Slayingm

Lol!!!... ya the adopted Laker was a bonus fish for sure and caught in the same holes the walleye were. We also broke off x2 pike so were getting various species in the same area.

Nice pics Al, gotta love the Brookies!

Right on Irishfield and believe there is nearly 70 lakes in Hali with a year-round open season for Lakers. Was a treat to be out this early in the season for sure.

Managed to get out today to enjoy the beautiful weather and some awesome Walleye action in the Haliburton Highlands! Set minnow rigs and Blue Fox spoons and Rapala jigging Raps did the damage today as we iced a pile of nice Walleye including a 10lb+ monster that yours truly landed . Fish were all taken between 25 and 60 FOW and working within 5ft of bottom. Get out and enjoy the great early season action and remember to be safe out there. Good Fish'n .... G.

The emerald shiners are really starting to stack up at the river mouths of Simcoe and the big perch are right behind them. There are literally 1000's of perch schooled up in the 22 to 35ft range and Jigging Raps and small spoons along with drop shotting Pan Slammers have been the ticket to good catches! Get out there and enjoy the family fun. Be safe and good Fishing!

Had fun this weekend and took a break for the normal Walleye, Bass and Musky charters. Enjoyed a couple of quiet days on some small back lakes near my property in Haliburton for some Rainbow and Specs. Usually I find the fishing for Brookies tough this time of year and after trying gang-trolls with a worm tipped fly and various small spinners I came up empty. That is when I switched over to the simplest type of fishing and slowed down using a slip bobber and worm!! I fished the presentation off some rocky points and adjusted the depth of the worm so that it was approx. 15ft down. On my second cast I landed a huge 4lb Spec that ripped line away like a Pike when I set the hook on my Ultralight! The switch over to the float and worm allowed me to boat 7 specs yesterday including 2 over 3lbs. It was a good reminder to me that sometimes the simplest presentation can be the most effective as evidenced by these beauties! Be safe and Good Fish'n... Greg.

After nearly a week long brutal cold front with strong North-westernly winds blowing the past few days I knew I had my work cut out for me today in finding and catching some decent Simcoe Smallmouth. I had a client out on a Guide trip and he also knew the bite would be lite today. After spending nearly 30 years fishing Simcoe I knew that typically after water temps dropping over 10' and a multi-day cold front the smallmouth exit the shoals in 10-15ft of water I would normally see then this time of year under stable weather conditions. Even so I was stubborn only to hit some normally key spots to just validate the fish had moved. I ended up moving out to much deeper water (the steepest breaks) off the structures in the 25 to 40ft range and that proved to be the ticket today as the 1st fish was a chunky 4.5lb smallie. After getting into a few nice fish the 1st couple of spots we stopped off at, I headed to a 3rd spot and told my client to fire out the tube jig as far as he could and leave the bail open... 45 secs after a said that he hauled back on the rod and yelled out FISH-ON!!... I checked the depth and we were in 35ft of water. After some screaming runs a beauti 6.5lb Monster came into the boat after I slide the net under her. After a couple quick pics she was quickly released. The key today was understanding the fish movement after dramatic changes in the weather and in the this case going much deeper was the ticket to success. We also had some smallies coming out of 25ft of water to hit our jerkbaits. When fishing is tough change up your approach and get more fish into the boat. Good Fish'n and remember to be safe out there.... G.

After ice fishing every weekend since the last one of December 2012 I can finally get some various video coverage together. The ice fishing this season has been awesome both for conditions and action and the late March action for Big Jumbo Perch on Lake Simcoe was no exception. I found groups of Big prespawn females in hard bottom area's in 22-30 ft of water that were feeding on both Gobies and crayfish. The underwater portion of this video was taken with the Sony HD underwater camera that comes with the Marcum LX-9 and was shot in 27ft of water. Enjoy and see you on the water... G.

Finally had a chance to get my good friend and Etackle Canada owner Phil Harrison for a perch fish and photo shoot. We hammered some big Jumbos and got some good pics... here are a couple... enjoy:)

I had 2 kids play rep hockey til there were 17 (Major Miget) and seemed like I lived in rinks across the province for years! lol Good luck when you head out... still lots of great ice and action to be had out there for sure. Good Fish'n... Greg.

Well, the fish are still there and fished that bay in Dwight many times over the year's... did not get there this year but last and previous ones. Have taken some really nice lakers and whitefish there but I find I do best early in the season... it freezes early and a great early walk-out spot! Good Fish'n.. Greg.

After a awesome day on Simcoe for Jumbo Perch Sat I was up on a trip this past Sunday on Lake of Bays targeting Lake Trout. It was a beautiful sunny day and as typical with late season action (and 'blue bird' conditions), the bite was very lite! In order to level the field and up the odds in the 'catching' department finesse strategies were in order for sure! All fish were caught with light action 32" rods and ultra-light reels spooned with Sufix 4lb Ghost braid with 3lb Sufix castable fluorocarbon leads and small Luhr Jensen Crocodile spoons tipped with a small minnow or just 1/2 a minnow did the trick. We caught fish in 50 to 85 ft of water with deeper water being more productive as the day progressed. The fish in this lake are not only delicious but have some of the most brilliant awesome markings in many of the northern lakes I fish. Be Safe and Good Fish'n, Greg

Good Job Rick!... the 'Spring Jumbo's' are Rock'n for sure!

This winter has been a total blessing with not only awesome ice conditions but some of the best and consistent fishing action all season long. From fun fishing and guide trips on various northern lakes to the world-class fishing on Simcoe this past weekend was no exception! With guests from Michigan the target species was Jumbo Perch and man did we hit not only numbers but best some of the biggest 'Yellows' of the season. The incredible details and accuracy of Marcums LX-5 flasher and new LX-9 sonar and underwater viewing system made finding the right structure and catching fish easy. We targeted hard bottom area's in 20 to 25ft of water where these Tank Perch were forging on 2" Gobies, crayfish and minnnows. With the snow melting off the lake and added light penetration the bite was light and key was to drop down to 2lb fluorocarbon leaders to maximize lures action with maintaining zero line visibility. BlueFox flash spoons and UV Jigging Raps tipped with Wax worms completed the successful setup. The key to catching throughout the day was watching how the fish reacted to be triggered with various snaps and pauses of the lures and working various depths to find that most productive pattern(s) as the day progressed. At the end of the day Big Smiles, tanned faces and Monster Jumbo's was the reward. With flowing rivers and eroding shorelines the upcoming days please be extra safe if you decide to head out before the hardwater season ends. Be safe and Good Fish'n... G.

Great job and congrats on 3rd! Have fished N. Pigeon a few times over the years and always 1st ice and down very well... good to see it still producing and later in the season!

Min of 18" solid black in the Perch grounds and 15-17km's out onto the main lake basin is not far off that... some of the best ice conditions in years! Crazy Ivan: I did enhance the colour 1 level but they are actually not far off that in the sun!... beautiful for sure. Good luck to all and be safe out there! .... G.

Christopher k: I have caught a number of big Walleye in Simcoe and as big as 17+lbs and on a Laker spot!!!.. not many there but some monsters for sure. irishfield: yes, hearing the same but still believe the lake is in great shape.... still crazy amount of fish out there and every year seeing so many more naturals then the previous.

Great job and nice vid coverage Steve!. Fishing has been nothing short of awesome so far this season... if you see me and the Argo out on the main lake come over and say hi... I live out there Fri, Sat and Sun. Looks like a softwater date to share a boat together. Continued success on 'spank'n dem fish!

Of all the years I have fished the Main Lake basin of Simcoe during the hardwater seasons this year brings back memories of the solid and thick ice conditions we are experiencing this year!... man, what a far cry from last year when it did not freeze over all winter! That said, the big dump of snow we had a number of days ago left huge drifts followed by 14" of slush in many spots making traveling out difficult at best! Putting a set of tracks on my Argo is like wearing a pair of snowshoes and I had no issues getting out 14 to 18km's off shore from Beaverton to fish my spots even with 5 big adults onboard. On a couple days I saw abandoned snowmobiles that broke down and a couple of days no ATV's (even with chains) got out there. I had the opportunity to get some groups of folks out there some of which had never caught a lake trout through the ice before. That was the case for a guest from the U.S. who's first fish was a 14lb laker.. he proceeded to follow-up with a 11, 10 and 8lb'r while missing some others. The action this year has been nothing short of amazing especially for big Laker's but we are also getting some nice Whitefish in the mix like these 2 loving ones caught on Valentine's Day . Although I have been catching fish in 60 to 90ft of water the magic depths this year seem to be in the 65 to 70ft depths and working hard bottom area's. None of the Lakers or Whitefish we are getting are caught on minnows but rather Rapala Jigging Raps in the W5 to W9 sizes and the smaller sized William's ice spoon's. Some tube jigs and Swammers are also effective some days and accounting for some good fish. The key is to experiment each day to uncover what effective depths and presentations work best for the weather conditions. I find that this changes from weekly, daily to even hourly so being flexible and trying different jig sizes and colours is often what it takes to trigger a bunch of fish when others are struggling to get a hit and sticking with what worked last week. I usually bring out about a dozen rod/reel combo's with various line and lures and it usually does not take us long to figure out what the successful pattern and presentation is for the day. In a word, be flexible and move around when conditions are slow.. the fish are always biting on something and somewhere! Be safe and Good Fish'n, Greg.

Anyone living in South Central Ontario is blessed to have the World-Class Fishery lake Simcoe offers us right here in our backyards! I have been fortunate to have fished the lake for 30 years and certainly taken my share of trophies of various species including these 20+ Lakers in both the hardwater and softwater seasons! Its one awesome lake for sure and I for one just love it! I have yet to break the 25lb mark on Simcoe but know there are a number there and bigger so this angler remains a optimist. Good luck to all and always remember safety first! Good Fish'n... G.

I had the privilege to guide 4 full days over the family day long weekend and what a blast it was! I absolutely love getting kids out and seeing the smiles on their faces and had a father and his 2 younger son's out for Jumbo Perch one of the days. On a different day a group of 'older' kids (guys) from Michigan and both days the target species was Big Yellow bellies and man did we hit it! Although the bite was somewhat slow having the tracks on the 8-Wheel Argo allowed me to quickly move over the deep drifts and slush into some of my different GPS spots to locate big fish that were foraging on crayfish, small Gobies and Mayfly nymphs. I can't over emphasize how key it is to be portable and able to move around quickly some days. Working a soft to hard bottom transition in the 30+ft range seemed to be the ticket. Good electronics like the new Marcum LX-9 and LX-5 flasher were key to easily see the key bottom transitions and fish activity we were looking for and watching fish on the screen get 'triggered' and hit the lures using various jigging action(s). Light lines, sensitive rods and concentration on the light bites all contributed to the success! The reward at the end of the day is chowing down on a big fish fry and nothing is better for sure! Remember to be safe out there and Good Fish'n... Greg.

I decided to hit the Haliburton Highlands with my guests this weekend in search of Whitefish and Lake trout. Upon arrival one of the day's the temp. was a balmy -24... can you say YIKES! After punching a few holes in 40 to 60ft of water with the power auger I wasted little time in getting the ice shelter and small propane heater setup. It quickly became a comfortable and toasty home where gloves and hats were removed and some serious fishing action took place! Once I got everyone setup, on the flasher screen most of the day we witnessed countless numbers of Lakers and Whitefish rise up from bottom to either inspect our offerings or smash them! Light fluorocarbon line tied to Jigging Raps and various minnow tipped jigs along with some minnow set lines did the damage. Action was steady all day long and everyone got into fish and experienced a life time of memories and fun! In fact with Sunday's group it was actually their first time ice fishing and they are now hooked for life and could not wipe the smiles of their faces as seen in the attached pics! Angler's teaching new anglers to fish... now that is what its all about! Stay safe and Good Fish'n... Greg.

Against my common sense and good judgement we headed back up to the Haliburton Highlands Friday to hit a multi-specie lake and enjoy the pouring rain and man did it come down all day! Thank goodness for quality portable Ice Shelter's and propane heater's as we were dry and warm (as long as we stayed inside). We did see another group of guys walk out and they maybe lasted 1 hr and headed in with soaked Floater suits. With the mega front moving thru the fish were in a very negative mood so light lines, small jig and minnow combinations and set lines with minnows were in order. Even with that we had a number of good fish that would rise up and traditional tricks to entice a strike mostly failed.. but not all! We setup on a 30 foot break off a flat in a attempt to intercept some fish transitioning from deep to and/or from shallower water. After a couple light hits on the jig one of the set lines w down and screaming line.. after a good battle a approx. 8lb Northern came to the hole but unfortunately cut the line just as we were going ice him... dang! Minutes later the same rod went off... after a solid hook set the battle was on!.. standing in the wind and pouring rain with numb hands are all forgotten as we see this beauty 38" Laker peeling off line and getting a visual thrashing below our feet under the 5" of black ice. After a great battle we iced the beauti Laker and quickly released her after a couple of quick pics. I forgot the scale but estimate the 38" fish around the 15lb mark. Back into the shelter to warm up and continue to see some fish totally ignore various jig options other then a couple of light taps. Set line outside went off again and this time iced a nice eater Walleye. Gotta love it when your getting into Laker's, Northern's and Walleye all in the same spot!!l Packed up at 2pm and made the slow walk back to the truck in the slush and water on the ice and yup!... still pouring rain! Another day, another Adventure, another memory... Enjoy the video and remember to be safe out there! Good Fish'n... Greg.

Actually, just a few short years ago a mamoth 45lb Lake Trout was caught there and believe that if it has not been moved the mount still hangs in the Marina at Fort Irwin.. Gee, a 45lb'r kinda makes a 30lb'r seem like a 'dink'!

Nice pic and love the video!!!... Been there and done that over the years and can't help but have a good laugh for sure! Gotta love those Splake!... WTG!