troutologist

Picked her up this afternoon in a blizzard. Still waiting for the bowmount and HDS7. The dealer came through huge giving me some stuff to use in the meantime so I can get out this weekend after some greenbacks. Here she is..Lund 17225 Pro Guide - 75 Merc 4 stroke. Can't wait to get her out tomorrow. The driveway looks a little better now!!

I agree with you both about brook trout. I guess my wording wasn't the best. Given a choice, I would rather have effort put into restoring coaster brook trout than pacific salmon. Saying this hurts cuz I really really like steelhead fishing.

heres a question for you folks that are up to date on bowhunting. I have bowhunted (not in maybe 10yrs) taken a few deer with the bow and have seen they variation in time til expiration with solid shot placements. My bow is probably 15 yrs old by this point and shoots aluminum arrows 125 grain tips. To my question, is there a possibilty that the use or lighter, faster carbon arrows and 100 grain tips makes for less shock? I know the penetration of modern setups seem to be much better. Has it been determined that this higher speed, smaller projectile is preferred for hunting or does a higher IBO rating sells more bows? I was at the archery range a month ago testing satillite tags deployment and saw guys shooting new bows. Can you quiet them down at all or do you count on speed to beat the "string jump" Seems like my old bow was far quieter.

slip it on the hook and get a length of flexible float cap or surgical tube and use that to prevent it from slipping off.

On a bit of a tangent, has anyone tried harvesting sucker spawn for bait? I read about steelhead eating sucker eggs and see flies tied to imitate them. Is this a viable option? My thoughts on the smaller size of the salmon, at least anecdotally reported in all of the GLs, is the lack of a high quality food source. I know at least in Huron and Superior, that the smelt population (for whatever reason) is nowhere near the levels of 10-15 years ago. After a population boom there is always a bust then movement back to an ecosystem equilibrium. Whether some type of contaminant (or cocktail) is affecting growth and reproductive success remains to be determined. Tissue contaminant levels haven't greatly changed in the GL fish. Maybe we should let salmon populations collapse and fix lingering water quality issues so that brook trout will once again dominate the lakes.

Thats a CFL football....nice fish.

the little m80s are awesome. you can light them and strategically place them for maximum effect. under the chair is a good one. or beside a guy in an icehut.

At this point I would try to get back and check on your camp with some frequency. Once they find food they can become quite persistent. I've heard of people burying a plastic 45ga drum to use as a cooler, tough for them to pry that screw on top off. Bring a pail of good size rocks on in the camp and a noise maker of some type, leave these at the ready beside the door. Another trick is to build a wooden bin and attach a couple of those cheap, battery operated security alarms that activate if they are separated. Might scare him off, but it will give you a heads up and time to try to chase him off before he's into the food. Or worst of all the beer.

No wonder the insurance was getting to be an issue...with all those bears wandering around who could afford it? This could be quite a tool for policing resource infractions. Im not certain but I would suspect even if someone took photos and reported a violation the crown would be reluctant to pursue the issue in court. Having folks with even minimal training to collect evidence or make the observations required to stand up in court would be great. Plus more fines=new office furniture on Water St...err, I mean more CO's

Somewhat speaking from a kids point of view, more time in the outdoors, fishing, hunting and camping. Looking back those are my most cherished memories. My Dad is older now and its tougher to motivate him to get out. Still my favourite trips each year are the few I get him out, bird hunting or rainbow fishing. I think other priorities come up during the teenage years but if that love of the outdoors is instilled early he will come back to it.

Not until that one last open water outing where you stop and seriously think "whoa we really shouldn't be out here" Then laugh uncontrolably at your purse carrying buddies and their lack of motivation. Wait then steelhead season is still going until freezeup. Theres an offseason?

Bouncing for steelhead, was for me, one of the most challenging techniques to develop a good feel for. Some insights: Tdunn called it, pretie, then tie up some more. It is WAY easier to do this infront of the TV indoors than at dawn -5C. I tie the hooks on and the 3 way on, then have to attach the mainline and sinker. If you have 20 you can always use them next time. Check your line every few casts as this is hard on lines. Keep your spare leaders and sinker line accessible. If its hidden away you won't retie when you need to. Use a line to your sinker that is half the weight of your mainline. Lead is cheap vs. fluoro leader and hooks. Have a pair of good, big side cutters, to trim pencil lead to match your conditions. Those homemade slinky jobs may work on smaller streams but I havent found them useful for where I fished. Cast slightly upstream and wait for bottom contact, try to develop a rhythmic lift drop where YOU control the bouncing on the bottom. Allowing it to drag downstream will result in more snags, aim for bottom contact every 2-3seconds. Keep a tight line by reeling in as it passes you. Don't get greedy and try to lengthen your drift with a spinning reel, if you use a baitcaster its easier, but the inconsisten tension when featherering a spinning reel kills the feel. Hooksets are free, get your money's worth. I miss steelhead...I hope its warm enough to fish the rapids at Christmas.

Great job on the fall bass. What a time of year to be out fishing!

And how ARL LSSU this site will let you know what fish are running and you can practice you id on the fish cam. Tight regs on the atlantics, so it could be a costly mistake.

Luc, I got one out of the cdn hole in Feb of 2008, on the south side where the us current meets the pool. No pics as it was ridiculously cold out. Was maybe 5lbs. On an olive jig. Rumor has it they are a little easier to catch after dark, but good luck with wading the raps at night. No it wasnt an atlantic either.....

I was in the same boat a few years ago. Asked the question on the board here and was advised that 100mph were the way to go. I boat the guidewear (on sale at cabelas) and they are great. However, if you are sitting in heavy rain expect to look like you wet yourself after. Otherwise great, super durable and warm.

Dude I think you missed what I was referring to. Simply not having a license is one thing (still no excuse in my mind). But possessing 20 some fish over the limit coupled with no license is basically a scofflaw attitude that deserves harsh punishment.

I would love to see some examples being made in cases like this. This is absolutely flagrant abuse of a resource, no licence on top of it all. $10000 should be the minimum. Who knows how many times a summer this guy does this same thing. Tape barbwire to the book and throw it at him.

Hey guys Ive been looking into electronics for the new boat and came across these units 300i For me in MB, from a mapping prespective they have by far the best coverage. However I have heard nothing at all about their quality, quality of fish finder and reliability. Can anyone comment on their experience with this (or any) Standard Horizon units Thanks The boat pick up goes down this weekend. Im not really that excited at all.

I just havent had good luck with Siglon at all. Have much better success with Raven 10lb mainline. I put whatever heavy mono I have around on for backing 75yds or so. Similar to trolling you can take all the terminal tackle off and let line float down river for a few minutes then reel in....no more twists.

You don't work for the Government do you. The biologist on down are not the problem. These are the people that truely love their work and put up with beauracracy and the revolving door of contracts to do something they are passionate about. A major issue is above this level. Career public service managers who wish to move up the chain of command are often taking jobs anywhere there is an advancement available. The result...an accountant managing an MNR region office. This will not likely change. It sadly is up to all of us to make our voice heard. Again and again (and again) to MPPs. The vote seekers may hopefully see public interest in better managing of the MNR and resources. Prehaps this can be a new front that OFAH will choose to lobby?? There is no excuse for this type of turing a blind eye because its salmon. Education and enforcement need to be stronger to change this culture. It will still take a few generations to remove it.

$40+ no problem if there was some type of accountability regarding where my money was spent. Something like the district or region based Environmental Damages Fund. If a company in Sault Ste. Marie is fined by OMOE then it goes into a bank account and grant applications are taken to do environmental work in the area. If a portion of your increased licence monies went to your backyard I think it would make more people dig into their pockets. Then another portion for province wide F&W endeavors. As it stands without a new influx of funds I'm afraid status quo would continue to degrade the resource.

Great camp Mike. Im curious if you will have any more issue with that boat or if the initial problem has blown over... Id strongly suggest injecting the bird with some manner of cajun and seasoning the outside, you can make a great crust. Even with proper oil measurement, try to do it on some type of "not you deck" material, saw splatter catch a few times. Wait til the bird is done to fry the fish too!!

Great shots. The mich is awesome in the fall. I drove back out to wpg on monday and was tortured driving over all the rivers. The OW was great last fall for coho, well into Nov for me. orange and gold cleo...

Nice place for a walk in the evening on the old whitefish pier. Almost always people fishing there. They would be the best ones to ask.