Slayingm

With the fishing season finally starting to slowly wind down a tad I was able to take my girl up to the cabin and hit a northern Haliburton lake for Brookies for a nice change in pace. We just took out the 14' Sportspal canoe with the Minn Kota electric and worked one of the small lakes I have fished in the past. The weather was cool with some rain showers and we were casting small worm tipped spinners to the shoreline wood/dropoffs and also using a worm tipped slipfloat with no action at all. Finally after 2 hrs of no action at all I decided to troll the deeper sections of the lake and we nailed a fish in deeper water! As the day progressed we fine turned our presentation with small spinners, the right amont of spitshot and the correct speed on the electric that finally proved successful in boating 5 Brookies in the 20 to 25' range. Although they were small the taste of the freshly pan fried Brookies last night will soon not be forgotten..... Take care and be safe out there.... Greg.

Sorry... just seeing your post now. You certainly do not need minnows.... in fact we were catching much better fish on average then all the live-baiters around us. Luhr-Jensen Croc spoons and chrt/white jigging Rapala's in the #5 and 7 sizes did the trick..... stick with light 4lb line.... you will have a sore arm in no time. Lots of fish between the S. tips of Georgina and Thorah right now along with due E. of Duclos..... just look for the packs of boats and good luck... Greg

I had folks out on lake Simcoe charter this past weekend for Perch and depite the screaming winds we managed to slow the drift with x2 wind socks and caught approx 100 nice perch over the day. Various jigging spoons and Rapala jigging Raps all worked on Ultralight setups on 4lb line with the key to success. The key depths for us were in the 25 to 28' range with many fish icaught in the 10 to 13" range with one breaking the 14.50" mark! We released most of the fish but kept a few for the table. Unfortuanately the camera batteries died in the boat but have a couple of pics below of a few I brought home for a nice feed! I kept one really strange coloured big perch that had the colours more of a Walleye then a perch and in 30 yrs of fishing Simcoe have never seen one like this.... it had no barring or typical Perch colour patterns as you can see in the pic below..... Also, most of the fish had shiners in their belly's but a number also had lots of smaller crawfish as seen in this pic!...no wonder they taste so great!! I expect the action to continue to be good out there for the next few weeks so if your planning on going please dress appropriately and remember saftey 1st. The wind on Simcoe and falling water temps this time of year demand respect. Take care and good Fish'n.... Greg.

Chandru, I would plan on heading up for sure.... Rice is not only a awesome Bass fishery but the Walleye action is starting to heat up and will continue todo so over the next couple of weeks. Working deep cranks, bucktails and grubs off the deep weedlines all work great!.... Greg.

Man you can sure tell fall is on its way as the temps on the water the past 4 days have been more then chilly flying across the lake in the morning. Even saw some frost on the grass and roof's on 2 of the days...burr....after 3 months in shorts and sandals I finally broke out and wore the socks and runners again. Yesterday I had a father and son out on Rice lake for the day and not only was it cold in the morning, but we arrived at the ramp the lake was still socked-in with really thick fog with maybe 100ft visability. I have come to rely on the accuracy of my GPS mapping units over the years so we headed out on a slow plane to our 1st stop approx. 4KM away and the fog was still thick and you could see no shoreline anywhere. Moving in quietly to the shallow rock/weed edge with the electric motor we started throwing jerkbaits and tube jigs and on his 3rd cast with the tube the young lad tied into a beauti Rice Smallie! As you can see the fog was still extremely thick at that point. After catching 2 more decent fish there we moved to another area down the lake as the fog was just starting to lift in places. Checked out 2 other spots and only got 2 Largemouth in the 1.5 to 2lb range then on the run again. We spent the rest of the day fishing various deep rock flats/humps and rock/weed or sand/weed areas for smallies and caught good fish from 4 to 18' of water. 1 big fish was taken using a drop-shot rig, 3 on the jerkbaits but the best pattern today was either popping or slowly dragging a tube jig along the bottom. The fish were grabbing the jig very lightly so really focussing on the line and feel was key to ensure a quick hookset. As the day progressed the sun came out and it was another awesome day on the water. Here is a pic of a couple of nice picture fish caught throughout the day before they were released back into the lake. Still lots of great fishing to be had out there before the snow flies so get out there and enjoy the action. As always... Be safe and Good luck! .... Greg.

Great job and excellent pics leechman. Nothing better then Stick'n some nice Walleye on jigs. Temps have be cold the past few mornings and water temps are starting to drop... the action will slow down somewhat during the turnover then pic back up again for all us 'Diehards' out there..... Greg.

The north winds and dropping temps the past couple of days have definately played a roll in the action being somewhat slower then the previous week but making some adjustements and slowing down still brings the fish into the boat. I had folks out on Simcoe and Couchiching on Thursday and Friday and we caught a number of fish in the 2-6lb class on tubes and drop-shot rigs in deeper water on hard bottom areas off of deep weedlines. The fish in the shallows just seemed to shut off on us so fishing deeper was the key for smallies as was dunking tubes and jigs in the deep weedlines for buckets. My guests were from Louisiana on Friday and had a great time on the water. Simcoe was really rock'n with the North wind yesterday so the N. end of the lake was the place to be. The new Rapala 'MaxRap' new for 2010 did the trick on a couple of nice Simcoe smallies... the key was working the bait with longer pauses during the agressive jerks as the fish were not as agressive. Remember that when conditions get tough and the fish are in somewhat of a negative mood often slowing down you presentations is the key to getting bit. Take care and be safe out there..... Greg.

Phil, Good seeing ya again bud... be awhile for sure. Truth be known...Phil did most of the guiding today... I just supplied the Ride! Good Fish'n all.... G.

Well done Cudz.... nice fish the frontal conditions the past few days.... they always bite... just got to figure out the depth and what to use.... Greg.

Just got back in from a 4 days in a row of Guide trips on Simcoe and the Kawartha lakes. The crazy weather and cold fronts certainly pushed the fish in a negative mood but we still managed to boat some nice fish with the tough bite. We boated a number of fish on Simcoe but 4.5 lbs was the biggest and not worthy of a pic (at least for that lake!). Here is a pic of a monster Buckhorn lake Largemouth Bass we got on the weekend... the fish came on a tube jig working a deep weed/rock edge in approx. 12ft of water. Also got a nice 4lb smallie the same day also on a tube jig (smoke colour) just off the weedline in deeper water. I just got back off the water on a trip today with a Father and his 2 teenage son's out on the Kawartha's for a fishing trip. In spite of the cold front conditions we managed to boat 21 fish including a Lunge and some nice Walleye.. Here is a decent typical Kawartha Lakes Musky... And a really nice end of August Kawartha Walleye..... Man was it cold flying across the lake this morning!!!!.... burrr. Nice to finally see the sun though!!! Take care and be safe out there.... Good Fish'n .... Greg.

Ya Jim, I have been fishing Simcoe for over 25yrs and have caught dozens of smallies with warts or other growths along with ripped fins etc but this one takes the cake!.... so to speak A healthy fish that is eating well and strong all the same. Take care and Good Fish'n.... Greg.

I had a couple of clients out today on Simcoe to try and get into some nice smallies and the one also brought his 9 yr old son out for the day...(I love getting kids out!) Although the fishing was slow we boated 8 smallmouth today all between 2 and 6 lbs. The fish were taken on a variety of baits including tube jigs (black and dark pumpkin with gold and purple fleck) and also some on finesse worms on dropshot rigs and others on hard jerkbaits. This monster smallie is one of the ugliest ones I have seen in Simcoe... it had a huge growth on the under side of its gills that had healed over but left a large depression..... as seen in the pic...it grabbed this large 4.5" tube jig off a large rock flat and took off with 3 spectacular jumps!... We came across a sand/weed area where there was 100's of perch so we stayed and them for a while and actually caught none stop while boxing approx. 25 nice fish in the livewell. The fish were really agressive as seen in this pictures where John caught 2 fish on one cast on a 6" jerkbait! The little guy had a blast here catching perch like crazy on a dropshot rig... here is one nice long perch that he caught with lots of excitement!... All in all it was a great day on the water... the wind calmed down and the sun was out and the fish bit..... got to love Lake Simcoe! Take care and Good Fish'n.... Greg.

Hey Mikeh, It always amazes me by the PM's and responses I get how focussed folks are on a post. Yes, you are right. I sold my old bassboat and now run a 21MSX Stratos 'Great Lakes Series Walleye boat. Its much better for guiding as I can now take 4 folks out with no problem. It has a 225 Yamaha, 15 HP 4-stroke, Eletric Downriggers and fully loaded with the best in fishing eletronics and GPS systems. Attached a pic of the new rig..... Greg.

Thanks Steve, Yes... Muskoka can be a real tough (and super frustrating fishery) at times. Its taken me a few years on the lake to figure out some good patterns throughout the season but the hard work paid off. Judging from you posts you are having a great sesason yourself!....congrats and continued success. Maybe we can share a boat one day and trade some tricks .... Greg.

Thanks Phil, Your Bro and yourself are awesome anglers too!!! Replied to your email too!!..... Talk soon.... Greg.

Hey Johnnyb.... I work really hard at what I do and its actullay much harder/time consuming then most folks think.... mind you , I always go out of my way to exceed any customers expectations on any trip.... maybe I'll too hard on myself? .... Greg.

Dan, The advise and replies thus far are great and offer good advise. I have fished Professional Bass and Walleye events for 20 years and in 1992 Won $19,375.00 fishing out of a 15.5ft Smoker Craft with a 50 Johnson. I also had a $42,000.00 winning season in a larger aluminum boat years later and as Skeeter99 stated its the Angler not the boat. You have all you need to get out, learn, compete and have some fun. Sponsorships etc. and not required and are not easy to come by in Ont. My advise to you is that you pick a couple of lakes you like (that have some tournies scheduled on them) and spend as much time pre-fishing/practicing on them using a variety of presentations and different spots as possible. Best of luck to you.... Greg.

Great job Yarik! Balsam is one of my favourite lakes and we have boated over 150 Walleyes, tons of Bass (Largies and SM) and some nice pike and Lunge the past few weeks on customer trips. That is one nice Smallie for that lake.. congrats!.... Greg.

That is really sad to hear for sure.... used to fish the Fraser when I lived in B.C. and it was always a amazing fishery. That said, it is still a World-class fishery for Sturgeon.... G.

I had a couple of clients out on L. Muskoka today that wanted to dialin some patterns and locations for some smallies. With no wind and screaming hot sunning conditions I knew that the bite would be tough and the morning hours would be key to get onto any good fish. We blasted off from Gravenhurst and headed for the Northern section of the lake and started the day on some sand/rock and weed transistion's using topwater, tubes and small crankbaits. Within minutes we had the 1st fish on which was one of the biggest of the day.... a big solid Muskoka smallie that hit a Chug Bug in 8ft of water. This fish actually hit twice before finally nailing the bait good for a good hookset..... Minutes later another solid fish was taken on a tube with a 1/8oz head working slowing along the break into deeper water... that started the pace of the day that saw us boat 21 smallies, 1 Walleye and 1 breakoff Pike and one other follow to the boat... Hear is a pic of yours truley with a nice Walleye that hit a jerkbait along the edge of the rock flat... We caught fish throughout the day but had to really slow our presentations down as the day progressed as the fish were in a neutral/negative mood..... was a fun day on a beauti lake with some nice scenery throughout the day! Take care Good Fish'n .... Greg.

Hi Jigger: Thanks for posting the link to the MNR Doc.... upon futher investigation on my end it seems that pike have moved up the system and have been reported being caught in some other Kawatha lakes... I think this best think anyone can do right now is keep any Pike they caught (regulation limits apply)... they are a good eating fish. Take care and Good Fishing... Greg.

Although I have heard rumors in the past that some Northern Pike have invaded Balsam lake through the locks from Canal lake I found what happened a couple days ago disturbing. I had some customers out on a guided fishing trip on Balsam lake and although we had a awesome day catching lots of nice Walleye we boated a Pike and only 5 minutes later we caught a Tiger Musky!! I have been fishing this lake for over 25 years and have never caught either species there before. I sent these pics with some other details to the MNR for file (which they appreciated) and they confirmed with me the practice that any angler catching a Pike in any of the Kawartha lakes should keep it and not release.... this is exactly what we did. I fear that in a few years Balsam (and possibly other kawartha lakes) could go the way Canal and Dalrymple lakes did. They both used to be awesome Muskie fisheries years ago, followed by a few years of nice Tiger Muskie and now the Musky are pretty much gone and replaced by alot of smaller Pike. One thing for sure is that the colours and bar patterns on a Tiger Muskie are absolutely beautiful... here is a pic of the one we boated: Here is a pic of the Pike we caught and kept minutes before catching the Tiger Muskie: Remember that if you ever catch a Pike on any of the Kawartha lakes KEEP IT!... also a good idea to contact the MNR and give them specifics in terms on lake, location etc. Take care and Good Fish'n.... Greg.

Hey Billy Bob: Stoney and Clear lakes are a awesome fishery for Walleye, Muskie and bass so enjoy!!!.... Beer , Broads and Bass.... too funny! Good luck!.... Greg.

Amazing the difference a couple weeks of warmer weather makes. Although we boated alot of nice fish the 1st 3 weeks of the season the action was still not where it should be credit to the cooler water temps and low weed growth. On the other hand the action the past couple of weeks has been nothing short of amazing on a variety of Kawartha lakes we have been out on. In fact, the past couple of trips we boated like 30 Walleye's each trip!!! Small perch coloured crankbaits worked parallel to deeper weedlines and and various jig colour combinations have been just crushing the fish. Most of the bigger fish (4lbs + have come on the crank's) but plastic minnow bodies and twisters in smoke, black, white colours with 1/4'oz darter and ball heads in Chartreuse, white, black and pink have been taking huge numbers of fish. Working different colour combinations is the best approach as the fish definatey show a preference of colour on one lake over another and even more so depending on weather conditions.... sun, wind and cloud are big factors that have you make a minor change to colour and have the fish start hammering the jig again after the action has slowed down. When things slow down experiment to find the 'BEST' combination for the lake/conditions. Attached is a couple of pics of some really nice fish including one of a 12yr old son and father. On that trip the kid caught his 1st Walleye ever (in fact a few of them) and you could not wipe the smile off his face all day!!!... check it out. After a great day on the water..... still smil'n.... My 17yr old with a nice Sturgeon Lake Walleye he caught and released on a early evening trip after school... A nice 24" Balsam lake beauti that I got and released a few days ago.... Get out there and enjoy the action and remember to be safe out there. Good Fish'n Greg.