jediangler

Those rainbows look like they are in the bottom of a Sportspal canoe. Am I right? Nice walleye pics too by the way.

I always had my best luck up there in the Bonnechere river between Round & Golden lakes. Caught big smallies, small largies, hammer handle pike, 15" walleyes and even this, my only ever whitie. Haven't been up there since I met my wife camping at Tramore's covered bridge park. I don't hold that against the region though, I just haven't been able to return since 1994. A bolt of lightning hit the tree beside my tent and destroyed 2 of my 3 fishing poles. One of which was Lightning rod by Berkley. Maybe it was a sign?

Like Lew said, keep us posted. I would love to see some in season musky pics. One more month for us up here and then we can get into the action too.

For $10,000 you'll have to buy high mileage. That narrows it down to CRV, RAV4 & Subaru Forrester. All three are bigger 4cyl (2.4, 2.4 & 2.5) so towing a tinny is no problem and you'll still get good gas mileage. I wouldn't even be afraid of a high mileage Pathfinder. You'll increase your towing capacity but lose the good gas mileage. I work with a Tuscon owner who drives his cars hard and he loves it. I also work with a Rendevous owner who was surprised when I told him it was built in Mexico. He's owned it a year now and isn't very impressed.

That WF logo might be for World Famous. I have seen camping equipment and backpacks made by them. As far as that canoe goes...sure would make a nice flower pot. Good luck, I think you're going to need it.

I just keep on sharpening my bucktails and studying the fishing maps looking for something I've maybe missed in the past. Pike opener is so close, I can almost taste it. It doesn't taste very good by the way, but I'm still looking forward to both esox openers.

Well haulinbass I did buy a special mount for my fish finder transducer so that I could mount it to the bottom of my trolling motor. This way wherever my trolling motor goes my fishfinder goes too. It's great when using rentals. You can get one anywhere Eagle accessories are sold. When the water gets shallow the transducer comes up with the motor and is protected from rocks on the bottom. Other than that I used stainless steel bolts and lock nuts and drilled and bolted all the ribs in my Sportspal to the hull of the canoe. This keeps them from popping out while in the water or on the roof of my vehicle.

All you need are the quick release seat mounts. You could mount them in both the boat and the canoe. That way whatever boat you take, you can take the seats with you. I have nowhere to store my boat at home so I can't show you any pics. The quick releases are black heavy duty plastic and can be bought at crappy tire. Very easy to mount. Just bolt or screw them directly to the wooden seat frames and you're done. As far as the motor choice goes, that will depend on personal preference. I get more than 6 hrs fishing from one battery and always carry 2 in the boat at all times. I've used mine fishing around Emily PP as well as the Round and Golden lakes area north of Ottawa. Just make sure you go for a deep cycle battery and use the 2amp setting on your charger. It may take as long as 12hrs to charge a depleted battery.

I also have 2hp gas motor but I appreciate the silence of the electric. I frequent the conservation area circuit where gas motors are banned so my old 1974 johnson is gathering dust. I've used the Sportspal and electric in bigger lakes like Pigeon, Sturgeon and Scugog as well as medium sized lakes like Eugenia, Wildwood and Chesley. It all depends on where you intend to use it but overall I feel better about the electric because of the pollution from the gas motor.

I've had that same Sportspal going on 14 yrs now. I'm on my third and best trolling motor since buying this boat. I've got a 33lb thrust Maxxum from Minn-Kota. The key is the infinitely variable speed control rather than the 5 forward and 3 reverse speeds. Sometimes the #1 speed is too fast and switching it on and off really spooks the fish. The speed on the Maxxum can be dialed down where it's just barely turning. In the pic you can see I have a drift sock out the back. Combined with the trolling motor you have complete control of your drift in all but 30km/hr winds. I've pimped mine out with folding padded boat seats mounted on quick release mounts to make it comfortable enough for all day. If you have any questions about this boat, I'll be happy to give you my perspective. You're gonna love it.

Great report & pics. I live near the grand and fished it for many years. It always leaves you with a story to tell. Nice carp too.

I can imagine the crowd up at Allan Park this morning. I always liked the Saugeens, especially the Beatty and the Rocky.

Thanks for the report. I'll try looking in similar depths for crappie here. I've often caught large crappie on smaller bass topwaters, like jitterbugs. You gotta love when they get that aggressive.

Congrats on the great opening day. I ended up taking the kayak to Kelso for 3hrs from noon to 3pm. All I caught was 6" perch. Had the whole lake to myself except for a couple of shore anglers though. The beauty of this park is offset by the racket of the 401. So far I caught carp while trying for crappie and perch while trying for trout. Can't wait to see what I catch on pike opener.

Slower the better is right. I'm using one that is rated for a 14' boat on a 14' Sportspal canoe. They're also great for musky fishing. You can cover an area with more casts per drift casting bucktails if you are going slower.

I think there are lake trout in the south section of Jack's lake. Maybe the river running between Jack's and Stoney would have trout.

I buy mine at the medical supply store. Deep cycle gel cell 12 volt. They go in scooters and electric wheelchairs. No fancy carrying handles so I put mine in heavy duty canvas bags. Best part...no tax on goods for the handicapped.

Hey Clamp-It, I figured you for more of a Banjo guy. Don't know why, just did. Nice weapon, gotta love the Sunburst paint.

Glad to hear you're OK. I'm allergic to skunk, especially when fishing. My face turns red and my eyes water and I begin to shake all over

Nice fatty you got there. I'd take that bucket of perch over a bucket of chicken anyday. I wouldn't want to clean them all though. Good job.

Thanks all. That really was as much fun as I've had in the kayak. Roy all you have to do is ask my wife, she'll tell you how childish I can be. TbayBoy there's nothing like kayak fishing. If you get a chance, give it a try. It's like wearing a pair of chest waders that go in all depths of water. bookoobeast when I get out again I'll take some pics of the camera mount. It is made up of hockey sticks a peanut butter jar and parts of two different tripods. Also I was using the new Fireline Crystal line and really liked it, very sensative and strong. I was using 10lb test that has 4lb diameter.

Went down to Snider's flats by the Grand river to try out my kayak and several new upgrades that I've added since last year. I put larger wheels on my kayak cart which made the 1km walk from the car to the ponds a breeze. I fished for 2hrs from 1pm - 3pm for crappie with a small jig before I got a hit. When I set the hook I knew I didn't have a crappie on. It dogged down deep and pulled me around for ten minutes before I could get it to the surface. That's when I found I had tail hooked a 31" carp. I landed it and needed the pliers to get the hook out. I then used my new camera mount to take a pic before releasing it back unharmed. I estimated it somewhere between 12-15lbs. Maybe some experienced carp guys can make a more accurate guess. I had a blast with this fish and may consider trying for carp again from the yak.

When people had trouble catching walleyes on Scugog 20yrs ago they blamed the musky, 10yrs ago they blamed the "White Bucket Brigade" and now they are sure they can't catch them because of the crappie. I don't dispute that they may be harder to come by these days but lets put the blame where it belongs, on walleye fishermen. Last time I was there was 4 yrs ago and I caught a walleye on my first cast. It was 20" long and I kept it to eat. So if you want you can blame me.

Right you are Corn Nug.

Amen to that danbo.