Hookset

I feel your pain Maureen. I too am at work due to the worst word in the English language. INVENTORY... sigh. Happy Canada Day. Hookset.

Hi Corn Nug I used to work with a guy who has/had a cottage on that Lake. He said the Bass fishing was great but I never heard him mention Pike or Walleye. Secret maybe ???. If it's like any of the other small lakes on that stretch the Bass fishing should be as good as he said (and Lostchild said). I don't think you will have any problems figuring the Lake out. There are other Lakes close around there that are great too. PM me if you like, it's a great area for Bassin'. Hookset.

Hi All, This Bass opener was pretty special for me. This was the 22nd year that one of my best Bud's and I have spent opening Bass together. It's special because my bud was in a car accident this winter and broke his back. At the time he thought there was no way he would be able to fish by the opener. I was just happy that there was no paralysis. Well, he's a tough little bugger, and with therapy and determination he was ready to roll come opening day. Another issue for me was that I lost my Dad to Cancer this past January. It's been a hard time for my family and all my Bud and I could talk about heading in to the opener is how great it was going to be on opening morning to just sit there for a few moments and remember the good times and how lucky we both are to be doing what we love for the 22nd year in a row. I bought my Dad a new baitcaster and rod for Christmas but he never got the chance to use it. Guess which rod and reel I used first that day lol. Anyway, to the fishing.... We hit four of our favourite back lakes, one each day, from Saturday to Tuesday. Our first lake produced pretty good but no real big fish. Nothing worthy of pictures anyway. Here's a pic of my Buddy on opening morning before we even took a cast. The smile on his face pretty much sums up how we both felt that morning. Here are a couple of scenery shots of the Lake. We caught fish on everything we threw but it was tough fishing. We caught over 40 Bass but no real lunkers. Days 3 and 4 were pretty much the same for us as the first day. Good fishing, but slower than normal. Possibly due to the heat. And boy was it hot !!! Day 2 was another story. We caught some nice Bass throughout the day. This lake has both Largies and Smallies and the bait of choice seemed to be soft plastic jerks in black or watermelon with black/red fleck. Then the sun started to set and the water literally started to explode. The lake we were on has fantastic shorlines. Deep with wood every few feet. But the best feature is a string of mid lake humps that runs almost the entire length of the lake. We hit the humps right when the sun began to set and started hammering Smallies on topwater baits. Here's a pic of a fair Smallie that I caught just before we hit the humps. When we got to the humps, fish were exploding on bait fish and insects all around us. Every few seconds fish would boil and we'd throw a topwater at the spot. Bang, fish on...almost every time. I wish I had taken more pics but I was having too much fun. Then just before it was time to go my buddy threw his Chug Bug at a boil only 20 feet from the boat. The fish hit at about 10 feet from the boat. What a show!!!!!. It tailwalked straight at the boat and slammed off the side, knocking a couple rods out of the way and showering us both with water. It jumped 4 times and caused chaos like only a big Smallie can. My bud grabbed the fish and we got a couple of pics. She was 20" long and fat. It was a great end to a great day. Here's another pic of her. I bet my Bud didn't feel the pain in his back for a while after this one. It was a great 4 days. And I feel pretty lucky to have been able to continue the string of Bass Opener's with my Bud. As bad as things can seem sometimes, it takes only a few special things to make it all worth while. Hookset

Mine and Sue's Condolances to you and your family Cliff. The first nice Smallie I catch this weekend is Herb's. God Bless, Mark and Sue.

Wasn't sure if i wanted to post this now that the thread was locked but what the hell. I type slow and this took me over a half hour to type so........I have no problem if it gets yanked. Somewhere in an office building sits a group of politicians. These politicians are rejoicing in the altercations between Native and Non-Native Canadians. They are rejoicing because once again, Canadians, are fighting amongst themselves. The politicians haven't made decisions on any issues. They will not make a stand or commit to anything because they are concerned only with votes and staying off the "radar screen" when it comes to sensitive issues related to Natives and Non Natives. I bet residents of Caledonia are ecstatic that the rest of Ontario is now feeling some of the pain that they have endured for months and months. The politicians sitting in that office that I mentioned have just closed up for the weekend. They know that the issue will fester, Canadians will be outraged, Natives will once again feel shunned and unimportant. Violence may erupt. Or worse. And those politicians will sit in their million dollar cottages this long weekend and raise a glass of expensive wine as a toast to all of us. They will do this without any sense of guilt. their toast will go something like this...... "Thank God that I was once again able to do nothing, avoid any issues, make no decisions, and avoid the road block to my cottage by taking the helicopter." "Thank you Canada." Hookset.

Back before they were well known as Senko's, they were usually referred to as Sluggo's. I'm pretty sure the Sluggo brand was the first mass produced soft plastic jerkbait in true stick bait form. Berkley then came out with their copy called the Power Slug. These outfished the Sluggo brand by far. Why Berkley stopped producing them I don't know. My friends and I have only rarely found them in packs of 100 and we always scoop them up. If anyone has, or knows the whereabouts of, Power Slugs in black or red/black please let me know. They only work on the lakes I fish though so they won't be any good to you anyway. Hookset.

Chug Bug, then a Sluggo type bait like a Yum Dinger in watermelon or dark smoke. Starting off in a 6" and moving smaller if need be. If that don't work, it'll be a 3" tube in smoke,or salt & pepper, Texas rigged with a small worm weight 1/4 to 1/8 oz. If they're turned on maybe a spinnerbait in white or firetiger (Sunfish) colour. It's supposed to be a cold day up here this Saturday so small and slow may be the way to go. Either way, I can't freakin wait..... Hookset.

Oh ya Baby, Been waiting on this day all year. Like every year I suppose... Hitting a bunch of Lakes in the Muskoka's for Smallies and Buckets. This will be the 22nd year in a row that one of my best friends and I have spent the opener together. He's had some health issues lately so this year should be something special. 22nd year....man that's like 5 girlfriends ago and 2 old dogs ago, worth in time. Good luck all, and be safe. Hookset.

Late November to the end of June it's Walleye, Pike and Lakers. After Bass Season opens thats about all I fish for. I almost feel like if I fish for something else during Bass Season, that I am missing out lol. Fave is Smallies, then Largies. Or was that Largies then Smallies ?.... Hookset.

I dunno folks, Use what you have confidence in I suppose. I've used the string / yank technique 3 times and it's 3 for 3 with me. Barely even bleed and little pain. And that was on deeply embedded treble hooks (one only embedded though) But you have to do the procedure exactly as shown. It is not a procedure to be rushed. Important points are straight alignment of the hook, constant pressure downward on the hook eye, and a quick yank using a very strong string or several wraps of line. I always wrapped enough line to pull my truck out of the ditch, then I added a few more wraps. If I wasn't confident in a technique I'd be headed to the hospital for sure though. Hookset.

I was shown the string / yank procedure years ago and have used it 3 times. Twice on others and once on myself. It definitely saved 3 trips to the hospital. One note on the technique though. Tell buddy you are going to yank on the count of 3....then yank on count #2. works great. Oh ya, wrap the other hooks in tissue paper or tape (or something) so they don't stick ya when you yank the hook. hook removal Hookset.

Thanks a lot TJ, Now that my girlfriend has seen your deluxe crapper w/ bug protection she says I need to upgrade before we go camping again. Looks like I gotta add a tent and padded seat to the old "Thunder Box" Hookset.

Yep, I agree. I don't have a problem with a properly managed forestry and logging. I just don't think, with the resources we have in all of Ontario, that logging needs to be done in Algonquin Park. I think the question was about logging in Algonquin specifically. Algonquin Park wasn't simply chosen at random. It was chosen, and should be protected, because it is special. Ontario is a pretty big place. Maybe we could have just that little piece of it left alone. If fire wants to clean some of it up, that'll happen. That's nature. Hookset.

I think more attention needs to be placed on the impact to wildlife that is caused through logging in the Park. Last summer when I was in the park I read an article about a species of Wolf (Grey Wolf I believe) that is in real trouble.. The story as I remember was explaining how the pack is in great jeopardy due to hunting and cross breeding with domestic dogs, and Coyotes. The second reason was hunting and killing by farmers as nuisance animals. This obviously occurred outside the Park boundaries (other than the Coyote issue). But why is this happening outside the Park when historically this was not an issue. Are the Wolves being forced outside the Park due to loss of habitat through logging ???? I'm no expert on the subject but common sense would suggest that changes to habitat always has a dire effect on Wildlife. I would definitely vote to stop the logging. I fail to see how logging in the Park would have a positive effect on anything. Leave us some form of nature the way it should be. ENTIRELY NATURAL. Give the Wolves, Moose, Deer etc. a sanctuary that they deserve. Once the species is gone or genetically altered it is gone for good, forvever. It will not come back. We have altered the Park enough as it is. Highways, campgrounds, nature trails etc. Do we really need to log the Park as well ? Nope !! Maybe someone who is in favor of Logging could explain a positive aspect. Money is not an aspect that should be considered. Wolves, Moose, etc. etc. don't buy their food. Hookset.

Hey Bucktail, I fished Biscotasing last year. We didn't need to go any further than about 10 minutes from town to catch fish. There is an extended closed season on the waters surrounding the railroad bridges. There were signs posted on shore and I can't remember the opening dates but I feel pretty confident that they are open now. The dates may be posted on the signs or just ask the old dude who sells bait in town. He'll know for sure. If the bridges are legal to fish, I know where I would be going Jigs were all we needed to catch fish. Tipped with minnows. To the east we fished the first large bay close to the first bridge crossing immediately south of town. 10 minute boat ride max. You can walk the tracks to the bridge from town in about 5 minutes. Just outside of town is another bridge which seems to be another hot spot. You can see this bridge from the town dock. To be honest we picked up fish on any "Walleye Looking" spot. The bridges were closed when we were there but when passing under the bridge heading in to town we saw a ton of fish. A flashlight shone in the water was all we needed to see why the bridges have an extended closed season. One very important thing to note. On the logging roads heading in to Biscotasi.....FEAR THE LOGGING TRUCKS......when we drove up I would practically pull off into the ditch to give as much room as possible. These guys are well known by the locals as being insane. They will not slow down at all, in fact you will swear some of them will speed up. They will also not move over at all. Some may think I'm a little unfair on this but believe me. On our map we were provided to get there with, half the page was dedicated to warnings about the logging truck drivers. I laughed at first too until I met the first truck. Anyway, good luck. If you want to P.M. me I will try to find and scan my fishing map from last year. It's a fantastic lake with incredible scenery. Hookset.

Wayne, Wayne, Wayne. It is obvious that you are in the wrong business. I want to put my order in now for the "IRISHFIELD 20 FOOT ALUMINUM BOAT, WITH THE IRISHFIELD 165" SHAFT 350 LB. ELECTRIC BOW MOUNT MOTOR, IRISHFIELD SONAR WITH SIDE SCAN AND INTERNET WIFI CAPABILITIES, TOPPED OF WITH THE IRISHFIELD 400 H.P. 4 STROKE OUTBOARD MOTOR WITH AUTOPILOT. Let me know when it's ready for pick up....... Hookset.

Buy it. You won't be disappointed. Hookset.

Pretty cool of those guys to pass on the pointers to you Cliff. I guess the old dog ain't beat yet.

Any bets that there isn't a single fisherman on the Georgina Council ? I wonder what it must be like to screw people over just because you have no interest in something they enjoy doing. How do some people sleep at night ? Oh ya... Sorry....we're talking politicians here. You have to have a brain in order to have a conscience. Hookset

Lake of Bays....Good Lake Trout, great Smallies (O.O.S.), very few Largies (O.O.S.), Pike have been caught there but most of those came down the small river from Paint Lake. The Pike haven't established themselves in L.O.B. yet and hopefully they never do. Paint Lake has good Pike but no 'Eyes. Lake of Bays is definitely a Muskoka Lake. Your best bet by far for good Pike and Walleye is Lake Muskoka. It's a huge Lake full of islands, cuts, channels, you name it. Get yourself a good map and you can probably find some good Pike and Walleye water. P.M. me and I'll add what I can. The maps a good idea anyway 'cuz it's an easy lake to get lost on. Hope we're talkin the same area here cuz i'm confused on the Calabogie and Haliburton references. I lived on L.O.B. for years. It sure aint near Calabogie (at least the Calabogie that I know). Hookset.

I have a Minn Kota 55 lb Powerdrive. It's 3 yrs old and I blew up the controller (foot pedal) after about 2 years. Warranty expired of course. The motor would turn one way only, which is cool if you're trying to make a whirlpool. I've read some reports from others who had the same issue. Replacement cost was around $125.00 if I remember right. It was the computer board that went in the controller so no chance to repair it. Other than that it's been a good motor. Maybe the V2 (newer version ???) has solved the problem with the fried boards.

Wow, I gotta admit.....that was wild. Even out of a set of cheap headphones. Bet I wasn't the only one who looked behind me Hookset

Sorry about your loss Lew, I hope one day the cure for Cancer will be found. Your brother, (and thousands of others) deserved better. Heartfelt Condolences from myself and my family. Hookset.

Like someone said "at least it didn't cost you anything" My dumbest move was a freebie too. It's not a "kill switch" story but it's dumb enough to qualify. I just bought a brand new Princecraft with a 40 hp on it. Was the first boat I ever bought. This is back about 15 yrs ago. Pulled in to the launch on Scugog for the maiden voyage. Unhooked everything, handed the girlfriend the bow line, and backed her in slick as can be... Girlfriend was on the dock walking along beside the boat. All she had to do was hang on to the rope. We went over the procedure on the drive up by the way. I hit the brakes, boat slides off, and keeps on sailing... "Where's the rope ???" I yell (scream/cry really but hey). "In the boat" she says... 2 old guys fishing on the end of the dock with grins on their faces, one waves at my boat as it sails away, the other puts his hat over his heart. I jump outta the truck and run down the dock peeling off shoes, glasses, wallet, shirt, then I was at the end of the dock. Full dive into Scugog. This was early season, real early. Your heart really can jump into your throat. I always thought that was just a saying. Luckily it was only about a 40 foot swim to the boat. I later figured the water was a total of 4 feet deep and I could have waded out but hey, it was a new boat. Plus I think the old dudes were impressed with my high speed running strip and full gainer dive. Back at the dock my girlfriend was upset and crying. Cheap trick. I'm a sucker for that. I was a bad captain, and twas' my fault. I told her I should have been more specific as to rope holding responsibilities. If the rope is not in your hands....you are not holding it. We all had a good laugh, but I think the 2 old dudes laughed the hardest. I'm sure they still laugh about it. At least you didn't have old, wise a/ss dudes as witnesses. Hookset.

Yep, the blackflies are out thick. Fished all this past weekend and the morning and early evenings they were bad. Only for about an hour though and then they let up a bit. When I couldn't handle them anymore I just fired the boat up and flew around the bay once just to catch a breather from them. Plus the 2 stroke exhaust seemed to drive them away as well lol. On that 100 % deet..... I bought every bottle I could get my hands on. I think I have about 5 left. Do not put the 100 % deet directly on your skin. Put it on your clothing only. I spray my clothes near exposed skin and then cover my hat in it. It works well but like Cast-Away said it will eat anything plastic. We were on a small lake close to the Moon river system. All the Walleye we caught were in 10 - 12 feet of water. 1/4 oz. Jigs with 2 1/2 " yellow grub style tails worked better for us than even live bait. But since the bait shop I stopped at was selling minnows at 7 bucks a dozen, maybe I'm a little swayed towards artificials. Time to start trapping my own minnows again I guess. Hookset.