jimmer

Nice chinooks! Your going to break your personal best again this year if you keep it up. Regarding the fish changing. They definitely start changing in early August. I used to do a great deal of taxidermy work and the difference between a July fish and an August fish was like night and day. Scales all fall off in July (best to do a repro), but you could be careful cleaning an August fish and keep the scales on the fish. They are still chrome looking, but you start seeing more black in their scale pattern. I have also caught some fairly dark looking fish off of piers and some shiney ones in the river. They are not the same chrome as out of the lake though.

Check out the Pflueger President baitcasters.

You got up there! Quite the summer of fishing for you Mike. Nice fish. I will always refer to you when my wife gets on me about the amount of fishing I do.

Definitely bring it back to the dealer and ask why the lower unit oil is milky on a new motor. No way that line should have caused a leak. There could be a bad seal installed or a bad washer on one of the plugs.

Those trout look pretty good. Only one closing weekend a year, I would choose the fishing. You live in T.O., lots of time to finish those projects.

chinook

I saw a pile of crap like that on a Hoarders show I watched the other night! Could it be?

That boat would make it, but personally I would never attempt it and I have been operating boats for over 40 years. It's so tight in spots, with unseen rocks and boulders. Then you hear the stories of guys dying over the years. There is a way there without going through the rapids as Mike mentioned, but it's a little longer route from the south. Many guys have said that it's a worth while trip.

You could probably pay Leon to take you down there. The quality of the route can change throughout the year though.

The best thing about Happy Days is that you don't have to start off down the river and go through all those weedbeds to get to the main part of the lake. You're right in the middle of the lake with quick access to Gannons Narrows or to head to Bobcaygeon.

I went two years in a row and stayed at Leon's place right at the mouth. The first year was good. We caught a few nice sized walleye, some nice pike and a few muskie. The next year wasn't so good. We struggled to get any walleye and most of the pike were small. An amazingly beautiful place, but we decided to try a new location for the next spring trip. Here are a few pics from those trips.

Close enough Mike. It is on the French River system heading down to the French River Delta. Is there anywhere you haven't been?

Swimming pool of death maybe.

No.

You guys sound like you're bored also.

Can anyone tell me where this picture was taken?

That's an amazing looking fish! I also didn't think that you could eat raw freshwater fish. (parasites and all that)

The next time you go after those rainbows try various sizes of white twister tails on a jig. I have caught some smaller rainbows on panfish sized ones when they were active and near the top of the water. I also had luck with larger rainbows through the ice using a walleye size twister tail. Give it a shot, it can't hurt and isn't a big cost.

I usually don't catch small fish LOL, that's why I put one of my fishing partner's small ones in my place. Can't seem to find any of my own.

The Kawartha Lakes are quite built up, so if you're looking for wilderness scenery, not the place to go. The walleye fishery is not the same as 10 years ago either. August would be tough. You can check out the Martin River system that is north of Nipissing, Lake Temagami, Bark Lake (search for the one that is close to the town of Barry's Bay). Just a couple to consider to start with.

Pike are great eating out of colder water. I found that they have to be over 5 pounds for it to be worth cleaning them. Those muskie/pike definitely do a number on baits. I have had them tear apart spinner baits over the years. AND it always happens to be the favourite one! For those that ask if "you eat pike"! They wouldn't be able to tall them apart from walleye if mixed together on the same plate.

Only one word to describe that! "Envious" That's a dream trip at it's best.

This is happening on way too many lakes in mid to southern Ontario, minus the commercial fishing on the smaller lakes. We are our own worst enemies; everyone can get educated on finding and catching fish with a click of a button now and many have no understanding about the health of the fish populations. The fish populations are not endless. I have no problem with a 2 fish limit on Nip if they do something about the netting. Might not even go there this winter for the first time in years. My 2 cents.

Great fish. Who cares if it was a record or not. Nice that he released it, now one of us might catch her.

Atlantics don't die after spawning, do they?