solopaddler

They've been making aquastealth soles for years already (gummy rubber sole with tiny titanium spikes). Don't know how it's possible to improve on them, but time will tell.

Again? (where's the report?)

1.Caribou Lake north of Armstrong, it's a fish factory. I've fished it twice (on my own camping), but have heard great things about this outfit: http://www.forrestlodge.com/ I knew the previous owners when it was called Camp Caribou and by all accounts these guys have improved the place. 2.O'sullivan Lake north of Nakina. Very similar to Caribou, and another lake I've fished. These guys are the only outfitter on the lake: http://www.osullivansrainbow.com/

It was the way you said it. In your first post you come across as kind of a hot head. Sorry, but read what you wrote. That's generally not a great quality to have in your line of work.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't police officers have all the same powers as a conservation officer? As an avid angler and a police officer do you do your part when you see someone breaking a fish and game law? I would certainly hope that you do, and it would be nice if there were more guys like you out there. Might make up for the deplorable lack of C.O.'s.

Bud, this has got nothing to do with bashing cops. Do I pay the fee? Yep, although not this year and likely won't.

You may be 100% correct in your assumption that they can't enforce any fines in that area. Or you might be wrong. The point being, is it really worth the hassle? As mentioned there's much better areas to fish on the Notty anyway. If that bylaw actually did have teeth I'm sure a charge wouldn't reflect well on your record.

Dave, when you're on Rt.18 approaching Olcott take your first left just before the bridge going over the river. The Slippery Sinker tackle shop is just down the road on your right. They're open at 5am and sell lisences. Pretty much the only place to park is at the Burt dam parking lot. You can access some of the slower froggy water between the bridge in town and the dam by throwing a canoe or small tinny in. Just tell the border guard you're fishing. They hear it a million times it's no big deal at all. I've been fishing U.S. trib's for many years now and have never seen any vandalism. Nothing to worry about there, I think that's a prime example of an "urban legend". Yes you can bring fish back no problem. Finally, I know you said you've already been warned about 18 Mile.....but you've picked potentially the worst U.S. trib to try your luck on. DO NOT fish it on a weekend, you'll be sorry. Even weekdays are brutal, but at least somewhat manageable. If you go be prepared for a circus and good luck!

My opinion? If you want to fish that stretch of the Notty pay the fee or go elsewhere. There's plenty of better areas to fish on the Notty so it's a moot point to me anyway. I don't belive Essa townships fee will lead to more and more fees imposed upon us in other areas. To me that thinking borders on paranoia. On a side note I find it personally disturbing that an officer of the law has made such aggressive and flippant remarks.

Doesn't get much better than that.

Good for you, great fish!

Nice job Cliff, beautiful chrome steelhead and nice clean musky! Moonrise eh? I'll have to file that tidbit away.

Great stuff Bill, nothing beats the hit of a steelhead on hardware!

So the prof's get 'em to build a pavillion then they and their friends get fed? For a grade? LOL! Some smart prof's at that institution. Have a great thanksgiving Wayne!

It's not always about numbers of fish when it comes to steelheading. On this day the scenery stole the show with the fall colours ablaze in our glorious October sunlight. Today a friend and I walked a solid 12km (6 up, 6 back) through this amazing backdrop in search of fish. An exhausting yet satisfying trek. With the warm temp's most fish were nosed up into the fast water at the heads of the pools. Innocuous little fast water seams and slots all held fish, (albeit almost entirely small skippers). We each caught a bunch of these feisty little guys, with micro bags tied in white, singles and light fluoro leaders being the order of day. My bud landed one decent adult fish in the 7lb range. I had another that shot upstream like a missile, jumped 3 feet out of the river cartwheeling and spit my hook. Definitely one I'll remember... The only downside...near the end of the day the tip broke on my brand new custom Raven float rod. I need a new tip and need to get it re-wrapped fast. Checked the Raven website hoping to call them direct and expedite the process, but there's no contact number. If anyone out there does happen to have a phone number could you pass it along to me? I'd greatly appreciate it! Have a good one boys, Cheers, Mike

I know they're amazing lures, but the only one you use? LOL! A quick search on ebay should net you a few...

Yes, you must have incredible strength. It's amazing actually. All the best, hope your day goes well.

Doesn't really matter what the jig/minnow represents, only that it works LOL! In my experience larger minnows in the 4-5" range work best in the fall, normally I'll lip hook them on a bare jig head. When using minnows this large a stinger hook is an absolute must otherwise many fish will be lost. My guess is that yes, the lake will most likely be turned over. It took me many years to really figure out fall walleye on shield lakes once fall turnover happened. It can be a very frustrating game. The best advice I can give is fish deep. On my home lake I've found that sand or clay flats in the 40' range are the best spots. Yes fall walleye will make brief feeding forays into shallow water especially at dusk in my experience, but generally they stack up on deep flats. Extremely fast breaking shorelines falling into deep water can also be good. You cannot fish this way blindly. You must utilise a graph with the sensitivity pumped up as much as possible and slowly search likely areas 'till pods of fish are found. Once found drop down the jig and minnow. If winds are light and in a favourable direction you can simply drift fish. If you're drifting too fast a wind sock or even a bucket will slow you down. I normally use a bowmount electric and watch the graph to keep right on top of the fish which are usually pretty tightly schooled. When fishing this deep 2 things are a must: one, you need a rod with stiffness and sensitivity, and two, you must use some kind of braided line. If you don't many hits and hooksets will be missed as mono is too spongy in such deep water. One last tip, many times ice fishing lures (various heavy jigging spoons or horizontal type minnow baits) run clean with no bait are deadly on these deep water fish. If you do fish deep be especially careful reeling the fish in, if you do it too quickly their air bladders will pop out of their mouths... Good luck!

You're welcome to some of mine if you're ever out Grimsby way.

What are yea, dense man? Could I have spelled it out any clearer? LOL!

Naw it'd never happen, we're a team. (Plus she knew the deal with me from day 1. )

Doooooood!

You're right, but my brain is mush right now

I havn't slept since Sunday night so I'm a bit loopy at the moment. I worked 36 hours Mon and Tues, then left to go fishing straight from the office at 6am this morning... But hey that's the nature of the sport, you watch the weather, time the runs, and when things look perfect you drop everything and GO. Needless to say this will be more of a "photo essay" as I'm a wee bit tuckered out LOL! Being alone today I took very few photos and the ones that I did take all look the same and aren't overly artistic . I did get a couple of shots holding fish though as nearby anglers helped out... The river today was loaded with chrome steelhead. This early in the season the fish are incredibly powerful and many of these fish took me for quite a ride. All fish were caught on med. sized roe bags tied in white and chartreuse. Happily, today I confirmed that our local fish LOVE Alaskan coho roe. Thankfully I brought 20lb's of it home with me . Here's a smattering of todays catch: Fish on doods!

Cute pup and great looking kids buddy!