12 Volt Man

Thank you! I actually ended up catching one by driving up to the Kawarthas to a river up there! Smashed a Mepps #5 Black Fury on my bass rod (after using my muskie rig for hours - go figure lol)

in what way? I have been using them since the late 80s and they seem the same as they always have been?

So, I was fishing with my musky rod for hours today after driving 2 hours to a river in the Kawarthas to try to catch my first muskie (from shore, I don't own a boat). I took a break from using it, picked up my bass rod (7'6 MH) cast a #5 Mepps Black Fury and caught my first one lol Go Figure lolol The Mepps Black Fury lures are sooooo goood! Took a few pics as fast as I could with help from some nice people walking through the park and back it went. took off like a rocket

Excellent thread. so I am a shore fisherman that has been trying to catch a muskie for about 2 years. I fish Lake Gibson in Thorold (nothing but I know there are big muskie in it) I have driven out to a well known shore spot on Lake St. Claire (about 2 hours from me) 3x and each time no one caught one lol I am thinking about trying a shore spot in the Kawarthas for a better chance. there is a spot near a boat launch in Balsam lake where people fish that is about the same driving distance as Lake St. Claire was. Worth a shot? I have a muskie rig (St. Croix Premier, Tranx etc) big net etc. Or am I better to try somewhere near Pigeon Lake?? it seems to be another muskie factory like Lake St. Claire is. thanks!

Any idea why they stopped the stocking? was it budget cuts? Im assuming it was??

ok thanks! I'll try to get out there and give it a shot

Anyone know if the gate at Bronte Pier is open? Used to fish there all the time but a locked gate showed up during the pandemic and I know I have been down there and the gate is locked. Looking to cast for some browns oh yeah thanks!

yes thats true. Not sure why they did that. People have been fishing off of both piers since the 1960s. Not sure why now it was such a big no no

awesome. I'm so glad that pier is open again for fishing. its been gated off and closed for the last 3 years.

https://www.toronto.com/news-story/10404298-changes-coming-to-fishing-restrictions-in-oakville-following-complaints-from-local-anglers/ this article mentions specifically that we can fish from both sides of the west pier without issue. which is good because every single salmon I have ever caught in Bronte has been from the opaque harbor side LOL i can't catch anything casting out into the lake LOL

when I fish i always CAST DA MEPPS! seriously though last year i was grinding it out on rice lake and i put on a mepps #5 red and black black fury on my baitcasting rod and began catching bass and pike when my crankbaits etc didnt work. reminded me that sometimes a classic inline spinner will still catch fish when other lures/plastics aren't doing the trick. I would bet that casting an inline spinner and retrieving along the edges of the weeds will catch you fish, and they are easy to use for kids too, just cast and wind. tight lines

it kills me how complicated and convoluted Ontario's fishing regulations are. I look through them often (in my main zone) and its insane. its like trying to do a maze but the walls are rules and exceptions (and boundaries) instead its a complete clusterF.

I'm curious if you are legally allowed to take a picture of your fish during this time. I would think so??

good point! pun intended. i am not eating anything i catch.

Thanks Brad! I saw some bigger ones but i wasn't able to get them to hit. next time i will conquer them lol

ooohhh yeahhhhhh!

true but the municipalities are taking the instructions of 'closing the outdoors' from the provincial government. they are are following the erroneous orders.

the prov. government has really messed up by closing the outdoors. its the exact opposite of what their science advisors are telling them to do. no wonder we are in such a mess.

a lot of people in California and parts of Mexico use these huge musky sized swim baits in an effort to catch a 15 to 20 pound bass, as they can grow that large in those parts. many are hoping to beat the current world record which is a tie at 22 pounds 4 oz.

they aren't because unless you have antibodies in your immune system already (which you won't unless you have either had the virus previously or been vaccinated and allowed the time for your immune system to build them up) having a good immune system does very little to stop yourself from being infected if exposed. thats how viruses work. its not the same as bacteria. Viruses are very good at infecting otherwise healthy people who have strong immune systems. thats why are they such a problem.

its one thing to protest lockdowns because people need to go work to earn money to pay bills and live etc its quite another to believe Covid is all a big scam - that site looks like it leans towards the latter. it preaches removing masks and posts old videos from the early days of the pandemic with information that has since been corrected as we learned more about the virus (eg masks dont work, 50% false positives etc)

oh yeah Ontario is making international headlines because of how badly our government (actually both levels) are messing this up. hundreds of flights in and out of Pearson daily. but I can't get my haircut.

Great so now I have an even less of a chance of catching my first In all seriousness this sucks overall. big time.

Fishing World in Hamilton is also well stocked with lots of the higher end gear. they are small but stocked to the ceiling with gear. Its an amazing store.

yup, when i learned how in 1998 shimano was just starting to release a few lefties but most companies had only righty's available. so we cast and switched. tough to unlearn that once you get good.