troutologist

Yup, she saw it on the flasher, hooked it and landed it. It's getting dangerous, she's learning too quickly!

Nothing else to say but the lakers in NWO have been on fire!! The past 3 weekends our group has had amazing success with these fish. Here are a few observations and tips that have helped our success recently. Electronics: unless you hate catching big lakers this is a must have. Most of the bigger fish come onto the flasher as 'cruisers' higher up in the water column. This past weekend for instance, 4 fish in the 10-12lb class came in at 40ft in 55ft of water. The fish coming in the middle of the water column tended to be much more aggressive (larger) and required no finessing to get to bite. Multiple rods: rigged and ready. Some of the best luck has come on a rather featureless flat. Some days fish were on the flasher from the moment it’s dropped down until the end of the day, though other days the fish are roaming widely, looking for food and need to be called in. Ripping a Live Target trap-style lure 10-20 ft off bottom until fish came in, if they didn't hit, quickly reel up and drop a tube jig, or Buckshot rattle spoon back to them, both were tipped with a salted minnow/minnow head. Make them chase: learning to interpret your electronics is key. As soon as a fish shows enough interest to start making quicker, more aggressive movements, start pulling the lure away from them. Often very quickly, again the fish's response on the flasher will dictate the sequence of events. They will often chase it up 20, 30, even 40 feet to smash it or only to turn away at the last minute. These lookers are often caught by dropping the bait, down past them to the bottom. The more you can get a trout moving vertically in the water column to chase a bait the more likely they will commit. Here are a few pics and a rough video of some trout fishing. Stay tuned for a more complete video as we put together all the footage from 3 weekends on the ice. Our setup The pup and I waiting for a fish Girlfriend with a beauty hardwater laker A word about catch and release of fish in the winter. With cold temperatures, the eyes, gills and fins of fish become quite vulnerable to freezing, with detrimental effects to the fish's survival even when released. Lake trout are a slow growing species, and trophy fish are often much older than one would expect, as such it is our responsibility as anglers to ensure every possible measure is taken to preserve these fish. Here are a few things I try to do to minimize my impact on these fish: 1. Have all your release tools and cameras ready to process fish. Pliers, measuring tapes etc. should be at hand before a fish is hooked; this keeps on ice handling to a minimum. Cameras should not be buried in a bag somewhere, keep it in an inside pocket so the batteries are warm and you are able to snap a quick picture without having technical issues with cold batteries. 2. Minimize time out of water, if you need to wait for a buddy to come and take a picture hold the fish's head in the hole, better yet, a lower your ice scoop in the hole, followed by the fish, until you are ready for a picture. Sometimes in frigid temperatures, you should only take photos of fish inside a shack. It takes no time at all in -30C for damage to occur. 3. Not every fish needs to be photographed. Sure, it’s nice to capture the memory of the first fish or trophies but, bear in mind the potential for harm in the winter for fish held out of the water for long periods. Hopefully, the catch and release in the video can be an example of how long a fish should be handled. Tight Lines! ***New Videos added*** Footage of some buddies catching lakers the last few weekends, as seen on Jason's Adventures. Part 1 Part 2

Agree Aaron, there have been some lightbulbs (albeit 40watts..) that have gone on after studying a few years of fishing logs. Definitely fishing the same waterbody consistently, provides insight into trends much better, I found recording river levels and time from flood to clear, amazingly useful. Especially on northern rivers without gauges, it pays to take careful notes on rainfall and gauged rivers to be able to correlate these to conditions on your target stearm Now I keep a Rite in the Rain notebook (waterproof) in the boat at all times. Lets me note what waypoint numbers mean, what fish hit, and any other tidbits of info that seem relevent. Another thing I have taken to is drawing structure using the finder and GPS onto paper. GPS maps only give a rough estimate of a hump, for example, and there are many spot on the spots on each on, that you can map out on your own. Having this reference is priceless should you lose your GPS data. Topic 2: Back up your GPS data regularly, and in 2 different places.

Though you've got to shop around to find your best deal, keep in mind where the most likely/convenient dealership you will have service done. I would strongly suggest giving this dealer the chance to match the price or even paying a few bucks more (within reason certainly) to build a local relationship. Speaking from experience here, best choice I ever made was to buy locally (Winnipeg Sport and Leisure) and not drive 6 hours to save a few dollars. Any issue is looked after quickly and with awesome service. Also met a few great guys and fish with the gent that I bought my boat from. Good luck with your purchase, the Impact is a nice looking rig.

This has just baffled me on a few accounts. First, really? no followup from the lad with the gun in the face? If I was doing nothing wrong and this happened to me, someone would be answering a few questions about a gun pointed at me. Secondly, I cannot fathom that the act of sitting in a car eating outside an eatery is ground for suspicion. Seems to me innocent until proven guilty is reversed in the mind of some on this issue, I do this frequently, as I prefer to not eat and drive thus inevitably wearing lunch. I get it people smoke drugs in cars, but when did sitting in a vehicle (especially since cell phones and driving are now illegal) become such a suspicious act. If law enforcment did feel the need to walk up and ask me how my lunch was, I would certainly expect it be done with a little more decorum, than the story presented here.

Ya same Luc...only had winter tires on 1 year and they work great, better than all seasons for the 2wd anyways. Big problem I see is the distances people follow on the hwys down south, way too close to expeditiously maneuver should the need arise to do so. Lot to be learn going to an empty parking lot learning how to correct skids etc. plus its good fun. Also a number of folks I worked with down south didnt realize the danger in using cruise on poor conditions. Practice in conditions makes a big difference. Nothing like bypassing the closed hwy barricades to go icefishing....I remember once barely spinning up the mile hill.

Really? SSM gets the bulk of its big snow events due to lake effect blowing across superior. it freezes over less frequently than Gbay/huron and would arguably have a greater effect as open water persists later into the winter. the snow belt just a few km north of town is intense, as is the one further north where I used to icefish.

In my limited perusing of the news I didn't get any numbers of snowfall, temps etc. What was the cause of the strandings? Volume of snow? Lack of visibility? Read somewhere that 300 were caught out....seems like I am missing some of the story here. I guess I just don't understand how conditions came in so fast/severe that people were caught. Goes to show how a survival kit in the vehicle can come in handy even if its there for years and never used. (ideally)

Ya know where your exhaust is pointing if you have a synthetic fabric on your coat, many new vents get made this way. I find a bit of sea foam makes mine run best. Also, the carb on mine likes to be set differently below -30 for the best performance, 1/2 a turn makes a huge difference it seems. Also I use OPTI 2 synthetic oil packets which smoke less and seems to run better overall, mines an older Jiffy 3hp Good luck and keep your blades sharp.

They are pretty good, especially for the price. Costco had them for 164 a while ago, with runners, hitch and cover. There was a recall last year on the hitch, it was fixed and the hitches should be welded on not screwed on like last year. Also you may find the mounting screws for the runners a bit short. I like it and know several others that use them and like them.

I really like Lowrance for finders, have an X135 on the bow still. After hearing alot of issues with the HDS line when it was new and some somewhat serious customer service complaints. I went with a HBird. Very happy with it, zero issues. Though still not sure, it has the sonar detal of the Lowrances, however its close.

That was my thought as well. Thats a lot of boat to swamp. Glad they made it to shore ok though, the owner must have had a rough night thinking about that.

Had a husky and she was great, a rescue dog, that had a lot of issues but eventually became semi trained, as Drifter put it. Letting her off leash was always an issue as she wanted to run (forever) and wasn't the best at coming back. Definite strong personality, very independent. I think I only ran her to the point she was tired a handful of times, so very high exercise requirments. Got a chocolate lab pup in May and, he's pretty much the best dog ever, still very high energy and needs to go to the park most days, even though he gets walked for around 5km each day. Runs at the park retreiving and hunting songbirds and ducks for an hour then crashes. I've found he's very smart, easy to train but want to test who's boss all the time. On a side note, we had an awesome weekend grouse hunting, it was his 3 and 4th days hunting and he did great. Found birds flushed birds and retreived them. He gets so upset when I miss, sits and pouts! Further, to this I rediscovered my 28ga. great little single for beating bush for grouse. Hunting with dogs is a blast.

I'm on board and have a poor excuse for a duster starting. Best part is I've got to travel for at least 3 important meetings to discuss and plan work with various levels of Gov't...can't wait to explain to the ADM what is on my face! Good on everyone for supporting the cause.

I wondered the same thing, I walked everywhere for 4 years of school before got wheels. It is what it is, concetrate on the nuts and bolts not the fluff. You will get some good use out of it yet but remember what the Gambler said....you can only repair so often then it might be time for a new lawn ornament. Enjoy it, you will no doubt have some fun in it. Buy a come-along if its your 1st truck....you'll understand soon enough (yes it will seem like a good idea at the time)

Right on. That underwater pic is pretty darn cool.

Epitomy of EPIC!!!

I really like the tillers, in bigger boats as well. Nothing taking up space, lots of room to move around and fish. Instant control for trolling, which I find much easier in wind than in a console. Windshields are nice in the fringe seasons but still not nice enough for the space loss. My next boat will be a 20' lund predator or a 2075 ProV tiller with a either 200 or 250 depending on which model, the steering assist is pretty sweet. Plus 60mph in a tiller is cool.

Looks like a good outing, the pics are awesome. Man that sheepshead is beast...cool catch.

Thanks guys! She cleared the water right at the start of the fight...gills flared...I'm still grinning! Terry, thats awesome, thanks!!

Ahh trolling season! Finished up the last tournament and packed the walleye gear away until winter. Headed out for the first of many trolling sessions in NW Ontario. Early in the day we found what bait the pike were keyed in on, would the muskie like it too? Perhaps... She was a 51" tank...my PB

Another consideration with the property further away, with limited visits would be security and leaving supplies etc there. This gets to be a lot of hauling things in and out all the time. I like the idea of being able to use a place like this as much as possible; this in turn allows for more enjoyment, as a property you visit a couple times a year, alot of the time is spent opening and closing and doing other required up keep.

Knowing what you want to use it for get a 20ga. double or pump...you will appreciate the lighter gun for hiking etc. When wing and I walked into smash and back you could see the both of us juggling the 12s every minute or 2 on the way back, they get heavy after about 10kms of walking...especially if you're carrying other gear eg fishing rods, camping gear. If you want to hunt turkey once or twice the old man has a side by side 12 and a bunch of turkey loads at home you can borrow. Everyone expouts versatility in a gun, but a versitile gun means it does everything decently, not a specific job well, which hiking long trails for grouse an 8lb+ 12ga. doesn't in my opinion.

Graveyard hole atlantic...a few winters ago they were hitting way better than steelhead especially in the CDN Hole

Ran my 75hp Merc 4 stroke til Nov 30 last year. Once on the trailer trimmed it down completely while cleaning up the boat, drained most out, then start it a few times the the kill switch in the OFF position, this clears any remaining water out.