jimmer

Glad you got the net. It's best to keep the hooks as far away as possible. I remember using a cradle for a year and everytime I slid a fish in it I was expecting it to thrash and hook me back. Scary in my books. My friend has the Boca with the long handle, but still too close for me. Those large muskie nets let the fish rest and they tend to be quieter with the net around them in the water. Use extra long needle nose pliers if you can get at the hooks or cutters when you can't get at them and remove them safely. I don't like leaving hardware in the fishes mouth. The only time the fish comes out of the water is for a quick picture. Man some of you are hard on others!

Keep the same kind going. When I go to Canadian Tire to buy plugs for my toyota they give me the wrong ones. The Toyota takes double electrode plugs and the Canadian Tire ones don't have them. The best bet I guess would be to go to a Merc dealer and bring the plugs.

Congrates!

I would stick with the same type plug if they worked fine for all those years.

I don't know about mono being better on baitcasters. The birdsnests with mono most always end up being cut out for me. The backlash with braid comes out much easier for me and I'm assuming it's because of the coarseness of braid compared to mono now allowing the backlash to go as deep. Gary's remedy works best for me also.

I think that there are many large spinning reels that can do the job with heavy line. Geez, they use them in saltwater all the time. So if you're stuck on spinning combos, there are options. However, like most guys have said, baitcasters are the way to go. They are not that hard to learn if you use a quality reel. I can't wait to read your report in the fall. Good luck.

This is not 100% accurate. It doesn't list any bass, LM or SM, in the lake I was just fishing. I caught LM and saw baby SM.

I was just up in that area and was surprised that largemouth were my main catch and I think those lakes are all attached in some way (Gull River System)so that's why I would think that they are in Eagle.

If it's anything like any of the other Haliburton Lakes, the best time to target them is at dusk along any weeds edges you can find. The north end of the lake is best from what I hear. I would definitely start with a twister and then tip it with a minnow if there is no luck. Crankbaits are also worth a try.

Smallies and Lakers for sure, I would also think that the are largemouth in there also. You generally have to put in the time to find the spots that are holding fish, Look for any kind of weed in deeper water and start there using tubes and wacky rigs, get the bait to the bottom right on the edge. Look for any rocky shoals and use the same baits. Use naturaly colour baits in the clear water. You can try for lakers, but they are tougher at this time of the year. Try vertical jigging in deeper water for lakers.

You have something special going on there! I'm envious of those river opportunties that you shared with us. I love sushi and that looks so good.

It's not always about catching a muskie. Talk to some long in the tooth muskie hunters and they say they get the enjoyment out of using new lures and the hunt itself.

That's a low value to place on our fishery. :-( That is blatantly disregarding the regs and the penalty should be more severe. My two cents.

Don't give up! is the first tip I can give you. They are one of the toughest fish to catch. My buddy and I talk about this all the time when we're out chasing lunge. There are times when you will get numerous fish in a day and then go through stretches on the water where you think the lake was dead. That's where we lose the novice muskie angler! Elephant and Baptiste have muskie, but not a large population and we don't know the effects the pike have had on them. The narrows between the lakes has produced muskie for me in the past. Follows rarely happen for me anymore on Pigeon Lake, maybe they don't need to follow anything because of the amount of forage available to them. Twenty years ago we would get a follow everytime I was out, so I don't understand that. I have heard good things about Moira, so it's worth a try. Try not to get carried away with spending a fortune on tackle until you're sure this is for you. Basic baits like you mentioned should get you into another one eventually and I'm sure we'll see a picture posted on this website when it happens! Just my thoughts. Happy Angling!

It would be nice if a new owner took over, but that place is worth over a million bucks and with tourism being a tough go, it's hard to sell something like that. It might eventually go to a developer.

That is an invisible flower in my books!

It's ghost town, I don't see any leadership going on there. I don't think that the new owner followed Gary and Judy's advice on doing the show circuit in the states to keep it full. I get saddened everytime I go by the place in my boat. It used to be a hopping place full of tourists that had visited for generations.

It's tough to lose a fish like that, but there are no survivors when it comes to commercial fishing. It doesn't have to breed to be someone's trophy, that fish could have provided a few anglers with the PB laker over the next decade. Why does everything have to be biological when placing value on wildlife? I hear you Drifter!

Man, those look awesome!

I don't think there is one in Peterborough anymore, if you can believe it and it's right in the middle of the Kawarthas. Sounds like there is still a few around TO to choose from. Is that larger chain and on-line sales finally having a negative effect on the little guy?

Just go fishing already! LOL

I'm just starting to see numbers showing up in the shallows and them acting like it's summer. Tough to get them to bite mid-day (also seeing some turn away), but the evening bite has been great. The rice has started to stand up on the lake I live on and that seems to have brought them into the shallows. Those Haliburton Lakes might be a little behind because of the deeper water. I had a friend who said he saw some bass on beds about 2 weeks ago. Just some of my observations.

You should seriously look at the Bay of Quinte Region. There is a lot of water to fish, endless species and the chance to catch a trophy of any species. The Hay Bay area is nice and can give you some protection from the wind if it blows up. Trenton, Belleville, Deseronto, Picton are a couple of places to start looking. Punch it in on google and see what resorts come up. I will never understand why some resorts won't rent for a couple of days when they are half empty and the competition for business is fierce? If you want to go north, try Opeechee Lake lodge in the Martin River system. It's a small lake with Walleye, Pike and Bass. Nice structure and no other cottages that I can remember (maybe a few. They include boats in the rentals. It's worth looking into.

I was hoping it would never hit us here after seeing so much of that down in Florida. No respect I say! It sure can ruin a nice trip to the waterfront. I don't call them anglers/fishermen, because if they were, they wouldn't leave a mess or a bag of perfectly good fish because they are too lazy to clean them.

I don't think they care. The lack of respect regarding certain things in our society has gone down the tubes lately.