JPD

That's too bad Brian... I hope he's got a short term memory and you can get him into your cross hairs this fall!

That's awesome Limey! Although he really doesn't look all that impressed in the second pic! Adorable kid you got there! JP

Good work Leechman... one suggestion I have is to use steel BB's instead of lead since the lead is pretty soft and will give off low ticking and eventually flatten a bit losing their free rolling ability where the steel will have a louder and higher pitch.. the ones they sell for sling shots are awesome! Keep it up, seems like you've found a bit of a passion/hobby here! JP

Here's an interesting read on a site that was sent to me by a good friend who deals with the human body all the time.. Swine Flu Article I personally don't believe in getting a shot as I agree that our bodies become stronger by fighting things off. For people with medical conditions or weaker immune system, yes it can help but for someone who is perfectly healthy it's a shame that they would let their body get lazy! JP

I have used both and personally find having any extra handle on rods a bit useless. With my Loomis rods they are all cork but the Cumara rods had foam... I liked both and couldn't say one was better than the other with the exception of the fact that with lower grade cork there is a lot of filler which is typically made up of glue and cork dust and after time in the sun, normal wear and tear and getting wet the filler starts falling out and leaving quite ugly gashes in the handle. The High density EVA foam seemed much more durable for what I put them through. Plus they never look dirty!

That was a classic moment for sure... I am typically very sure footed as I fish on the front deck of my boat in 4 and 5 footers with no seat or pro pole but that morning was a bit different... as Dave described it "I was log rolling" for a bit before I came crashing down. Note to self... never step onto a wet wrap when boarding the boat... lucky for me I am fairly used to taking bodily abuse after years of playing football and it sounded a lot worse than it felt when I came crashing down face first onto Dave's front deck... the best part is that I was up in a flash and never even dropped my smoke!

The reason guys brought in one, two or three fish is because there is a payout for the 36th spot and one for the mystery weight.

Oh no, we fished! Ran the rough which really wasn't that bad of a ride... thank God Dave can drive a boat! Took us an hour to get to our first spot... the fish were there but not cooperating at all... stayed on it for a little over an hour without even a sniff! Moved to our second spot that had 5 other boats on it and only 3 fish were caught out of the six boats there... marking lots but super tight lipped... checked out two more spots, marked very little on the next one and had a pile of fish on the last spot.. had two bites there and both Dave and I rolled over the fish on the hook set but never got them to the boat! That's fishing Simcoe in the fall... you can catch 25 or 0 and it's one of the only lakes like that! The team that won only had 7 bites and landed every one..another team only had 5 but weighed in over 27 lbs... I don't know of any team that was on the big fish that had double digit fish caught. If you wanted to catch a bunch but have no shot at winning then there were areas for that but what's the fun if you're not going for the win which means you need better than 28 lbs! Dave and I agreed to stay on our big fish spots knowing full well that we could come up with nothing... and did! Last year we had big fish on a spot the day before the event and on the day of they changed from 4's, 5's and 6's to under 2 lb fish! Smallmouth move, they shut down and they don't handle pressure very well, especially come event day! Rotten fish! Some of the lake's best anglers had really tough days and it shows from the results... when the weather is that rough and you only have 7 hours in the day and you use up two of them running there and back you really feel the pressure knowing you don't have much time left... you have to hand it to Barry and Jason as well as the other top 10 teams that landed everything they got. Roy, I wish I were that smart to stay safe but unfortunately our competitive nature and experience with big water makes it more of a challenge for us. I once ran 16 miles to a spot in a Lake Erie tournament in legit 10 footers and by the time we hit Point Abino they were 12's. We totally submerged on one wave when it folded over us and filled the boat to the top of the gunnels and just started up the motor, pumped out the boat and kept going... it really is amazing what a bass boat is capable of if you know how to handle them and the water. What an amazing event it really was fishing the Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open.. I have to hand it to George Wallace from BPS, Andy and Vita along with their crew from the CSFL and the Aurora Bassmasters along with their volunteers and those from the CBAF who made sure that all aspects of the event ran smoothly and professionally. We are really looking forward to another shot at it next year! JP

Rick is right regarding the knowledge part... if you are unfamiliar with the process many things can greatly reduce the survival rate of the fish. One thing is however certain.. an unfizzed fish floating on the surface is destined to die almost 100% of the time. People who fizz under water to see the bubbles run the risk of introducing water to the fish's bladder like when a bottle is held underwater. Once the air is out it will act as a vacuum. I always listen to the air coming out by placing my ear next to the needle end. Also keep in mind that if you catch a fish from the deeper waters and don't put it in a live well then they can easily swim back down to the bottom since it typically takes 10 minutes for the "bends" to reach it's full effect. The bigger the fish, the closer to the front the air bladder will be. The best all around way I have found is to lay the pectoral fin flat and the spot is just under an inch back of the fin tip and a few scales up. JP

In conjunction with Queens University and the local MNR there is a tagging project going on behind the scenes at the Bass Pro Shop's Lake Simcoe Open. I was there to assist Melanie Frost with the fizzing of any fish that were suffering from the "bends" after being brought up from depth. Smallmouth cannot release or burp the air out of their bladders so when they are caught from deeper water and retained in a live well they inflate and begin to float upside down. We deflate the airbladders with 16 gauge needles and give them the chance to swim back down to the bottom where they are comfortable... if this procedure is not done the fish can never swim back to the bottom and spend the last few days of their lives floating on the water susceptible to the birds in the area. The procedure has been tested by Queens and they have also proven that the air bladder fully heals after the deflation! JP

The Shimano Clarus 13' has a lifetime warranty for under $200 and is probably the only one. You must realize that the rod will be heavier than a $600 GLX Loomis but hey, for an entry level rod with lifetime warranty you can't go wrong! Lots of back bone with this rod as well not like the old Canadian Northern Series that used to start bending at the cork! JP

No worries Louis, you would have done the same thing if you were beside that dock they were dumping the smallies off of. I ended up fizzing an extra 7 bass and took them out to deep water. The worst part is that they were dumping them in 2 feet of mud filled water from all the boats loading at the ramp. Several of the anglers fishing this Grimsby clubs event were well know people and one's that I have gotten to know fairly well over the years fishing Erie... I am pretty shocked by this since two in particular have helped the CBAF with fizzing over the years and are good people. Pretty sad when the resource is secondary to a silly tournament. JP

Welcome back Lew, glad you're enjoying the boat!

Saturday at 9:00 pm, Sunday at 5:00 am and Sunday again at 1:00 pm on WFN. Clips are loaded onto the WFN site as well but not the fishing part.

I actually started fishing Scum Frogs years ago but quickly realized that the Snag Proof frog is a better mouse trap. Scum Frogs have a sub par hook with horrible steel that is loaded with imperfections. The frog also weighs less thus casting less than the newer counterparts. The only positive thing I liked about the Scum Frog was the softer landing and subtlety of the bait for certain conditions. When things are tough I go to the Snag Proof 1/4 oz bait and have for years now. There's no doubt they work but will get beat almost every day by a better performing weighted version. The other problem I had with them is that they tear very easily and fill with water!

We should get out on the river one day together with Louis... I would like to see one of these so called moments !

Weeds, there usually is two types of Frog rods out there... the short and the long. Sorter like 6'9" to 7'2" are more for working open water especially with the newer frogs that have keel designs. They can walk like a Spook pretty good. In those rods I like a Medium Heavy Power with Fast action. For the Pads and stuff a 7'2" to 7'11" Medium Heavy to Heavy with Fast or Extra Fast action will work really well. The thicker the cover the heavier the rod power should be. I know from experience that the longer rods will also cast further and pick up more line on the hook set not to mention the leverage you have to get their heads out of the junk and moving towards the boat. Baits like Scum Frogs don't hold a candle to the newer generation frogs that have the keel systems, rattles and are tail weighted to stay belly down and cast further... one of my very favorites is the Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog but also really like the Spro Bronzeye 65 and Tru-Tungsten Mad Maxx. JP

I hear you do that to him quite often Solo

Bwahahahaha... wouldn't you love to know Louis,,, Starts with a G ends in a Y and no I'm not calling you anything Tons of water like this out there and tons of clone fish like the one's I was catching! I let you figure it out now... if it takes you too long I will be expecting a beer at the next meeting BTW Mojo.... the gear is great and everything but when I first started fishing frogs about 10 years ago I loved using a Compre flipping stick 7'6" with a Calcutta 200 and 40 lb Ironthread... It was heavy as a combo but I still caught a bunch of fish that way. Obviously now the rods are lighter and the reels cast further and of course the line doesn't feel like steel cable but the fish hit it just the same. I think the biggest advantage is less wear and tear on the arms and a longer cast!

No problem Marc, I can't honestly say I will or won't ever agree with you on your points but they are yours and I have mine... Regarding the threat... the following quote from your initial post reads as a threat to me.. not one that has me sweating by any means or worried that you are going to come to my house and lecture me... it just comes across that way and sometimes that's the problem with writing things on the net... they can be easily misinterpreted which I assume that was not the intent of your post... As for taking this personally... well you somehow have taken it upon yourself to save me in an evangelistic type manner... I'm not a crack smoking abuser of the resource, lacking in the Karma department or searching for Jesus... I help people out whenever I can and was raised in a Catholic home and taught to treat others the way I would like to be treated, that's why I have run a successful business in the service industry for over 15 years and most importantly I'm just a guy who loves to fish who happens to enjoy the spring Smallmouth fishing that Lake Erie has to offer... the Devil incarnate I am not although some may disagree . I would certainly hope that I am not being singled out because of my show... if that's the case I would think that is a bit hypocritical since everyone else is free to abide by the laws of New York but I in good conscious should not. Also the first line of your quote I placed above IS judging my ethics and morals... maybe it's the whole written thing once again... I can fully appreciate the science behind the argument but there is a better way to get one's point across rather than trying to ram it down the persons throat with a spoon full of "I told you so!" I can be as stubborn as they come and as argumentative and God knows I love a good debate every so often but to be told that the only way I will survive in this industry is to follow your beliefs just happens to "Wow" me a bit... in case you're wondering where I gathered that from... Thanks for the well wishes with the show and I promise I will try to behave although I can't guarantee anything ! Take care JP

BTW... I agree it was a great read and I actually had a conversation about the studies done on Lake Opinicon with Dr. Bruce Tufts on the weekend while we were visiting the Queen's research facility. Bruce has been making incredible strides in improving the fish handling in tournaments by developing the Shimano Water Weigh in System and we did some great Q&A's for the the new WFN Show, Green. We talked about a bunch of interesting topics that will be of interest to everyday anglers and got the science behind the fishing... the test study on the spawning fish is actually something that we had discussed while fishing together. Very impressive studies going on there and I look forward to some great improvements to the current system. JP

Wow, I really don't know what to say Marc .. I really respect what you do in the industry but calling out my ethics and base line threatening me seems a bit much don't you think? I don't think I need to toot my own horn here either with what I try to give back to the sport that has given me so much in return... Fishing Lake Erie in the spring is completely 100% legal and I am fishing pre spawn feeding fish in depths over 20 feet of water with water temps in the 40's. These fish are over a month away from heading into the shallows to spawn... typically the ice is only out for a week or two when we are out there. However, if I were to choose to sit on a nesting fish I am still 100% within the New York state law... they make them, I am abiding by them. Is it any different in Texas, Florida, California or other Southern States in February? Are all of the Elite Series or FLW Pro's morally unethical for participating in the events during the pre spawn or spawn? I don't think so at all... personally it really isn't my place to judge them since they are all well with in the limits of the set laws by local DNR agencies. Like GCD said, one can very easily put together a show on fishing nests effectively but I choose not to for my own personal reasons... that again is my choice since my show also airs here and I am respecting the Canadian rules and regulations. I have absolutely no interest in getting to an argument with you regarding this and I typically don't appreciate being judged by someone who really doesn't know me... I really think there are better ways to get your point across. I also understand you are frustrated with the B1 and what happened this year regarding the open season but please don't take this out on everyone who enjoys New York's early season fishery. I am not a scientist nor will I try to argue your statement about the YOY sizes... that may be true, I can't say but I do know how to read a regulations book and make sure that everything is well within the rules. I hope you enjoy the rest of the season and maybe we can get a chance to meet at one of the shows in the winter and chat. Best regards JP

It will depend on which model and length you go for but there will be a substantial difference in overall weight and balance with the Cumara. They are very tip light compared to any other rod currently made by Shimano which says a lot and are under 5 ounces so you will be looking at less than 12 ounces for a total combo weight. One thing you will also notice right away is how much power they have for a small and super light blank. The IM-10 graphite is very responsive and has a ton of backbone. JP

Skeeter99, I have never heard of this so unless I'm being kept totally in the dark there are no permits for such things. That's why we head down to New York for the smallies in the spring!

We really are trying to keep the format a bit different and have something unique. There are a million fishing shows out there... some are great, well produced and have a great host like Dave and others are well... there. The idea for the show was something different and that's what appealed to me more than anything! In the end of the day the setup moves along quite nicely, constantly changing pace and it's far easier for me to get the fish I need on film when I only need a few allowing me to get a couple or a few fishing segments done in one day leaving me time to concentrate on the studio and underwater stuff... I really feel for Dave since I have seen how he does it and it's not easy, he just makes it look that way! When the cameras roll it's a different game out there and he has to over come way more obstacles than I do and does it well. The fishing time this year is definitely up from last year with 3 fish typically at the end of the show ranging from 5-8 minutes depending on the explanations and what technique I am using. Next week we are going to be featuring the slop frog technique in some crazy heavy cover so it should be fun!