mepps

Nice one Gavin - that is one slick boat!

Great stuff, you sure have caught a lot of pound of fish this spring!

Those are some great looking smallies!

I've been spending all of my spare time chains trout and small Atlantic salmon in a small river. Its been pretty productive, but its not easy fishing for my two year old son because its pretty shallow and there are tons of rocks to snag. This weekend we decided to look for some bass and head to deeper waters. We hit up a nearby lake armed with LiveTarget smelt - I have been itching to use it since I got back from Toronto earlier this month. It didn't take long to hook the first fish - a nice little smallmouth on the first cast! I decided to hand the rod over to my son and within minutes he had his first fish of the day too! I thought it was still pretty early in the season for bass, but they were all over this little lure. He even had a couple of perch to end the day! And finally when he realized that bass and perch arent quite as soft as trout, he quickly adapted to using the ole lip grip! I did some solo fishing the next day and got into some nicer fish, the biggest around 2 lbs - but sadly forgot the camera at home!

Awesome stuff brother!

Great work!

Great stuff again!

AWESOME! Doesn't get much better then that!

I've got three, including a salt water Ugly Stik tiger - I love em! Not the greatest rods out there, but for the price they are perfect.

All of those are awesome SYN - whered you get those flies - I love the epoxy heads!

Wow - GBW, you boxes sure make mine look dirty! Usually I just have one box with me full of lures for specific fish I'll be targeting, mostly I just carry the spinnerbait box Heres some of my stuff, no including muskie lures (a collection I've recently expanded!!), soft plastics and the lures I make...

Nice work!

Wish I could Roy!!!

Yup, Saint John musky...right in Fredericton.

Thanks guys! For anyone wondering, I have a Canon Rebel XS and the lens that give that nice soft blur in the background is just $120 (probably the cheapest canon lens you can get!) Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II Lens The first 5 images are from the standard lens, most of the others are with the f1.8 lens. No more editing out the backgrounds with this lens

Thanks lew, I hope to be back for muskie season - worst case I'll be fishing muskies in NB again!

I finally made it back to one of my favorite urban fishing locations, Toronto Islands. I fish there whenever I make it back to Ontario, but usually my time is very limited. For this trip I booked 3 days off of work and flew in from Halifax Monday morning to meet up with my fishing partner Jon at 9am in Toronto. I flew in with Porter so I wouldn't need to waste anytime getting down the the lakefront. Shortly after arriving we met up with fellow OFNer Fisherpete and we made a few casts before catching the ferry to Centre Island. The water levels were lower then I have ever sen them, and although the weed growth was only in early stage, the combination of low water meant that big heavy lures were not an option. We covered some serious shore casting just about everything we had. We met up with another fisherman named Den and the four of us each used different lures and colours and fished different speeds and depths to try and figure out where the fish were. It wasn't until we ran into another fisherman who said the good ole 5 of diamonds had been producing that we started to get some fish. Den got into the first fish - his first ever pike around 3 pm, and Pete followed up the catch with his own - first TO pike - both on the 5 of diamonds (Den's lure was actually borrowed from Pete!). Sadly I didn't have have a 5 because I had decided to leave it at home since I had never caught anything on it. Within an hour or two, Jon had a nice fish, the biggest of the day, and Den ended things with another nice pike. The next day started about the same time. This time we met up with another OFNer, crazyhook (Jamie Pistilli of Big City Fishing) We set out to help him film an episode of BCF and decided to start at Hanlans and cover some new water before heading toward Center Island for the afternoon bite. The weather was nice and sunny like the day before, but there was a strong south / southeast wind that got worse thought the day. We saw some big carp cruising, but no pike. By midday we headed out of the wind to fish carp and catfish at the swan pond in the middle of Center Island. I had a good size carp on for about 30 seconds before he managed to spit the hook. Jamie worked his magic and pulled a sunfish and a catfish out before we headed back to the main channel in search of pike. Sadly, no pike would be caught while filming and Jamie and the crew packed up around 6:30pm to call it a day. Jon and I were feeling the sting of a tough day, but we weren't ready to call it quits just yet. It had been almost 16 hours of fishing and I had nothing to show for it. I switched up the my beloved Mepps Black Fury #5 and we headed out to a spot that has produced some big fish for us in the past. Three casts in and the drought was over, and the hard work finally paid off. Of course, I was a day late and a buck short as usual as there were no film cameras in site. An average size TO pike. Day 3 had a late start after getting deep into the hops and drowning our sorrows the night before. Jon looked at me with surprise when I told him we needed to go back - with reason though, I only had about 5 hours until I was supposed to be on my flight home. I told him 4 hours of fishing would be plenty and we set out on a noon ferry. Fifteen minute after stepping off the ferry I was hooked up with my first fish, another average pike caught on the Black Fury! It was clear that this would have been the best day for filming. The wind was much lighter then the day before, and was now blowing North. It made casting far a little more difficult, but the fish didnt seem to care. Jon was on another fish within the hour, and the trend continued back and fourth. Four hours of fishing and 2 pike each. A couple of action shots: These were the lures that did the trick. It wasnt until the 3rd day that I found a 5 of diamonds buried in my tackle box. Although it was larger then the ones the others were using, it still did the trick! And of course, the Mepps Balck Fury # 5 with a larger hook replacement. Jon also had a few hits on this Koppers Live Target lure. (played with my new camera lens too) Overall it was three tough days fishing the islands, but it wa a blast meeting up with some fellow OFNers and sharing our love of the Islands. Not too sure when I'll be back in Ontario, but I sure hope its soon!

I know that spot even with the blur! Good to meet you the other day, Tuesday was a really tough day. I managed just one pike too. Wednesday was a great day though - I'll get a report together soon!

Good stuff! I;ve run into fellow OFNers at various gas stations and rest stops around Ontario too - its a plague I tells you!

Credit River Leslie Spit Cntario Place

Should be interesting at the Islands, never been fished there so early!

Check with Dave Mercer!

Awesome stuff as usual, keep it up

Unreal, gotta love those big fish in small water!