Headhunter

Come on people, get it right... they are called "fish whistles"! The only thing that works faster at attracting a fish, is to start eating some food... the fish know, they really do! And Bob, I agree with you 100%! No bashin from me! HH

Congrats on your success! now you have the panny bug! If your going to be fishin panny's alot, I would suggest a 4 in auger. Really easy to drill and plenty of hole for panny's! HH

That's a hog Will! Nice! Gotta love Perchin and gettin out with yer Dad! Great pic to! HH

Just tuggin yer rope fella! ... but we do like pics! HH

That's the thing we all dream about happening... although we have a rule, no pics, no fish! HH

Not my favorite band by any means, but try if you can to not speed with this blaring away in the car on the way to your favorite fishin hole! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0Y2g3zOzZM Or, I find on the way home from a long day of fishin, staying awake on the ride home can be a challenge... I have found this to be an eye opener! Hard to fall asleep when you're laughing! HH

Hope ya had a great one Bernie! HH

I think you are dead on Peter! That's what I will tell my son, when and if we have to have that conversation. Funny, but the word "fair" disappears very quickly, once the first punch is thrown! HH

Glad you got it solved Doc! The moral of the story here seems to be... always go to the top when you have an issue with a store. You need to speak with a decision maker, not someone who is not empowered to make a decision. HH

Well Wayne, for one reason is that a pair of power maggots will last me the whole day! The only way I have had them come off the hook, is when I was removing the hook and my pliers grabbed the power maggot. Also, I'm really not into real maggots and have no intention of keeping a few in my mouth, to stop them from freezing! I know for a fact that many pan fish guys do that! And shrimp are far too tasty to waste on a perch! HH

IMHO.... you have to understand why and what the perch are doing when you are fishing through the ice for them. I beleive that they are not there intentionally to feed on minnows. They are there to eat the grass shrimp that are literally everywhere. Ever notice whenyou catch a perch, it typically coughs up some brown substance? That semi-digested grass shrimp! So, from my perspective, I want to match what they are feeding on and that's why I always use the power maggots. They look very much like grass shrimp. The jiggin Rap that I use serves a number of purposes: 1. a delivery device for the power maggots 2. it sinks like a stone, so it gets my bait in front of the perch really quickly. This is of utmost importance, as the school travelling past the hole is only there for a short time... wasting time re-bating minnows slows you down. 3. it's flash will draw in perch, just out of range of the maggots 4. you can bounce it off the bottom and it will stir up mud, which attracts these curious little fish 5. it will swim when lightly jigged, which also draws in the curious perch. Thinking back to Sunday, out of the 60 odd perch I caught, only one actually ate the rap! All the rest were caught on the treble hook, loaded with two power maggots. As for the question above re: the Cleo, it would probably work, but I would be concerned at line twist, should I be using that lure for an extended period of time. Also, it has been my experience that using the blue and sliver combo rap is best when there is some sun on the ice. On cloudy days, Fire Tiger is very effective. I would also suggest having a number of rods pre-tied with other presentations. They will stop biting a bait after they have seen a few of their buddys being ripped up to the surface. Here's a few suggestions: -Swedish Pimple with a 2 inch dropper /jig and power maggot -small spoon with a rattle to call them in... power maggot on treble -1/16th oz jig with a single power maggot. You NEED a very light rod for these fish, or you can get a strike indicator that attaches to the end of your rod. As I mentioned in an earlier post, 9/10 times, they will hit the bait from below. Unless you are paying attention to your rod tip, you will miss the bite. Watch for a slight upward movement of your rod tip and hit 'em hard! Perchin is a blast and one of my favorite types of fishin... but like any other species, there are things to learn. HH

Thanks for the report! I was out on Sunday, walked out from Gilford. Now I refuse to use minnows for Perch! My buddy I was with, used them and I won't deny that they will work, they just aren't required for perch. Simply put, if the perch are under your hole, they will bite. I only used two baits on Sunday, blue and sliver jiggin Rap and a small spoon with a rattle on the back... perch coloured. Both baits had Power Maggots (a pair) on the treble hook and without a doubt, they are the ticket. Buddy watched me and well, I thought he was gonna hit me after a while, as he was using minnows and I, using the rap/maggot combo... when a wave of perch came through, I would catch and release 4 -5 fish, before he landed, un-hooked, re-baited and dropped it down... Numbers at the end of the day... HH 66 perch (honestly, a slow day), buddy using minnows, 14 perch. Now his wife was with us on her first ever ice fishing trip. Buddy set here up with minnows, but after I had reached about 30 perch, she insited that she use what I was using LOL! She had not caught a fish until she changed up to a rap/maggot combo... her total at the end of the day... 22 perch! The ice in the Gilford area is sure smashed up! I looks like a good wind piled up existing ice and it refroze. Hard to wlak on and even harder to cut holes with a hand auger. Probably my last Cook's bay adventure until end of season... Sunday was a dink fest, way too many 6 inch perch. Give the rap/maggot combo a try, just be sure to really pay attention to your rod, as the little buggers usually bite the bait from below, which makes your rod lift slightly. You will miss them if you are not paying attention. HH

The opportunity to meet Bernie should far exceed the cost of entry... i would have gone down on the weekend, just to him, but had a 70th birthday bash to atend on Saturday and believe it or not, I got out fishin on Sunday! Sorry I missed yah Bernie! HH

Based on recent reports and last years "success" I would say that you need to make a new sign, that will allow you to insert anyone's name, BUT Lloyd! Wayne will fit in there as well! LMAO HH

We all learn, we all make mistakes, the key is to apply the knowlege you garnered from the situation and apply it to your future endevours! Props to the OP for posting this knowing full well that something was gonna hit the fan as a result... I think that in posting this, someone else may well learn from your mistake so, one hail mary for the pike that gave up it's life in order to teach a nube, how to properly handle a fish. I believe a moment of silence is required, to honour the pike...to be referred to in the future and for all time as "Mr. X-Esox". HH

But it don't make yah any better lookin! HH

It sure can be frustrating being mis-lead can't it Cliff? I've had issues with a local Loblaws affiliate and CALLED head office directly... they did eventually have the local store owner call, we chatted for quite some time, but in the end, it was excuses and I do not use the store very often. Here's a link to the Head Office phone number. http://www.loblaw.com/en/cont_addr.html I would suggest you call them first, let them know after you've had your say, they you will be following up the call with an email. If you feel that the store does not stand up to it's obligations, definately call head office again and keep chirp'n at them. It's a loss leader and consumers have been complaining about it forever. It's not a tatic I condon. Good luck Cliff! Ps... Sues got good taste! HH

Hey, what's so bad about being Joe? It seems to me to be somewhat of a select group who can have a sign made just from them! lmao! HH

Well, with kids aged 6 and 7, Xmas is an incredible time of year around our house... I've had to duct tape the top of my kid's heads down as they are moments from complete self distruction! LOL We have been enjoying various Xmas shows since the day after Hallowen, been to many Xmas concerts for the schools, Beavers and Sparks. We have set up a "kids" tree in the basement, which the kids took a great deal of joy in decorating themsleves. The how many sleeps till Xmas question has been in count down mode for a month! At our house, we really enjoy many of the seasonal shows and have many of them on tape/dvd... for the kids, they love the Sponge Bob Xmas as well as the Polar Express film... for my wife and I. well, I've been a sucker for White Christmas for years, because, well, we'll follow the old man kinda gets me... The gathering of family, the jokes, the nudging and spending time with people who really know you and are excited to see the kids, well, that's the priceless thing about Xmas. (Some prime rib in the oven get's me going!) HH

Now, is it really funnier than the pic of the Catfish with the basket ball in it's mouth? By, I'd sure like to see that again! Have a great weekend Roy! HH

Don’t worry Doc… the aesthetics of the show will remain the same when they play there in the summer. HH

Thanks for that Cliff. It really hits home and is very well done. Actually it seems to me to hit home a little harder at this time of year. My heart, thoughts and prayers for the folks over seas at this time of year and especially to those who have lost a loved one. Be safe and thanks. HH

For a sunny day, I like blue and silver jiggin Rap tipped with a power maggot. For cloudy days, I like a jiggin Rap, fire tiger tipped with a power maggot. Alternatively, drop shot rigged small swedish pimple, micro jig tipped with a power maggot... see a trend here? Can't recall the last time I used minnows for pannies! I've found the key to successful panny fishin is drilling tons of holes and moving from hole to hole, only taking 30 seconds per hole to find fish. HH

Nice job Cliff! Here's my favorite version of the song, which BTW, is my personal favorite Xmas song. He butchers it, but it's still funny as all h e double hockey sticks! HH

Wow, reminds me of days I thought had come and gone... great video and fantastic catches! Thanks for posting and it definately deserves a bump! HH