sleepjigging

Hey Chris, I am a "glass half full" kind of guy. So first I want to say that losing your trailer sled/clam is a bummer. Frozen Bravo is a bummer too. It was -28C to start the day. Nobody got frozen parts. Your dad's iced boot heel did look pretty funny. Prizes give us encouragement to fish more, and we don't need any more of that. We caught fish on a slow lake on a day the cold front blasted through! We had a blast in the company of good friends. You have a lovely family. Life is good. Thanks for another good show.

Wow. You caught all the fish I wanted to catch (in Florida). We Canadians need to buy up all the real estate down south. T-shirt weather while it's -20's back home! I know. I just got back. I want a cottage down there. Thanks for sharing. $350US doesn't buy you a lot nowadays.

If you get to do it only once a year, that is sad. However, if you do it like you did just once a year it is alright. Need MORE.

Part II: We started in Key Largo and worked our way to Key West and back. Right after entering Key Largo, the atmosphere changes to a relaxed calm, in contrast to the Miami drug running frenzy. The palm trees and flip flops immediately put our bodies into soothed moods. There is no walmart that we saw, but Kmart, walgreens, dunkin donuts, wendys, CVS, Winn Dixie have taken over the main strip of US route 1. It is very much like route 1 in Saugus, MA where retail dominates the roadside. However, the retail craze is seen coming out of Miami, and gives way to paradise once we crossed first the bridge into the Keys. The scene becomes motels, hotels, dive shops, resorts, cafes, boat charters, boat shops, bait and tackle, restaurants. We had some amazing meals in the Keys, along with some very tourist trap stuff. The Fish House in Key Largo has been an icon there for years, and it deserves its reputation as the best. The Square Grouper was also packed, and for good reason. Give those places a try next time you are by. We did have Key Lime Pie. Now I can appreciate it properly, because I had a wonderful slice in Key Largo, an okay slice at the Square Grouper, and an aweful frozen slice at a local cafe. "You don't know what is good until you know what is bad." My wife does not like deep water so diving was out this trip. So we stuck to the flats around the islands. The locals call it the "Backcountry". Barracuda, mackerel and mangrove snappers are lurking everywhere. One kayak rental owner showed me the ropes on where to fish. He was impress with my degree of preparedness, and gave me a map of the honey holes around No Name Key. I had my rods, reels, small lures, frozen Pilchards, GPS, GoogleMaps, Navionics and kayaking experience. Then he just pointed me to the key spots, including where to find the sharks. My wife wanted nothting to do with sharks, but these were not big sharks. We were going to be in 2-3 fow, so mostly lemon sharks that are only 2-3 feet long at most. We did not see any, but we did see a boat that was out looking for them. Along the flats and mangroves we managed to see sponges, anenomes, Stingray, pelicans, herons, hawks, vultures... We picked up shells and even a live hermit crab. These crabs are so strong. I took it back to the resort and it was able to push its shell over very high obstacles (the bowl) in the bath tub. It kept searching for escape all night along the tub. It would have been so cruel to share the frozen tundra with it. I release it in the morning, but I so wanted to take him home. The best time was at DUSK. We kept seeing schools of baitfish jump out of the water to escape predators. Every time I cast my spinner out, a school of something would scurry out of way. I even caught a glimpse of one of them predator fish on the heels of a school. No luck catching one. Key West is one giant tourist trap. $6.99 for an iced coffee at the local hole! Watch out if they don't post prices and has more variety than Starbucks and Dunkin combined. Key West chickens run wild. (wiki that. It's pretty amusing.) And thus they are chicken crap and cover up their prized convertible automobiles:

Just got back from the Florida Keys. I had been looking for a cottage, and I think I have found it. Most important factors: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. It was 20 degrees or warmer. Flip flops and t-shirts. Sunglasses and sun burns. Palm trees, bikinis, and fish everywhere! I had brought 2 telescopic rods, 2 disposable reels (old or the $10 walmart special),14lb mono, a ziplock bag of gear (jigheads, dollarama white spinner, 1 small plastic paddle tail, some treble hooks, forgot tubes or Yamamotos), a flashlight. Everything was disposable in case customs didn't like it. Purchased a $1 knife down there which rusted after 1 day. Could not bring one on the plane. And bought 1 Sabiki rig to play with, with six size 10 hooks. I did not have pliers or a glove for unhooking fish, but plan B was to just cut the line if anything big required surgery. I bought frozen bait as needed or got the locals to spare me a shrimp or some squid. Decent fun from docks and bridges at night. Espeically at dusk or during the fullmoon. Solunar charts said fishing was going to be awesome, and it was. Nothing big, but numbers made it interesting. Here goes with some of the pics: A Grunt. It grinds its teeth and gives off a grunt when out of the water. Toad Fish: Ugly Snapper family Awesome to play on a Hobbie Mirage Tandem. It goes very fast, and can handle wind and waves well. The Mirage drive well is convenient for peeing on the water. No need to get out. The wings are limited to waters deeper than 2 feet for fear of tearing them off. Overall, loved the kayak with wings. Fish hands free. A little too fast for trolling. Trolled the Dollarama White spinner and caught 2 beautiful species at the same spot going out and coming back. Mangrove snapper and Jack Ceville. The one fish I was targeting was Barracuda and I got one. Just a minnow. The 1/8oz Jighead with a small white paddle tail got it to bite while trolling the flats (2feet deep). It was so light, I thought I was just brushing the grasses. It has a full mouthful of this tiny lure, but it has gnarly teeth. The other pics: Pinfish looks like a bluegill with that dot (you can't see it under my fingers) Pelicans Iguana over a meter long. I hit it with accidently with a hard boiled egg yolk. See the dot on its tail? I miss the Keys already. Got home to negative temps and shovelling out the car. Soft Water is so much nicer than Hard Water! Sleepjigging

Like. This is exactly how politics happens.

I spent 10 years in Boston. Die Hard Patriots FAN!!! Did not fish at all while I was right by the ocean. Now I am trying to make up for lost time. In Bill and Brady We Trust.

Welcome CKewley to the forum. His name is Chris. That means next time at "Chris Lake" there could be a bunch of guys named Chris. CKewley and Chris.Brock, Sleepsjigging(I am changing my name to Chris.) HERE FISHIE FISHIE! It was at the end of the day, and the fish just seem to all of a sudden turn on after their afternoon siesta. Team Triple Header gets on the OFC 2015 board. This is how we measure success:

Scary part: the fish have no chance now!

More ducktape! Welcome aboard. Let us persuade you to join a fishing team for the OFC 2015 tournament. The fish you catch will help a team greatly. That camera kicks ass. I made one just like it, but without the lines. The image is actually reversed (like you are actually backing up as seen in the mirror). Can you turn off the infra-red lights?

Here is how one of the ice scultures look like. They are hard to miss. https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s480x480/10930947_1599960893557551_5670430535684496469_n.jpg?oh=8c8c4c6fcbc31703543f2102f3eabf39&oe=55638C8A

Nice selfie. You need baklava.

Way to go TEAM3.

What kind of hut was it? I thought some of the huts - especially the flip overs, are too low for good hook sets. Sleepjigging

After watching a couple of videos on how to catch lake trout on ice, by John Whyte of LSMB and FishFnatic I gave it a go on KBay. Navionics App to guide the way. Started the morning at -16C, 20km/h winds. No tent, so we can stay mobile. Sat on a bucket sometimes. Everything else including the sonar stayed in the Pelican sled. 6" Fin-bor III cuts like a dream. About 30 rotations to go through 8" of clear black ice. Fluorocarbon line 8lb EZfluoro. There was some ice build up, but broke it off using my scoop once in a while. Small snap swivel. 2.5" white tube. 2.5' ice rod with very large guides (1/2" 1st guide), so ice was easily removed. $10 reel - walmart special. Old Humminbird Piranhamax black and white sonar was able to see the jig at 100'+. Ran the tube up and down countless times. No fish after 15 minutes, move. Finally at 103FOW, a mark appeared at 58'. Reeled up. No following, and the mark dissappeared. Drop it down again, and mark reappeared at 58'. Reeled up again and it followed. Then there was weight on the line. I was wearing mitten to keep hands warm. Got the reverse on the reel flipped, but I noticed that. Click the reverse and tried to set the hook. Drag too loose. The weight did not seem to be there anymore. Reel a little and there was some weight. Set the hook again. Drag too loose. Finger the reel and set the hook. The weight was still there. Head shake too. Fight the fish. Drag too loose. I was too excited to think straight. I shout to my friend to come help me. Fight the fish. Tighten drag a little. Get the fish to the hole. See it circle. See the white of its belly. See it circle some more. Then the head came up the hole with a little help from my friend. The fish head took up 5" of the 6" hole. There was the white tube right in front of its pecker. A quick head shake and it cut the line clean. Fish and tube and snap went back down the hole. My friend heroically dove in armpit deep trying to grab it. GONE. He wore a floatsuit jacket that had a cuff, and his arm stayed dry. Only the cuff and his hand got wet. He fished the rest of the day no problem. Here's my question: what else could I have done to land this fish? It was EPIC for me. I have been trying to get one for 2 years. Sorry Team 3, I was close. I even had the sign in my sled. Sleepjigging

Hi guys, There was that post a little while back about the police cutting triangles on the ice, and big warnings. Does anyone have any more info on what happened or what is the state of the ice by Minet's point? Thanks

I think I need to upgrade my 6" auger to 10". Well done gentlemen.

Bummer. Sleds costs 2X$29. Shipping fee $35. + tax + brokerage fees. So Smitty Sled instead for me .

Was looking to purchase some Jet Sleds from Bass Pro Online (backordered) and get it shipped to a store for free. Tried the checkout, and only US stores showed up for "free shipping to store." Has anyone else done it? Sleepjigging

WOW

Just came back from Thunder Bay - via Porter. Good sight seeing trip. Just not enough time to do everything. TBay is frozen up pretty good. Kakabeka Falls is crusted over completely. The Kam river is completely frozen over. McIntyre River in town is covered. The pond at Lakehead university is a skating rink now. The Current river/Boulevard Lake is covered. The outflow from the Current river at Lake Superior has a section that is open. Black Bay has 10"+ as reported by Hamilton Baits (with huts in place). Lake Superior is starting to ice: Looking at the Sleeping Giant I did not get a chance to go fishing and did not see any fishermen this trip. As we were flying home, over some waters I noticed: Scugog is frozen over. Lake simcoe is completely covered in ice/drifting snow. Little Lake, Bass Lake, Mud Lake, Balsam are all frozen. Lake Ontario is still open everywhere I could see. I was hoping to get a head start to the Hardwater season, but I will just settle for a little sightseeing. It won't be long now down here in the GTA. Thanks to all the members for all the advice about TBay. Sleepjigging

I have a clam 2 man teepee. The poles are 5.5' long. The tent sets up to over 7' tall. Only 2 hubs. In strong winds, with anchors and ropes, the windward side of the tent flexes in 12" - even with the hub rope anchored. The tent is so big it catches the wind alot. I have never had issues setting it up. Just anchor one hub to start it (windward). My family of four can fish inside. I love the big foot print 7'X7'. It's too big and not insulated enough to heat effectively with a little buddy. My next tent will be something thermal insulated. Sleepjigging

I have stopped buying RRSPs. The banks want your money, so they can make money - for the banks. The financial gain is for them. Not you. Watch the funds tank during the next financial melt down. (That would be a good time to buy if you are still wanting some RRSPs.) I am currently working to make somebody else rich. (The owner of the business.) We are trading our time for money. ($x/hr or salary/yr) The only way to have financial freedom is through a proven business. I have 20 more working years. But I plan to retire in 3-5 years from my day job by building a business. PM me if you have any desires to be a business owner. Sleepjigging

Nicely done BrianB. Now will you take credit for the singing?