solopaddler

Unless there's another Sand Lake that air Melancon flies into, it's actually primarily a pike and walleye fishery along with some lakers (definitely no spec's). Seems odd to be flying in on the 15th, 'cause at least in my part of N/W Quebec in the Rouyn Noranda area where my cabin is, Walleye and Pike opens on the 21st of May this year....

Well, with prospects for some decent steelheading being pretty grim for the lake Ontario trib's, I decided to head north today. It was a solo trip as the rest of my friends had this annoying "work" thing getting in the way. Anyhow, since I'm so wiped out I'm not going to get too wordy here. All in all it was a very decent day. The weather was amazing and I went 6 for 8 on the fish with some very long and epic battles. At one point I had a beauty fish in the 15lb class beached at my feet. I grabbed the tippet with one hand while I fumbled for the camera, she lunged and got off So no pic's of the big one, you'll have to take me at my word. Cheers, Mike

Yes indeed, the upper Aux Sable is very decent for specks. That would be the Massey area as well. If you or whoever you're inquiring for has no qualms about driving a little further I know some decent speck lakes north of Blind River. PM me if you want the info cheers, Mike

Hey Dave, as far as bugs go the cabin at Twopeak is comfortable, but rustic . Make sure you bring lots of duct tape to cover up holes and cracks around the doors and windows. That time of year I'd also bring headnets and lots of spray repellent to apply on your clothes. Light coloured, lightweight long sleeve shirts are important. As far as fishing goes, Twopeak is a very good walleye lake for numbers of fish in the 1-3lb range. All you'll need IMO is a good selection of 1/8 and 1/4 ounce jigheads and a bunch of 3" twister tails in a variety of colours. A flat of worms to tip the jigs with wouldn't hurt either. If you're into pike there's lots of small ones. Bigger fish would most likely be the exception. Twopeak is a small lake very typical of the James Bay lowlands: shallow, mostly dishpan, somewhat featureless. Concentrate your efforts on the several prominent points and you'll do fine. Also, fish the edges of the reed beeds, especially look for reed points that jut out into the lake. cheers, Mike

LOL! You guys are gonna see a few more of those fuzzy reports They're actually not all that old, it's just that I don't have a proper scanner and was just taking a picture of the photographs with my digital. I've got a few more canoe trips from the archives I've been meaning to post.

Fairly common symptoms of stress in post spawn fish IMO. I've yet to see symptoms of VHS in Lake O, Michigan, Huron or Georgian Bay steelhead, but it's full blown in many of the fish from Erie's south shore, no doubt about that unfortunately. Nice catch BTW!

I was busy and had to get my dad to close my water access cabin in N/W Quebec 2 falls ago. He left all the deep cycle batteries at the camp. I run 3 of them off a solar panel with a charge controller. He left the vent fan for the composting toilet running hooked up to one He left all my low voltage electric lights on hooked up to another He forgot to drain the water tank and bleed all the lines He left the gas powered jet pump in its little "doghouse" down on the dock He left my brand new Honda generator in the shed He didn't secure my floating dock properly for the harsh winter The boat? Yeah he forgot to put the cover on the boat, jack it up and pull the drain plug That was the least of my worries! Can't help but love the old bugger

That's amazing!

Thanks!

Actually, I like the way the OMNR manages our steelhead by and large. The basic difference between Ontario and the States is they're into stocking and we're into habitat enhacement. The vast majority of the fish running our rivers are wild and there's definitely something to be said for that. Now, as far as never travelling to places like Michigan and Ohio? The reason I go is to experience different water and new challenges, not to catch fish. If all I was interested in was catching fish I'd head east of Toronto and beat those waters to froth with my float There's just soo many incredible rivers to fish! That's what makes being an avid steelheader living in this region so great And hey, thank's for the kind words everyone!

What a nightmare

Paul sent me a few pic's from his camera and I thought I'd add them. Andrew with a fish on and me in the background Me with a fish on in the background and Andrew waiting patiently Looks like I'm trying to stomp on this one, but it swam back through my legs after it was released! A fish about to be beached Another close-up shot View of the river downstream from Tippy Dave with another Posing for the camera in the motel A picture of someone taking a picture Watching the float One final close-up cheers, Mike

Yep

Well, last Thursday as we packed our gear for our long weekend steelhead trip to Ohio, we were dismayed to find that most of the rivers down there were blown and more rain was in the forecast for Friday. Things didn't look great! Ohio stocks Manistee strain fish in their rivers, and, as mentioned before they're a particularly large, robust strain. After checking conditions on the net we decided to switch gears and head to the actual source where these Ohio fish originate from: the Big Manistee river in Michigan's upper peninsula, a good 61/2 hour drive from home. For veteran steelheaders around the great lakes the Big Manistee is revered, in fact it's almost considered holy water The area is gorgeous having a real Muskoka flair to it, with lots of granite rock and big white pines. It's truely beautiful. The river is big and broad averaging over 200' in width in spots, clear, but with a tea stain to it, and having some powerful currents which make landing fish a big challenge! I was last at the Big M 15 years earlier, so for me this was also a walk down memory lane, and I loved every minute of it! The highest concentration of fish is at Tippy dam and the coffer above it. The coffer dam stops the migration of fish in the river making it a mecca for steelheaders. That's where we headed Here's me with my first fish, a spunky little hen: My buddy Dave with a nice buck and a close up shot of the same fish: Me with a small buck: Andrew fighting a nice buck, a close up pic, then the release: A decent buck that I caught: Andrew with another: Me with another buck and some nice close up shots: Paul fighting a nice one, and landing it. Me with a nice buck (when standing way out in deep water sometimes you've got to improvise with how you hold your rod ) Me with another, and the release Paul fighting another with Dave getting ready to help Davey with a nice steelie and a bonus brown Me with another Close-up of another of Paul's fish Andrew checking out Tippy dam A view of the coffer dam above it Davey and then me with another It was just an unbelievable trip! We shared a lot of laughs over the 21/2 days, experienced some great weather, and caught a TON of fish! The shots I posted here are just a fraction of the actual numbers involved, it really was epic Hope you enjoyed, cheers, Mike

Agreed, those are some awesome numbers! Another amazing report, thank's!

Nice fish little angler, welcome to the site!

Your enthusiasm is evident and it's nice to see! Congrats on a great day

Looks like an interesting trip douG, but I think I'll stick to the north

Stocked or not those are some nice looking trout to catch through the ice, and a beautiful backdrop to boot. Way to go, great report!

Wow, I'm impressed! To head out on such a cold blustery night......that's true dedication

Thank's boys, appreciate it! Just to add to the story, when we arrived at the first spot to start the day my bud almost immediately hooked into a quality a fish and while fumbling to take pic's in the cold, the contact lens in my right eye popped out and fell in the river Needless to say I'm blind without either contacts or glasses, so I was ticked Anyone ever try concentrating on a float all day with one good eye and one bad eye? Not much fun let me tell ya! (I managed though )

Well, I had it in my mind to head north on Friday to fish some Huron tribs, but the cold weather forecast forced me to look elsewhere. It was still pretty darn frigid though! Here's my buddy fishing the mouth area of one of my favourite spots. The wind and snow were howling in right off the lake and the cold overnight temps. created large packs of floating slush which we had to fish around... Here's a decent fish caught by my bud A chubby little hen that I caught further upstream Another very decent fish I managed in the upstream sections Near the end of the day we tried another rivermouth area. The wind chill was unreal and we were chilled to the bone in short order, but did manage a couple of chrome bullets before we packed it in and retreated to the car. All in all a pretty good day despite the cold temperatures. We caught fish pretty consistently all day in pretty much every spot we tried. I think if the weather was a bit warmer it would have been an epic day, but no complaints! BTW, for all those other fans of the Blue and White, big, big game tonight! GO LEAFS GO!

Tournament fishing and fishing in general are two completely different animals. As far as I'm concerned the competetive nature of tournaments is the last thing I'd want to introduce a young angler to. No offense to you or any other tournament anglers on this board, but that concept is just plain wrong on a whole bunch of different levels. This post clearly illustrates that what fishing "means" to a person can be very different depending on the individual. To me a big part of it is the relaxation and getting closer to nature. Exploring wild places and seeking solitude. Something I hope to instill an appreciation of in my own kids.

Next to getting married and my kids being born buying my first house was the biggest event in my life personally. It's a really big deal as far as I'm concerned. Congratulations!

I'm also a huge fan of St. Croix Avids and Premiers, fantastic rods. The only other rod I'd likely take a close look at if I were you is the Shimano Compre's. I've got a 6' Compre rod that I use jigging for walleye and it's an amazing rod for the price.