Homer Is King

Forgot to mention... The 33" came at about 8 am on a still line. The smaller ling bit mid afternoon!?! The 32" ling hit a still line at about 10 pm. It pulled the rod and holder right over and almost down the hole. What a fight!!

Thanks guys!! The perch bite was very slow! We did great with the other species but the perch weren't biting. We go a few but nothing big. The largest was 9.5" with most being less than 7". That's the lower limit of my personal "keeper" slot size. We let the first 2 ling go. When we landed the 3rd one we decided to give it a try. The 32" ling weighted in at 10 lbs 7 oz. None of use had ever cleaned a ling before so I did a quick Google seach on my iPhone and we were ready to go. They fillet about the same as a normal fish except there is not a lot of meat around the rib cage. It's all mostly high in the back. There is a lot of meat in the tail as well. We saw a couple of techniques where they would skin in like a rabbit but we filleted the skin off the fillets like a regular fish. Here's my buddy getting ready to go to work!! When we were do we had 2 long thick fillets. We battered it with fish crisp and fried it in oil. It was delicious!! The meat was very mild and very firm. We were curious about what it had been eating so we cut it open. What a surprise. The innards were more like a small mammal than a fish. The liver was huge (left side of the pic)! It had a mass of intestines. The roe sack was massive!!! If we had known she was a female we would have let her go... The contents of the stomach included a 6" ling, several minnows in various states of digestion, a couple fillets that looked perfectly cooked, and a small handful of back bones!

Over 10 years ago a buddy of mine invited me out on an ice fishing trip to Lake Nipissing that he organized every year. It was my first ice fishing experience and I didn't catch any fish but had a great time. Over the years I've slowly geared up, learn, and I have started to catch fish. I am now hooked on ice fishing and this yearly trip to Nipissing is one of my favorites! Unfortunately my buddy passed away a couple of years ago. In his memory we have continued the trips. We have named the derby after him. It makes the trip even more special to us. This year we returned to Chilly Willy's. It was our 3rd year with him. We returned because the last 2 years were very successful. He has clean huts that are in great shape. His service is really good. Plus, he puts us on fish!! This year was no exception! We had 2 huts for a total of 8 guys and everyone caught fish! We caught more walleye than any other year. We also iced some nice pike and a couple monster ling!! The first day we arrived the weather was warming up after a long cold snap and the pressure was dropping. During the day we found most of the fish outside the huts in deeper water (20 to 25 FOW). In the evening our hut was on 16 FOW and it lit up form about 3 to 6 on the first night. 80% of our fish came on this day. On the second day the low pressure stabilized and we had to work harder for fish. The evening bite was ok but nothing compared to day one. By day 3 the fishing had slowed right down. Most fish were caught on a hook and minnow that was jigged very slow. We also caught a couple on buck shot jigs tipped with a minnow. Here are a couple of my nice fish! A couple slot size walleye that promptly went back down the hole. Here are some of the other guys fish: A 32" and a 33" ling!! The ontario record is 36.5". We also got an 18" ling. These are the first ling I have ever seen caught up there (in person that is). Our operator was even surprised at the number of ling being caught by his cabins. Part of the tradition is having an epic meal on the first night. This year it was prosciutto wrapped, 2" thick beef tenderloin with Jerk shrimp. Epic!! We are up fishing and doing manly things. Real me NO NOT eat quich. That's way we bring these for breakfast: This is what happens when the fishing gets slow. It was another great trip to Nipissing. I am already planning next years trip!

What an epic project!! Thanks for sharing. I've enjoyed the updates. I can't wait for the pics of fish in the hut!

There was lots of ice on south bay. 12" to 14" average with a few spots even thicker. Our operator didn't want us taking our vehicles out but there were lots of full sized trucks out on the bay. The fishing was great, both quality and quantity! Our best year yet! Full report to follow...

I was up there this weekend. There was 12" to 14" of ice on south bay. You will have no problem by February.

Chilly Willy confirmed with us as well. Cars all packed, heading up tomorrow!!

Great video!! Very informative! I've GOT to get out there this year!

Thanks for the updates on the ice conditions!! Keep 'em coming! I have my annual trip planned with Chilly Willy the first weekend in January. I have my fingers crossed!!

Awesome!! Well done!

I started using the Sufix ice braid last year and I really like it. I like the Hi-vis orange, makes it easy to find your line on the ice. It does ice up a bit more than mono but it's worth it for the increase in sensitivity. I tie on a fluorocarbon leader. 18" to 5 feet depending on depth and water clarity.

We slice them and fry them in butter with a little pepper and salt. Awesome!! One of my favorite summer treats!

Awesome stuff! Those pics are stunning!! Great job on the clean up!

I'm note sure of the Simcoe end of the Trent but they are coming in from the lake Ontario side. They are up as far as Rice Lake now.

Wow, that's cool. You just moved the under water camera a few notches higher on my wish list! What make are you using? It seems to do a really good job!

Awesome trip! Thanks for sharing. It takes a lot of time to put a report like that together, thanks for taking the time to put in the details! That is a dream vacation for sure!

Thanks for all the post. I know the ice is a long way off but I've already started gearing up!! I've been reading a lot of mixed reviews about the triducer. There seams to be a lot of noise issues but I think that's more of a manufacturing issue. This will be the second season for them and I hope a lot of those issues have been addressed. I've read lots of positive feedback about Vexilar's costumer service when getting people with defective triducers new ones. I use industrial ultrasound for a living. I understand what happens in the transducer and the factors that affect cone size, sensitivity, signal to noise, etc. I just can't help shake the gut feeling that packing 3 frequencies into one probe will compromise on the performance. Still thinking....

Yep, we caught a bunch fishing at McRae point this summer. It's a round goby for sure, the black dot is the give away. The regs still state "If you catch a round goby it should be destroyed and not released back into any waters." (page 13) but I think it's too late for Simcoe.

Musky Mike, Thanks for starting this thread. I learned a lot and it helped me get my carb going. DanC, I've heard a lot about Seafoam and I'm now a believer! Got mine at Canadian Tire. Here's my whole story: My Engine is Running Great

My 7.5hp Honda has fought me since the day I bought it (last year). This season it was the worst. It would fight to start. It would idle but if you gave it gas it would stall. The spark was strong and there was lots of gas flow so I had it narrowed down to a carb issue. A mechnic buddy of mine had the carb apart at dock side and we tried to clean it but it didn't work. His suggestion was ultrasonic cleaning at a marina. While I was at McRae Point I dropped it off at a marina. They said they cleaned it but couldn't get it to work. They said I needed a brand new carp (rebuild kit wouldn't work) and a fuel pump. I had agreed to the work but the parts were not in when it was time to go so I picked up my motor before the work was done. The good news is they didn't charge me a cent, not even for the cleaning. I priced out the parts at Honda and wasn't willing to pay that much ($300 for both). I figured there had to be a better way so I turned to the internet and OFC. There it was, lots of info on cleaning a carb. I had never had a carb apart but after watching my buddy and reading the post here I figured I'd give it a try. I couldn't make things any worse!! After reading this post I came up with a plan. Carb cleaning cost Here is how I cleaned my carb: 1) disassembled the carb (took the bottom off, took off the float, and all screws) 2) spray every orifice with Seafoam Spray (Canadian Tire) and let it sit for 30 minutes 3) run a guitar sting through every orifice 3) blow compressed air through every orifice 4) then reassemble and instal (set mixture adjusting screw to 1-1/4 turns) After that it started on the second pull. After a a few tweaks of the idle screw and the mixture screw it ran great. I've used it for the last 3 days and it runs great. It's such a good feeling to have confidence in your motor. The Seaform was the best advice! I'm a believer! I also saved a wack of cash. Thanks OFC!

That looks like an awesome trip! Congrats on your first, and very successful, fishing trip!

On my last trip out this winter the transducer on my Vexilar FL20 crapped out. There is a loose wire in the transducer head itself. It was intermittent for a bit but it is now dead. I am now researching which transducer to replace it with. The old one was a 19 degree transducer and it served me well. I understand the effect of cone angle. I normally fish in 30 FOW or less however I do make the odd deep water trip. I have narrowed it down to 3 options: 1) Most expensive - Get a 9 degree for deep water and a 19 degree for shallow 2) Lease expensive - Get a 12 degree to cover most depths 3) Get the 8, 12, 20 degree Tri-ducer. Does anyone have any experience with the tri-ducer? There has to be some compromise when you put 3 frequencies into 1 transducer? Does the 12 degree Tri-ducer have the same signal strength / resolution as the 12 degree transducer? Any feed back would be greatly appreciated.

Preping the equipment the night before is key for me. I figure out what fish we are likely to target and rig up the rods accordingly. When I go ice fishing with the kids I'll rig everything up, rods and tip-ups. I'll even put on the hooks / jigs. I use hockey tape to hold them safely onto the rod handle or tip-up. That way we can start fishing right away. The kids can even set their own gear up as I am drilling holes because they don't have to worry about knots.

Ok, OK, Try launch at the pubic boat launch. Launching at the dock WILL get you some funny looks!

If your only looking to go for a few hours I think Scugog is your best bet. You can launch at the pubic docks in Port Perry. The public dock in Bewdley on Rice Lake is probably only 45 minutes away. It's another good option.