Garry2Rs

Thanks guys.

Hi Trever; Nice to have you here. Don't be afraid to ask questions or express an opinion. Garry2R's

Glad to hear you shucked the skunk...grin. Check your calendar and let me know when you can get up here for some R&R. Garry2R's

This also happened to me once. The prop got jammed on the bottom and the torque wound the nylon wing nut off. You obviously need a new prop. I think they come with a new wing nut...HOWEVER...You might want to replace that with a Nylock hex nut.

I guess you could say I was "Twice Lucky." Hahaha.

There are fishing maps and there are navigational maps. Navigation maps are more accurate and more detailed. Fishing maps are generally simplified, but might show trolling routes, fishing areas for different species, weedbeds and other "hot" spots. Both type of maps will show you the main lake points and secondary points, islands, humps and shoals. The contour lines will show you the relative depth. This depth will change from season to season, but the map gives you a general picture. The closer the contour lines are together the faster the drop-off. Lines stacked so close that they touch indicate an underwater cliff. How do you use the information? Here are six things you might want to look for... 1. Points 2. Ridges. 3. Channels. 4. Humps. 5. Flats. 6. Islands. Let's say you are fishing in the Kawarthas...You might want to fish any points or ends of humps or islands that lead into deep water, especially if it leads into the main lake channel. If you know the seasonal movements of your target species, the map will give you an idea where to look for them. In the Spring, Walleye spawn in moving water with rock and grave bottoms. They will then drop back to rest and feed in the first weedbed or point close to deep water. Check the map for these locations. At the end of the season when the water is cold, Bass will tend to hold in deep water next to shear cliff faces so the they can change depth, to find the most comfortable water temperature, without swimming any distance. Check the map for these locations. Find the spot on the map with a fast drop from 3 to 40 feet and you could have a great day. Add your own experiences to your map. Places where you catch fish, notes about bottom conditions etc. One guy said he rated any point as a #1, if they also had weeds, rocks or lay downs, or lead into deep water, they became 2's, 3's, 4's or 5's etc. Overtime a map like this will allow you to hit your most productive spots in a logical sequence...You will have your own "Milk Run." Good Luck; Garry2R's

Asking which is the best Kawartha Lake is like asking which is the best Car, Truck or Hockey team.

You gotta love Pike! They're always hungry and they have a bad attitude...hahaha.

Nice mixed bag!

To bad about the Wallys, but you have the makings of a great fish fry...grin.

Good Stuff!

Nice going!

Congratulations on a great opening day.

My question is, if I walk down this stream and into the river, is this trespassing, there is a sign on a small forested area to the right which says 'no trespassing' just curious, if I'm in this stream, am I on private propery. Don't want to break the law but not sure what the law is. I know with lakes, people own 50ft or so out in to the lake in some cases but with rivers and streams I'm not sure. I seem to recall that the law says that the stream has to be navigable in order to be public, so I'm with Coda on this one...You better knock on some doors and ask permission. Garry2R's

Heading East on Hwy#7 Turn south on CR#30 at Havelock. Follow this road to the bridge over the Trent river. The launch is beside the bridge on the East side. Motor down stream...East...into Seymour Lake. Watch your speed going down stream there's a big 10K zone. Garry2R's

Nice going you-guys!

That's still better than sitting on the couch watching the Toronto Riots...

Albert, aka HTHM, arrived at my place around 8:30AM Saturday morning. Because heavy rain arrived at almost the same time, we opted to drink coffee and catch-up, until it let up a little. In the end we didn't go out until about 10AM. No problem, the fish were still in the lake and were still biting. We tried Flukes and worms in sparse weeds, but the HOT bite was in heavy weeds where we threw Yum type plastic toads/frogs. We fished for 6 hours and caught 20+ Bass. There were a few insane Dinks, but on these bigger baits most of the hook-ups were around 2 pounds. Albert got a nice one of almost 4 pounds. The best was over 7 pounds!!! She posed with both of us...grin. We also got an incidental Musky on the toad. All were released to fight again. My frog was a Watermelon green with a white belly, Albert used a Tan over yellow. Garry2R's

For a long time I used 10 pound Power Pro and 3/0 EWG hooks on a St.Croix Avid 6'9" ML rod. A couple of years ago I noticed that one of my clients was catching 3 fish to my two consistently on a tough day. He was using Fluorocarbon. That same year I also had a few cut offs when SmBass or Rock Bass took my line and wrapped it around granite rocks. To try to cure two ills at once I switched to 20# PP and tied on 3ft. of 6 pound Fluoro using a nail knot or a Uni to Uni. When the new Fireline braid hit the market, I switched line again to 15 pound Tracer. I liked the hi-visibility, but of coarse it's only painted on and it wears off pretty fast. After 10#PP I wasn't very happy with the strength of 6# Fluoro, so I tried 8 then 10 and twelve pound Fluoro. I even tried a full spool of 8 pound 100% Berkley, but I hated it!!! Can anyone else remember the Slinky??? This season I will start with 8# Stealth braid with an 8 pound 100% Fluoro leader. I've used this set-up for Crappie since April and it's a good compromise between visibility and strength. I still have 15 pound Tracer on a 7FT. G.Loomis ML rod and can leader up to 12 pound Fluoro. if I get into those sharp rocks again. I still use 3/0 EWG's for Texas, but now carry some red Mustad 1/0 or 2/0 weedless hooks that I buy at CTC. They're cheap and allow me to fish Wacky in heavier cover than the open hook did. I tried the expensive "wacky hooks" but didn't feel they were any better for my purposes. I'm not fishing tournaments so if I lose the odd fish I was going to release anyway, so what? I have very little experience fishing worms in current, but I would think that the thinner "finesse" models might have more action that the regular fat Senko. Our OFC friend Curtis cuts gulp worms in half lengthwise for drop shotting. I bet they would also be dynamite in a current. With one flat and one round side it should have some interesting movement... Garry2R's

Hi Ryan; I've had that happen with Senko;s and with spinnerbaits too. I don't think they are actually fielding it. However I read that a SmBass can travel 30 ft in 1.5 seconds from a standing start... If you shorten that distance to 5 feet it could appear to be catching the bait in mid-air. Garry

With Bass opening tomorrow I thought that you might like to see the How-to that I wrote for my clients. Senko type plastic worms: Here are my favourite ways to fish Senko type worms. All, except Walking the Dog, work with both Texas and Wacky rigging. 1. The Fall. You cast and do nothing! Close the bail and just watch the line as the worm sinks. The strike will come as the worm falls slowly toward the bottom. You will see the line suddenly dart to the side, speed-up or stop...Set the hook! 2. The Shake. The worm from example # 1, has sunk all the way to the bottom, a second or two has gone by and you tighten the line just enough to feel the worm. If there is weight, set the hook! If there is no weight, without actually dragging the worm, you shake or twitch the rod tip to move the line. A fish might be watching the worm. You want to provide proof of life. A little shudder from the worm can trigger a strike. 3. The Jerk. Example #2 didn't work, so now we give the bait a Jerk. This will be a gentle 2 to 4 inch pop of the rod tip. The pop will pick the bait up off the bottom and allow it to resettle.. As in #1 watch the line as the bait sinks, then as in #2 pick-up the slack to see if there is any weight. If there is, set the hook! 4. The Swim. The Swim is a continuation of the Jerk. This time you will pop the rod tip three or four times, Pop-Pop-Pop, moving the bait two feet or less. After the third pop let the worm sink. This is the classic dying minnow, struggling to right itself and falling back again. You can retrieve the worm all the way back to you in this fashion. Hits will usually be hard! They often com on the pause as the bait begins to fall back between sets of pop's. 5. The Scoot. At the end of the cast in shallow water or after the Fall, the bait can be retrieved very quickly just under the surface. This is the Scoot and is easier to accomplish if you hold the rod tip high and pop the line so there is slack in the air. With braid watch out for line wrapping around the rod tip. You want to pick up most, but not all the slack between pops, with Texas rigged worms this will allow the bait to hunt back and forth erratically. 6. The Scoot-up. A variation on the scoot retrieve is to cast well beyond an obvious target, then scoot-up into the strike zone... This allows you to kill the bait in the perfect spot and let it Fall into the fishes kitchen, It's my #1 Wacky Worm technique. 7. The Skip. The skip is a sidearm cast meant to bounce the Senko up to, or under docks, boats, overhanging trees and other structural elements like boulders and stumps. 8. Walking the Dog. Walking the dog is done by starting the retrieve with slack in the line and tugging the bait so it glides in the surface film. There is a cadence involved. You will tug, retrieve some, but not all of the slack, then tug again. When you find the rhythm the bait will glide to one side then reverse and glide to the other.

I don't think you need to worry about a mini cold front, because the overnight lows are staying about the same. In my area I think we have had some rain everyday this week. In the morning, I expect to find fish in 3 -4 fow, in weeds. I will start with a Fluke in a bay full of sparse weeds. I'll switch to a toad and work into a heavily weeded spot. These are both areas that paid off early in the season for the last couple of years. If you recall we had lots of rain then too. As Paul said, "...there's a reason those fish were there." I expect to find them there again...grin. After that It will be senko time and I will work shallow to deep and weeds to rock...If I am still going after that, Cranks in deeper water and over rocks and shoals etc. Our tackle bags sound like they will be about the same, but I'm fishing very clear water and I think I will be using lighter colours than you mentioned. Garry2R's

Where - North Kawarthas/Kawartha Highlands. What - Generic Senko, plastic toads, Flukes, Pop "R", Swimbaits, Square Lip Crankbaits. Avoiding except as a last resort - in-line spinners, lizards, jerkbaits. New technique - Swimbaits Garry2R's

I have a 7ft. G.Loomis and a 6'6" Shimano Crucial crankbait rod. The Loomis cost a lot more than the Shimano, but with a crankbait rod there isn't much to choose between them. I use braid with a knotless leader on one reel, another reel loaded with 20# Fluorocarbon and a third with 20# Mono-filament. I like the heavy Mono with Frogs, Toads and big top-waters, like Zara Spook's. The heavy Fluorocarbon sinks quickly and takes deep-divers down with it. The 40# braid with a leader is my favourite for all around use. I switch leaders to match the bait I'm using. Garry2R's

I have a Telus stick. It works very well at my place near Apsley. The plan I have is open ended...There's no limit so I can't go over. Garry2R's