solopaddler

Hehehe, I don't think so, although I'm thinking of putting in a water slide . Thank's guys!

I was enjoying my Saturday morning coffee and paper when my little girl started bugging me to bring her to the park so I could push her on the swing. Her prodding got me thinking that I really need to get one for the backyard...she just loves swings. So then my handyman instincts kicked in, LOL! I realise I've probably got enough wood left over from another project to build one. Had some leftover deck stain as well, so all I needed to do the job was a few carriage bolts, a handful of U bolts and some chain, about 15 bucks total. Took me most of the day to complete, and the better part of a 12 pack (Steam Whistle is GREAT beer BTW ) but it was a fun little project and my daughter Riley loves it!

Wow, that is a truely impressive walleye! A lot of people fish hard there whole lives without catching one that big . If I were Bly I'd take special care of that particular sppon .

Thanks for posting, those are some incredible fish and on the fly to boot. Doesn't get any better than that!

Wow, what a fish!

I can't remember whether I've posted these shots before, but anyhow I just found them burried in a file on my computer here at work. They were a taken a couple of springs back with a regular 35mm camera, nothing special. These kinds of shots are incredibly hard to get. Getting 2 is very rare....

Can't honestly say that I hate it when that happens 'cause I've never had a 50" Musky spit my lure 30' behind the boat Sounds heart stopping!

Man, can I ever relate! Great report Mike, nice job with the gull .

Outstanding, Beautiful fish Matt!

Very well written and an enjoyable read, thank's!

Wow, that is very cool, congrat's! It's not overly suprising though....especially considering they were browns. They'll make many forays inshore to feed even in the height of summer, moreso than other trout or salmon. If you look at the current water temps. here http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/ontario/o.html you'll see that the inshore waters were quite cool. If you keep close tabs on the temps. you can almost predict when you'll have action. Anything below 40 degrees is absolutely prime. Sometimes in the summer if the winds are condusive a temp. inversion will occur and you'll have a legitimate crack at some big chrome kings off the piers in July. cheers, Mike

My condolences Cliff, sorry for your loss.

That is a GREAT photo!! Would also love to see more pic's of Floodwood, always wondered about that lake....

Congrat's, (especially to the missus ), that's big news!

I've fished the area, but have accessed it from the mouth of the Bad River to the east. Your options are very much restricted to the size of boat you have, as travelling across the open waters of Georgian Bay can be dangerous. In any case the first spot to try is around Phillip Edward Island. Specifically Collins Inlet and around the other side to Beaverstone Bay. Where the Mahzinazing River flows into the N/E corner of Beaverstone Bay is a good area. Fishing around any of the countless small islands in the areas I mentioned will net you lots of pike guaranteed. Probably the best fishing, but again you need a safe boat, is the delta of the Voyageur Channel. It's just east of Beaverstone Bay. It's basically a part of the Bad River, but is only accessable from Georgian Bay. Too many rapids upstream to navigate down from the top. The protected inshore waters there are teeming with fish. Tons of islands and structure...If you nose your way far enough up the channel/bay you'll eventually encounter current areas that are great for walleye. It's such a maze of islands in that area that it's very easy to get turned around and lost, so if possible I'd reccomend topo maps, compass and gps for safety. It's very remote and almost unfished, so if you're able to give it a shot it's well worth it. Good luck! cheers, Mike

Sounds eerily familiar

Yech, no way! Ask me about roast groundhog though, it can be quite tasty! In fact one time......aww never mind, better not go there .

Very unlikely, the island I camped on had no established campsite. I had to hack one out of the bush.. Red squirrels are just aggressive by nature, and this one in all likliehood had never seen a human before.

Last week the mayfly hatch was at it's peak on my lake, in fact every morning the inside of the boat was covered with them. If they're being somewhat fussy, as they were last weekend, the best rig (at least for me) is an appropriate sized lindy sinker, 3-4' of light fluorocarbon tippet, and an air injected crawler hooked once through the nose with a single hook. If you've got a trolling motor and it's not too windy, turn it on low speed and try to work the edges of offshore structure, like large shoals or small mid lake islands. That worked great for me last week... If the fish are more aggressive and are actively patroling the tops of the shoals, try drifting, or utilizing the electric and working a 3" twister tail tipped with a worm. Very specific colour though....when the mayfly hatch is on I use a pumpkin/orange coloured twister and it seems to outfish everything else. Again, that particular jig was dynamite for me at times last weekend. If you look closely you can see the jig in this picture from last weekend. cheers, and good luck!

Several years back while soloing in Quetico I approached a perfect island campsite on Kawnipi Lake and decided to pull in and set up camp as it was getting late. While unloading my gear this angry little psycho red squirrel with a black slash on his forehead raced around me excitedly, chattering and shrieking like he was rabid (obviously I was on his turf!). Anyhow, after awhile he left and I went about my business. A little while later I had a fire going and was about to start eating a potful of rice when out of the corner of my eye I spotted the little demon seed sitting on the log next to me mesmerized by my rice. Very, very slowly I grabbed the pot lid in my right hand and held it poised above the pot which was resting on my knees. It took a looong time, probably 15mins of sitting motionless like that, but finally the little bugger hopped into my pot and started gobbling up my dinner. I quickly slammed the lid down to capture the demon and all hell broke loose! He was scrabbling at the pot trying to get out while making these weird gurgling noises. Well, as much as he was bugging me I didn't want to kill the little guy, I just wanted him to get lost. I looked around and noticed a tiny rockpile in the lake about 400yds from the island. Aha! I thought, Alcatraz it is for the little beggar! I put the still shrieking squirrel into my canoe and pushed off for the rockpile. Upon arriving, I VERY carefully placed the pot on the rocks, then leaned way over with the paddle, completely unbalanced, and flipped the pot lid off with the tip of the paddle. What happened next is kind of a blur it happened so fast. In my minds eye I see the squirrel shoot straight up in the air about 3 feet, do a 360 to see where he is, then shrieking, he launched himself horizontally right at my face. He was like the Chuck Norris of squirrels. All 4 of the demons little claws sank into my face drawing blood . I freaked and capsized my canoe into the lake. The demon squirrel springboarded off my face and hit the water like he had an outboard in his butt making a beeline back to his island. Squirrels are REALLY good swimmers, who knew? All I could do was laugh. I gathered my wits (and canoe) and made my way back to the island. Thankfully the demon squirrel seemed to be in hiding and the ordeal was over. (or so I thought!) The next morning I packed up early as I wanted to get going. The canoe was loaded and I was just finishing my morning oatmeal when, you guessed it, I spied the demon squirrel about 2 feet to my right staring intently at my pot of oatmeal. I knew it was the same beast 'cause of the distinctive black slash on his forehead (sign of the beast?) This time it took at least 1/2 an hour...my arm was getting REALLY tired holding the pot lid in the air motionless. Finally, his hunger overcame his fear and he tentatively hopped in. I slammed the lid down on him with a vengeance!. The bizarre, otherworldly noises that came from that pot sent chills down my spine. Without really thinking, just reacting, I grabbed the pot and started to shake it as hard as I could (sorry squirell lovers, don't condemn me 'till you've walked a mile in my shoes). I shook that pot 'till my arms were sore then threw it down on the ground. Amazingly the demon landed on his feet, standing upright. His eyes were closed though, and he was wobbling around like a drunk. I grabbed my pot, thinking, huh, that'll teach ya!. I was still watching the beast as I turned to my canoe, when suddenly the wobbling stopped, his beady eyes snapped open clear and bright and full of hate! He let out a blood curdling shriek and launched himself at my leg! If any of you remember the killer bunny rabbit from Monty Python and The Holy Grail, well this was pretty similar. Frantically I tried to get to my canoe and safety as the creature attacked. He latched himself onto the cuff of my pants as I ran to my boat. Realizing he was attached to me I kicked my leg out and he flew off (I could have split the uprights at 60yds with that shot). I made it to my boat and pushed off, finally escaping the beasts wrath. By far my most memorable wildlife encounter!

That was very funny!

Nice healthy looking fish!

Awesome . Got anymore? I'm stuck here at work 'till 6am .

No, I get that, and it is an accomplishment . What I mean is, that I love my wife dearly and she's got some amazing qualities, but while she enjoys the outdoors and fishing, she'll never love it enough to enter a fish for an award let alone join and participate in fishing message board. In a male dominated sport that's very cool to see. Kudos to you and all the other female members of the board .

Another inspiring report, great stuff!