manitoubass2

No OFC tourney sign, it doesn't count.

He had it, but had to use it to wipe something off....

I've told the story here before but I once had follows by 3 different fish over the course of a day but none would take the bait. I went back after dark and retraced my steps and caught all 3 of them.

 

Love it when a plan comes together

Yeah, thats awesome Lew!

The spot is just a hop, skip and a jump from my place, so going back in the evening is a def. go when the girlfriend gets back home.

I'm just hoping that seeing muskies here becomes more normal, because its a very rare thing. Some locals actually lived here for 40-50 years and never even seen a musky on these waters.

The one that turned on me was the only big one though.

When you've got an active fish that won't commit like that, come back to the same spot after dark and work big baits slowly over the area and there's an excellent chance you'll get her.

Thanks for the advice Lew, much appreciated! I wasn't able to go back that evening though.

I wonder if its holding the exact same spot 3 days later???? lol

I caught mine on a 6'6 Clarus with a Saros 1000 and 6lb Fireline, lol! One monster run and that was it... Buried herself in the weeds and I just brought her in nice and slow. No fuss at the side of the boat either.. Popped the hooks, took some pics and back she went. I've never seen a pike with a back as thick as that, an absolute monster for sure.

Man I bet!!!!

Mine took 4-5 monster runs. I had 20lb suffix 832 on a 6'6" medium heavy, it was an epic battle. Thats why I never took pics though, fish was really stressed. Was so cool though

I didn't even pinch the tail on that pike, maybe I had my 50in and didn't even know it!!! Ah well, can't do anything about that now, except for keep chasing them!

lol, no doubt!

My 47" was quite the experience. Alot of the locals (who rarely fish) wouldn't even believe it. But I had my kids and one partner to witness it, good enough for me. I really wanted a pic, but that fish needed a quick release. I felt good about reviving it/releasing it quick. The way it peeled line on me is forever etched in my mind.

only other fish I wanna target that I dont normally target, is a good laker

I've heard one of the best chances of getting a big pike in on some superior tribs. Seriously jealous of the 47" pike. That is huge. Like european strain huge.

I doubt I'll ever beat that, but I will try

BillM had one bigger, lol.

My 47" was the best fishing story ever though, totally retarded the circumstances in which I caught it.

I was shore fishing with one other guy that I don't really know. But he was about 20 feet from me, so throughout the day we started chatting. We were fishing a drop off with a current break downside of the rapids. After an hour of so, I said " I'm gonna put on a Berkley Ripple Shad, and I actually rigged it on a 3/8oz round jig head. Then I said " I'm gonna cast it shallow on that sand, the big fish is gonna be there sunning". I cast out towards the shallow shore, and the bait never even had a chance to sink, instant hook set. I think I actually casted the bait right into the fishes mouth, or so it seemed. Took both of us to land it on shore, it was very cool.

One fish I really wanna catch is a musky, a big musky. But I wanna catch it in Rainy River, so my odds suck big time. I've landed one per year, all around 25-27". Then a few days ago I landed two back to back at 27". Then the next day, I had one turn on me a few times, that was 40+. Made me go nuts, I tried for that one fish all day, to no avail.

The good news is the river always changes, and it's looking like we might have a swing of muskies this year, for whatever reason. I really want to take advantage of that.

The other goal is a 50" Pike. Biggest to date was a 47" last year. This goal might take years and years, but I'm hopeful, lol

Jeebus, thats an awesome crappie!!!

Clarence, you have the best avatar ever....

Awesome combo Lew. Can't wait to see what you bring in on it.

Lew doesn't post pics very often, might be a long wait, lol.

Sweet combo Lew, if it feels perfect, it is perfect!!! That price tag is well worth it over the long term

Wow Drifter, just wow!!!!!

Sorry guys, no pics. I've seen four in my life, all were in the last ten years.

One was dead on the weigh scale up in Ear Falls at the Weyerhaueser sawmill. It was pretty small, maybe 50lbs.

The next came while traveling through Eagle Lake backroads where there was literally thousands of deer. This one was big and healthy. If I had a camera or a cell phone at the time, I woulda got pics. It sat about 20 yards in front of me on the gravel road. He/she looked me over for 2-3 minutes, then bolted into an open field. I'm not sure on the weight, but this one looked super healthy and over 100lbs for sure.

The next one came on a trip down Cedar Narrows road off the 502, while me and my Dad were heading to Mainville lake to fish walleye. It was pretty early, just after sun up. We were seeing rabbits like crazy, like 30 or 40 in mere minutes. Then a cougar/mountain lion/whatever the heck there called bolted out onto the road from the treeline, hot in pursuit of a rabbit. This one was small but healthy looking, maybe 60-70lbs. We seen it for all of maybe 2 seconds.

The last one was two summers ago. Me, the girlfriend and our kids were heading to our shore fishing/camp spot. We were on the road a few minutes away from our spot, when I heard a faint sound in the bush. I told my kids/girlfriend to hold up, because we have run into bears and wolves in the past. We held up, the sound stopped. We waited a few seconds, then walked forwards just a few steps. Then the sound came again but it was louder, so I told them to stop again. I thought bear, so I told my girlfriend we were just gonna turn around and leave. Then, a big cat walked right out, maybe 30 feet away, possibly even less. It looked over its shoulder but kept walking into the other side of the bush. We cancelled all plans and headed home for the night.

But in all my experiences with them, there just impossible to get pics of, they are so fast, and they appear outta nowhere.

I'm sure Limeyangler has either seen some or heard of others seeing them around here, as a few I seen were pretty darn close to his area.

Oh, and they invoke fear, last thing you think when you see one is "wheres my camera?", lol.

And thanks to brandon and answering my questions on bears. Turn out me, and possibly the MNR are wrong.

Thanks brandon for taking the time to explain why I was wrong, I like to learn, and I'll be the first to admit I was totally wrong about my local bears, lol. Thanks dood, I always like learning and you taught me some great stuff!!!!!

If those shots are from Ontario then they're 100% cinnamon phase black bears, not grizzlies. Grizzlies don't exist east of the Rockies. still cool to see cinnamon black bears though! nice shots!!

Brown bear, my bad.

These are not black bears. They have very different body type and structure.

Of course though, I'm just going off the MNR and have no idea how accurate they are with bear indentification.

And you work with bears, lol, so maybe I should just take your word for it

Most likely a native, non-parasitic American Brook Lamprey, however, Sea Lamprey were reported upstream of Norval last year. Very tough to tell the juveniles apart but if you catch one over 10" it is a sea lamprey.

 

Jon

I had caught one on Rainy River last year that I though was a sea lamprey, it was about 12". I called the MNR and they asked me to preserve it so they could identify it. Turn out it wasn't a sea lamprey and was indeed native.

The size is an indication maybe, but not a sure fire way to identify the species.

So there are cinnamon bears in NW ontario? Is it the same species as a black bear, just different colors?

They are grizzly bears, not black bears.

Yes, lots of grizzlies, and lots of cinnamon grizzlies. Although, I grew up seeing grizzlies all the time, but I just started seeing cinnamon grizzlies about 6-7 years ago.

They started showing up around Ear Falls further up north, and in the past two years I've started seeing them around Emo area.

Some of them are super nice looking, others you can't really tell the difference between the two

Sweet pics Raf and BillM, your picture taking skills far exceed mine. That eagle/brookie shot is amazing

Horrible music choice and please, please pull your shorts up!!!!!

Nice report and great fish! The red tinge on that one is crazy, good shootin'

Nope, don't mind at all BillM.

Feel free to post any wildlife shots, I love to see what we run into while trecking through the bush or out in the boat

hahahaha, I appreciate the time Twocoda!

lol, not a bear, but I forgot about this pic from last year

That cinnamin is one monster bear!

That wasn't even the biggest one. I'm looking through alot of my old unorganized pics trying to find some others. I had one that had to be close to 600lbs, man it was hyyyuge.

I also have pics of a 700lb (ish) black bear that was hands down the largest living black bear I've ever encountered. I did see one dead on the 502 highway that was close to a 1000lbs, hit by and old lady in a small diesel car. I think it was in a local paper even? The bear wa almost bigger then the car, I think it was one of those old diesel rabbits????

I'm in NW Ontario, I've lived with bears, deer, moose, mountain lions etc... It's all pretty cool to see. Nothing really bothers me accept for wolfs, big wolfs in packs scare the hell outta me for some reason

Not sure if I want a bear close enough to use a spray on it ?

Of course you do, it's a great rush! Of course I only say that because up to this point, I'm still alive, lol.

wow, never seen a bear like that!!!!

Thanks for posting!!!!

Can't help with the fishing presentation...but if you want a base of operation the sis-in-law owns Manitoulin Resort!.. if that is the manitou you're talking about. Thought it was a laker and perch lake..

lol, there is only about thirty of them in Ontario.

Upper and lowere Manitou, Manitou Rapids, Manitou lake etc etc...

I guess thats why alot of people assume I'm from Manitoulin, sounds similar