Familyfisherman

My buddy and I landed 5 up to 15 lbs. We lost 3 others and had quite a few bites but they were tough to hook. Water is still very cold. It is just the beginning of the run I think. It was definitely better in the hot afternoon sun. It is worth a trip but not at its peak yet. We fished from 11 - 5.

Hope that helps.

Landry

Thanks very much guys -- and nice report and pics.

Hopefully things continue to warm up this week and we may give it a try next weekend!

Just wondering if anyone's been down to Dunnville fishing for Cats on the grand?

Thinking of heading down later this week if it's worthwhile.

Thanks for any updates.

Excited to get started on the soft water

Hey I appreciate the comments folks.

The satellite link was very helpful.

Just wondering when I should begin to get the boat ready...looks like it'll be some time yet.

Good fishing, and thanks for the advice.

Kevin

I've never fished Owen Sound previously, but i wondered about giving it a try this spring. Just wondering if anyone has any current info on where we're at as far as ice, and if it's fishable yet, etc.

I'm also assuming standard stuff will work -- body baits mostly at this time of year?

Happy for any advice -- this will be our first time there.

Coming from Barrie.

Thanks,

Kevin

I was on in the morning but can't get on now, I'm with Bell.

To add to the discussion, it is absolutely idiotic what's gone on for the last few months. There has to be a simple way to delete problem people -- there's some great folks on there who would be more than happy to moderate, and would do a great job of it.

The site has helped me more than any other -- I live in Barrie, so fishing Lake Simcoe is very convenient, but simply can't be done successfully without some guidance. Insane that a few extreme people can ruin a board so easily...

As granny used to say...fishing lures mostly catch fisherman...I've used a few of the live target lures and enjoyed very good success. I especially like the crawfish wakebait -- smallies love it...unfortunately so do muskies, so I have trouble keeping them for long, and at $14 each it can get expensive...

Excellent fish -- love the colours!

Similar to others -- I like the Lindners Fishing Edge and In Fisherman shows. I also enjoy some of the Canadian shows -- Fishfull Thinking, Fishin Canada, Bob, and Canadian Sportfishing. However, the Lindners get much more indepth with their techniques and specifics...Charlie does more than some of the others also.

On the negative side -- I like Extreme Angler at times, but I really enjoy Mark Kulic, and he isn't on much anymore. Also, I find the cameras change around way too much...hard to watch. I don't like Going fishing...very limited techniques...I get bored watching people catch 1.5lb walleye one after the other on their free trip up north.

Not a big salt water fan...my 2 cents.

Thanks guys

Ryan Hare aka Troutguy

[email protected]

Both Steve and Ryan are capable guides on Simcoe.

Not sure about the travel situation...very slushy right now on the lake, tough on ATVs...I was out Wed -- good fishing, but slow going and very wet, especially around cracks...

Good advice folks. I use ice braid, which "claims" to hold less moisture. I also find at depths its sensitive enough to feel the very light bites of wf on bottom. Gotta stick with that.

Thanks again...

I've used multiple ice fishing reels over the last couple of years. Most came with a combo, and were fairly low end.

This year I special ordered an HT reel -- it had 7 bearings and was the best I could find in their magazine, but last week I took it out to try and twice the line was caught in the roller

Not exactly what I was hoping for...I'll be returning it.

Any thoughts on a mid-range reel for WF and trout -- I usually use 8lb braid, fish are mostly 3-6lbs, largest last year was 21 but that's rare. In the $30-$50 range would work.

Thanks for any opinions...

Heck of a quote Doc...I had to read it 3 times

I use an ugly stick, 28 and 32 inch med and med heavy with a softer tip. Works well for whities and lakers -- caught one at 21lbs last year and it was fine. Obviously your reel will be decent.

You're only going to buy one, so don't go on the cheap. Consider medium to medium heavy, ensure the tip is sensitive enough for light bites, and get a screw in reel seat and cork handle...also ensure the eyes aren't too small, they ice up like crazy.

Avoid the rods that are too thin...they aren't very forgiving if you bump them around a bit..."snap"

I attended a meeting last year on the subject with Jason and a couple others from the Ministry...simply an excellent presentation.

The gist of things is that due to many factors, the O2 levels have been rising on Simcoe for many years now, and have been above the 4% range -- which is critical for reproduction. When the levels are below this, the fish still reproduce, however the small fry have to go up off the bottom to find acceptable O2 levels so they can survive, and they're eaten by larger fish...their survival is much better if they can stay right on bottom.

They do some type of netting in some of the deepest parts of Simcoe in KBay each year, and for the last few years have consistently found small native trout -- very small hatchlings right on bottom. Prior to this they did not -- so things have really been improving.

They cut the stocking from 100,000 annually to 50,000 annually to allow the native fish to fill in the gap with spawning -- they won't if the trout numbers are too high -- nature has a way of knowing how many fish can live and how much food is available.

The native fish survive better, fight harder, and overall provide for a much healthier fishery. So they will try the lower stocking number for 5 years and evaluate at that point if they should keep it the same, lower it further, or increase it based on the results.

Native catches for both trout and whitefish have been steadily increasing -- last year I myself caught well over 30 native trout -- the largest was about 8.5 lbs jigging in May. These results have been consistent by many anglers in the area.

I find native fish are more colourful than stocked fish, and are much more spry. I couldn't easily find any pics to share but there are some above, I just thought to summarixe the presenation for you might be of interest.

Good luck as the water hardens! Another guy went through off Willow Beach, and one off Innisfil Beach this week, so don't rush it, ice is still very unpredictable.

Went to the website, the place looks quite reasonable.

What's the fishing like? I've never fished Nippissing, but it isn't very far away.

I'd be interested in some feedback -- always looking for a good place to go.

Just curious.

Thanks

Fantastic stuff!

About how much ice were you on?

Ha, nice! I was thinking something was up when everything came flying out of the back of the vehicle

Absolutely fantastic!

Nice work...Where were you fishing?

In Barrie they ran out of anything but Mediums almost instantly 2 weeks ago after they put them out...Medium wouldn't fit my left leg I think they had 4 mediums left, and only got 4 large and 4 extra lg according to the guy there...nice order

Italo's a great guy, and nice job on the show!

Hope things at G2 are going well -- it's Kevin, you took my dad and I out last fall -- fishing was tough, but we enjoyed it and learned some things.

All the best, and Merry Christmas!

Kevin

Great fish! Easily 25lbs or better... It was out close to 2 minutes, but it seemed to cruise away reasonably well..

Now that's funny.

Gotta love the Lindner family -- classy, great fisherman, always quick to teach others what they've learned through hard work and time on the water...simply excellent.

For me them being Christians and living their lives to please God and help others just makes them all that much more honourable...

Quite a legacy to live up to Dave!

Wow -- good shootin!

Doing nothing is very hard to do...you never know when you're finished

Hey looks like a great year Steve.

See you on the hardwater!

Kevin

PS -- I'm hoping to join BBM next year, looking forward to learning lots...