Garry2Rs

In have used the Smelt, the SMBass and the full body Crayfish. They all worked great. The perch hasn't been that good for me. Perhaps I haven't figured it out yet...Mine seems to roll when I jerk the bait...I will try reeling it a stead pace to see if that works better. With the top water bite being so hot I haven't been using cranks much so far this season.

I have seen plastic boxes levitate from the floor of a bass boat and fly away... Fortunately I was checking the mirror at the time and was able to go back and get them.

Maybe you need to take a lesson or two. I had clients yesterday and the fishing was fine using Senko style worms. Here's the best one...4.75lbs. Garry2R's

Congratulations on your first Pike. The advise above is all good. Personally, being tougher than nails and a personal friend of Chuck Norris, I just yell "Let go of that!" and they timidly spit the bait into my hand.

John, I saved your big fish for my August report, so you will have to wait until September to see it here...grin.

How do you like summer 2009 so far? I don't want to hear how the farmers needed the rain Anyway the fishing has been alright. Here's a quick pictorial review of July... There are some OFNer's hidden here if you look closely...grin. These are mostly, but not all, on Lower Buckhorn. So that was July...let's see what August has to offer. Garry2rs

Hold the rod below the first guide and thump the end of the handle against the floor. The top section of the rod is a tight fit, but it will slide back into the handle.

I think you found a good thing. I believe that this is a Flippin stick and it will telescope back into the handle about 14 - 18 inches. This design dates from a time when rod lockers on Bass boats were only 6 feet long, so the longer Flippin stick had to be made to telescope down to six feet.

Glad to hear you are okay. The Hydro guys were here a couple of weeks ago and took down a lot of dead and weak branches. I guess they did a good job because the lights didn't even flicker around Apsley.

Hmmm....This sounds like a direct to video release.

Sunday July 26th was both a good and a bad day. Yes sir, we had it all! There was sun, cloud, rain, wind, thunder and lightning, hail and mechanical break down. On the good side, my clients caught fish. As a bonus, the young lady on board scored a PB 5 pound Large Mouth Bass. From my perspective, the only thing nicer than catching a five pound Bass is having the client catch one...hahaha. On the bad side, the weather changed every hour and on my way home the serpentine belt on the truck broke. No belt, no water pump...No water pump and with the heavy boat on the back, the poor old Dodge hit the boiling point in a couple of Klms. I staggered into the garage in Apsley and arranged to have the truck repaired, then limped home in short hops with the boat and trailer. Monday morning I had a fishing date with fellow OFC'er JeffBornFishin. I called him when I got home on Sunday evening to cancel our trip, because of the truck. Jeff generously offered to tow my boat back and forth to the lake so we could still go fishing. I spend a lot of time with beginners and love teaching people the basics. It very rewarding and fun too. But, it was like having time-off to spend the day with an accomplished angler like Jeff. Having spent most of his life in this area, he and I were able to discuss a lot of local lakes and fishing, as well as other cottage country issues. While we were at it, we did managed to catch some fish too. I don't think the big one was a new PB for Jeff, but it was a damn fine fish all the same. As for me...It was a new PB for guiding. Four, three pound fish, two four pound fish, one 4.75, and two LMBass of over five pounds...in three trips...Hot Dog, I love this job! Garry2rs

Look for other air leaks in the fuel system..cracked hoses etc. It sounds to me like there is enough vacuum to keep fuel flowing at idle, but when the throttle is opened air is leaking into the system somewhere and the flow of fuel is interrupted.

Shimano has owned G.Loomis for ten years and recently seems to be bringing everything closer to "Home." Last year they shut down the Canadian operation in Mount Hope, and now they are dropping the sale of blanks to rod builders. Maybe the book keeping isn't worth the trouble to a multi-national like Shimano.

If you travel to Barrie, your looking at Lake Simcoe...Big and Deep...If it's a windy weekend it will be tough on people with small boats. On the other hand if you travel the same distance to the Kawarthas, you have more lakes to choose from, plus the water is safer for small boats. There are also plenty of boat rentals available. I'd like to suggest the tournament be held in the village of Buckhorn. There are two lakes right there, Upper Buckhorn is to the west and Lower Buckhorn to the east, one is shallow and weedy, the other is deeper and rocky. Both are well marked and safe. There are plenty of Bass and panfish and as a wild card, there are Musky...grin.

Not to scientifically speaking, this happens in all lakes that are deep enough to develop a thermocline, during the summer. Come the fall, when the surface water cools to the point that it becomes cooler, thus heavier, than the bottom layer of water, the surface water will sink and the bottom water will rise. This is referred to as the the lake "Turning Over." This mixing leaves the lake the same temperature from top to bottom...therefore the fish can use all of the water, and are harder to find. The rising bottom water carries some debris into the upper layers and the water becomes somewhat cloudier. However; It won't happen at the end of August! You're looking at the end of September or mid-October

Sound like fun. Are we using boats? Where would we fish? What kind of rod and reel can you possibly get for $2.00?

I always use Pink Flukes, but I didn't think the fish liked them any better than more natural colours. My thought is that I do a better job of fishing them, because they are easier to see at a distance... I bought some pink Powerbait finesse worms, for drop shotting, because they float and that's all I could get...grin. So far I am having good luck with them. The Zero worms do last a long time, but I don't really like them because the plastic is so gummy. I supply everything for my clients, including bait...Real Senko don't last long enough to suit me. I use a lot of BPS Sticko's and Cabela's Aqua-Glow Senko-copies as well as some generic Senko-type worms that are available in Bridgenorth and Bancroft. All of these baits catch fish and the cost is much lower on the non-name brands. On Stoney, I launch at Mount Julian/Viamede because it's the closest to my place. I tend to fish from there down the lake because there is less and less traffic the farther you get from the Lockes. Garry2rs

I believe the nearest Cabela's is near Toledo Ohio...anyway it's south of Detroit. During the winter, when I am in the USA, I buy more items from Cabela's than from Bass Pro. I like Cabela's house brand plastics and they have sales on name brand tackle. BPS has plenty of sales, but it's mostly on their house brand stuff. I bought two Cabela's rods, last year. Both were clearance items and cost me about $30.US each...One was a spare musky rods for my clients to use, and the other I bought for trolling. They turned out to be great bargains. They have good cork and plenty of guides etc. I feel that I got more than my moneys worth. Remember if you buy from either company, there probably won't be parts available for any house brand reels you buy, and getting a rod repaired might not be feasible. On the other hand, I consider the things I bought to be disposable.

You have Mail...

Well I have to admit that until now the North Kawartha Bass and Musky fishing hasn't been that great. However, things have picked up dramatically in the last few days. The first three weeks of the month were tough, but last Sunday my clients caught these two Large Mouth Bass, on Yum frogs, at the same time! Later one fellow caught this huge 5.4 pound Bass on a watermelon Senko type worm! I think the cool weather has held things back until now. Normally after the spawn there is about a two week period where the fish are scattered and hard to catch. Unfortunately this often coincides with the opening of Bass season in Ontario. Since the end of June we have been catching small fish, in good numbers, but the big ones were nowhere to be found. All that seemed to change last weekend... Saturday I caught a Musky on Stoney, while bass fishing, Sunday my clients had a great day on top waters and Texas rigged Senko type worms. Then yesterday I got into a bunch of big Smallmouth Bass, again on Stoney, for the first time this year. If I'm right, the next couple of weeks will be great! Garry2R's

I used to have a light bulb, but it changed...Now I'm not sure what it is!

KVD won't share his cookies!

Spro makes very nice baits. Their Bronzeye Frog is the best on the market and the Akura Shad is a terrific lipless rattle bait. I had good luck with their John Crew's, Little John bait as well. There are several other styles of bait in there line up that I haven't tried, but the ones I've used are all first class. Garry2rs

If you're on a budget it's hard to beat BPS. The Extreme and Woo Daves rods are pretty good for the money. They list at $100US each, but since there are constant sales on all BPS house brand rods, I would only buy them when they are on sale. Shimano Compre would also be a good compromise between quality and price. To get started I think one spinning and two bait casting rods will do it. Lengths of 6'6" or 7ft. for all three rods... ML spinning rod for weightless plastics and drop shot etc. Med. casting rod for crankbaits and Jerk baits. MH Casting rod for big baits, trolling, heavy cover and to Pitch and Flip. As far as line goes, I would spool 15 to 20 pound braid on the spinning rod (Fireline Braid or Powerpro) and 30 - 40 pound on the baitcasters. Use Fluorocarbon leaders if you want to...I don't see much difference except when using finesse techniques. Garry2rs

If you want fish to eat go to Hutch's or the Fortino's If you want to catch fish try Bay Front Park behind Hutch's on Bay Street North.