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Hey OFC . Used to be active on this board about 13 years ago. Never really left but had been lurking for a longtime . The worst kind of member! Life went sideways and addiction got the best of me. Been clean for over 4 years now and busy fixing the 3 ringed circus that was my life. Finally figured it’s time to get back at er now that 2 of my boys are in university and it’s just the weeun at home. Reconnected with my old buddy Meeps and he got the musky fever back in my life . Been losing more big girls than I’ve landed , which is frustrating but I’m still on em and consumed with the thought of a 50” plus. Still early in the fall and lots of trips planned , I think I’ll get that 50” in the net soon! Pictured is a nice fish I got after losing 2 that day, Meeps was quick in the water and did the net work for me, held her up quick while I snapped a pic and back in the drink she went. Musky fishing is some sort of psychological mind F@(£ , from watching videos and trips to the local shop, online orders , countless hours on the water throwing lures as big as my dog and all around being consumed by these fish, I think I got the bug bad. The wee man has really caught the fishing bug and has been on me to catch his first Salmon , we’ve been down to our local spot a bunch and he just hasn’t tied into one yet. This morning while he and his buds opted to head out for smallies , I checked in with the apps and saw that there was a minor moon phase and wind conditions in my favour so back down to the local I go. Chucking spoons for a good 3 hours with not a whiff , decided to throw on the ole Rapala and first cast had a big girl smoke it. What a fight she put up. A bunch of runs and acrobatics and she finally hit the net. Some how I managed to have the front trebles in her , Thank God, as you can see she snapped that rapala in half. All in all the fishing has been great and amongst these crazy times I can always find my solstice down at the water. I’ll keep posting and appreciate all the members who have been doing so for years. Tight Lines J.B.

Had a good weekend of fishing. Safe to say the fall temperatures have arrived. Started out Friday night with my pal Mepps , we got out and successfully washed all the musky lures we had on hand. Seems like the fish have pushed off and moved out of the early fall spots we were previously having success on. It’s always a good time when I get out with Mepps and with a friendship spanning 20 or so years , it makes for lots to reminisce and talk about . Friday -Fish 1 - Jonny -NIL Early Saturday morning , myself and 2 of my sons headed out to the Upper Niagara. I had booked with a local guide . 6 hours of smallie hunting was on the menu . Should have know when the sunrise was so red that the weather would be dicey. “Red sky in the morning , sailors take warning “or something like that my Papa used to say. We launched out from Black Creek and started drifting and drop shottin plastics . 2 hours and nothing much happening . We switch over to swimbaits and start casting . I got a dink just before the rain moved in. Rain was not in the forecast but rain is what we got , wind picked up going opposite the current which created some interesting waters to be out on. We kept casting . Somewhere in between getting rained and splashed I tied into a nice smallie , biggest of this season by a pound or two. Another 2 hours of nada and our time was up. Neither of the lads caught anything but we did have a good time out there and the banter was top notch . Saturday- Fish 2 - Jonny -half a nil Got up this morning and headed over to the job site to make sure my operator and gas tech got set up alright . Finished up there by 10 am and decided to head down to the local and cast some spoons. Only myself and another guy with the waders on. We took turns landing fish. Caught some big males and a couple of females with eggs still spitting out of them. Restocked on Roe which is always great with the browns starting to come in . Sunday finished out great, definitely time to break out my insulated waders as I was freezing my nards off today in my lites. Lost a bunch of hardware but when you have a multiple fish day it doesn’t seem to hurt that bad . Back to work tomorrow but this time of year it won’t be more than a day or two before I’m casting a line for something somewhere . Tight Lines J.B.

A FRESH FALL FINISH ON A BIG YEAR ENDER. A report nearly prepared while away in Nunavut last month this is a collection of plenty pics from this past year plus some new photos from the fall season. As well, there are links to any and all of the reports posted and a write-up on how one busy but quite memorable 2015 came to be. Approaching work the past five years there had never come a moment of feeling fully settled in. Change became necessary, and leading into 2015 many new pieces had begun to fall into place. This didn’t all come easy and I took quite a time with it. In fact, trying several different options at home first, before long it would only lead to discontent and my looking elsewhere. By the end here I was mostly just disengaged, often restless, and would certainly not want to continue any efforts in making a full-time living of nursing in the valley. Despite working alongside great people and regularly enjoying the type of healthcare only interesting and real emergencies can provide, it is the lesser work perks such as the odd scheduling, silly obligations and pressures to provide unpaid availabilities, my being on a leash for nothing, accepting all cutbacks, a lost seniority, and an overall lack of autonomy in the profession, which has all weighed heaviest and wore on me thru time. So on Canada Day 2014 I gave most of that up Drove out to Nipigon, spent a week alone figuring out a plan before coming home. By November I had four employers and since then picked up a fifth with a sixth now possibly on the way, all for casual or contractual jobs. For the first time in my professional life I have basically taken over an entire control of my work and time. 2015 would be the first full year to test these decisions... WINTER. January through March could be broken down into two parts, work and play. Having had been hired back with an old employer in James Bay, the opportunity to take on casual / locum employment in northern Ontario meant leaving family behind at times in order to fully condense a workload... The first few weeks into the New Year saw good ice come quick. Walleye with some splake and lakers were the order of business before departing north. Mike nailed a real beauty best eye for himself but one surprise catch for me was way more smoking hot, and a tank laker caught wasn’t bad either... Once settled in Attawapiskat the next five weeks combined work with outdoor wonder. To keep fit a personal challenge called the Taiga Trek was taken on, planning to hike 100 kilometers over river, ice road and through snowy bush during the duration of my stay. The distance got crushed, along the way shedding some pounds while finding some great photo opportunities too. A snowy owl over a couple days kept me busy sweating for miles to snap the perfect pictures, a prize equal to some of the best fish catches passed... Once returning home there was a need to make up for some lost time with family and friends. Taking the girls skiing their first time was a fun day we all enjoyed, while a weekend up in the Bogie with Bren and some fishing friends was a great getaway... Jonzing for lake trout, March provided local opportunities to jig up some lunkers on different lakes, until finally friend Len and I headed to N.W. Ontario for some R&R, fishing and snowmobiling with our buddy Rob. The perfect finish to cap off winter. Fishin’ It Up Like The Pros. http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=77542 Attawapiskat Taiga Trekkin’ http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=77943 Icing Nasty Greasy Greasers. (with videos) http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=78313 Breathing Life Back Into The Old Cheepas. (reports revisited) http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=77745 SPRING April to June was mostly planned time at home. The spring started in Florida with the girls. Rollercoasters and shows at Universal and Disney with plenty swimming and shopping, they loved it. During what remained of April all was quiet with local work, so plenty on the honey-do list got finished, including tying some bucks and flies. Friends Len and Luke end of the month came to me offering up a floating seat for some overnights camping while adrift down the Saugeen, and that was a pretty cool experience... Once the home lakes opened it was crappie and gar with a little lakers into May and June. The girls joined me often and so did new and old friends as well. It was another banner spring for many great fish. The sun now shining, plenty people wanted time off from the local E.R.’s too, and the phone rang daily for work offers early May into July. Setting off mid June to Onamans for a week of eyes, pike and lakers there, Stevie Z rode co-pilot with me three days for half the trip. Despite engine troubles hours in, he nailed his first over 20-pound laker, a forty something inch pike and the biggest walleye of the week before leaving with a smile on his face. I caught good ones as well, including an eagle, moose, bear cub and some rare pelicans. Fishing solo while camping at the resort, Rob, Loki and I enjoyed hanging out after that, during the long evenings... Finally once school was out, and knowing I’d be leaving come July for work, there was only one day for bass fishing to be had as most days were spent lazing at home or running places with the kids. The Seal Anglers Of Bushy. (days revisited) http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=78617 Float Steelin’ Down The Saugeen. http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=78736 It’s Simple You + Beer = Gar http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=78841 Some Spring Slabbin’ http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79038 The BIG Gnarly GAR Annual. http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=80114 A Solo Roady North II. “Fishin’ Impossible.” http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79380 Continued...