Rich

Watched it last night.. definitely a good action flick. Stallone's still got it!

Just don't expect to catch a lot if the cats/sheephead arent running.

You guys do not want to be sticking 30 boats on that reservoir in september.. terrible fishing. Just a thought.

Glad to see he's fishing again. Good report. Tell the boy to give me a call. Haven't seen him since my brief stint as a college kid.

Whatcha got there is a bass with strong genetic ties to it's sunfish heritage

Of course salmon run the grand.. but with countless miles of river and fish in numbers of probably less than 100 your chance of getting one is slim to none. Steelheading can be alright if you hit it on a good day.. but there are much better spots than Caledonia dam.

Shimano Sedona.. best bang for the buck. Will last you forever.

Dude, next time you're out this way let me know.. we'll chase bass on a boat more designed for LPB. Nice fish though.

So, Friday night rolls around.. and in the mess of confusion Ryan is dealt with he manages to come out here, get me and my boat. My boat was being loaned to Splashhopper & Dutchie for the day. We got it loaded on the trailer, headed out to get gas then head to Ryan's house to get the final stuff ready for the event. Unfortunately a block from my house the trailer blew a tire and we had to (after stopping for wobbly pops) head back to my place and figure a different way to get the boat there. By george, I did it last week, I can do it again this week! On the roof of Ryan's truck it went. In the morning, things looked a little silly.. but all in all everything got there in one piece. Friday night after going over plans for the event and also reading over some maps and discussing ideas for fishing Ryan and I decided with our bright minds that we would hit the wobbly pops. Soon after, I was giving fishing tips I wouldn't normally give, and Ryan was putting a clinic on, skateboarding in his garage. PS: This is the first time I've ever seen Ryan NOT wearing a Facts of Fishing shirt! As the fun continued on Ryan realized he never had time to grab minnows for the guys that asked. In a diluted attempt, he tried to find worms as an alternative for the boys. Ryan was probably regretting the wobbly pops around 1am when Luke decided he also wanted his bottle. Morning hits.. I wake up at 5:10 (out the door at 5:25) and down some coffee. Load up equipment and hit the road. Some of the guys were there SUPER early! Before us, that's for sure. Sadly.. since Ryan lives right down the road. We all shook hands, talked fishing for a bit, then began the tedious task of launching all the boats. Eventually everyone got launched no hassles. Very different for a 'tournament'.. there were all sorts of boats from pro deep V's to Pelican Ram-X's.. I suppose if there's no gas motors allowed.. it's all a level playing field. Very cool for the guys who can't afford sweet bass boats.. or have buddies that work on fishing shows So finally, a little after 6am.. we're all fishing away. The fish are biting. Okay.. no BIG fish are biting, but at least we're catching.. We head up to the back of the lake where apparently everyone else decided to go. I was very reluctant to fall back on a spinnerbait this day because I knew big fish at DC reservoir would never be fooled by a spinnerbait. I put on a big fat Berkley Sink Worm (5" pearl) tossed it to a deep stump and WHACK! I set hook, 50lb braid.. the fish runs a bit, drag catches.. and he BROKE ME OFF! Now I didn't see if it was a bass, only other alternative is that it was a hungry carp... however, it sure did hook and feel like a bass. I think this was a BEAST I had just broken off. Anywho.. as we continued fishing and catching a bunch of 12 inch bass along the way my spirits began to lift again. When we decided to jig deep and I hooked THIS, I knew we were on the right track. And more 12 to 14 inch bass ensued. At about 1PM we had met for lunch with some other boaters and things were getting tough. We'd thrown everything in the box at all the most likely looking bass hideouts and had nothing but dinks to show for our efforts. According to all else we talked to, they were having similar days. Ryan even tried getting us into one of the few slop beds of the reservoir, unfortunately it was a bit shallow and he got hung up and had a heck of a time trying to get us back out. Around 3PM.. we're just about giving up and going to fish panfish. We head up to the most obvious, open laydown on the whole reservoir and for some reason I decided I NEED to toss a buzzbait at it. One of those gut feelings I knew was right. 2nd cast to the trunk and SMASH.. my one and only landed big bass comes to the boat! Ryan and I estimated it around 4lbs and it was a hair over 18" long with a hell of a girth. After this, we really got outrageous and tried jigging spoons in 40 feet of water.. to our surprise Ryan actually had a few hits out there (probably stocked rainbows) but never got a solid hookset into any of them. From there we basically played around with small baits on the weedbeds and caught small bass, bluegill and crappies. At about 5:30 PM we all decided to head back to the dock and get our bellies filled at Ryan's place. Ryan's family had provided a smorgasboard for us pigs to enjoy... I couldn't be more grateful for that! As it turns out, my bass was the biggest caught by far that day and I won the big fish prize. I didn't want to accept it being that I was helping organize the derby and fished on the organizer's boat, but they insisted I take a prize. I won a beautiful Shimano spinning rod and a pack of Gulp sinking minnows. Awesome! 12 hours was not enough for us diehards, so after dinner and some poop chat we all headed over to Lake Bonin to cast a line in. lol Like I said, this report was for our day of fishing - not the event. But I will say for a fundraiser whipped up like that in 3 weeks, it was very well done. The amount of money raised far surpassed any of our expectations. Ryan, his wife Ginny and his mother-in-law Suzanne REALLY, REALLY deserve a hell of a lot of credit for putting so much time and effort into an event where they profited nothing. Thank you guys, for everything. You ROCK! Ryan, I'll let you catch a big one next time we fish. You deserve it. I'll lend you a spinnerbait. I had a ton of fun, caught a bunch of fish and got to meet a great bunch of OFC'ers. I can't say I've had more fun than that fishing this year! Thanks to all who came out, can't wait to do it again next year. And Ryan, if I'm forgetting any entertaining hijinx please add them.. I still haven't slept since yesterday, LOL

An excellent report! Glad you got into a bunch of good fish and had a great time. Good stuff dude! :thumbsup_anim:

Energizers are good batteries.. mine lasts AT LEAST 12 hours.. actually I have yet to run it dead or even low in power.

I think we're talking a bit too much about Ryan's bum..

Anywhere there's an obvious bend or slack in the current.. fish the edge. Anything you use will eventually catch a smallie.

Nov. 1st 2007 Caught on a Williams Wobbler. The fish jutted out 6 feet from a logjam and ANNIHILATED the spoon. I witnessed.

Some of the back canals and eddies have some excellent slop fishing opportunities for big largemouth as well. Keep a scum frog tied on.

Surprisingly, none. lol. We toyed with the idea of picking up some pops but were just too lazy. haha

I wore mine on the Niagara River, and a lot of days on Erie I'll gladly put it on.. but most of the time do not. I know, I know, you can drown in a bowl of soup.. but I have a lot of confidence in my swimming skills. Especially in a boat that tops out at 5mph.. lol

I agree with GCD on the circle hooks.. corner hooked fish and usually hook themselves! Nice kitties!

Yesterday hooked up with TC10Z and buddy Rob (who I think is now a member here) for a day of bass fishing at some semi-local ponds. Rob has been hyping the ponds up in the past, promoting to me the amazing slop fishing opportunities.. so we decided to give it a shot. Phase 1 since TC didn't have a hitch.. getting the boat to the pond! Got it covered pretty quick even in my hungover stumbling stupid state. Good thing TC was in the right state of mind! Actually tying it to the roof worked out not too bad. Pretty easy, compared to the days of tying it to the roof of Sleded's S10 or my mom's Sunfire, LOL So we pick up our guide, Rob.. and start fishing a pond where I usually have success, he keeps raggin' on it telling me to go to his "hotspot".. then the S O B nails the 1st bass of the day on a Hula Popper. Now it's shaping up to be a beautiful day. It's hot, sunny and barely any wind. We fish a few more of my spots then I finally give in and decide to portage to Rob's super mega hotspot for slop fishing. Rob was under the impression however that I fish like other mortals, not realizing I fish about 50 times faster than any normal person. lol I figure, if the electric motor's there, keep it goin! After quite a dry spell I finally do connect with a little bass on a buzzbait. Rob and TC are flabbergasted. The boat is moving so quick they have no idea how to cast. I could tell they were getting frustrated.. and so was I. LOL I slowed down as much as I humanly can.. and it was painful! So we were all havin' a good time despite the slow fishing, everything was great.. we heard some thunder in the background. We all made excuses as to what it could be - denying the fact that there were thunderstorms coming. "It's a military shooting range" "It's the gravel place" "It's a factory"... then we saw the storm. I know, it's been discussed, but we were there on the front lines. We made it to the boat ramp JUST as the wind SUDDENLY picked up, on those ponds there were 3 foot rollers that picked the boat right up and put it on shore, then tried to take it away. Thank goodness TC grabbed the rope for the boat or it might have been gone! The wind was INSANE, I definitely thought A) there was gonna be a tornado on top of us or a tree was gonna kill one of us. I have been out in A LOT of thunderstorms, but that was by far the scariest I've ever been out in. We toughed it out and waited at the launch for it to pass.. things were uncomfortable after that but it did start to get warm and nice again. We portaged back into my pond and Rob nailed the big bass of the day which wasn't that big but none of us were gonna complain at that point! About an hour after TC had to make his long trek back home, unfortunately he did not catch a fish on this outing. On the way back I nailed a whopper bluegill on a grub. lol Upon returning, we found a tree had toppled across the launch, maybe 10 feet from TC's van. CLOSE CALL!! After TC headed home a defeated man and probably cursing the day he decided to fish with BBR, Rob and I BBQ'd some hot dogs. Rob was worn out however because this was his state from about 7:30PM til midnight. Well it was great to meet TC10Z, great guy. Did not complain about slow fishing or slamming the Filth Hound around, or even me flying the boat around way too fast, lol. TC if you ever make it out this way again I promise we'll go to a more GUARANTEED fishery, LOL and try to plan better around the weather perhaps. Had a great time out there boys, can't wait to do it again.

If it's the same as my old 3 horse, you push the button in to choke it. Pulled out means it's not choked, which means it's running fine. If all else fails, clean the carb!

Though I do love Deer Creek.. it's a tough fishery, on a good day. I'd go to Orangeville if I had the choice man.

I've got the same reel. I love it! You'll be more than satisfied with it.

Have only fished the Peterborough area for the last few years, but I remember when I was a teen we'd cruise up the Ottonabee and push pole our way into swamps on the sides of the river. We nailed some big bass back there..

Makes for a great fishing trip lol

Will be good to see you again James. No word on my end about the outboard situation. Hopefully the good people on the DC staff will allow them without gas tanks.