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  1. The following is my fishing report on Knight Lake. I enjoy the reports of others on this forum so I hope readers find this helpful. I know our experience would have been enhanced had I been able to find more background information on this lake. First the outfitter, Air Cochrane, recently bought this lake from an outfit called True North a few years ago. The lake is very small and shallow. The lake is almost 3 miles long, but approximately only two miles of it are fishable. The northern third of the lake is completely overgrown with reeds as it is very shallow…like two feet deep. The rest of the lake is very unremarkable. The deepest point of the lake is 4 feet deep. We had excellent down imaging and sonar finders with us. The lake has absolutely no structure, holes, drop offs, boulders, etc…just flat. The entire shoreline, of the two miles which is fishable, has reeds growing an easy 50 to 100 yards from shore. Pockets of grass weeds and cabbage grow throughout the lake. The fishable part of the lake was so small a slow troll would only take about an hour to do one lap. In terms of the fishing, it would have helped a great deal had we had better information on the lake. I have fished with Air Cochrane on Nettogami, Edgar, Haultain and Mikwam. This lake cannot be compared to these body of waters. Knight Lake holds yellow walleye that average about 14” and can get as big as 18”. Walleye is what this lake is all about. We initially set the bar for 24” as a BIG walleye, but by the end we lowered this to 20” and caught only a couple that big. We did catch a handful of 8-10” perch which are always a nice surprise. The northern pike were the smallest pike I have ever seen in such abundance. 20” was the biggest pike caught, most were 12-14” Information from the outfitter suggested a couple 40+” pike had previously been caught on this lake. I am not buying that after this trip. Our group has enjoyed a lot of success over our 15 trips via Air Cochrane, this lake is too shallow to hold big pike. The best bait proved to be once again the white 3” Mister Twister and small single hook spinner baits. In terms of the cabin, it was fine and very typical of the other Air Cochrane cabins. I thought it was perfect for a fishing trip. We rented a satellite phone which proved critical as a gas hose broke on the first day and there were no spares. They flew one in for us. 2 of the 3 boats leaked. One boat literally leaked a gallon an hour which proved to be a royal pain. Fortunately it was warm so wet feet could be more easily tolerated. So whom might I recommend this lake too…I would recommend Knight Lake to fishing parties who like to use ultra-light fishing equipment and desire 14-18” walleye. People not wanting to have bad weather keeping them off the lake would do better here. The fishing area is so small that nasty weather, which would keep a person off a lakes like Edgar and Nettogami, would be manageable/navigable on Knight Lake. One day the winds were 20 mph and we fished, something we could never do on the bigger lakes. Also, people who cannot swim might feel better fishing in water that is only 2-4 deep.
  2. Over the past 6 years I've had the pleasure of introducing fishing to my nephew Grayson. He was holding a mickey mouse rod before he could even stand up, Today I'm so proud on how far he's come and learned. From identifying many different species of fish to learning how to read a fish finder. And all at 6 six years old. Can't wait to see what the future holds for this guy. He absolutely cannot get enough of fishing. Last week I finally had a chance to take him out onto Lake Nipissing for a good walleye bite. If anyone from the area is ever looking for a lake to bring a kid fishing, Lake Nipissing can be very fun if your in the right location. Very easy for kids and can be a blast. Check out Grayson outfishing both his uncle and dad. The video is a little lengthy at 5 min, but dosen't seem long at all. Plus he puts a giant sheaphead in the boat near the end of the video. Hope you enjoy! If you have a chance this summer, bring a kid fishing!
  3. Hi all, Had a day off, plan was crappie in the morning, head back to the house for lunch, pick up the dog and head out again for walleye in the evening, worked great, love it when a plan comes together! The ice is worse than I thought, drilled a couple holes in the morning and although there is 18"+ it is honeycomb already for the most part, auger went through it like a hot knife through butter, guess its down to the thaw we had earlier in the year and then almost zero snow since without a mother thaw afterwards. the crappie decided to show up on my spot on Wabigoon really late, oh well, will be hunting them in the boat pretty soon. The walleye I caught in the evening were at another lake just up the road. I usually quad all the way there from my house across the lakes and skidoo trails but wanted to take Roloff with me so we trailered up there. Landing was toast and had to travel half a click to find ice strong enough to walk out on, drilled a couple holes, same deal as Wabigoon, 18" of honeycomb sketchiness, lol...so I jumped on the quad and pinned it to my spot. Got 4 walleye, one female 3 males, not anywhere near their spawning ground yet, which was a good thing for me as there was no way I was going near the creek! Here's the video as usual.
  4. Hi all, my spring walleye tip is to make sure your auger blades are sharp.....lol. Lots of ice here still, and a local lake that sucked for fishing the last few years has come alive again, its about a 20 minute drive down the trails from my house so makes a good destination once the kid is off the bus now we have daylight till 8pm. Hit this spot up a few times in the last 2 weeks, here is the first video I made.
  5. Hi all, Have a stack of videos from last year to catch up on, my computer has been messing up since last summer and finally got round to fixing it, new SSD and upgraded to 24GB Ram....it screams now. So....here is a video from last fall, out for grouse and walleye at Lac Seul with my best pal Roloff.
  6. A bit of a delay but finally got around to writing a report on our Shekak Lake Trip I was a great trip but we definitely found the fishing a bit tougher this time around Bigger lake and some crazy weather seemed to scatter the fish and it was a really light bite Full report is up here if you are interested http://www.canadafishingguide.net/forum-2/member-trip-reports-1/lake-fever-shekak-lake-with-white-river-air-aug-22-29-2016/ Cheers Gordy
  7. A Spring So Far From TROUT to GAR!!! It seems like an eternity has passed since last sitting down to write a report, days have truly been flying by... April was a month I thought rather planned out until that fell apart, while May was expected to be time for a whole lot of whatever and it ended up being quite scheduled. Winter trip ideas that had been brain-stormed for June walleye and pike, some July Slave guiding, and an August float in Northern Ontario all slowly vanished, and becoming rather late in the date what remained was one totally clean slate. What will become of 2016...? For starters, because of being away before and after the Christmas Holidays for work, Bren basically decided we needed a family trip... and as usual she was right. We didn't let the girls in our secret but knowing if they had the choice, the one place on earth both would want to visit is Costa Rica. They absolutely love it there. After being in Nunavut, once settled back home we let our two in on the trip plan. Excited was an understatement. This time around instead of checking into an all-inclusive resort we rented a condo in Tamarindo for first week of April. With access to a resort pools, infinite restaurants on the streets outside, the beach in view, shopping and tour operators all around us, and a hot tub on our deck, the plan was to try and lessen the trip cost without losing any luxuries and experience. It worked some... although it was more work to make happen. Prior to arriving in C.R. I had sold the girls on surfing which turned out to be their favorite entertainment day-in and day-out. An ocean beach and waves popular with surfers world-wide allowed those two cheap fun while serving a more relaxing pace to Brenda and I. Incredible dinners out each night, drinks, zip-lining, horseback riding, tubing, a jungle safari and a catamaran cruise rounded out the rest of our vacation perfectly. Yet did I fish? Yes! Having packed a travel rod and 4000 series spinning reel I pulled a saltwater Rapala behind the catamaran for a couple hours on the last evening, until something crushed the lure and completely spooled my 30lb braid in less than ten seconds. Rooster maybe? Yellowfin? Will never know what actually caused my reel to smoke red hot. Home again the softwater season kicked off April 11th with a week that will be remembered for a real long time. Starting with steelhead and finishing on lakers and browns, Lake Ontario provided three fine samples of some local trout. The river run rainbow was definitely the favorite because she just tore me to shreds under rainy skies... but that broonie was a best for me too. The thing of it all is that these were actually bonus fish. Having put in availability for a few weeks to work in Nunavut, the only offer which came way suitable to dates was in Pangnirtung on Baffin Island. Wanted it greatly but, while at a car wash with my phone in the truck I missed the call. A little over an hour later I learned someone else just beat me to it. Little was left to do to but fish the rest of the month, fish May, even fish June, and pick up some shifts in the local ER's while beginning to re-plan work, family and fishing times through the summer. So casting away into mid May some oddballs and incidentals were caught, along with a few usual suspects which arrived with the different openers nearing end of the month. The time was hectic. Work around the house, a decent number of call-ins for ER work, preparations for new plans made mid June through to mid September, a fishing boat build project and, a friend's and my own 40th Birthday parties (with recovery), usual spring fishing days took a bit of a back seat to other life choices... Gar are always on the docket though. Making time despite the windows fewer and far between, freakish spring weather and summer plans for other fishing fast approaching, even the average gar days fished will fall short this year in the quick season. So, I'm making the best of the time I have... When gar kicked into gear it was intense but short-lived, 50+ inchers a plenty and on track for a banner spring things suddenly slowed, and 2016 might likely go down as the year the gar game changed. Just seven years ago when really starting to get into gar, the Ottawa River that I know of had but myself and three other buddies who were on the water regularly chasing after these fish. There might have been a couple other anglers but, on any given day I'd either see no one, or I'd see one of those three; and believe me, the schedule in May and June permits many days during those months off work, so I get out there plenty. This season it has been seven days, a couple solo and five with family and friends. Many others now on the hunt, the fish are becoming more and more weary of boat traffic and the splash of a lure. The percentages of bigger gar which allowed greater opportunity in the past is dwindling, finesse and stealth becoming ever more necessary. This said, the numbers of fifty plus inchers I still see on any given day remains astounding, while that odd true giant of 55 and up holding girth is still a rare chance. During the first solo outing which is usually more of a search, I luckily found fresh fish ready to play the game. Day 1. Day 2. Bren joined up quick for the next outing. She is always adamant about catching her own fish and as hungry as can be when it comes to wanting the biggest and best. Gotta love that about her, as it's that same pride and drive to succeed which she lives by. And to mention, she is the best mother and wife anyone could ask for, with some serious big fish experiences of her own to brag about as well...... although, she never does..? Day 3. A most welcome guest drove from Kingston to grace the Lund. I had told my friend Doug that it was going to be a great day for gar. Calm, sunny and the weather warming up nicely in the afternoon, it looked too perfect. Well, it wasn't quite case. Night before temps dropped to frost and that pushed gar deeper. Our time on the water they were quite slow to come back shallow and the few which did stayed a little deeper in the low-vis waters. We fished shadows, guessing at our fish and sizes and, we stayed in one area reluctant to move around the river much as many other gar hunters were out and occupying other spaces. End of the day though, Doug was surely satisfied with his initiation to this unique little fishery. He'll be back. Day 4. A childhood and lifelong friend, Steve and I both had our 40th Birthday Parties back-to-back this year. We see each other a couple times annually, and because he lives in Ottawa now I think a gar day for the two of us should be scheduled for every spring. In the past we worked together, golfed and fished, played a little in a band, and were always hanging out. Distanced for years we never had to try to keep a friendship going as it just did on it's own. We've grown up together on a parallel wave length I believe, and he gets that too. What he also gets, is a kick out of the gar every time we end up fishing them. Day 5. A day off school for Leah and Summer at work, I told her she had no choice but to come along. The girls for the moment just aren't that into fishing. Summer lost the Tom-boyish way probably three years ago, and now Leah a same pre-teenager Summer was then, she too would rather do "girly" things. But on this day Leah had fun despite the fishing being super tough due to gusty winds, some cloud, and the most skittish gar ever seen. I made a choice after an hour or so fishing the usual haunts to just go explore new waters and secondary spots. The kiddo liked that, and in the process reeled in a few fish that weren't scared shiznitless of us cruising by. On the way home she was grinning happy and thanked me for the fun day fishing. Maybe there's still hope? Day 6. Better late than never, my friend Simon slid on into the boat one cold and windy morning for what may be the last day fishing gar for my season. An annual trip, from southern Ontario Simon has been coming all this way for a visit the past few years now, for his will to fish gar each spring cannot hold him back. When finding fish Simon will cast at anything. He knows I'm usually good to give him a couple smaller ones early, but after accomplishing that it's urged we move on to the big girls. Yet... he just loves to cast at 'em and I have to remind myself I get to do this all the time, whenever I want. Simon enjoys a day or maybe to a year, and needs a much faster big gar fix. With that approach and perspective, we actually ended great on a tough weather gar day. Big and small fish and plenty of 'em. Day 7. At some point throughout the month there was a banner day. A couple guys canceling out on the gar fish I went it alone. The first hours on the water were absolutely terrible, the fish hardly around or real jumpy. Finally when that midday sun got high and the heat sweat the brow, the gar rose to the occasion. Over a short few hours five fish over 50-inches came topside, one almost being my longest fish to date at 55.5 inches. It was an awesome specimen although she had not a bit of girth, being absent eggs and a belly of fish. Longer than the current and new record holding fish at only 51-inches, she would have been a serious contender... ahhh well. Snapped up some pics of a few but lost two over the bow while setting up for the shots. In fact, this year I had a terrible time with fussy gars getting the step on me and escaping the boat. Twice with Leah, once with Bren, two more times on my other solo outing and twice this day, they weren't just spooked in the water, they wanted no part of usual procedure. As each year passes, gar fishing for me personally loses a smidgen of its luster. They are fun and enjoyable don't get me wrong, and probably the best thing going during their certain season, yet the hunt is becoming more a feeling of been there and done that, and big fish including Ontario Record breakers have already been caught again and again. Much time and stock is usually put into the season while some other things have been missed because of it. Thinking next year to maybe break it up with a fly-in north for pike and eyes, like in the past days. Since my gar beginning I have fished local waters more and harder than anyone known, and it's either wearing off or wearing me out some. Other than the real big, pound for pound these fish are actually kinda wimpy, but the hunt, chase and the initial take remains the excitement of it and man, they are gnarly looking beasts. Still fun overall! For me, honest, genuine and shared experiences with my girls, with others, and to a lesser degree out there hunting solo, are the gar moments and memories worth fishing them for, and why it will always continue. Continued...
  8. Hi all, Got half an hour in before Jack's bedtime the other night, he and Roloff joined me for the last few casts…..if you cant stand the wife playing the Yamaha organ just out of view on the lawn, skip to the end of the video (3:42)…HILARIOUS!
  9. I have not posted on this forum in a long time - mainly due to a lack of fishing opportunities Managed to sneak out for a night time fish in the Kawarthas this weekend 2 walleye caught - one about 19 inches and the other just shy of 18 - both in the slot, both caught trolling the outside weed edge Hoping to get out a few more times at the cottage and I am lucky to have two fly in trips planned this summer Cheers Gordy
  10. I've been on this board for probably a year now so I figured it's time I actually posted a report I figured going into this weekend that I'd only have time to make it out fishing once so I had to make the most of this trip. Bright and early Saturday morning I'm the first one on the river except for a couple white bucket bridge trolls. I had intentions of pulling worm harnesses in search of walleye but just as I get my boat set up in realize I didn't even bring any worms (still sitting in the fridge in the garage). We'll crap, I guess I'll have to make due with whatever I can find in my tackle box. I'm creative, I can manage this.Finally launch the boat and search my tackle box and find a 5" white swim jig and douse it with crawler flavour gulp and take off.After about 30 minutes of marking dozens of fish with no hits I'm starting to lose faith in my setup, so I put my rod in the holder and hunt through my box for more bait. Look up and see my rod doubled over but not pulling drag. Boom, a massive hit start reeling and find this pretty girl munching on that piece of plastic. A nice 22" walleye to start the day. Unfortunately that toothy critter ruined the bait so I had to get creative again. I found some 3" gulp minnows that I've had for about 4 years, but still had some stank on them so away we went. Unfortunately, my phone doesn't like temperatures below 20C, so I didn't get any more pictures, but I did manage 5 pike between 24" and 32". I thought this was pretty impressive, considering I always thought there were no pike in this area. Mixed in with those pike was a nice 14" walleye that I simply couldn't let go and made for a nice snack for me and the wife when I got home. All in all, a very productive day that should tide me over for the weekend.
  11. Made it out for the first serious fishing trip of the year today. The forecast really looked too good for a spring trip but a day off is a day off. Flat calm and sunny at 6am, a bit of mist hanging over the water. Not a sound but the buzz of the baitcaster and the splash of the lure. A few really small pike early but the best fish were caught around noon once the wind had put up a very small chop. My brother caught half a hammer handle on a zara spook and the rest were caught on some form of suspending husky jerks. Nice feed of fresh fish tonight for dinner. My 4 year old daughter might be the first person to get some food from my brother's plate... ever. She cried a little but she got the piece of fish that she wanted. The two biggest fish of the day went back in the drink.
  12. Hi all, headed back down the road to Eagle lake for a short late afternoon session which did not disappoint. The bite was good ten days ago and even better this time around. Got enough for a fish fry each. all the action from 15' to 13' FOW. Jigs and minnows with 6 inches of ice. Happy Xmas to you all, thanks to Roy and all the admins for the unenviable task of keeping this place together and avoiding world war III on a regular basis. Tight lines and may Santa be kind Simon.
  13. Hi all, Finally got round to putting together the footage of a great Lac Seul outing that we took this summer with my son, his grandad, myself and the pup. Great memories and grandad has been boasting to all his buddies about how great a fisherman Jack is, really winding up his buddies down at Erieau about how he out fishes them 3 times a week....lol...with an ice fishing pole!
  14. Hi all, Went out to a really small pothole of a lake just up the road from us with my wife and kid. This lake is an amazing numbers lake and I have been taking my son here since he could crawl in my efforts to engage him in fishing because the action is fast and furious with pike, walleye, perch and the occasional bass. A few people live on this lake and a few locals fish it and so it does get fishing pressure, for that reason I limit myself to ZERO fish on this lake, catch and release only. Was pretty impressed that my wife was pulling walleye out of the thick cabbage weed on a fire tiger Fox Vibrax spinner...WTG! Also proud that my son is getting more comfortable handling fish now too. Great way to spend an hour or so after work with the family.
  15. Hi all, School is out for summer, let the fun begin! Took my son Jack up to Lac Seul for the first time last year and ever since our last trip in September 2014 he has been bugging to go back, so back we went! Fishing is kind of secondary on these trips but I love them more than my solo outings and given it is Lac Seul I still usually get to slam 25"+ walleye for an hour or so anyway. Here is what we get up to…… video at the bottom of the pictures. WE ALWAYS STOP AT THE SPRING TO FILL THE WATER BOTTLE, THIS YEAR WE THREW THE MINNOW TRAPS IN AT THE CULVERT ACROSS THE ROAD. WE ALSO STOP TO PICK BERRIES ON THE WAY UP, THE BLUEBERRIES WERE STILL GREEN, BUT PLENTY OF WILD STRAWBERRIES AND RASPBERRIES TO MUNCH. ONCE AT THE LAKE WE FISHED FOR THE FIRST HOUR WE THEN HIT THE BEACH FOR A BOAT PICNIC GOOFED AROUND AFTER LUNCH WENT EXPLORING COLLECTED CREATURES FOR JACK'S 'AQUARIUM' (this is Jack's absolute favourite thing about Lac Seul) AND HAD A SWIM WE DID SOME MORE FISHING AFTER OUR SWIM BUT BY 4PM EVERYONE WAS READY TO GO HOME CREATURES WERE RELEASED AT THE LANDING, AND HOMEWARD BOUND VIDEO
  16. Good morning everybody on OFC! This spring was really good to me. I got down to the creek 4 or 5 times this spring catching fish every time on my spinners and hardware. I wanted to go down more once June arrived but some Walleye trips got in the way. We did get out for some bass fishing once this year too. I got out for the rainbow's the week after the season opened up and was still surprised with the numbers of people on the creek. I'm not one to fish beside guys so I always find me own spots and pools. I'm not a bobber watcher, I know float fishing is a productive technique for trout on the creek but I hate the presentation just never liked watching a bobber for a strike regardless of the species. This is where a short rod, light line and small spinners come into play for me. This year I didn't seem to catch fish on the little crank baits so the small Panther Martin, Blue Fox, and Mepps spinners did the trick. 1/16oz-1/8oz is the size range, my setup was a Clarus 6'6" Light Power Fast Action with a Symetre FL 1000. 8lb Mainline and a 4-5lb Fluorocarbon leader. Here are some pictures from my outings this spring. We catch a half dozen or so of these each trip it seems. Fun little fight's just without the drag screaming off. First day and first Rainbow for 2015 Next trip and another rainbow. I'll leave after I catch 1 fish no sense beating the fish up they are doing the spawn so 1 per outing is fine...I did get into 2 on each one of the next 2 trips literally cast after cast. This might of been June these next few photo's, or last week of May. Small trout lot's of fun! My new PB Rainbow on the creek, never got a measurement/weight but I would put it between 6 and 8lbs at the most. This tested out the gear but all worked together great. Next trip and another pair of fish. It was a blast this Spring on the creek, as I always say it's a "warm up for the real fishing to start". Perfect rainbow, small but not a baby. Wicked fight and jumps so much power in these fish. After the rainbow's on the creek I got out with a good friend again from the shop for some Walleye fishing on Rice Lake. Brought home so nice fish on the first 2 outings, here were my "pair" for the day! Round 1 Round 2 So after the great Pre-Season I finally got to fish for some bass. Another good friend of mine brought me up to Stoney for the day and we did pretty good. My only complaint was that I was the only one who found a few bass with any size to them. We fished jerk baits pretty hard for the day as the bite was hot but all we came up with were those 1-1.5lb smallies. Fun bight but no big fish. I convinced my friend to bring me into a back bay, threw my trusty Bleddin' Frog by Snag Proof. It sat in the sun all day with HogTonic garlic scent soaking into it...It stunk but this got me the fish I believe. Once in the bay I paid attention, walked the frog back to the boat, fished the left side, then the right, then the middle. On my 10th or so cast I starred off at some bird or something when I heard the splash. Turned my head, set the hook and had the fish up on the surface coming for the boat. That scent helps regardless of what you like, let the acid soak into the rubber and those bass won't let go for those few extra seconds that are sometimes crucial. Getting myself ready and prepared for my big camping trips this summer CANT WAIT!! And my better Smallie for the day. Thanks for reading guys and girls. We have the first 2 weeks of August booked off for my camping & fishing trip. Going to fish a little harder for those largemouth this year, do some more heavy punching in the matts rather than pitch the edge frog the top and drive away. My plan is to fish areas slowly and to seek out new spots and water. The Smallmouth I keyed onto pretty good last August but now I got to find those 4lb+ size ones, I had a pair go over 4 last year with a good 2-3lb average. Chasing bigger bites as always, once August is done we will be working at the shop for 6 weeks then well be renting a cottage for the last week of September. Stay tuned, 2 more reports still to come! Tightlines Everybody! MTBF
  17. Hi all, Went back to one of my favourite shore spots for a morning stroll with walleye on my mind. Was kind of also making a comparison video for the video I made last year at the same place. Very different couple of hours from last year, but always fun with my partner and fish hound Roloff, and of course plenty of fish and wildlife to enjoy.
  18. http://www.nugget.ca/2015/05/25/walleye-population-remains-stressed-but-improving Walleye population remains stressed but improvingBy JENNIFER HAMILTON-MCCHARLES, The Nugget Monday, May 25, 2015 5:02:50 EDT PMThe walleye population in Lake Nipissing remains stressed, but recent legislative changes are helping the young fish mature and reproduce, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. According to statistics presented at a meeting held earlier this month between the MNRF and Lake Nipissing Fisheries Management Plan Advisory Committee there are fewer small walleye being harvested. Jolanta Kowalski, senior media relations officer for the MNRF said from the preliminary review of data collected indicates an increase in juvenile males at the spawn compared to the two previous years. “This will allow these young fish the ability to grow to maturity and reproduce.” It's good news considering the spring walleye assessments in 2014 were poor. The ministry conducts a walleye spawning assessment at Wasi Falls every spring and released statistics at an invite-only meeting held at the Clarion Resort Pinewood Park earlier this month. Representatives from a wide variety of groups, including local businesses, municipalities, First Nations, anglers, the Greater Nipissing Stewardship Council and representatives from the Fisheries Management Zone 11 Planning Advisory committee attended the meeting. The audience heard this year there were 2,303 males and 120 females, which is a large increase compared to 2014 numbers that saw 86 males and 48 females. Kowalski said fisheries surveys indicate that fewer small walleye are now being harvested by anglers under the new walleye regulation change. She said additional surveys and time is needed to allow the new regulation to work before a determination can be made regarding harvest trends and population recovery status. Kowalski said the annual Fall Walleye Index Netting assessment, which has been conducted for the past 17 years, gathers important biological information such as fish length, weight, age and abundance. She said the results of the 2014 assessment confirm the walleye population remains stressed. “Young walleye make up the bulk of the population and continue to require protection in order to reach maturity and have a chance to spawn.” Earlier this year the province approved a five-year management plan for Lake Nipissing's fisheries reinforcing a minimum size limit for walleye that was introduced in 2014. The new minimum size limit protects walleye up to 46 centimetres, while maintaining the current catch limits, as well as extending the bass season and increasing the catch limit for yellow perch. The regulation changes, according to the ministry, are intended to help restore the declining walleye population and to increase fishing opportunities among other species. The ministry has stated in previous interviews that the walleye fishery is in serious decline and is now only half of what it was in the 1980s. To comment on this story please follow this link to The Nugget's Facebook page. www.facebook.com/NBNugget [email protected]
  19. Some friends and I got out to my favorite Kawartha Lake this weekend for some shore fishing. It's been a bit of a slow spring so far compared to last year at the same spot. On the plus side, I haven't seen many anglers either, so we haven't had to share our spot with others as much this year. We did get some nice fish, but with long droughts in between them. We ended up with a half dozen walleye, a couple of hefty OOS smallies (promptly released, no pics), and quite possibly the biggest crappie I have ever seen in person (16.5", 1.9#). We also saw a 36"-40" musky cruise right by the shoreline, it was quite the sight! All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend fishing with friends and family. We didn't take too many pics, they are tough at night sometimes, but it's not a report without the porn (sorry for the crops but trying not to advertise my spot ):
  20. Hi All, Got out in front of the house on Friday for an hour and a bit as the sun was going down. WENT DOWN AND DRILLED A FEW NEW HOLES JACK CAME DOWN AFTER SUPPER AND HELPED OPEN UP SOME OLD HOLES TOO WE HUNG OUT WAITING FOR THE FISH TO BITE JACK RETURNED TO THE HOUSE….BEDTIME! ROLOFF AND ME STAYED ON AND CAUGHT A FEW VIDEO Great little session, good to get a bite in front of the house again, saves on gas! Fish were in 9' FOW, 1/8 oz fire tiger jigs and small minnows. They hit the set line and when jigging. Perch was clear of worms which was nice.
  21. Hi all, Snapped a few pics from yesterday evening's 2 hour session. One nice one caught by yours truly and a couple small ones here and there between us. We were fairly deep, 28'FOW. Marked lots, some nice big ones too, but very difficult to get them to commit. I found they would come in and just sit there and stare. The one that did commit fell for my trick of letting the bait drop to the bottom, leave it there for a minute and snap it up quick, this often provokes strikes from lethargic walleye. Another successful tactic yesterday was to use a noisy ratlin' lipless crank to call them in. They were certainly in a funny mood, would respond to aggressive hard baits but not strike. Would sit and stare at live minnows forever, no matter what presentation it seemed. Over all I would say they preferred a moving target yesterday, but getting them to strike was tricky.
  22. 2014 was a bumpy ride. I lost a co-worker and friend to cancer, almost lost the farm, was diagnosed with a hernia and what the doctor described as extreme carpal tunnel in both hands, plus as usual I had way too many projects on the go. Looking back I have been lucky to get in a few great outings during 2014. Every year I set new fishing goals. This time it was getting some trout on the fly rod that sits in the corner of my office collecting dust. The other was catching some of those carp that have been breaking me off while fishn for crappie this spring. Goal 1: TROUT ON THE FLY About 5 or 6 yrs ago I was handed a handsome bonus from work and decided to blow it all on a new 5wt Sage fly rod and reel that looked nice and shiny to me. 5 or 6 yrs later and you still wouldn't want to be anywhere close to me while I'm expertly tying wind knots with this thing. This year is it...the year of the fly. So far its trolling streamers quite well. lol First trip of the spring would be for speckled trout. First I almost lost the truck to some type of quick sand shiz. Then I had to chop through giant pines scattered across the road with dullest ax known to man. Then I had to convince myself that I was not having a heart attack as I climbed the never ending hill loaded down with all my gear. The result.....My biggest speck yet on the fly rod. Second one at 22 Brought one home for the table along with some fresh wild garlic. Second trip of the spring was for splake. The weather was looking foul but after the previous trip I was itching for more trout on streamers. I rolled out of the gates heading for a favorite hump and on the first pass, wham! First splake on the fly rod. 15mins later and I was into second nice sized splake. The only problem was the little electric could not compete with the building wind. With couple smaller splake and a bass released I decide to call it before the random 50km gust sunk my ship. Unfortunately that would be it for trout trips this summer. Squeezed in a quick evening trip for walleye with Bunk but found the lake was not yet ripe with the late spring. Although a tough bite I did manage to catch one decent eye. Finished an over due project between outings. While at the locale clinic for an earache the question popped up. Doc-Whats your family doctors name? Me-Its been yrs since I've had one. Doc-Would you like me to be yours? Me-Sure. Time for my first physical in years. lol Turns out the hearts O.K. I have an umbilical hernia and carpel tunnel in both hands or extreme carpel tunnel as the lady in neurology described it. With all the bad news I decided on some comfort food for my heightened state of emotion and a few episodes of........ CARPEL TUNNEL CARPING!!! Most importantly chum the desired area and don't forget a little comfort food like some Chubby Chicken. Carping was hot, humid, and just plain sweaty awesome. Major reel peel as these fish tear off! Reminds me of salmon as you just sit there and let them do that initial run while watching your reel and wondering if it has enough line. Only thing better than comfort food is snuggling up in your own favorite carp blanket. I decided if I was going to catch the general, I would need to change tactics. Goal number 2.......Terminated! Ended the last month of the summer working on the house and even got in on the fall muskie hunt with Bunk. A true stand up type of fisher bud offering me first fish and netting me the only muskie of the trip. For the the first time in yrs I did not visit the locale trout lakes in the fall but instead used up some Air Miles on a last minute bucket list trout trip. A trip that will deserve its own report now that I have caught up on the rest of 2014.
  23. Headed up to Gull Lake this past Sunday for the Chris Brock Show (haha sorry Chris I couldn't help myslef). After a short sled ride from Deep Bay my buddy and I were fishing by 8:00. It started off super slow and any marked fish did not seem interested in anything we were throwing at it. Tubes, spoons and single hook minnows were not doing the trick. Every fish I tried to bring up quickly lost interest. After a couple hours Chris came back to check up on us. This is when the action started picking up. My buddy landed his first Laker and after a few miss strikes I was finally on the board. Chris ended up pulling a walleye out of the hole he was fishing near by. A couple more fish came out the hole and a couple beers went down. Just when we were wrapping everything up for the day my buddy hooked into a Ling that he was praying for all day. When he was pulling it out of the hole it spit the hook and slowly sank back to the depths below. All in all we had a great time and I will be going back for sure. Chris was great fun and super helpful. He picked us up, brought us to the hut, got us some minnows and even let us use his fish finder. Awesome dude and a steal of a deal. We got our limit of fish, good times and home brews. Looking forward to the next adventure! Thanks Chris. Pictures to come.
  24. Hi all, Got out for the first ice session of the season. Went down to Eagle lake and edged nervously out onto our walleye grounds, squeaky bum time is what I call it. There was more than enough ice, and with the lack of snow it was hard, black ice. Thickest ice we found was 8", thinnest was 4", note to self….tread with caution, its not uniform thickness, ice picks on. Within minutes of setting up on the edge of the drop from a 14' deep bay, Amanda got two and missed them both. Tyler then went over and set the hook on the same rod on the third bite and pulled up a nice 21"er. Sucked for him because there is an 18"-23" slot on Eagle Lake. It was pretty slow and we ended up with only 4 fish on the ice, 2 nice 17"ers, and a couple of slot fish at 20" and 21". Was warm out though and at -2C with no wind and no snow on the ice it felt like we were fishing in March! Another highlight for me was having Roloff out on the ice, he behaves exactly the same way as when we are shore fishing, waiting attentively at the hole for the fish to come up, and standing guard of each one as it lay on the ice. Hopefully getting out on Wednesday or Thursday. No snow and sub -20C temps next week should see much better ice this year and early access to the ice road. Here's some pics and video of our little outing.
  25. Well..It has been sometime since I last posted a report. Few changes in my life this year ended up with me working more and definitely fishing more!! Not much sleep this summer it was pure fishing, work, guiding and weddings. In that order! Haha even with no reports from me this summer, I was still checking out the board pretty much daily. Didnt want to miss a Bunk or Mike B report ( dunno where those guys find the time!! Seriously). Now to the fishing. My summer fishing began fishing the St. Marys in the boat for Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead/Residents in both the Upper main river and rapids. A cold summer combined with the gates opened up in the rapids again kept the St. Marys in the 50s for most of the summer. This kept an abnormal amount of bows around gorging on various minnows, insects and crayfish. The Atlantic bite was great this year. We had a ton of fish in the 3-6 pound range with a few pluggers in the mix. My sis with one of the best fish of the year, if not the biggest! All kinds of bows were hanging around Once the Sun went down we would drop our Atlantic and steelhead tackle and switch gears to night time walleye. Pulling stick baits at night for walleye is one of my favourite ways to catch eyes on the St Mary's. One of the best ways to catch big fish too. Fidel (HighDrifter) from the board was in town one weekend. We have communicated a few times over the past 2 years I would say and this year it worked out that I had an evening free while he was in town. We hooked up for 3-4 hours out on the river and had a ball. Maybe he will chime in with a few pics if he reads this and if you are. It was great having you out buddy! Anytime! I dont normally like to post pic or reports about my guide trips but there was one trip this summer, that made my year for guide trips so far. Mid summer lakers on the fly! Quite possibly a guides nightmare! I knew going into this trip it was going to be a great 2 days/1 night or it was gonna be a real long, exhausting, fishless trip for the 2 fly anglers. There was one spin fisherman so I knew he would smash them. I had them set up at my motel for one night and they spent a week camping in the park with a home base at Agawa. I met them part way through their trip and took them to my fav lake trout lake in LSPP. Weather was too good to be true with warm, windless days. We paddled over to the campsite for the night, set up the gear and hit the water. 10 minutes into the fishing one of the fly anglers hooks up on the tip of a reef that is in about 8-10 feet and drops into 40 then 80 off the side. Im thinking laker forsure until this beautiful brookie graces the net. A PB brookie to start the trip, which was never measured before being released but was a solid 20 inches. 2 more lakers were lost on the fly and the spin fisherman hooked half a dozen lakers before we pulled the to go in for a laker fry. Day 2 we went to other part of the lake where I knew the lakers would be and was our best shot and getting good numbers throughout the day in a few different spots that were close to eachother in case we had to deal with wind. Well the wind just never came again so we hunkered down on a spot and laid into some beauty lakers on the fly. We even managed two double headers and one triple!! The spin angler laid a beat down on the fish, I had him in my hobie kayak on day two and he landed 8-9 lakers himself. Next up was a bit of yak fishing at two new spots east of the Soo. One was a large river system and the second two inland lakes connected by a small river About two weeks after this trip was my annual trip up to Lake Nipigon! We have always fished the SE part of the lake but this year we ventured up to Onamans on the NE part of the lake. Well, Im sure glad we switched it up this year. Robert at Onamans is great, I dont have a bad thing to say about our stay there. It was absolutely fantastic there! We fished Lake Nipigon for 3 ½ days and onamans lake for one due to weather on the big lake. 3 ½ days on the big lakes is nothing..We barely touched the area. We fished a few recommended areas (which were huge) and when we found the fish we were looking for we worked them over hard. Trolling was the best tactic for covering water looking for the speckled beautys. Thing was your gonna be dealing with a million pike in the 30-35 range on your troll..which was great!!!!! Once we did put a speck in the boat we would stop and work the area. These areas were typically rocky structure between the weeds that littered the bays. We only went 3-6 on the brookies between everyone but there were some serious brook trout..I am to this day still haunted by the one that broke my 15# pp like dental floss These were the two from our boat Ted hit the speck of the trip coming in at a little better than 25 inches We would typically target brookies until 6ish and head back towards camp and do some piking at the mouth and a few other areas. We caught hords of big pike with most in the 36-38 but a few 40s were thrown in the mix. Walleye fishing in the river wasnt very good, so we didnt mess around with that much. Onaman Lake is where we got our fix. Of course on the last day the weather rolled in and the big lake was a no go. We were satisfied with our pike fishing already so took the tour to Onamans and laid an absoulute beat down on walleyes. We fished the lake about 5-6 hours and put so many walleye in the boat I couldnt guess how many. 80 fish a boat? Id say 75% of the fish were 22-24 inches with a few bigger (biggest was just under 28")and maybe 4 under 18. We didnt even catch enough small ones to keep a full limit lol. Thats ok with me! Got back from Nipigon and headed out on the St, Marys River the following weekend and fish the first Annual St. Marys Small Jaw Slam hosted by the Lake State University fishing team. Fished the tourney with Kevin King and our plan pretty much went the way we wanted it. We put together two good bags on both days that weighed just under 36 pounds for the 10 bass. Good enough for 3rd and only .5 out of 2nd. This might be a tourney some of you southern guys might be interested in fishing next year. Heres the link to the Fb page. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=723216211079668&id=474306409303984&ref=bookmark Big fish was a 7.33 largie!! Not long after, I headed back out for some bass with my cousin Ted and my buddy Nate and we put some solid bass into the net on this day again. Killed one rainy Sunday afternoon chasing bass again. The fish moved to deeper water so it took me a little while to figure them out. The average sized dropped for me but I still managed around 20 largies with a few descent bites. We had a ton of rain this fall here on the northshore, so I had Superior steel on my mind early this fall. Fished the north tribs a bit after work for a few hours each time in late sept early October and hit some silver coho and a few squirrelly steelhead. A few weekends ago, I took as ride out on Superior with my buddy and float fished from his boat up one of my favourite tribs. We didnt have an amazing day but we hit some nice fish. What the day did do, is open our eyes up to a few new places to try Was able to get out in the boat on the upper that same weekend and hit a few in the cold conditions I haven't been out the last two weeks. Too busy with a few other things as well as the early days don't help. My last outing was in the rapids chasing some steel and whatever else bites Hoping to get out this weekend for steelhead and brave the freezing cold weather they are calling for. Hope you all enjoyed!! TDunn
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