucktail, it was a different fish that came from under the boat. Often wondered, when the bite is hot, whether just doing a steady figure 8 might out produce casting.