Hookset

Couldn't be any happier living where I am now in Muskoka. There's definitely a trick to it tho'. Stay off Muskoka, Rosseau, Joseph etc. until the terrorists (see tourists) are gone. Shop in town only on weekdays and stay the hell outta town on weekends - easy to do if you fish. We just bought a new home between Bracebridge and Huntsville and real estate is more than reasonable if you stay away from waterfront property. I've got 15 bass lakes within 25 minutes drive, my fave is only 10 minutes away. No tourists ever hit these lakes and I usually have the whole lake to myself. Add thousands of acres of crown land in the area and I'm a happy camper. 2 hour drive to Murder City, oops I mean Toronto, to see family and distant friends ain't all that bad either. Moved here from that area and I ain't never moving back. Hopefully I'll be long gone from this world before the G.T.A. gets too close. Hookset.

LM and SM Bass, Walleye, Pike and big Crappies. Never caught or seen a Muskie, and the Walleye are pretty scarce. Good lake though. Awesome structure through out, everything looks good on the whole lake which can make things tough. Either way have a blast. Hookset.

Posts on this site have proven that Simcoe already has huge smallmouth, huge pike, huge whitefish, huge ling cod (ya I know, but I caught a 9 lb'er there once) huge laketrout, huge perch etc. etc so my guess is huge Muskies. I'd rather see the money go to gas in CO's trucks too though. I'm pretty happy with what the Lake has to offer as is. Hookset.

It's kinda funny how we get one year of inactivity, or one year of storms and people (scientists etc) start making predictions on what's gonna happen next. This planet has more surprises coming and there ain't no crystal ball to predict it. Lowest activity since '77....big deal...that's only 30 years ago. Not even a "speck" in time for old mother Earth. People have been keeping track of things like this for maybe the past 100 + yrs. It's like driving a new car for 10 feet and deciding if it's gonna last 100,000 miles or not. I don't think there is any way at all to predict what's coming next. But some scientist somewhere will try and justify his job by putting together some data and a chart to illustrate it. You're right Deano, they need to stop trying to predict the future. It can't be done (by humans anyway). Hookset.

Truly Sad, And once it's gone it ain't ever coming back. Just finished fighting a zoning bylaw change myself. Different circumstances but it pays to fight if you want to give it a shot. If nobody fights it, it's a done deal. I got a ton of help from some people on this site actually. If you are looking for info PM me. Pretty sad regardless. Hookset.

"Riverboat Fantasy" My Dad's favorite song (David Wilcox), and the name he gave to his old Pontoon Boat. He's gone now and so is his old boat, so I adopted the name for mine. Hookset.

What a great Report !!! Not sure what you do for a living, but may I suggest contacting some outdoors magazines or other media to maybe offer hunting and fishing articles from the female perspective ? Your report would do well in any magazine I've ever read. My girlfriend enjoys reading all my fishing magazines but always comments that there is very little to offer from a Womans point of view. I'll make sure she sees your post. Well done, and congrats. Hookset.

Cool !!! I'm a Surfer. One of the world's most respected Big Wave Surfers. Gnarly Dude....lol. Hookset.

Thanks guys, I'm usually pretty well hid inside my portable hut, but I like the sunshine some days. I'm pretty sneaky but it's not hard to tell if a guy is fighting a fish 100 yards away. Problem is this Lake is pretty big but everyone bunches up in one or two areas. I've tried touring the lake but haven't had a lot of success finding a hot spot. Was hoping that someone would know about movement patterns or different holding areas in the winter. As in early, mid or later season patterns. If I can narrow down some patterns it will cut out a lot of water that I won't need to bother with. Thanks for the replies. P.S. - RHYBAK - no islands near where I fish so must be another lake. Sounds like we should talk when the ice hits and we can share. Hookset.

Lunch today with girlfriends Grandmother Tomorrow the Bass had better fear me. If I eat her cooking... tomorrow everyone will fear my Hookset.

Do a search here on Minn Kota, you'll find quite a few posts on the topic. I'm on my second. 2 friends of mine have blown theirs up too. In future I'm buying Motorguide. Cost 120 bucks to replace at Rockies in Orillia. But if you are on your second I'm sure you know that. I need more coffee. Hookset.

LOL it's ok to admit that you like Jeff Gordon Rick. Come on fess up...

Well done Cliff, Congrats on the deer and the quick kill. Nice Shootin'. And great story too. Hookset.

I've been stumped trying to answer this myself so.... I ice fish a large lake in the Muskoka's for Crappie. The spot I normally fish has become pretty crowded lately. The lake is several miles long and is full of bays with not much in the way of a main lake basin. It's a cold deep lake with little vegetation. When the going gets tough I head out into the deepest section and fish for suspended Crappies. That works pretty well but ten minutes later I'm surrounded by a pile of other angler's. The problem I have is that the entire lake looks excellent. So to eliminate hours of running and gunning I'm wondering what other OFC'ers have experienced. For example: - is there any difference as to north, south, east, west parts of a lake being better than others at certain times of the winter for Crappies ? - does current play any factor with them ? - do they relate to in flow or out flow rivers at special times ? (even though these are shallower areas that haven't produced for me in winter) This lake is full of fresh water shrimp, when we dropped an Aquaview camera down we were blown away by the amount of these shrimp. It looked like it was snowing from top to bottom in 40 feet of water. I suppose I could always stick with running and gunning then heading deep in mid winter but slush, deep snow, old lungs etc. have made me try to be smarter. I said TRY. Any ideas are appreciated. My lungs thank you. Hookset.

As long as it's clean and in good shape I'd rent it. I would be ok with the price if it came in around 65% - 75% of a cottage rental. Was talking to the girlfriend on the phone while reading this post at work so I asked her if she'd stay in one. She said she would as long as it was clean. So hurry up will ya before she changes her mind !!! Hookset.

I don't understand either Jedi, I guess all you can do is post your thoughts and not get too strung out as to others ideas as to "why bother". You made some good points. It's like the law for wearing seat belts. We all know why but every now and then you'll hear about someone dying cuz' they decided not to wear one. It takes 2 minutes max to hang your food. I've always hung mine and never had a problem. I don't miss the 2 minutes it took. Hookset.

Hi Cranks, Welcome to the board. No worries about not fishing for the last 20 years. It's all the same, except the tackle costs more now. And nobody uses the Popeil Pocket Fisherman anymore. Wish I still had mine though. Hookset.

I wear a seat belt, but have never been in a car accident. I have a life preserver in my boat but have never needed it. My car has an air bag but I've never needed it. I think I'll continue to hang my food in a tree. Been doing that for over 20 years myself. Dunno if that makes me an "avid" camper or not. Takes like 2 or 3 minutes to do. It's a no brainer to me. If you decide not to hang your food, so be it. But I sure wouldn't be telling people not to worry about doing it. Just my thoughts, Hookset.

Hmmmm, It only takes one Black Bear in a lifetime, to ruin things in a big way. If my food can't go into a vehicle, I'll hang it from a tree. And for crying out loud don't hang it in a tree right next to, or in, camp. If old Blackie finds out he can't get to what is hanging in the tree, it's best that he doesn't make this discovery 10 feet from your tent. As far as the Settlers and Natives camping from years ago, to them it was living, not camping. They would have loved to see a Blackie coming to camp. He'd be a meal and a new pair of mitts and a hat in no time . I bring the best anti-Bear device with me whenever I camp out. German Shepard... Bears hate any dog, no matter the size and will normally not come anywhere close. Hookset.

Both of those were AWESOME. When life was a little simpler.... Not one of them had a Blackberry Thanks for posting. Hookset.

Got out for some Bassin' on Thanksgiving Monday. It was warm and overcast all day with no rain. My favorite kind if weather for Bass. We decided to hit a back lake with the Tupperwear boat which has only a kid's camp on it. All the kid's were gone of course which gave us the added bonus of being able to fish their huge system of docks, plus we were the only fishermen on the lake. This lake has been hammered by some people who feel the need to keep bass over 5 lbs. for the table. It's a well known lake for the locals here. I know it's their right but I don't have to like it. I've tried (nicely) to inform them as to the effect of removing big spawners from a small body of water but it falls on deaf ears. Can't imagine what they taste like either. Old boot comes to mind. Anyway, I have been very polite in my views with them and I simply leave with a head shake as they load 5 and 6 lb. Largies in their car and drive off. We've laid off fishing from the Lake for a couple of years now (due to heartbreak and disgust) but decided it was time for a return trip. We caught a few Bass, over 25 between the 2 of us, but none of the huge ones that we found in years past. Bait of the day were Spinnerbaits, slow rolled around docks and boulders. One came off a dock on a flipping jig. Ya' gotta love Fall Bassin' Here's a pic of the lake and few pics of some of the better ones. Season ain't over yet Hookset.

Well said T.J. A few weeks ago, driving home late at night on Hwy 118, I wondered what 2 little lights were doing 6 feet above the highway. My brain finally kicked in and I hammered the brakes. The little lights were eyes. I stopped about 3 feet from a cow Moose. She didn't move an inch. Looked at me as if to say "what the heck are you doing on my trail ?" There would still be little Jeep parts scattered on the highway. She was a big girl. Good Reminder, Hookset.

Sorry Lew, Was wrong of me to make such a broad statement. Shoulda said GTA'ers except OFC'ers lol. I'd give up my best rod and reel to get rid of McSquinty. Hope your vote is the one that does it.

Yep, Not so much the damn Ontarians as it is the G.T.A. ' ers Most of the rest of Ontario can tell a rat (piggy, whatever)when they see one. Divide Ontario into 2 provinces, north and south. And ya I'm voting. Pot stirred... Hookset.